university model school

[MeganW]

Anybody ever tried a university model school?  We are considering it for next year.  Thoughts?  

[G5052]

I interviewed with one early in 2014, trying to round out my various teaching gigs.  As it turned out, I got more online teaching from home, so I'm doing that instead because I'm still homeschooling two in high school and prefer at-home versus being away all day for two or three days a week.

 

A few things to look for, which I investigated during my process of considering them:

 

How long have they been in existence?  I wanted a school that has some history, frankly.

 

How stable are they in terms of both leadership and the facility they are using?  Those were biggies for me.

 

What are their curriculum choices?  Who picks?  I really liked their curriculum choices.

 

How do they handle specifying what is done at home?  What is the role of the parent(s)?  The one I was looking at uses an online course management system and has parents grade and/or sign off on assignments electronically. As the students get older, the parents are less and less involved.

 

Do they require full-time enrollment or is part-time an option?  Only full-time enrollment at the local one.

 

How many students and teachers return year-to-year?  This one has very little turnover.  They've added a grade each year since they started.

 

What are the current grade and class sizes?  The classes were full in the lower grades, small in the middle grades.  They go through 8th.  

 

What subjects do they allow students to go up or down in?  This one allows custom levels for math and language arts.

 

What electives do they have?  Just art and music when I was there.  No foreign languages at that time.

 

Any theological expectations or requirements?  No issues for me personally.

 

What is the legal status of families enrolled there?  In my state it is considered a private school, so no homeschooling paperwork.

 

Is it accredited?  The local one is a candidate for UMS certification, and plans secular regional accreditation down the road.

 

HTH!

[Mswin15]

Yes my two oldest attend a UMS. Ours meets 2 days a week (T and Th) it is K-5 this year adding 6th next year (6th and up will be 3 days a week). This is the 2nd year. We have a headmaster this year who is very knowledgeable and has been a huge asset so far. I still think we have a way to go in learning how to break the workload between home and school and prioritizing. For example, I don't think teaching cursive at school is a good use of time. The school days are very, very packed. The workload at home is manageable. Overall, I think it is a great blend of the best of both worlds but with that you also get some of the bad of both worlds too :) 

 

Pros:

Amazing community of moms, dads and children. It is an honor to be a part of such a wonderful group of people. 

Our kids really have a great time at school and have great relationships. 

I enjoy having a little bit of time "off" (being honest here). I am able to attend Bible study, volunteer in the community and go to appointments alone. 

I think the children really get a lot of value out of classroom discussions of literature and poetry. 

They get Latin instruction from real Latin teachers. 

It is great to have accountability for memory work. 

It is great to have someone keep me moving ahead when I would potentially slack off. 

 

Cons:

We have no choice in schedule. Our schools starts after Labor Day and ends before Memorial Day. The time in between is very, very busy. If I could choose we would start earlier in August and take more breaks during the year and spread the work out a little bit more. It feels rushed.

 

I'm happy with almost all of the curriculum but with the parts I don't like - oh well. They know that there are always going to be people who aren't happy so they aren't quick to change things around. However, we are still in the early stages of the school and I'm hoping there are some changes.

 

Overall we are enjoying it. It is quite expensive and after another tuition raise this year (plus books, plus uniforms) I'm starting to question if the value is there for the younger grades. I definitely see it for grades 3 and up (once they start Latin). 

 

 

I know every school is different and has different challenges but I do think there are a lot of benefits and UMS is going to grow in popularity. 

 

 

[kiwik]

I was thinking of a University Model School being something quite different. What is the definition?

[Lori D.]

I was thinking of a University Model School being something quite different. What is the definition?

 

University model usually means "modeled after the scheduling and teaching/learning set-up of a university" -- in other words, class several days a week for lecture / discussion / lab, and independent study of the rest of the material at home during other days of the week.

 

Of the university model schools I am familiar with (so, there may very well be some variations and differences), it is based on a traditional school model but with more time at home each week for parent mentoring; it is NOT based on a homeschool model with the classroom as supplement.

 

At the local university model here in our town, students attends a regular school setting several days a week with regular teachers, and the other days of the week the parent oversees the student's studies that are pre-scheduled by the instructors to keep pace with the classroom instruction. The school chooses the curriculum, and tuition is charged per student to pay the teachers and for rental of the facility for classrooms. Parents also pay for the curriculum and books. No uniforms at this school, but I would guess there is a dress code.

 

I believe the breakdown for schedule and tuition for the local university model school is:

gr. K-6 = $4000/student = attend school 2 days/week, school at home 3 days/week

gr. 7-12 = $5500/student = attend school 3-3.5 days/week, school at home 1.5-2 days/week

 

 

 

Anybody ever tried a university model school?  We are considering it for next year.  Thoughts?  

 

 

No personal experience, although, like G5052 I was considering possibly teaching at the school in our area last year. To add to G5052's *fabulous* list of questions to consider, I'd also ask myself:

 

- What are my overall educational goals for each student?

- How will the university model school better help me achieve those those goals? Or make it more difficult to achieve those goals?

- How does being on someone else's schedule fit/not fit with our family?

- The curriculum will be selected for you; is that a pro, a con, or a non-issue for you?

- Will the curriculum be a good fit for my student(s) learning style and ability?

- Will my student(s) be able to maintain the pace/schedule set by the school?

- Will my student(s) be able to learn in a more formal classroom setting, or will that be counter-productive?

- What is the school policy if my student can't keep up or is too advanced for the grade level?

 

BEST of luck in deciding what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[MommytoFour]

I was thinking of a University Model School being something quite different. What is the definition?

 

 

Here's more information about University Model schools - http://www.naums.net/ along with a directory of the locations around the country.  We actually considered one before we decided to homeschool. It was two days a week, plus an optional third day of electives. Cost was about $300 a month for kindergarten.

[kiwik]

I think the thing was I was thinking NZ university not US college. NZ lecturers lecture but don't really teach. Also I figured you would just enrol the kid at whatever level they required in each subject - 6th grade maths, 2nd grade reading etc but that didn't seem possible with what the OP was describing.

 

Thanks for the link - it sounds great but I think there may be legal problems for something like that in NZ (as well as population and financial issues).

[GrammarGirl]

I taught in a UMS school for three years. There is much variety amongst the individual schools. Mine used a more traditional curriculum, but several UMS schools are classical. The concept is great, but I suggest really investigating the individual.school's implementation. My school did not do a good job of laying a philosophical foundation when they began the school, so I feel much of the education they provide is disjointed. Some of the teachers/admin were trying to model.public school methods and curricula, while others of us who had other Christian school experience worked from a different paradigm. I suspect the classical UMS schools are better run and provide a more refined and purposeful Christian education.

[MeganW]

This is super helpful - thank you!!

 

[Dallasmom]

I am a little late in joining this post, but thought I would add my thoughts. My son has attended a UMS the last two years and we've been very happy with the model. Our school is Classical and expressly Christian (many denominations represented but centered in Christ). Meets two days a week with electives offered on Fridays.

 

We are still in the early grades and so far the workload has been great for us. As an introvert mom I appreciate the break and yet I want to be intimately involved in my child's schooling and I am. I love that I get to teach him, see first hand where he struggles and shines, and that we can be done with school in the morning and he can go climb a tree or invent a backyard adventure. I really cherish that time not in a classroom.

 

I'm happy with their curriculum choices so far. They are things I would probably use myself if I homeschooled full time. I supplement with tons of literature and reading instruction at home because my son was ready to read early so we use OPGTR (he's in K but reading chapter books). I also think the home component allows me to add more nature time and exploring a la Charlotte Mason.

 

I do hear the workload can be challenging in the later grades, but we aren't there yet.

 

The class sizes are generally small, the parents are very involved and committed, the teachers love Jesus and are wonderful and don't turn over much. It's been a perfect blend for us. It's a little daunting thinking of paying tuition for two (our other child will start next fall), but we love the school and are thankful we have it because many communities don't have the option.

[MeganW]

Thanks!  Going to an info meeting tomorrow night!