University-Model
THE UNIVERSITY MODEL STRUCTURE
University-Model Schooling (UMS) was developed as a result of two guiding beliefs: the importance of relationship and the importance of excellence. We want to spend our time to preserve and strengthen the God-ordained family relationships in which the Christian faith is most effectively fostered and to offer students the opportunity to acquire a high degree of academic achievement through focusing on the liberal arts and sciences.
The structure in which these two concerns are brought together, University-Model Schooling, provides an academically challenging education while integrating the home, school, and community in the common goal of discipling children.
“Sons and daughters need to be taught how to live for a purpose larger than themselves (faith in and love for God), how to distinguish right from wrong (truth and morality), how to incorporate positive values into their lives (knowledge and discipline), and how to stand courageously against the negative values that bring harm to themselves and others (brotherly love and community). To do so requires the strategic use of time, that commodity which ever escapes until parents intentionally capture and employ it.”
ATTRIBUTES OF A UNIVERSITY MODEL SCHOOL
A quality, cost and time-effective, college-preparatory educational alternative that combines the best attributes of home school and traditional education
A university-style schedule adapted to the elementary, junior, and senior high levels
Professional teachers teaching in their areas of expertise instructing students at school
Students in K5-4th grade receive two days of classroom instruction per week while students in 5th-12th grade attend class three days per week. Non-class days are spent at home, where parents continue instruction and potentially expand into individual areas of interest (fine arts, service, sports, additional academic work)
Provides parents the tools of time, extra-curricular flexibility, academic expertise, and resources for support, in order for them to be confident and effective co-teachers
Certified Member, University-Model Schools International ®
Resources That Shape Us
While not an exhaustive list, here are a few of our favorites:
Character Driven College Preparation by John Turner- One of the early pioneers of the University-Model Schools (UMS) movement, Dr. Turner lays out the vision and major ideas behind UMS schooling, especially the involvement of parents in their children’s education and lives as a whole.
The Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory – For any parent who believes she “is not a teacher”, Gregory’s classic work on the fundamentals of teaching will assure her that, yes, we have, do, and can all teach our children not only academic truths, but also principals for living life for the Kingdom’s sake.
The Risk of Education by Luigi Giussani – Giussani reminds Christians that the goal of education is neither knowledge nor career, but coming to a loving knowledge of reality itself, namely Christ. He especially encourages parents to be wary of the temptation to ignore the crucial role they play in forming and moving their children into reality, because “parents are their children’s roots” to reality. He asks, “What value does giving life have unless parents untiringly help their children to recognize the total meaning of life?”
