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pmeilaen
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Has anybody used Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy for high school? If you have, what can you tell me about your experiences?
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Eva
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Jennifer Evans
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We use St. Thomas Academy for K -8 and also for highschool. My oldest is in 10th grade. I have been very pleased with the curriculum choices and the I really like how they use the assessment test to place each child in the proper course for their level.
I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have.
Jennifer
Mom to 5- 3dd,9dd,12ds,14dd and 15ds
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pmeilaen
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Hello Jennifer,
I would love to know how it compares to MODG, in case you are famliar with that. Also, how do you put together a curriculum for your student? I looked at their basic high school book list, but also saw that they have substitutions available for many subjects. Did you just go ahead with the basic list? They also talk about learning style evaluation. Did you take the results of that into consideration when choosing books? How much work do you send in to the school? If your children are college bound, how well do you think they are prepared for that? What do their lesson plans look like? I didn't see any samples. Are some of the Roman/Greek history readings too advanced for any of your children?
Maybe those are enough questions for now  . Thanks for offering help.
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Jennifer Evans
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I have only used MODG for 4th and under. I have a good friend that uses MODG for highschool. I think the main difference may be that STAA tailors the curriculum to the child with the assessment that is given at the beginning of the year. The advisor works with me at the beginning of every school year to make a plan. She suggests books and also works with any outside classes we may have. We have followed their book list for the most part. We have substituted our favorite math program for my oldest. The program definitely will prepare the student for college. The assessment shows the areas where the child may need more help. I feel that they don't just move the child on until they have mastery level learning.
For highschool if you want to have a transcript from the school you have to have a sample from each subject each quarter. We mail this in two times a year at the end of each semester.
Lesson plans are sent after all courses are decided. It shows the child what needs to be done each week. We find the plans immensely helpful for independence.
As far as the reading level of the books, they usually give many choices and works that can be substituted. We have done this with some of the books suggested for the religion course.
Great questions!! If you have any more please ask.
Jennifer
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pmeilaen
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Thanks so much, Jennifer! Could you tell me more about the lesson plans? Are they written to the student or to the parent? Are they daily, weekly, or monthly lesson plans? Are there any tests/quizzes included? What are typical assignments like? How much writing does a student have to do? What is the average paper length for early high school? Can you add your own courses to what they offer and have them added to your transcripts? Lots of questions, as you can see.
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Jennifer Evans
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After the courses are chosen a packet comes with an explanation of each course in detail. This tells what each course is worth as far as high school credits earned for completion. It also gives an explanation of how to implement the course. These are written to the parent and student.
The lesson plans for highschool are laid out in a weekly format. The lesson plans break each course/book in to a weekly plan. Their lesson plans are for a 9 week quarter with the 9th week for catch up and review. Some books have tests and quizzes included. The assignments vary, from reading a chapter to doing an assignment in a workbook. It does seem that MODG incorporates more writing into seperate subjects where STAA has a seperate writing course. This has worked well for us because teaching writing does not come naturally to me. It seems like there is enough writing. My oldest started out not being fond of writing at the beginning of highschool. It is still not his favorite subject but he has the tools to write a very good paper with out to much pain. :) There are a variety of writing assignments. The course my son used for writing for 9th grade seemed to focus on quality not quantity. For 9th grade book review papers were supposed to be 750 or more words. We had my son work up to that gradually. The school emphasizes flexibility and my advisor always reminds me that we know our children best and that this is our school. We have made adjustments as needed. The staff is very helpful and I can call with questions as needed. You can add courses as long as you communicate to them what the course is.
Hope this helps!
Jennifer
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Kristie 4
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Sounds very good Jennifer.
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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Jennifer Evans
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I also wanted to mention that their staff is very friendly and helped me a lot before we even enrolled. I am sure they would love to help with any questions too.
Jennifer
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pmeilaen
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One more question about their history cycles. Do you start with Greek history, or with American history, or can you choose? I found that a bit confusing on their website.
Thanks again for your great and detailed answers, Jennifer.
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Jennifer Evans
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My son started with American History in 9th. I think that you could choose what you wanted to start with although I am not absolutely positive about that. We have followed their suggestions for history thus far.
Jennifer
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pmeilaen
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Thanks for all your help, Jennifer. 
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Eva
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: Saint Thomas Aquinas Academy
