Saint John Paul II Preparatory School is a hybrid education program. Our program includes a rigorous classical curriculum, character development, spiritual formation, and extracurricular activities. The hybrid model embraces the best aspects of traditional schools and the advantages of a homeschool. Professional teachers instruct students in their areas of expertise and provide assignments for both school and home. Students in grades K-12 are required to attend school each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; on Wednesday and Friday parents continue instruction and monitor their students’ progress at home. The family works together to facilitate a learning environment in the home to complete assignments on home days, and teachers guide and monitor the progress through the school’s classical curriculum in their own areas of expertise.
JPII is the ideal setting for families that desire flexibility and parental involvement with a focus on rigorous academics and strong Catholic faith formation. Our educational approach develops capable and independent students, strengthens family bonds, and lowers costs for private Catholic high school education.
This program is built to allow greater individualization of the educational experience within the framework of both a family environment and a professional atmosphere, with reliable and authentic religious formation permeating each setting.
Our dual emphasis on the family and the school supports the natural role of parents and the educational needs of students. For parents to succeed in their all-important task of discipleship, it is essential for families to experience meaningful time together. JPII gives time and access back to parents in exchange for trust in and commitment to the program of the school. Such involvement, when lovingly and joyfully administered, leads to success for the entire community in teaching the highest virtues of faith, hope, and love. A committed partnership between parents and teachers is imperative for making home and school integration possible, practical, and successful.
Sixth grade is an exciting transition year in which students are learning to take more responsibility for maintaining assignment notebooks and keeping books and materials organized and tidy. Students are expected to write their assignments in their assignment notebooks daily. Students need help and encouragement with these tasks. Teachers and parents help to train and assist in this process. Parental patience and assistance is necessary as these tasks are difficult for many middle school students to master.
Parents should plan to still be heavily involved in their student’s schoolwork. The goal is to gradually guide the student to take over responsibility in their educational endeavors. Parents can be of greatest help by assisting the student in maintaining a dedicated workspace at-home which contains all supplies needed and by working with their student to develop a consistent work schedule for at-home days.
Some students work very quickly, others at a more leisurely pace. The amount of time spent on homework varies greatly at this age. Your student’s completion time is helpful information to share with teachers if your student is struggling to complete work in a timely manner. Communication between teachers, students and parents is essential. As a back up to students recording their assignments in an assignment notebook, teachers will communicate assignments through Gmail, and many teachers post all assignments on Google Classroom. Parents and teachers should strive to be in close contact when either sees a difficulty experienced by the student – whether in organizational skills or academic challenges. Co-teachers should work together to establish a course of action for improvement so that each is aware of the plan being implemented. Parents will have less of a role in instruction from this point on but must be there to support their student in all other areas, including overseeing the completion of assignments.
Students in the 7th–8th grades begin to assume more independence from the co-teacher in the completion of assignments. Parents should ensure that their students are writing down their assignments every day and should maintain close oversight of their students’ progress in each class.
Parents should remind students to check GradeLink and Gmail, help structure the time and a place for completing the assignments, offer assistance as needed, and verify that each assignment is completed. Parents should understand assignments sent through Gmail do not contain detailed instructions for the co-teacher, since students are expected to learn how to receive verbal instructions and record those through notes. Parents may contact teachers to verify instructions; however, they should reinforce with students the expectation for this skill to be developed and encourage the student to take on the responsibility of contacting the teacher. Parents may spot-check work to check for understanding the practiced concept but should not “pre-grade” assignments. Teachers use this opportunity for independent practice as an indicator of whether or not there is a need for reteaching the concept.
At the secondary level, the parental role will evolve from “co-teacher” to “guide for independent study” as the student matures. We encourage parents to be involved in reading the works and discussing current course subjects which their high school student, and parents should help their students become capable of working productively during regular business hours.
Students in the 9th–10th grades still require parental supervision in order to help them develop disciplined study habits and personal responsibility for the completion of assignments in a timely manner. Parents supervise student work, monitor student assignments through Google Classroom and GradeLink. In addition, parents are encouraged to read student class materials and engage in conversation about class content.
Parents should provide opportunity for independence based on the maturity and success of their students. If students have problems completing work on time or understanding the subject matter, it is the parents’ responsibility to enforce stricter accountability and provide the extra help that is needed, with an outside tutor if necessary. Parents are responsible for monitoring student grades as a reflection of the students’ learning and participation in each course. JPII encourages parents to provide incentives and/or consequences if grades are not acceptable.
Students in 11th–12th grade study independently, as required in post-secondary education programs. However, parents should be available to assist as needed with organization, accountability, and spiritual guidance. Parents should review Gmail and Gradelink often enough to monitor major assignments and ensure that the student is investing the time necessary for completing these assignments.
In some courses, the student may need a tutor to help with home assignments. As with younger grades, it is crucial that parents continue to ensure that students maintain a “satellite classroom” environment on at-home days and encourage students to do their work during regular school hours.