ORIGINS

FUTURE

Ancient History Fellow

An ISLAND as CLASSROOM

Four children and one adult sitting on dry grass and dirt, sketching or observing a stone structure in nature, surrounded by trees and bushes, with a blue sky overhead.

The island of Hvar has been inhabited for at least ten thousand years. Illyrian hill forts crown its ridges. The ancient Greek colony of Pharos — founded in 385 BC — sits at the heart of the island in Stari Grad, its agricultural plain farmed today along the same grid that colonists laid down two and a half millennia ago. Older still, Mesolithic and Neolithic people have left hints of their world in caves above the sea.

This many-layered canvas is where our learners, ages two through fifteen, will explore the story of European civilization through site visits, stories, and hands-on activities. Our chronological focus in the upcoming year is the ancient world - from the deep past to the fall of the Western Roman empire.

In the fall of 2026, we are looking for a historian who is excited to explore the urgency and wonder of the distant past with children.

A winding concrete path along a rocky shoreline with trees and flowering plants, leading towards a small harbor with boats and historic buildings, mountain range in the background, overcast sky.
A small wooden sailboat named 'Tilling' docked at a marina with several other boats in the background, on a bright sunny day.
A group of hikers walking towards a tunnel on a dirt trail surrounded by rocks and green bushes.
A narrow street view framed by stone walls, with an old stone building featuring decorative architectural details and a set of stairs leading to a closed door. A person wearing a striped shirt and shorts stands near a yellow building in the background, amidst blooming trees under a clear blue sky.
Children playing on a stone-paved courtyard surrounded by old stone buildings in a historic village.

The Fellowship

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    Role

    Field Fellows join our community as a participant — enrolling your own children in the program alongside other Field School families — and as a contributing expert, mentoring our faculty on ancient history. You will be expected to contribute about one day each week of active organizing, problem-solving, and direct instruction. In addition you will want to spend time in general research and exploration of Hvar.

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    Reciprocity

    In return, we offer a full scholarship covering your children's tuition for the term. We aren't able to cover travel or accommodation, so this works best for families who have the flexibility — whether that's a homeschooling lifestyle, a sabbatical year, or simply the appetite for an unconventional fall.

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    Storytelling

    We'd love to be part of your story if this experience moves you, and we ask for one long-form piece (a podcast episode, Substack essay, or video) within 90 days of your residency, provided that it feels like a natural fit.

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    Dates

    The fall session runs September 7 through November 28, 2026. The spring session runs from March 13 through June 5, 2027.

Group of children working together on a woodworking project, holding a piece of wood, with tools and plans nearby, on a tiled outdoor patio.
A small brown clay or terra cotta figurine with a smiling face, eyes closed, and a mustache, representing a happy person or character.
A young man wearing a white shirt, light-colored shorts, and a black cap, holding a sprig of lavender, with an older woman in sunglasses beside him, in a field of lavender during golden hour.
Two young children in striped and pink shirts standing in front of a museum display, looking at and pointing to a carved stone artifact on a black pedestal. The artifact features a lion sculpture on top and carved initials or symbols on the front.
Ancient stone sculpture of a boy with curly hair, standing on a base, with one leg slightly bent, wearing a garment draped over his shoulder, displayed on a wooden stand against a plain wall.
Two young girls holding hands and looking at an exhibit of ancient clay pots and jars.

THE PROJECT

Field School's 2026–27 curriculum integrates the ancient world across all of our academic subjects: Aristotle’s invention of natural science on Lesbos, the luminous reasoning of Euclid in math, the Odyssey and rhapsodic art in language, and the material anthropology of ancient clothing in our social studies class. We may even attempt to recreate ancient singing and seafaring experiences.

This Fellow will be asked to provide some limited guidance on all of these topics, helping our academic dean and teachers cut through the wealth of publications that exist across these many fields, and verifying the accuracy of the concepts that we develop.

Young boy with curly hair wearing a colorful shirt and striped shorts looking at an exhibit of ancient pottery inside a glass display case at a museum.
Various sailboats and a pirate ship docked at a marina on a sunny day with clear blue skies and a mountain in the background.
Two people sitting in a black boat on a calm body of water with a mountainous landscape in the background and a few swimmers nearby.
Open book with illustrations of a white horse's head and body on the left, a colorful schematic of 'The Iliad The Odyssey' on top of a book featuring Greek gods and mythological figures, and a page with a scene depicting Greek gods watching Poseidon and Athena.
Child drawing a chalk picture of a Viking ship, a face with musical notes, and clouds on a black chalkboard.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

The right fellow is an affable historian — someone with expertise in the ancient Mediterranean world and a gift for making it accessible to children and curious adults. Formal academic training in Classics, archaeology, Mediterranean history, or historical anthropology is a plus, but we are also very interested in meeting independent scholars, classical homeschoolers, and social studies teachers.

An important part of this project is translating deep knowledge into hands-on experience for beginners — some as young as five — so warmth, patience, and flexibility are essential.

Learning designers in the Charlotte Mason and classical homeschool traditions, authors and storytellers working with Greek and Roman mythology, and practitioners with living history or museum education backgrounds are warmly encouraged to apply.

A group of children climbing a rocky hillside during a hike in a mountainous area with lush green trees and shrubs.
A woman explaining a bust sculpture to two young boys in an art gallery, with paintings hanging on the wall behind them.
A compass rose with directional markings on a concrete surface, showing north, south, east, and west, along with intermediate directions.
A hand-made educational poster about Stari Grad featuring a drawing of an ancient building, a small cutout of an olive tree labeled 'olive tree,' and musical notes. The poster explains that the Greeks arrived at Stari Grad from Paros around 325 BC, bringing olive trees, which they initially called the town Pharos.
Children swimming and playing near the edge of a boat in clear turquoise water, with some children climbing onto the boat and others in the water.
Three children exploring an ancient stone structure, looking into a small opening, with engraved Latin text and a gear symbol below.

NOMINATE

If someone comes to mind when you read this, please share this page or send us their name and a line about why you think they'd be a good fit. If this sounds like your kind of project, we'd love to hear from you directly.

There's no formal application — just reach out to Field School Director Carolyn or book a call.

Interested in a full-time role? We are also hiring faculty.

A woman and three children sitting on a wooden floor, working on a large wooden boat-shaped craft with small labeled pieces. They are indoors, near a sliding door, with a couch and box nearby.
A young boy with curly blonde hair reading a colorful picture book at a window.
Group of children hiking along a narrow trail between stone walls under bright sunlight with trees and a blue sky.
Ancient Egyptian stone monument with hieroglyphic inscriptions, displayed on a white wall in a museum.
Black chalkboard with handwritten list of three statements for Tuesday, August 26, and a drawing of a boat, cloud, and mountains. The list says: 1. I was in an elevator accident. 2. I won an award for acting. 3. I went skydiving.