In 2007, Tom Bengtson and Dale Ahlquist co-founded the first Chesterton Academy in St. Louis Park, a small suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each had young families and were seeking an alternative to the existing high school options available to them. The two men had a simple mission: to offer a classical, integrated high school education that was faithful to the Catholic Church and affordable for families of average means. Looking to G.K. Chesterton as the model for a complete thinker and modern defender of the faith, they named the school Chesterton Academy. Inspired by Pope Saint John Paul II, they took as their motto Cultura Vitae, the culture of life. In 2013, in response to mounting requests from around the world, the Chesterton Schools Network was formally established to help other groups start schools in their area, drawing on the Chesterton Academy curriculum and approach. The Network is now a project of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, a Catholic apostolate dedicated to Catholic education, evangelization, and the social teaching of the Church. Our sister organization, Teach for Christ, serves the Network through its missionaries.