redsquirrel Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 I saw on another thread that a person looks at the books used by private schools to help her make decisions. How do I find this? I am interested in what private schools use, mostly secular. I have looked at the web sites of some prestigious academies but I cannot find any reference to specific books used. Any help or directions would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 http://www.graceschoolalex.org/curriculum.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 wow, I have NEVER seen that on a school site. I promise I know how to work the google, and it has eluded me. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) . Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Well, Breaking the Spanish Barrier (and the French version) were written by and used by teachers at The Groton School. Their site also lists what other texts they use - for Spanish III it says: The current texts are: Breaking the Spanish Barrier, Level III, La dama del alba, and Ãlbum. Students also read collections of short stories, poetry, and plays and view one film per term. I'm using BtSB II this year and this reminds me I have to get back on the horse about supplemental materials - we were reading and writing more in addition to the grammar text, but I've slacked off... I don't see that the site says what texts they used for other subjects, though... I checked it out as I knew BtSB was written there and was curious if they listed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I've gotten many ideas from Hillsdale and St. Jerome School Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Some schools have a place for their students to order their textbooks online. If you poke around on the section "for current students" you may see a link. This is how I grab what curriculum my alma mater is using. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Another question to ask.......what are some of the top schools in the country? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 In Houston, Kinkaid is one of the top private schools, maybe in the top 2 or 3(along with St. John's School), in terms of hardest to get into. It's a non-sectarian private day school. Kinkaid has their booklists on its website here. "US" stands for upper school, which is high school. To see the course descriptions, click on the Academics tab. Here are some others I've looked at recently: (btw, most private Christian schools seem to use textbooks from the major publishers like McGrawHill, etc., not BJU or A Beka, for most subjects). Houston Christian High School St. Thomas Episcopal School This is the most "classical" private school (that's not a homeschool-private school) I've come across in Houston. All students are required to learn Latin in high school and will read The Aenaid in Latin before they graduate. Here's the page of Latin course descriptions. (Left sidebar has descriptions of other courses.) Also, a lot of times, the school won't have their booklist available online, but their course descriptions will list what novels they'll cover, etc. At times, I've called the admissions offices of schools to ask which math curriculum they use. I have friends whose kids attend or have attended the schools above, so I've asked them about the schools & curriculum, too. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 In Houston, Kinkaid is one of the top private schools, maybe in the top 2 or 3(along with St. John's School), in terms of hardest to get into. It's a non-sectarian private day school. Kinkaid has their booklists on its website here. "US" stands for upper school, which is high school. To see the course descriptions, click on the Academics tab. Here are some others I've looked at recently: (btw, most private Christian schools seem to use textbooks from the major publishers like McGrawHill, etc., not BJU or A Beka, for most subjects). Houston Christian High School St. Thomas Episcopal School This is the most "classical" private school (that's not a homeschool-private school) I've come across in Houston. All students are required to learn Latin in high school and will read The Aenaid in Latin before they graduate. Here's the page of Latin course descriptions. (Left sidebar has descriptions of other courses.) Also, a lot of times, the school won't have their booklist available online, but their course descriptions will list what novels they'll cover, etc. At times, I've called the admissions offices of schools to ask which math curriculum they use. I have friends whose kids attend or have attended the schools above, so I've asked them about the schools & curriculum, too. HTH! How awesome that you posted.....I'm just a stone's throw from Houston, so this will be very helpful! :001_smile: I'd love to hear what else you've uncovered from asking your friends who've attended. If you want to PM or email me, I'd greatly appreciate it! :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyR Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 If your Catholic you can usually go to the diocese website and find out what they use for curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I sometimes look at the Roxbury Latin School website. They usally make the top ten (or so) schools in America, offer some classical classes (six levels of Latin, etc.) and list online all the books they use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairytalemama Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I've gotten many ideas from Hillsdale and St. Jerome School :iagree: about Hillsdale Academy. I went to Hillsdale College and the K-12 academy is very well respected. You can download their curricula for every grade for free as a PDF on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karensk Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Sure! Ask anything you like! And here's a booklist from PACES Paidaia, a homeschool co-op. They have a pretty challenging lit/worldview list, IMO. There are at least a couple of university-model schools in the Houston area, too. They started out as homeschool co-op type organizations, and are still kind of homeschool-ish in that they meet only 2 or 3 days/wk. But the admissions requirements are more challenging, like a private school, not like most homeschool co-ops. One is Logos Prep Academy and the other is Trinity Classical. And I have friends whose kids go to both of these as well. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Some schools have a place for their students to order their textbooks online. If you poke around on the section "for current students" you may see a link. This is how I grab what curriculum my alma mater is using. :) That's how I found out what quite a few schools are using. You can also search school names on MBS Direct (try a bunch.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 You might note that most of the time, schools use "curriculum" in its true meaning, which is the "course of study offered by an institution of education." It's the content of the courses, not the textbooks or other materials or methods used to do that. That could be why your search on "curriculum" isn't coming up with lists of textbooks and whatnot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Galore Park is used by most private elementary/middle schools in the UK. They don't necessarily use it for all subjects, but it's widely respected. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Removed by the Author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 If you go to the ACCS site, you can get to the sites of classical schools across the country. I also agree with pp about the Hillsdale site. If you give them your email address (register,) you can get a huge document detailing every book they use. Also, Mars Hill Academy in Cincinnati, OH, uses many Veritas and Logos recommendations and has a very detailed document on their site with all of the books and methods they use. My booklists come from Highlands Latin, Logos, Veritas, and Hillsdale mostly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhsmommy Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 to take this a step further, does anyone look into schools out of the US? I have been curious about course study from the countries topping the US in academics ex, Asia, Europe. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momchiroto2 Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 to take this a step further, does anyone look into schools out of the US? I have been curious about course study from the countries topping the US in academics ex, Asia, Europe. Any ideas? I am looking into basing a lot of my children's education on the ICSE standards in India. I have family there who will be helping me with the curriculum. I haven't started the process yet but when I do I will be happy to share. I went to an ICSE school in India and am so thankful for the rigorous schooling I received. Shahnaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Here's another (not secular). Scroll down the page to "required texts": Atonement Academy Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.