It Started With a Question: Academics or Character?

Published by the Federal Reserve: Lafayette Students Explain the Invisible Hand Behind a Hit Song

What does a popular song have to do with economics? In this episode, Katy sits down with four Lafayette Academy students whose economics project was selected for publication by the Federal Reserve's Journal of Future Economists. Inspired by the classic essay I, Pencil, the students set out to answer an intriguing question: What does it actually take to bring a song to life? What they discovered was far more than a story about music. From songwriters and recording studios to instrument makers, streaming platforms, marketers, and countless others working behind the scenes, every song depends on an extraordinary network of people contributing their unique skills and talents. Together, they reveal a powerful economic principle often called the "invisible hand", the idea that people pursuing their own work and interests can create something valuable that benefits millions. Along the way, the students discuss their research process, what surprised them most, and why understanding economics is really about understanding human cooperation. For more information about Lafayette Academy, A Classical School please visit https://lafayetteacademy.org/ For Referenced Resources from the LadyK Podcast Click Here for Download [https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1bTzrVhqWoCcYmW7LLBipzfP7wacRrjwI]

What Great Relationships Teach Us: A Senior Thesis Conversation

In this special episode, Head of School, Katy McKinney, sits down with one of Lafayette Academy’s students, Ellie Schweizer, who just completed her senior thesis exploring virtue, friendship, and the “good life” through the philosophy of Aristotle and the novels of Jane Austen. The senior thesis is a capstone that reflects years of reading deeply, writing with care, and learning to think with clarity. Through works such as Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice, this conversation explores how relationships shape human character—for better or worse—and why virtuous friendships are essential to human flourishing. This conversation offers a rare look at what a student is capable of before graduation, when both intellect and character are taken seriously. If you have ever wondered what the end result of a classical education can be, this episode gives you a clear and compelling picture. At Lafayette Academy: A Classical Education, education is not only about knowledge, but about the formation of character and the cultivation of virtue. The senior thesis is one expression of that formation. It reveals a student’s ability to engage meaningful ideas, speak with confidence, and pursue truth with humility.  In the end, education is not merely the transfer of information; it is the formation of the whole person.  📚 Featured Works Mentioned * Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle * Emma * Sense and Sensibility * Pride and Prejudice For more information about Lafayette Academy, A Classical School please visit https://lafayetteacademy.org/ For Referenced Resources from the LadyK Podcast Click Here for Download [https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1bTzrVhqWoCcYmW7LLBipzfP7wacRrjwI]

Lafayette’s Approach to History: Forming the Moral Imagination and Future Citizens

In this episode of the Lady K Podcast, Katy McKinney pulls back the curtain on how Lafayette Academy: A Classical School teaches history, and why it’s so much more than dates, battles, and tests. From kindergarten stories about George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette to tales of pioneers, Almanzo Wilder, and Benjamin Franklin, we explore how history is intentionally used to build moral imagination, shape character, and form future citizens who can sustain our Republic. Discover why we teach restraint through Washington’s refusal of kingship, patience and self-control through Farmer Boy, courage and justice through real historical dilemmas, and the dangers of resentment through Benedict Arnold. At Lafayette Academy, history isn’t just content, it’s formation. If you want your children to love what is good, recognize evil, and develop the virtues needed to be thoughtful participants in a free society, this episode reveals the deeper purpose behind our approach. Join Katy as she explains how we’re not just educating students, we’re forming citizens. For more information about Lafayette Academy, A Classical School please visit https://lafayetteacademy.org/ For Referenced Resources from the LadyK Podcast Click Here for Download [https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1bTzrVhqWoCcYmW7LLBipzfP7wacRrjwI]

Forming Future Citizens An American Education Worth Preserving with Guest Dr. Khalid Khan

In a free nation, education is never neutral, it is always forming something. In this episode, Dr. Khalid Khan explores what it really means to educate a child for citizenship, not just academics. Through examples like the restraint of George Washington and the life of Benjamin Franklin, we consider how what children learn shapes the kind of people they become. At the center of this conversation is a simple but often misunderstood idea: you can’t teach a child to think without first giving them something to think about. Knowledge is the fuel for thinking, and without it, true understanding never takes root. You’ll hear how Lafayette Academy builds that foundation through rich historical study across each grade level, meaningful stories, and books like Why Not, Lafayette? that help form what we call moral imagination, a child’s ability to recognize virtue, responsibility, and truth. We also discuss why the school delays screens and technology in the early years, not to resist the modern world, but to protect attention, cultivate focus, and create real pathways for deep thinking. This isn’t about producing better students. It’s about forming future citizens. Not just what is my child learning,  but who is my child becoming? For more information about Lafayette Academy, A Classical School please visit https://lafayetteacademy.org/ For Referenced Resources from the LadyK Podcast Click Here for Download [https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1bTzrVhqWoCcYmW7LLBipzfP7wacRrjwI]

It Started With a Question: Academics or Character?

Why would someone start a school from scratch? In this episode of the LadyK Podcast, Katy McKinney shares the real story behind founding Lafayette Academy: A Classical School, in Lake Saint Louis, Missouri. It wasn’t a business plan or a strategic move. It was a conviction. After years of teaching, homeschooling, and searching for the right environment for her own children, Katy kept running into the same problem: schools that offered strong academics often lacked character formation, and schools focused on character often fell short academically. So she asked a simple question: Why can’t a school do both well? This episode walks through the heart behind Lafayette Academy, the gap it was created to fill, and why classical education is resonating with so many families in St. Charles County and beyond. If you’re a parent exploring school options or curious about classical education, this episode will give you clarity on what makes it different—and why it matters. For more information about Lafayette Academy, A Classical School please visit https://lafayetteacademy.org/ For Referenced Resources from the LadyK Podcast Click Here for Download [https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1bTzrVhqWoCcYmW7LLBipzfP7wacRrjwI]