We are presenting accepting enrollment applications for the 2010-11 school year.   Space is usually snapped up quickly so we encourage all to enroll and return the assessments as soon as possible.  Enrollment may be submitted online or by printing and mailing an application. 

Getting the assessment testing done before the summer crunch season allows for a much more relaxed planning period on your part as well as allows your advisor to assist in identifying what is necessary to accomplish in your current school year.  While enrollment is accepted at any time of year, January-April is the best time to order your family's assessment packet for the 2010-11 school year if you are hoping for a Fall 2010 start date.

As soon as we receive your enrollment application and enrollment fees (or at least the first payment if you opt for the payment plan) we will mail out the assessment packet.
 

Questions about the 2010-11 School Year

• Plan Early and Save Rebate (January 15 - April 15)

• "How long until we receive the results of our assessments and personalized curriculum guides?"

• "Will you summarize what we should expect after we submit our enrollment application and fees?"

• "How do we enroll?"

• "How long is our enrollment active?"

"How long until we receive the results of our assessments and personalized curriculum guides?"

Expect your curriculum guides to be mailed to you eight to ten weeks* after the date on the e-mail confirming your assessments were received by the Academy if you submit your tests between April and September.  Families that submit their tests between October and March typically see their curriculum guides in four to six weeks.

Assessments are evaluated on a first received, first processed basis.  The evaluation turn-around times get much longer during the homeschool planning and conference season of April through August.  If you have a conference or a set start date for your schooling in mind, we recommend you complete and return your assessments well in advance -- eight to ten weeks in advance is best*.

Keep in mind that the evaluations and curriculum guides are personalized for your family.  Our assessments are not fill-in-the-bubble, standardized tests but rather skills assessments we have designed to appropriately evaluate  each student's academic strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles.  Your advisor will be reviewing each assessment personally, not feeding it through a machine for scoring and national percentiles.  Our curriculum guides -- which consist of book ordering information, course notes, pacing recommendations, and weekly lesson plans** -- are designed from top to bottom for each student with the family's cyclical history and science focus in mind to encourage family-style homeschooling.  The curriculum guides are definitely not school-in-a-box products.  While we understand that it is often hard to wait for the results of your assessments, we promise that your patience will be rewarded with a well-designed, completely personalized, comprehensive academic plan for your family.  It is worth the wait!      

*Expedited assessment evaluations/curriculum planning may be available.  Please read through the "Expedited Services" section of your welcome letter for details (or read it online here).

**Weekly lessons plans have been developed for courses that do not already have their own pace and plan of study included.

• ENROLL: Once your enrollment application and fees are received by the Academy--by mailing in the application or submitting it through the online form--your welcome/assessment packet will be prepared and mailed to you within 1-2 business days.
   
• WELCOME/ASSESSMENT PACKET: Once you receive the welcome/assessment packet in the mail, administer the assessment tests to your students.  We recommend completing the tests in sections over the over the course of two to three days.  The time spent taking the tests can be counted as Language Arts and Mathematics for those days.
   
• COMPLETE ASSESSMENTS:  When all of the sections are completed, mail the assessments back to the Academy.  You will receive an e-mail notice confirming the assessment packet has been received.
   
• EVALUATION & CURRICULUM GUIDES: Next, your assessments will be corrected by an advisory staff member and placed in the queue for your family's academic advisor to evaluate and use to develop personalized academic plans for each student with a family-style homeschooling model in mind (aligning as many of your students' courses and topics of study as is possible).  Remarks about each student's strengths and weaknesses, an academic plan, course notes, weekly lesson plans, and book ordering information will be compiled into a curriculum guide that is e-mailed and mailed to your family when completed.
  • Expect your curriculum guides to be mailed to you 8 to 10 weeks* after the date on the e-mail confirming your assessments were received by the Academy if you submit your tests between April and September.  Families that submit their tests between October and March typically see their curriculum guides in 4 to 6 weeks.
  • Expedited assessment evaluations/curriculum planning may be available.  For an additional service fee, a guaranteed one-week turnaround is available on evaluations and curriculum guides.  Please read through the "Expedited Services" section of your welcome letter for details (or read it online here).
     
• PLANNING APPOINTMENT:  Once you receive your curriculum guides by e-mail or mail, you may schedule a planning appointment with your academic advisor in which you may discuss any questions you have about the assessment results and course plans.  This appointment may last up to ninety minutes--especially if it is your first year with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy or you have multiple students enrolled in the Academy.  Families with four or more students enrolled are eligible for two of these 90-minute Course of Study Planning appointments.
   
• ORDER BOOKS:  You are free to order books from our favorite or your favorite suppliers at any point.  In your curriculum guides you will find ordering information for all of the materials the Academy recommends for your students.  Once your books arrive, you will be ready to start your school year whenever you prefer.  Most of our enrolled families choose to start their school year in mid-August or in September right after Labor Day.  The goal is to complete approximately 180 school days so you may develop a school calendar that works for your family.
   
• SUPPORT DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR:  After your Course of Study Planning appointment and book ordering, you may schedule 30-minute support telephone appointments with your academic advisor as often as once a month--at no additional cost--as a benefit of enrollment in the program.  You also have access to the Member Support Site as long as your enrollment is active.
   
• OPTIONAL SERVICE - REPORT CARD/DIPLOMA PROGRAM:  After your assessment evaluations and planning are complete, you may choose to enroll one, none, some, or all of your enrolled students in the Academy's Report Card Option to develop official school records, high school transcripts, and earn a diploma from St. Thomas Aquinas Academy.  Enrollment in this optional program does have a small per-year, per-student fee and requires submitting the appropriate documents registering each student for courses before September 30th or 30 days after your planning appointment (whichever comes later).  The process is simple and is explained in the STAA Handbook mailed to you along with the curriculum guides.
   
• OPTIONAL UPGRADE - GUIDED LIBERAL ARTS COURSES:  High school students also may enroll in our instructor-supported, online courses in the Classics (theology, history, literature, government, and the like).  These college preparatory courses are available for a separate per-student, per-course, per-semester fee and even have an instructor-graded option.  More information about the courses is available at the section of our website dedicated to the Guided Liberal Arts Courses department.

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