News & Media

The CCSA Board’s January update brought attention to all the positives that were coming from the new 5th grade writing curriculum. Unfortunately the Latin pilot program has not had similar success in the 3rd grade. The 3rd grade Latin program, which begins teaching grammar in addition to vocabulary, is proving to be more time intensive than expected. It is also introducing some confusion to the students in the areas of spelling and grammar as they work through inconsistent rules between English and Latin. Given these challenges the decision was made to halt the 3rd grade Latin program immediately and reinforce spelling, grammar, and writing which are behind their usual pacing. Although this was a change in direction, it was not an unanticipated possibility. As with any pilot program, progress is carefully measured to be sure that new curriculum is always a good fit. As our school controls our curriculum, we benefit from being able to quickly adjust when the need arises as was the case here.

In discussions that lead to the decision above, board members and educational program committee members were in consensus that enough time must be allocated if we are truly to be committed to any curricular endeavor. As we all know, time is a limited resource and must be used wisely. As we looked toward the future changes to our Latin and writing programs, we found them to be competing for this resource. While both of these areas have merits, the higher priority has been assigned to our writing program. This means that the broad plan is to continue to build on the success of the 5th grade writing program while maintaining and enhancing our Latin program as time permits. The specifics of each are being given consideration and will be key topics of discussion during our May board meeting and strategic planning session this spring. As always we will be guided by our mission to ensure our graduates are the critical thinkers, coherent writers, confident speakers, thoughtful leaders, and virtuous citizens our society needs.

We wish all Classical families a safe and restful spring break and look forward to hitting KAT activities and the final stretch of the 2017-2018 school with refreshed spirits upon our return.

~CCSA Board