Unique Models
Our services are offered through unique structural models. Our elementary school (K-6) is still basically traditional, in that we offer roughly 30 hours of instruction/supervision per week. Our combined classes are conducted, for the most part, in self-contained classrooms. However, Believers Academy is unique in that it employs a staggered block schedule, with a course-by-course registration option, in the elementary division. This means that our courses, such as English / Language Arts or Science, are offered at a set time each week for a regular number of hours on either a Monday/Wednesday/Friday or a Tuesday/Thursday format. Most of our English / Language Arts classes, for example, are offered for 2½ hours at the same time each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while our Spanish classes are offered for 1 hour at the same time each Tuesday and Thursday. Students are able to attend the school full-time, if that is their parents desire, but parents are also able to register—and pay for—only those courses they want their children to take. The beauty of this approach is that it returns more control to parents, where it belongs. They can decide whether they wish to use the full program or only take specific classes. They can control costs by deciding whether to sign up for a 35 hour week of school or for only those courses they feel their child needs. And, most importantly, the PARENTS can decide how much time they want their child to spend at school; it is quite possible, for example, for a part-time student to attend classes only two or three days a week. The point is that the Lord has given PARENTS comprehensive responsibility for their children’s education (Deut. 6, Eph. 6), and the use of a staggered block on the elementary level gives them more flexibility in fulfilling that responsibility.
The Secondary Model
The model we are using at the secondary level could also be viewed as traditional, but traditional for post-secondary educational institutions; even though it has been around now for little over a decade, the University-Model School® is an innovative educational idea that provides students with high quality academic instruction at a price families can afford, creates more opportunities for parents to spend time with—and influence the spiritual and personal growth of—their children, and helps cultivate the character qualities and study skills that help students be successful in university-level studies. Although it is rather new (at least for secondary schools), the model is not difficult to understand. In essence, the name says it all: a University-Model School® is much like a university, but on a secondary level, where students will typically attend classes on the central campus (what we traditionally think of as the school) for three days a week (MWF) and study in the “satellite classroom” (otherwise known as the kitchen table or home office) under parental supervision on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and, if necessary, Saturdays. The professional educator—the classroom teacher—plans the course, provides regular instruction, and tracks student progress, just like a professor in a college-level course. One of the chief goals of a University-Model School® is to help students grow as independent learners so that by the time they are juniors or seniors in high school, they are able to complete substantial academic assignments regularly and responsibly, just like they are going to have to do once they are in college. An even more important goal, however, is to provide parents with more opportunities to spend time with and shape the worldview and character of their own children. As Dr. John Turner puts it,
The immediate goal (of a University-Model School®) is quality, cost-effective, college-preparatory education accomplished in a way that gives parents more time for imparting the faith and values they hold precious. The ultimate goal is that of producing wholesome, competent men and women of character who make a positive difference in the next generation. (From a NAUMS promotional brochure)
Believers Academy is on its way to becoming San Antonio’s first University-Model® secondary school. We encourage every family to consider this exciting new approach to secondary education.