Frequently Asked Questions

​Parents assume the role of “co-teacher.” The on-campus teacher introduces new concepts in class, and prepares detailed lesson plans and a checklist for each subject that parents use at home with their student. As students begin to work more independently in upper elementary school and beyond, parents transition to the role of guide, and then course monitor during the high school years. We do not expect parents to master and teach the more advanced material in the upper grades. Parent involvement progresses as follows:

• Pre-K – 5th grade: Private Tutor (parent will teach lessons at home given by classroom teacher)
• 6th-8th grade: Guide
• 9th-12th grade: Course Mentor

The amount of time spent on lessons at home depends on many factors, including family size, your student’s age and maturity, learning style and speed, and family dynamics. For the two days at-home course load, we provide the following as a rough estimate. The third day is a lighter academic day through 4th grade. The majority of our families in k-4th pull the Friday work into Thursday’s home day and therefore have a 4-day school week. (PreK home day work is optional).

• Pre-Kindergarten: about 1/2 hour to 1 hour per at-home day
• Kindergarten: 1.5 to 3.0 hours per at-home day
• 1st Grade: 2.5 to 4.0 hours per at-home day
• 2nd Grade: 3.0 to 4.5 hours per at-home day
• 3rd Grade: 3.5 to to 5.0 hours per at-home day
• 4th Grade: 4.0 to 5.0 hours per at-home day
• 5th-6th Grade: 4.0 to 6.0 hours per at-home day
• 7th-8th Grade: 5.0-6.0 hours per at-home day
• 9th-12th Grade: 6.0-8.0 hours per at-home day

​Lessons can be staggered so that the parent can teach one child while another is working independently. As students get older they are able to work on more portions of their lessons independently which allows the parent to work with other children. By third or fourth grade, portions of assignments can be completed without the parent needing to be directly involved. This allows flexibility for working with multiple children. Beginning in the logic school (6th grade) students will begin to transition to taking full responsibility for their assignments. However, parents will still need to provide oversight, guidance and help according to their student’s needs.

By the time students reach 7th-9th grade, there is no at-home teaching by the parent. (Math in 7th grade can be an exception to this depending on math class placement). By Rhetoric school (10th-12th), our expectation is that students will handle their own assignments while referencing syllabi, similar to what they will experience at a college campus. Parents are not teaching any home lessons. It is our expectation that parents will provide a facilitating role in high school- providing oversight, making sure assignments are complete, and general study skills help as needed.

Class sizes vary by grade. Classes typically range from 16-18, depending on the grade level and make-up of the class. Lower school classes have academic aids to assist in the classroom. Once a class fills, additional students will be placed into a waiting pool for admission. Admissions out of the waiting pool is determined by school administration through a holistic admissions process, including factors such as enabling sibling attendance and a family’s long-term commitment to the school.

​Books are purchased separately by each family. A detailed book list with an ISBN code for each book will be provided upon acceptance to the Academy. Some books and resources are purchased once and then used for several years and with additional siblings. Parents may purchase the books locally, online, new, used, from other parents, or in any combination they wish. We have a private school Facebook group of Academy families where parents can buy and swap their used curriculum and uniforms from year to year. Depending on these factors, the cost of books can range between $300 and $400 per student, per year, depending on grade level. Students in 7th-12th grade have a flat book fee of $400. This enables all of our students to have the same editions.

Students from all academic backgrounds will benefit from the time-tested methods of the classical approach. Exposure to a classical education can enrich the student on many levels. Most students transition successfully to the classical approach in the upper grades.

Yes. Neat and professional attire helps to promote a learning environment where students are more focused on academics rather than status and clothing.  To read more about our uniform policy, click here. 

​There is no evening homework assigned on campus days. All material is covered between the on-campus school days and at-home school days, freeing the evening for families. However, families can complete their at-home school work at any time they wish. 

The Classical Academy is a private school, not a co-op. In a co-op, parents join together and utilize their gifts, talents, and abilities in the instruction of the children of that group. For example, if a family is part of a co-op and one of the parents of that group is particularly gifted in the subject of science, then that parent might teach science to other children in the group. These cooperatives can be wonderful educational venues for families, but The Classical Academy is not a co-op; it is a private school. We hire professional teachers and provide families many of the services they might expect from a traditional educational institution, such as high quality teaching, in-class projects, assignments, transcripts, lesson planning and other benefits parents would expect from a school.

Our families tend to be heavily involved in community, church and family activities throughout the week. Since students do not have evening homework this frees our families’ time in order to do many other things. We believe our approach is a “golden mean” for many families who wish to maintain primary influence over their child’s education but feel that they may lack sufficient time to homeschool to a high academic standard. By offloading much of the planning and teaching to professional teachers and staff, we save families time and money from having to “reinvent the wheel” to execute an academically rigorous, classical, Christian, education.