Private school administrators and teachers know how difficult it has become to offer students a sound and truly Catholic education. Many see the same problems—rising costs, overworked faculty, and shallow, modern curricula—but do not see how to fix them.
In my articles “How to Fix Catholic Education — Part I: The Model” and “How to Fix Catholic Education — Part II: The Curriculum,” I explained that these problems come from two sources:
The modern school model, which is designed for administration, not formation.
The modern curriculum, which has replaced the classical liberal arts with a fragmented system of modern subjects.
The Classical Liberal Arts Academy (CLAA) provides a way for private schools to correct both of these problems immediately. Through the Academy’s new Private School Enrollment Program, schools can enroll students for $100 per year, giving them access to all CLAA courses. Teachers may be added as group supervisors to guide student work within the Academy’s online system.
Schools may begin enrollment at:
https://classicalliberalarts.com/catalog/special-offers/private-schools/private-school-student-enrollment/
In Part I: The Model, I explained that modern Catholic and private schools have adopted the industrial model of schooling. Teachers are forced to manage large groups of students through a fixed daily schedule, constant grading, and endless paperwork. The model is built to maintain order and meet institutional requirements, not to lead students to wisdom.
This system prevents teachers from doing what they are meant to do: to teach, to guide, and to form the intellects and wills of their students. Administrators must act as managers, and parents become spectators in their children’s education.
The Classical Liberal Arts Academy allows schools to escape this model without losing community life. By using the Academy’s online system for academic instruction, teachers are freed from grading and recordkeeping. They can spend their time on real teaching—explaining lessons, hearing recitations, and guiding moral and spiritual formation. The administrative burdens of the industrial model are removed, and the life of the mind returns to the classroom.
In Part II: The Curriculum, I explained that even when Catholic schools speak of “classical education,” they usually teach modern subjects arranged under ancient titles. Latin and literature alone do not make an education classical. The true classical curriculum of the Church is the seven liberal arts, joined with Philosophy and Sacred Theology.
For more than a thousand years, the saints and scholars of Christian civilization were trained through this ordered course of studies. It begins with the arts that perfect language and reason—Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric—and continues through the arts that perfect number and proportion—Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy. These prepare the mind for the contemplation of truth in Philosophy and Theology.
This curriculum has disappeared from nearly every modern school, replaced by a patchwork of “subjects” with no logical order or philosophical purpose. The Classical Liberal Arts Academy has restored the entire Catholic curriculum in its original form and makes it available for use by any private school today.
Every CLAA course is drawn from the original Catholic and classical sources: the writings of Aristotle, Boethius, Augustine, Aquinas, and the other Doctors of the Church. Each lesson is ordered, explained, and assessed in a way that allows students to make real intellectual progress.
By enrolling students in the CLAA, private schools no longer need to assemble a curriculum from modern textbooks. The courses are already complete, faithful to Catholic teaching, and proven in use. The school provides the living community—teachers, discipline, and prayer—while the Academy provides the complete academic program.
The entire Classical Liberal Arts curriculum can be made available to students for $100 per student per year. There are no extra fees per course or per subject. This makes it possible for small schools, parish programs, and new institutions to provide students with a full Catholic education without increasing tuition or hiring additional faculty.
Each student’s enrollment grants access to all courses for one year. Teachers may be added as supervisors at no additional cost, giving them the ability to monitor student activity and progress. Everything needed for study—lessons, quizzes, and grading—is provided within the Academy’s system.
Rather than forcing teachers to manage paperwork and create materials, the CLAA allows them to act as supervisors and mentors. Within the Academy’s online platform, they can review student work, see grades, and track progress. This restores the proper relationship between teacher and student. The teacher once again becomes a guide to wisdom, not a classroom clerk.
Teachers can use class time for explanation, discussion, and recitation—activities that develop the intellect and prepare students for mastery. The system handles the mechanical work so teachers can focus on what is human and spiritual.
Schools can begin using the CLAA in the way that best fits their situation. Some may wish to use the Academy for all subjects, making it their complete academic program. Others may introduce one or two subjects at first—perhaps Logic, Latin, or Philosophy—while keeping other courses in-house.
Because the program is online, it integrates smoothly with any school schedule. Students may complete lessons in a computer lab, in the classroom, or at home under teacher supervision. The flexibility of the system allows each school to move at its own pace.
Every CLAA course is faithful to the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. The program draws directly from the sources that have guided Catholic education for centuries: Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of the Doctors and Fathers. The aim of every course is not merely the acquisition of information but the formation of the intellect in the truth.
By working with the Academy, schools can be confident that the intellectual life of their students will be guided by Catholic principles and free from the modern errors that dominate most educational materials today.
When the modern model is replaced by the classical model, and the modern curriculum is replaced by the Catholic liberal arts, education changes completely. Teachers regain their dignity and peace. Students study for the sake of wisdom, not for grades or college admissions. The school becomes a community of study ordered toward God, rather than an institution of management ordered toward efficiency.
Through the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, private schools can make this change now. There is no need for years of curriculum development, new textbooks, or expensive programs. The Academy’s curriculum is complete and ready for use. The technology is in place. The cost is minimal.
The crisis in Catholic education cannot be solved by modern marketing or by new slogans. It can only be solved by returning to what Catholic education once was: the pursuit of wisdom through the liberal arts in the light of faith.
The Classical Liberal Arts Academy provides private schools with everything needed to make that return possible—immediately and affordably. By enrolling their students in the CLAA, schools restore the model, restore the curriculum, and restore the purpose of Catholic education itself.
Private schools may enroll students for $100 per student per year, gaining access to all Academy courses. Teachers may be registered as group supervisors to oversee student work and guide progress.
Enrollment is available at:
https://classicalliberalarts.com/catalog/special-offers/private-schools/private-school-student-enrollment/
For questions or assistance, schools may contact the Academy through the same page.
Private schools do not need to continue struggling with modern problems. The model and curriculum of Catholic education have already been restored and made ready for use. For only $100 per student per year, any school can join in that restoration.
Through this partnership, schools can improve quality, reduce costs, and renew the intellectual and spiritual life of their students. The Classical Liberal Arts Academy offers not a new idea, but the recovery of what Catholic education was always meant to be.
If you’d like to discuss how your private school can make use of our resources, please contact me any time.