Podcast Summary: Leading Orange County Classical Academy

Podcast: Hillsdale College K-12 Classical Education Podcast
Episode Date: October 2, 2025
Host: Scot Bertram
Featured Speaker: Semi, Founding Headmaster of Orange County Classical Academy (OCCA)
Episode Duration: ~16 minutes (excluding promos & outros)

Episode Overview

This episode features a powerful presentation by Semi, the founding headmaster of Orange County Classical Academy, delivered at a Hoagland Center for Teacher Excellence Seminar. Semi shares her personal journey into educational leadership, her ethical and philosophical misalignments with mainstream education trends, and her passionate advocacy for classical education. The main theme centers on questioning the fundamental "purpose of education" and why classical education offers a more holistic, virtue-centered answer than the prevailing college-and-career-readiness model.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal Journey and Motivations

(01:58–06:00)

• Semi’s story begins with her childhood: losing her mother to cancer, immigrating to America, overcoming language barriers, and facing economic hardship.
• Originally aspired to become a dentist, but switched to teaching after realizing it was her true calling.
• Started her career in education during the 2008 financial crisis—“the perfect year to become a teacher.”

Notable Quote – Semi (02:04):
“I lost my mother to cancer when I was seven years old. I immigrated to America in fourth grade. […] I was qualified as a low income family and was told that we don't have money for me to go to college. Wanted to go to college so that I could become a dentist. […] My second year of completing biochemistry I realized that being a dentist is a nightmare, it's not my calling.”

2. Dissonance with Mainstream School Missions

(06:00–10:58)

• Semi spent 11 years as a principal in a major charter school network, surrounded by competent staff and strong resources.
• Became disheartened by the prevailing mantra of "college and career readiness," which defined student success almost solely via test scores and future earning potential.

Anecdote – Test Scores over Purpose (07:32):
“In one of the charter schools that I taught at, the principal, every morning assembly, he would shout, 8:04. And the hundreds of students would respond, we want more. [...] I just stared at them. And then I started crying. I realized it was that moment, okay, this is not my definition as a mom. I wouldn't want my boys shouting back, we want more of the test score.”

• Attempts to shift organizational priorities toward reading, critical thinking, and the humanities repeatedly failed.
• Felt alienated by trainings and workshops with a heavy focus on DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) frameworks, which involved labeling personal backgrounds strictly as privileged or marginalized.

Notable Quote – Semi (10:00):
“As an Asian American, I was apparently privileged. And as a cisgender, I was privileged. And as a Christian, I was privileged. I did not agree with the statement and my personality. I'm not the person to go along with something [...] The more and more I explored, the more I really could not fathom that this was truly what's best for students.”

3. Pushback Against Technocratic and Controversial Trends

(11:00–12:50)

• Criticized rapid moves toward blended learning: “All of our students, starting in kinder, would be in front of a computer for half the day. That really broke my heart.”
• Raised concerns about adopting explicit sex-ed curricula for young children without transparency to parents.

Notable Quote – Semi (12:26):
“There were things on there that I would not be okay as a parent, that my own children will be taught by the school. [...] If this is a curriculum that they're proudly using to educate the hearts and minds of our children, why would they want to hide it from parents?”

4. The Philosophical Case for Classical Education

(13:00–15:10)

• Semi discovered that even high-performing mainstream schools “still had the same mission and vision” of college/career readiness and heavy tech focus—even in kindergarten.
• Cites Aristotle's distinctions between pleasure, money, honor—and how all are fleeting or externally bestowed.
• Argues instead for seeking what is “good and beautiful and true”—the classical ideal.

Notable Quote – Semi (14:20):
“The answer for me as a principal, as a mom, was that the child has to truly pursue what's good and beautiful and true. And that is one of the primary mission[s] of classical education is that we see them beyond the functional citizenship. We see them as human beings, a soul. And we protect our hearts and minds and souls.”

• Classical ed cultivates both moral and intellectual virtues; moral formation precedes academic achievement.

5. OCCA’s Mission and Growth

(15:10–16:30)

• Took a major risk to found Orange County Classical Academy in 2020, against all logic and advice, just as COVID-19 began and amid personal and financial uncertainty.
• OCCA now serves 744 students in TK–9th grade with “a long wait list that exceeds 1000 students every year.”
• Plans for “prudent” expansion into upper high school grades.

Notable Quote – Semi (16:04):
“It's not about just raising functional citizens, but it's about raising well rounded virtuous citizens who grow up to not only care about their well being, but who are ready to give back, who are ready to lead this country to a better place.”

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On leaving a secure job for an unknown mission:
  “To give up a fairly high paying job that was self functioning to come and start a brand new school in the city of Orange. Not only not just a school, but a classical school... in year 2020 at the very beginning of COVID 19... it was just a crazy, crazy experience.” (06:15)

• On the ideal mission of a school:
  “Does your current organization—do you know the mission statement? Does it align with your purpose of education? I would encourage you to join a mission that aligns with your purpose of education.” (15:30)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:52–01:05 – Host intro and Hoagland Center background
• 01:58–06:00 – Semi’s personal journey into education
• 06:00–10:58 – Disillusionment with mainstream education priorities
• 10:58–12:50 – Challenges with pedagogy reforms and curriculum transparency
• 13:00–15:10 – The philosophical and moral grounding of classical education
• 15:10–16:30 – The founding and rapid growth of OCCA; call to action for values-driven leadership

Conclusion

Semi’s heartfelt talk challenges educators to reflect deeply on the core purpose of education. She contrasts the transactional focus of test scores and technology with a classical vision centered on virtue, wisdom, and the cultivation of the soul. Her journey from privileged principalship into the uncertain founding of OCCA models the conviction necessary to “join a mission that aligns with your purpose of education.”

For more information on the Hoagland Center or classical education resources, visit k12.hillsdale.edu.