About
Schola Classical Tutorials offers live online seminar-style classes for grades 7-12 in the classical Christian tradition. Tutorials include Old Western Culture (a Great Books sequence covering Greeks, Romans, Christendom, and Early Moderns), Latin, Greek, rhetoric, and history courses. Classes meet weekly in small groups via web conferencing with an emphasis on discussion, recitation, and engagement with primary texts.
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Our deep read on Schola Classical Tutorials
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Schola Classical Tutorials is the online tutorial program of Wes Callihan, whose Great Books lectures were produced by Roman Roads Press as the Old Western Culture video curriculum. Its archived pages describe live weekly audio and chat classes in the great books, and as of October 2026 its website is offline.
Last updated: 2026-10-03 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team
At a glance
| Method | Classical / Great Books / live online seminar |
| Worldview | Christian; the tutor states that he teaches explicitly as a Christian and affirms the Nicene Creed (archived About page) |
| Grades | Roman Roads Press lists Old Western Culture for grades 9-12+; Schola's archived Latin I page calls that course best suited to students at least fourteen |
| Formats | Live online audio and chat sessions that meet once a week (archived Online Tutorials page) |
| Cost tier | Not verified; registration and tuition run through Kepler Education (archived registration page) |
| Parent intensity | 2 |
| ESA-common | Not verified |
| Accredited | Not verified |
| Established | Founded by Wes Callihan, who taught online classes at Schola for over twenty years |
| Website | scholatutorials.org (offline as of October 2026, archived About page) |
Our scoreboard (1-5)
| Criterion | Score | One-line reason |
|---|---|---|
| Academic rigor | 5 | Great Books courses built on the Old Western Culture sequence, which Roman Roads Press describes as a dual-credit honors-level curriculum |
| Ease of teaching | 5 | The tutor teaches; parents administer logistics |
| Content quality | 5 | Course readings are the works covered in the Old Western Culture Readers, taught by one of the sequence's instructors |
| Flexibility | 3 | A la carte course-by-course, but tied to a fixed weekly meeting |
| Value for money | 3 | Tuition is set through Kepler Education; no current published price to compare |
| Worldview scope | 2 | The tutor states that the teaching will clearly, explicitly, and regularly reflect a historical and classical Christian perspective |
| Visual/design | 3 | Live audio and typed chat in a virtual classroom; not a feature |
| Support resources | 3 | Class web pages with syllabus and assignments, email lists, and optional evaluation packages through Kepler Education |
Who the publisher is
Schola Classical Tutorials is the online teaching program of Wes Callihan. His Roman Roads Press biography states that he founded Schola, where he taught online classes in the great books and other classical subjects for over twenty years. Schola's own About page states that his online Great Books lectures were filmed by Roman Roads Press as Old Western Culture, and its archived Online Tutorials page describes the classes as live audio and chat sessions that meet once a week from early September through early May.
The archived 2020-2021 course list on Schola's Online Tutorials page shows three tutorials: Great Books 3 (Christendom), Great Books 4 (Early Moderns), and an Iliad Master Class. The Great Books courses use the Old Western Culture materials, and registration is handled through Kepler Education. The Old Western Culture sequence is a four-year Great Books cycle (The Greeks, The Romans, Christendom, Early Moderns) that Roman Roads Press publishes as a video curriculum, with Callihan among its instructors. A family can therefore encounter Old Western Culture in two forms: as prerecorded video from Roman Roads Press, or, where a Schola tutorial is offered, as a live weekly class.
Schola's archived About page states that the tutor teaches explicitly as a Christian and in the light of the historic, universal Christian faith, affirms the Nicene Creed, and requires of students only a good attitude, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to kindness. It adds that families should expect the teaching to clearly, explicitly, and regularly reflect a historical and classical Christian perspective.
The core pedagogy
The archived Online Tutorials page states that the tutorials are live audio and chat sessions that meet once a week, in which the students and tutor normally review previous material, discuss that week's assignment, and preview upcoming work. Each class has a web page listing the syllabus, readings and other assignments, announcements, and additional resources. The same page states that no grades are assigned for papers or for the tutorials as a whole, though parents may request an informal evaluation and Kepler Education offers evaluation and grading packages for the Old Western Culture courses for small additional fees.
The Great Books strand follows the four years of Old Western Culture: The Greeks, The Romans, Christendom (from Benedict and Charlemagne through Dante and the Reformation), and Early Moderns (Shakespeare to Jane Austen). Roman Roads Press lists The Greeks as a full year of four units with 48 lectures of 30 to 40 minutes each. Schola's archived pages from earlier years also describe Latin tutorials (Latin I through III, built on Wheelock's Latin), a Homeric Greek course, and a Rhetoric tutorial; the archived 2020-2021 list does not include them.
Signature mechanics: (1) Old Western Culture as the text. The archived 2020-2021 list states that the Great Books courses use the Old Western Culture materials, and Roman Roads Press describes its Greeks course as built on the Old Western Culture Readers, an edition of the works covered for each unit. (2) Weekly live class. The tutorials meet once a week from early September through early May, per the archived Online Tutorials page. (3) No grades by default. The tutorials assign no grades, per the same page. (4) A sequence instructor as tutor. Roman Roads Press states that Callihan is among the instructors of Old Western Culture, and Schola's About page states that his online Great Books lectures were filmed and produced by Roman Roads Press as that curriculum.
A day in the life
The archived 2020-2021 schedule on the Online Tutorials page lists Great Books 3: Christendom on Tuesdays, 8-9 a.m. Pacific time, Great Books 4: Early Moderns on Tuesdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Pacific time, and an Iliad Master Class on Wednesdays, 8-9:30 a.m. Pacific time. The page does not state a weekly hour total, and this review does not estimate one.
Schola's archived courses cover humanities subjects.
What they do exceptionally well
Great Books instruction built on a published sequence. Roman Roads Press describes Old Western Culture as a great-books, dual-credit honors-level curriculum for grades 9-12+, and Schola's tutorials used that sequence with live weekly discussion in place of recorded lectures alone.
Complete works as the reading list. Roman Roads Press states that its Greeks course uses the Old Western Culture Readers, an edition of the works covered for each unit, and also offers an Essentials Schedule that selects from the complete reading list.
Latin instruction grounded in classical texts. Schola's archived Latin page describes Latin I and II as grammar and syntax study in Wheelock's Latin with readings that include the Vulgate, and Latin III as a reading course in classical and medieval authors. The approach is grammar study followed by readings in original authors.
What they do poorly
Not a complete program. The archived 2020-2021 list shows Great Books courses and an Iliad Master Class and no math, science, or electives. Families who want a school covering more than humanities could look at Wilson Hill Academy.
Schedule rigidity. A live class at a fixed weekly time does not bend to the student's calendar. Families with competing commitments can use the recorded Old Western Culture video from Roman Roads Press, which states that its streaming and downloadable products do not expire.
Plain platform. The archived Online Tutorials page describes a virtual classroom with audio and typed chat and class web pages, and states that no special software is needed. It does not describe a learning management system or grade tracker.
Who it fits / who it doesn't
Pick Schola if: the student is a strong reader entering high school and you want serious Great Books instruction; a historical, classical Christian frame is acceptable or welcome; you want the student in live weekly discussion with the tutor; you are willing to source math and science elsewhere; you can confirm current course availability and tuition through Kepler Education.
Skip Schola if: you want a one-stop online school with all subjects covered; the student resists discussion-based formats and would rather work alone through video; you want a secular Great Books program; the student is not ready for the Old Western Culture reading list; the family schedule cannot accommodate fixed live meetings.
Cost honest assessment
Schola's archived registration page directs families to Kepler Education to register, and its archived Online Tutorials page states that tuition is registered there, so a Schola price depends on the Kepler Education course listing. No Schola tuition figure could be confirmed as of October 2026, and this review does not state one.
For comparison, Roman Roads Press lists the recorded-video version of the same sequence, Old Western Culture: The Greeks, at $299 to $583 depending on format as of October 2026, without live discussion.
ESA eligibility notes
Schola registers students through Kepler Education rather than a direct Schola store, per its archived registration page. Families using a state ESA program should confirm with the program, before enrolling, whether tuition paid to Kepler Education is reimbursable and whether the program's religious-curriculum restrictions apply.
Alternatives
- Wilson Hill Academy, a family would pick Wilson Hill over Schola for a live online classical Christian school serving grades 3-12, offering a Graduation Track or individual course enrollment, per its home page.
- Roman Roads Press (Old Western Culture video), a family would pick Roman Roads over Schola for the same Great Books sequence delivered as recorded video, without the live discussion.
How we verified this
Our editorial team reviewed archived snapshots of Schola's About, Online Tutorials, and Registration pages, together with the Old Western Culture pages and instructor biography on Roman Roads Press. As of October 2026 scholatutorials.org displays a hosting placeholder rather than a site, and the Roman Roads Press biography describes Callihan's Schola teaching in the past tense, so families should confirm current course availability and tuition with Kepler Education before enrolling.
Signature products
- Old Western Culture Great Books
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