A SMALL SCHOOL, A BIG FAMILY!
Whether your child begins The Academy of Our Lady of Peace at age three or age ten, he or she will be welcomed into a family where every child is considered a precious unique gift from God, where his/her individual talents will be cultivated.
Serving with joy...prayer and service are part of every day school life. Giving and responding to the needs of others is second nature to our students.
A SMALL SCHOOL MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE!
The Academy of Our Lady of Peace is a small, private, Catholic School of about 200 students enrolled in
PreK-8th grade.
"It does not matter whether you have 20 or 30 [students] in a class". What matters is the environment that a student enters when he walks through a classroom door. In smaller schools, students, teacher and administrators all have more personal relationships with each other...This is important to keep kids engaged and part of school," says Dr. Robert Blume, author, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
"Whether located in an urban, suburban or rural area, small schools are safer and, in general, students in small schools learn more," noted researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Center for School Change.
THE GRADE K-8 CONTINUUM WORKS BEST!
Currently there is a nationwide movement to reinstate the K-8 school model spurred on by a growing body of research that shows K-8 schools are effective in improving students achievement in the middle grades. For example, in a number of published studies comparing K-8 schools to junior high schools in Milwaukee and New York City, and in a statistical analysis by Dr. Robert Offenberg in Philadelphia, researchers noted the following:
K-8 schools outperform junior high schools in almost every category assessed and students from K-8 schools achieve higher grade point averages their first year of high school;
Eighth grade students in K-8 show higher self-esteem, less victimization, greater levels of participation in extracurricular activities and healthier adolescent development;
In an article discussing the K-8 model, "The Great K-8 Debate" the author notes that middle graders in a K-8 school behave differently - they take on the role of protector and role model as opposed to striving to establish new reputations.
