A place where parents help students complete
Posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
When her children were ready to start school, Debra Guthrie knew she had some good choices.
"The schools here are wonderful," she said, but they weren't exactly what she wanted. For two years she homeschooled her oldest son, but that wasn't exactly what he needed either. She knows that children need some of the social and extra-curriculum activities they get in school.
Guthrie's nieces and nephews went to a completely different type of school; she considered moving home to Dallas so her own children could go there. But when she met other parents looking for the same thing, she made a decision: Instead of moving, Guthrie helped start a brand new school, Providence Academy.
In four years the school has grown from 39 students to 159 and expanded to a second campus. Recently, a full-time head master, Jason Ross, was hired to lead the staff of 24 teachers.
Providence Academy uses the University Model, Ross explained. That means that parents have a very important role in their child's education. Research shows that parents are one of the most important factors for a successful student, he said.
Parents are actually co-teachers at Providence. Students work with them at home three days a week in the lower grades or two days in the upper grades. The lead teacher - the professional at the school - designs the curriculum and provides assignments that parents help their students complete.
New parents are paired with more experienced parents in a "Mentor Mom"program to help them learn to be an effective coteacher. Trainings will be available too and the lead teacher is as close as an e-mail.
Providence Academy is a private, Christian school so Bible classes are a part of the curriculum. In fact, the entire curriculum reflects a Christian worldview, Ross said. But it's a nondenominational program, with students coming from 30 different churches, Ross said.
All students take Latin beginning in kindergarten because Latin is the root of so many languages, he explained.
Subjects are taught according to the classic model with the early grades devoted to laying a foundation for knowledge. In kindergarten through fourth grade, students learn the "grammar"of not only language but also math and science. By fifth grade, students are ready to learn logic.
"We teach them how to think, not what to think," Ross said.
This year ninth grade is the highest grade at Providence, but the plan is to add a grade each year until the program stretches from kindergarten through 12 th grade. The high school years, ninth through 12 th are devoted to rhetoric, Ross said, so the students can learn to combine the grammar and logic they've learned and use it to express themselves.
In the early grades, teachers may use songs or chanting to help students memorize basic facts, but by fifth grade students are asking different types of questions, Ross said. The classic model simply follows typical child development.
Extra-curricular activities are being added all the time, Ross said. This year his students can choose cheerleading, golf, cross country, indoor soccer or they may participate in a basketball clinic. Soccer teams are coming.
There are also schoolwide Latin spelling bees and activities such as a recent ice cream social that involves the entire family.
Students come from all over to attend the academy, Ross said. One family travels from Missouri. Some of his students come from former homeschool families, but others are coming from both public and private schools.
Because school is in session only two or three days a week, Ross believes tuition at Providence is more affordable than many private schools. Transportation is easier as well, he said.
Costs are also kept down by renting space. Two different churches share their space with Providence. Both happen to be the same denomination; First Church of the Nazarene on
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online