Curriculum Framework
It is the Mission of Regina Coeli Academy to promote and nurture the intellectual growth and talents of elementary school children through the time-tested classical liberal arts course of study. Students study and learn in a wholesome and rigorous academic environment. The Catholic faculty integrates the Magisterial teaching, Scripture and Tradition of the Catholic Church throughout the curriculum. In partnership with their families, boys and girls are taught to be effective Catholic citizens and leaders. They are taught to know, love and serve God and neighbor, aware of their ultimate purpose in life – eternal happiness with God in Heaven.
The fundamental principles of classical education are based on practical wisdom that has been the foundation of Catholic education from the beginning. The keystone of classical education is the Trivium which simply recognizes the natural development of a child. These can be thought of as the knowledge, understanding and wisdom stages of human development. “The Trivium applies in nearly every educational sphere because it accounts for the entire range of what education is supposed to do: The learner must acquire information, grasp it intellectually, and use it purposefully.” The stages of the Trivium are termed the grammar, logic and rhetoric stages of learning.
Core Curriculum
At Regina Coeli Academy, the core curriculum includes English, math, history and geography, science, Latin, music and the arts. English starts with early, systematic phonics instruction. Reading, especially the classics, and writing are central to our program and critical to developing the articulation and learning skills that are so vital for success in today’s society.
The Catholic Faith is the foundation on which all course work rests and it is a part of its exposition. All branches of knowledge are connected together because they are intimately united to the work of our Creator. Catholic truth, therefore, will complete the appreciation of each subject and demonstrate the wholeness of that truth. For example, history will focus on God’s plan of salvation. Science will place emphasis on what the natural world tells us about God. Reading and writing assignments will include the lives of the saints. Art and music will focus on the sacred as well as the secular.
Classical Education – The Movement Sweeping America, Gene E. Veith, Jr. and Andrew Kern, Capital Research Center, 2001, p. 13.
