Hope
Academy

New website: www.hopeacademymadison.com

"Where Outside the Box Learners Get Wings to Soar"

Alternative private school enrolling 6^th - 12^th "grades"

(3^rd - 5^th grade waiting list)

Registration Form

Jump to: Distinctives | Curriculum Overview | Tuition payment plans | Staff Background | Schedule | Location

Distinctives

• multi-age small group classes where each student is expected to grow, starting from wherever they are at currently, towards their fullest potential
• curriculum tailored to meet individual needs and diverse learning styles with remedial and enrichment opportunities
• rich and varied curriculum is presented at a level, pacing, and with the necessary support to allow success for “outside the box learners”
• emphasis is on life-prep, whether or not that includes college; this includes respectful communication skills, critical thinking, real-world applications, self-awareness, personal finance, public speaking, career explorations, values and character education
• academics are a part of a whole-person approach
• ability to express understanding of material, effort, and participation are emphasized over grades and tests, although study skills, including test-taking, are explicitly taught

Curriculum Overview

• History-based, integrated liberal studies core
  • Includes world and US history and geography, government, philosophy, economics, art, music, literature, and writing. We do a 4-year cycle through history; we will be studying roughly 500-1500 AD during the 2009-2010 school year. Government is taught both as a separate course as well as integrated throughout history studies.
• Science
  • 2-4 year cycle through Earth Science, Life Sciences, Physical Science or Chemistry and Physics. During the 2009-2010 school year we will be studying Physical Science. This class is open to homeschoolers as well.
• Language Arts
  • partially integrated with the integrated liberal studies core
  • supplemented with individual and small group work on spelling, vocabulary, grammar, writing, Latin and Greek word-parts, reading strategies, fluency, and comprehension skills
  • literature - Newbery award winners, classics (and easy reading versions of classics), historical fiction, biographies, and self-selected titles emphasized
• Math
  • Students move at their own individual level and pace through one of six programs chosen with that student’s needs in mind.
• Keyboarding - Students move through one of four computer-based typing programs at their own pace.
• Art - some years we are able to offer a once a week art class
• Spanish
  • Tell Me More computer-based interactive immersion approach supplemented with adult support for Spanish. If there is strong interest in another language that may be able to be arranged.
• Critical Thinking/ Current Events/ Study Skills/ Personal Finance/ Health/ School-to-Career/ Public Speaking
  • These are supplemental classes for high schoolers on a rotating/ as needed basis.
• NILD educational therapy and other remedial techniques are incorporated where appropriate to strengthen visual, auditory perceptual, processing, and memory skills; one-to-one NILD therapy and tutoring available before and after school and during the school day on a limited basis for an additional fee
• Concurrent MATC enrollment
  • High school seniors (and occasionally juniors) are encouraged to take one or two courses enrolled concurrently at MATC with our support to help with the transition to post-high school education.

Tuition payment plans

Amounts reflect 2009-2010 base tuition for one child—base annual tuition is $7844 with 2-3% discounts available depending on which payment plan you choose. A discount is available for multiple students in a family enrolled. Payment is requested in the form of a check made out to Hope Academy (cash is also accepted).

If additional one-to-one tutoring is needed this can be arranged for an additional fee, payable directly to the tutor. If assessments indicate that your child needs one-to-one tutoring this may be required to adequately meet your child's unique needs. Additional fees may also apply if your child needs extra supervision or significant amounts of one-to-one processing time with adults.

• One time $50 registration fee due with enrollment application (refunded only if Hope Academy is not able to enroll the student)
• $150 assessment fee—Assessment will allow us to properly place your student in appropriately individualized curriculum and help us to be more sure that we will have the ability to meet your student’s needs. About 3-5 hours will need to be scheduled prior to starting classes for individualized assessments.
• Partial scholarships are available in cases of financial need. A portion of that scholarship may be offered as a work option if the parents or an older student themselves have the hours and skills we need in the school or store. Available scholarship and work hours are limited and distributed among those requesting financial assistance on an ability to meet our needs basis, paired with an attempt at an equitable distribution based on level of need. Applying for financial aid is separate from your acceptance into Hope Academy and will not influence your acceptance.

Staff Background

Beth Ellen Nash is the director and lead teacher. She is a certified teacher with a degree in Elementary Education (grades 1-9) from UW-Madison. Additionally, she has taken graduate course work in the Orton-Gillingham and the Davis dyslexia remediation programs, as well as National Institute of Learning Disabilities, earth and space science, and geography education. She has taught at Wingra School (7^th & 8^th grades) and substitute taught K-12 in the Oregon and Verona school districts. Beth Ellen's passion for struggling learners developed as she tutored over 35 individuals in the past 12 years.

Several other adults may also work with the students who are volunteers or hired part time at the discretion of the director. In the past, these adults have included a teacher with 30 years teaching experience and specialized training in learning disabilities, a parent who serving as a teacher's assistant, a friend with artistic skills, a scientist pursuing her master’s in special education, a parent who was a former public school teacher, a parent who is a college professor, and a parent with language fluency. We also believe in mentoring young adults considering teaching through an assistant role. A willingness to work with the whole-person, life-prep, student-centered philosophy of the school is more important to us than formal licensure for these part-time staff.

Schedule

• School day runs from 9-4
  • Students are welcome to be at school between the hours of 8:40-4:20 without prior arrangement with minimal supervision outside of school hours. Extended hours until 6 pm are possible. Earlier drop-off may be available for an additional fee to cover additional staffing hours.
• core school year Sept 1-Memorial Day
• Summer Program
  • Mon, Tues, Wed 13-14 days during June to offset frequent 3-5 day weekends and our earlier end to the core year. This is equivalent to the last 3 weeks of our school year.
  • The summer program is an expected part of our school year schedule, as students lose too much if they don’t keep learning through the summer.
  • Students may be able to do additional work to catch up on missed credits during the summer and throughout the school year, if appropriate, for an additional fee.
  • Some flexibility around family travel needs

1310 Mendota Street Suite 118
Madison, WI 53714
(just off East Washington Ave, about 1 mile from East Towne Mall)

(608) 327-8150
info@wingstosoar.org
www.wingstosoar.org

Hope Academy works in partnership with Cornerstone Learning Connections, a family-owned educational store featuring homeschool materials, teacher resources, hundreds of games, educational CD-ROMs, quality fiction and non-fiction books, and a strong early childhood section.