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Academics

Charis Classical Academy utilizes classical methodology in a collaborative setting. Academics at Charis is rigorous while also instilling the joy of learning. We have chosen curriculum that aids in educating the whole child (intellect, spirit, and body as a unique individual). It is friendly to both the classroom and also satellite classroom at home.

Overview

Classical education cultivates wisdom and virtue through the seven liberal arts and uses great books to feed the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty so that the student will be able to know and delight in God through Christ.

Wisdom and Virtue

Humans are made in the image of God which sets them apart from every other creature. Man is unique from animals because he has reason and can act morally. By improving these capacities of thought and action to their highest perfections (wisdom and virtue), man more faithfully reflects the image of God.

Seven Liberal Arts

These arts are ways of perceiving truth and are proper to every free human being. They are broken into two groups, the trivium and the quadrivium. The trivium contains the three language arts, grammar, logic, and rhetoric, while the quadrivium includes arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. By training students in these liberal arts, they are freed to know the world around them, think critically, communicate winsomely, and serve their neighbor in love.

Great books

Instead of reading a modern professor’s interpretation of the growth and development of our civilization, we read the first-hand accounts of those that made and witnessed history. Our students let the Greeks and Romans themselves speak about their histories; they read the great works of literature from Homer, to Dante, to Shakespeare; and they dive into controversies in economics, philosophy, and theology. In so doing they grow in their ability to both understand and critique modern thoughts and ideas in a wide array of disciplines. Moreover, an education infused with purpose and focused around great books produces lifelong learners that love to learn.

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

Known as the three transcendentals, these ideas stand behind every great work of art. By seeking these ideals, students’ souls are nourished to appreciate the delightful, love the good, and rejoice in truth.

Know and Delight in God through Christ

The ultimate goal of a Christian education, we desire our students to know God intimately and delight in Him. God has made Himself known through Christ, and He is our only way to the Father (John 14:6). By developing intellectual and moral capacities, we are more fit to know God truly and love Him more deeply which is the goal of all human existence.

Classical Languages:

We instruct our students in Latin and Greek for a couple of reasons. First, both are foundational languages. As such their study deepens students’ understanding of English grammar while expanding their vocabulary, which helps them develop into stronger readers and better writers. The study of Latin and Greek also equips them to learn other languages later in life. Finally, being able to read these languages allows students to check primary sources themselves instead of having to rely on the authority or interpretation of others. This is particularly important when reading and interpreting the Bible.

Western Civilization

No matter where our ancestors came from, as Americans we are members of Western Civilization. We cannot understand the world we live in without understanding the events, people, and ideas that have formed and shaped our civilization.

Grammar (K-6th)

The grammar stage roughly corresponds to the time when children are most apt to rapid memorization of large amounts of information. They love to chant and sing and, to their parents’ chagrin, can seemingly absorb and repeat every word that ever enters their ears. To teach with the grain, teachers of these grades aim to fill students with all kinds of information and basic facts about the world. Students sing the 50 states and their capitals, chant through the list of English prepositions, or march around the room while belting out a timeline of world history. Rather than leaving children to memorize banal jingles advertising fast-food, teachers provide chants and songs that will lead to further knowledge down the road.

Logic (7-9th)

Beginning around the middle school age, the logic stage begins when students become relentless managers of their “Six Honest Serving Men”: who, what, when, where, how, and why? Their minds have been filled will all manner of facts and information, and they are ready to start chewing. Students are taught informal logical fallacies, methods of constructing arguments, and formal logic. Since students are going to argue anyways, it is our goal to teach them to argue well. They are required to start defining terms, presenting clear and coherent arguments, and defending their own beliefs and opinions from a sound reasoning and evidence.

Rhetoric (10th-12th)

As students grow into maturity, their inclination to express themselves and their viewpoints grows with them. We strive to teach our students to speak well. While it is vital that our students learn to love the truth, we also want to instill in our graduates a love of beauty and ability to set “apples of gold in pictures of silver.” As Aristotle comments, “Mastery of metaphor is the whole of rhetoric.” A well-turned phrase can make the difference in someone embracing the truth with adoration and delight, and rejecting it from a false aesthetic sensibility. The heart is not the enemy of the head, nor is beauty the enemy of truth. We desire for our students to be able to speak well, utilizing all the appeals of rhetoric.

Class Schedule

Kindergarten through 4th grade meet in core classrooms on Monday and Wednesday, 8:45-3:15, and then a half-day on Friday, 8:45-12. 5th grade through 11th grade meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:45-3:15.

Graduation Requirements

  • 4 credits in Math
  • 3 credits in Science; recommended: 4
  • 3 credits in a Foreign Language; recommended: 4
  • 4 credits in History (including one course in government)
  • 4 credits in English
  • 1 credit in Logic
  • 1 credit in Rhetoric
  • 1 credit in Physical Education
  • 2 credits in the Fine Arts (e.g. music, drama, art)
  • 1 credit – Senior Thesis.

Sample student schedules

  • 7th grade: Humanities I (Ancients), Life Science, Pre-Algebra, Fine Arts electives, Latin I, Logic I, Grammar and Writing 7, Leadership 7 and PE.
  • 8th grade: Humanities II (Medieval), Earth Science, Algebra I, Fine Arts electives, Latin II, Logic II, Grammar and Writing 8, Leadership 8 and PE.
  • 9th grade: Humanities III (Modern – European),Physics, Geometry, Fine Arts electives, Latin III, Logic III, Grammar and Writing 9, Leadership 9 and PE.
  • 10th grade: Humanities IV (Ancients), Biology, Algebra II, Fine Arts electives, Foreign Language elective, Rhetoric I, Leadership 10, and PE.
  • 11th grade: Humanities V (Medieval), Chemistry, Pre-Calculus, Fine Arts electives, Foreign Language elective, Leadership 11, Junior Thesis and PE.
  • 12th grade: Humanities VI (Modern), Anatomy/Physiology, Calculus, Fine Arts electives, Foreign Language elective, Leadership 12, Senior Thesis, and PE.

Apply

Charis will be offering classes for kindergarten through 12th grade. Logic and Rhetoric students may enroll in individual courses. Some courses will not be offered every semester. Contact the Charis office for a course catalog.

To apply, please fill out an application on classreach.

Open Courses for Homeschool Families

Grammar School Courses

Due to space and scheduling, Friday-only grammar courses are not available.

Logic and Rhetoric Students

All courses are available for individual course registration. Core students (full-time) will be enrolled in all courses under course descriptions.

Contact the Charis office for a course catalog of currently offered classes.

To apply, please fill out an application on classreach.

Applications for open courses are accepted June 1st through August 1st. Charis Core students are given first priority for course availability. Next priority for open course only students will be given to siblings of Charis Core families, then in the order in which applications are received.

If a section closes due to over enrollment, your tuition will be refunded and your child placed on a waiting list.