The Augustine Academy

My husband and I discovered The Augustine Academy about 5 years ago when we realized our local school did not offer half-day kindergarten and full day every day school did not seem like a good fit for our youngest. I was always interested in homeschooling and knew that 5 full days of homeschooling was not for us. When we heard that The Augustine Academy was offering a combination of in-school and homeschool learning, we were intrigued. After attending an open house, watching many of the Ambleside School videos online, and thinking about what was best for our family, we decided to enroll our children. The main things that drew us to the school were: The school’s philosophy that if the learning topics and materials were engaging that the students would be motivated by learning itself without needing an outside reward system. We appreciated the intentional method of teaching children to focus on the delight and enjoyment of their beautiful work. We have noticed our children are more engaged in the work for the work’s sake and less in seeking praise around it. We also appreciated that the curriculum was meaningful and significant, that the songs and memorizations were of lasting value, and we liked that our kids worked hard at school and yet, because of no homework, we had more family/community time in the evenings. The last unexpected bonus of joining TAA was the amazing, supportive community of families we have met and been able to do life with.

I’ve seen our child and family thrive at The Augustine Academy. This school feels like home to us in so many ways, from knowing teachers personally to meeting families through intentional community-building events. It’s also amazing to witness my child interact with rich content, some of which I am learning right alongside him! The school gives us an abundant amount of support for our home assignments as well! Last year, my third-grader learned ancient Mediterranean history, read Black Beauty, recited poems by T.S. Eliot, drew replicas of Georgia O’Keefe paintings and created a nativity out of beeswax. It’s a gift to see him excited to learn while engaging with great ideas from different disciplines. The Augustine Academy excels at making this kind of expansive educational experience doable for children and families!

TAA is the perfect school for our family! The unique model - homeschooling two days a week and attending on campus three days a week - is the perfect blend, allowing me to be really involved in my children's education without being completely responsible for it on my own. The community is wonderful! TAA is full of parents and families who love the Lord and who want to disciple their children, bringing them up to know and love Christ. The students are really good kids - kind, inclusive, outgoing, fun, innocent, happy children fill the school. The teachers and staff have become like family to us, they care so deeply for the students at TAA. The curriculum at TAA is beautiful - full of living books and rich ideas, nature study and handwork, music and art. If you're looking for an affordable, joyful, beautiful school for your kids, look no further!

Driving to the Open House at TAA as a prospective family, my husband and I were really hoping to be unimpressed. I remember talking with him negatively about how far of a drive it would be for us every day (~35-40 minutes each way, twice a day). We talked about how important it was to us that the school was Christian, but how we would still need to sign our son up for classes at our church to receive the Catholic sacraments. We also talked about how ready we were to start our homeschool journey, to spend all our time with our children, and to not be tied to any sort of school calendar. We thought we had everything planned, but yet, there we were, pulling into the parking lot on what we thought was a very off chance that our minds would be changed.

We left the Open House that night knowing without a doubt that TAA was in our future. It is so boldly different than its public and private contemporaries in many important ways. We were already well-versed in the philosophy of education of the school, but at the Open House and classroom visits, we got a glimpse of how this philosophy is carried out:

The children are gently trained in habits that will serve them for life: attention, obedience, respect, truthfulness, self-control, to name a few. They spend time in nature and with rich literature, and not with technology. They learn to work with their hands and to do detailed and thorough work. They learn to work side-by-side with their peers, and how to delight in this work. They are not tested on facts, or asked to do poster projects or dioramas to synthesize information. Rather, they are assessed by how much they can tell back about what they've learned, and they share it eagerly with their teachers. Each teacher has the attitude of "It's good to be me, here with you," and the atmosphere of joy in the school is palpable. What's more, the school meets 3 days a week and the other 2 days are spent at home, with parents as co-teachers implementing lesson plans provided by the faculty at TAA. Needless to say, we were thrilled about everything we saw.

Now, having had our son in school at TAA for a semester, I can truthfully say that it just keeps getting better. We have been able to witness how the school comes together as a community to pray and to support one another. We have been able to attend field trips that have exposed the children to art and culture. We have seen how meaningful the activities are that are stacked and packed into each day.

Students are encouraged to lean into their struggles, and the teachers really come alongside the students to show them how capable they are of perseverance. Everyone brings fresh perspectives to the table, and challenging viewpoints are welcome not only amongst students, but also parents and faculty members. Honestly, I could go on and on and on. Completely worth the drive, and the extra sacrament classes, and the expensive spring break plane tickets as opposed to traveling whenever we wanted had we gone the homeschool route.

If you take one thing from this review at all, it should be this:

Even if you think you have everything planned out, GO TO THE OPEN HOUSE. Visit the classrooms. I can't tell you how glad we are that we did.

This school is a breath of fresh air. After years spent in the public school system both as an educator and as a parent, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the overwhelming amount of changes and expectations being thrown at teachers and students each year that were often contradictory to what the research was telling us helped children learn and become well-rounded members of society. In my previous school experiences, teachers were overwhelmed, students were frustrated, and parents felt completely out of touch. The Augustine Academy address all of these things in spades, allowing for a curriculum which gets back to time-tested methods of teaching instead of constant attempts to try the newest fad, teachers who light up when they see their students and exude joy instead of teachers who can barely survive their days, and parents who are actively involved in this beautiful model that allows home lessons twice a week. Our son is thriving here and we look forward to the bright future his education here will give him.

This is our daughter's first year at the Augustine Academy and the school has far exceeded our expectations. It definitely has a unique model and my husband and I were skeptical at first, but after attending an open house and learning more about the school we decided to enroll her. Our daughter's progress and her love of learning has been incredible and we have so enjoyed being such a big part of her education and being a part of a loving and tight knit community.

Our family was looking for a school where you and your child are part of a community. Where opportunities to be involved with your children and the curriculum are welcomed. As we finish our first year, we are amazed at what our children have accomplished!