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FAQs



Q:

What is the tuition for each learning option offered?

Do you accept government education vouchers or the Utah Fits All vouchers?

A:

Since we have several educational options, there are several tuition options. Check our home page for the most updated price list.  The prices are affected by several factors such as learning programs chosen by the family.

If you are doing the on-line or paper and pencil hybrid-learning option, tuition is $380.00 per month August through May for a total of $3800 per year (ten payments).  If you register early, you can do the June through May payment plan which is $320.00 per month (twelve payments).  This option has the students grades 5th through 9th using mastery-based on-line or paper and pencil materials for math and language arts at home in the afternoons and attending in person four mornings per week for science, history, literature, and create time. There is also a tutoring program that covers all subjects for this price.

For the Logic Stage, grades 5th through 8th full-time students, the tuition is $7900.00 per year.  We have an August through May plan at $790.00 per month (ten payments per year).  Also a payment plan can be made from June through May at $660.00 per month (twelve payments per year).  We have a 10% sibling discount for those with more than one child in our school full-time. The weekly schedule is the same as for blended-learning except they have a full day of in-person tutoring with the teacher.

On Wednesdays, there is no in-person class.  Instead, they do their on-line or paper and pencil schoolwork at home and may also use part of the school day for personal development with various private lessons and home-school co-ops found in the community to help develop their talents and interests further.  On Wednesdays, they may request individual mentoring appointments through Zoom or in-person. 

Please email us about other payment plan options at meadowridgeacademy@protonmail.com.

*Watch for discounts listed on our website.

 

Do you accept government education vouchers or the Utah Fits All vouchers?

No, we do not accept any government monies. 

Q:

What are one-room schools, micro-schools, and hybrid schools?

A:

These are all terms used to describe a small class size that may have mixed ages.  They are found in private buildings all over the country.  Some may look like a classic one-room school of years past.  Some are tucked away in private homes or churches.  Others look like a modern office building.  They all are power-houses of academic learning. Our little school is in a home.

Meadow Ridge Academy caps class size at 10 students. These small-sized classes allow for individualized focus on each child by the teacher.  We currently only have 6 openings for the 2022-2023 academic year.

I finished my teaching certificate in the One-Room School Method from Aletheia Christian College in June of 2021 (aletheiachristian.org).  Using this model allows for the teacher to mentor her students over a longer period of time. She is able to nurture and guide her students’ strengths and interests over the course of not just one academic year, but over several years. The teacher, parents, and student form a multi-year working partnership focused on the the child. This allows deeper commitment to the mastery of specific academics skills and subjects.  The teacher knows her students’ struggles and works with parents to develop a plan to tackle those areas and develop mastery.  She is focused on helping her students take off and soar with their academic talents.

The multi-age classroom also encourages individual mastery of academic skills and subjects as each student works at their own pace and level. (More about Mastery Based Learning)

Research has found that students in multi-age classrooms have better social skills and can academically advance at a quicker pace if they choose. They also learn personal responsibility, pride in their schoolwork, and how to work independently. The students are either looking up to older classmates who are working at more advanced levels, or are deepening their learning as they cheer on and support those who are younger.  The students are invested in each others academic success.  Collaboration on projects, and creativity in personal work is nutured at every level of learning.

Q:

What does the application process involve?

A:

The application process begins with clicking the "Apply" button at the top of the homepage.  When we receive your contact information, we will reach out to you to set up an initial interview, phone call, or Zoom meeting.  During this interview the teacher, parent, and child will have the opportunity to ask questions, hear about our school, and determine if Meadow Ridge Academy is an appropriate fit for your child.  This is not the evaluation and curriculum placement meeting which will come after the registration fee is paid.

If you and the teacher decide that Meadow Ridge Academy is a good fit for your child, contact us within one week by email (meadowridgeacademy@protonmail.com) and pay your registration fees.  If your initial interview is less than one week from the June 30th deadline, please let us know your decision by June 30th.  We can't hold a student's spot unless the registration fee has been paid.  Once the registration fee is paid, an appointment during the summer will be made to meet at the school for curriculum placement testing.  The $150 annual registration fee covers the cost of annual evaluations, curriculum placement, and paperwork.  The fee can be paid through the website once the school has received notification by email of your decision to have your child attend. 

Please email us if you have any questions about the application process.  (meadowridgeacademy@protonmail.com)

Q:

What is Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) in Education?

A:

Coming Fall 2022 students can choose to have the opportunity to go work with Equine Assisted Learning specialists and horses each Friday.

Equine Assisted Learning allows the student to learn using one of God's most beautiful creations as a motivator and as a natural reflection of the students behavior.  Some of the topics we cover are:

Everything from how to handle a horse on the ground, mathematics (yes, math is especially fun with horses), how to care for horses, developing boundaries with technology use, biology (health is super engaging when we learn it with a horse in mind), literature about horses, how to ride a horse, and so much more.  We are in the process of developing a partnership and materials and will post updates here.

Annamarie Reed is a CTRI Instructor with:

The following quotes come from: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2020.0415

"Equine-assisted learning in education engages people of all ages in learning processes that focus on academic skills, character development, and the promotion of relevant life skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Professionals providing these services should have extensive knowledge, training, or certifications related to learning theory and teaching methodology. To address the needs of groups of students, these professionals may develop contracts with schools or school systems, and integrate specific educational strategies. Specific educational strategies may support individual education plans and academic remediation."

"Related to the broad area of horsemanship, equine professionals may offer four distinct non-therapy services that are adapted from traditional equine disciplines of horseback riding .... Equine professionals with specialized training or certifications provide these services to individuals and groups with diverse needs. These professionals should demonstrate extensive competencies in adapting equipment, the equine environment, and teaching techniques to match the abilities and needs of participants ..... Qualified instructors develop lesson plans that may involve riding, driving, vaulting, or ground-based activities (e.g., grooming, handling, leading, observing). These activities may help participants attain individualized horsemanship skills, and allow for the naturally healthful benefits of riding and other horsemanship activities to occur."

When students meet their weekly personal learning goals and assigned school work, they will be able to participate in the Equine (horse) Assisted Learning on Fridays.  If they aren't finished with their school-work and haven't met their weekly goals, they will need to have you pick them up at 12:25 promptly before we head out to the horse facility.

Q:

Do the on-line math and language arts have any religious content or is it completely secular?

What do on-line math and language arts programs look like from a home viewpoint?

How do you place each child in their current level of curriculum?

A:

We encourage each student to consider traditional paper and pencil textbooks that can be viewed by the parents rather than online programs.  Nevertheless, some parents prefer online learning.  We try to vet each online program we offer, but we can't see all content and neither can the parents.  Therefore we encourage parents and their children to have a close connection and discuss the student's online learning.  The math and language arts online-learning components may be subscribed to from companies that provide micro-schools, home-schools, private schools, and public schools.  Most of them do not provide religious content.  It will depend on what the parents and the student choose as the best fit for their child. Families can change math and language arts curriculum if they find that the current one is not working for their child.  All spelling work is done at home with the guidance of the school.

Non-traditional tutoring options are available.  For a reduced fee, students can choose to only use the on-line options at home and not attend the in-person learning.  The teacher will still meet with the student weekly on Zoom to discuss progress and questions.  Depending on the teacher's availability, several learning options can be developed.

The at home online learning is checked by the parent and teacher daily and followed up on in GPS (guide, parent, student) meetings, at school, and whenever the parent, teacher, or student expresses a need.  We provide Zoom meetings where the student can do their online blended learning with the teacher in one-one one tutoring until they are able to use the software independently. Independent on-line learning does not mean that the parent turns the responsibility of learning oversight to an online program.  Parent involvement is still necessary for students to complete work just as if they were working from a textbook.  Parent coaching and support is provided from the school on how to do either traditional paper and pencil learning or on-line learning during the time students are working from their "school" at home.

Each student is evaluated right after they register to attend MRA with an in-person discussion and a computer test.  These evaluations help the teacher, parent, and student to decide on the the best learning resources for the student from what MRA offeres.  There are several options for both math and language arts to choose from.  Again, if a program is not working well for a student, a GPS meeting is held to look at the other options and make a change if desired. In the classroom each student will have unique learning goals and be progressing at their own rate.

We support the students in developing the skills of self motivation, lofty academic goals, and an independent work ethic towards their own education.  Students are ultimately free to choose how far they will go each year in their academic growth.  Most students naturally want to soar and after a few bumps in learning how to drive their own education, ultimately succeed.  Some students need the extra oversight of full-time instruction at first and are not yet ready to work independently from home with hybrid-learning options.  These decisions are discussed at the initial evaluation when students apply to Meadow Ridge Academy.

Q:

What grades will be taught in your one-room school?

A:

We currently have grades 5th through 8th in person.  These grades are refered to as the "Logic Stage" in Classical education.  We will add additional classes as appropriately trained teachers and mentors are added to our academy.  If your student is in grades 9th through 12th, call to see about personalized learning options. 

Q:

What is the difference between hybrid-learning and full-day school?

A:

Hybrid-learning is when students spend part of their time in tutoring groups with other students and part of their time at home working on-line or with paper and pencil.  At our micro-school students who are self-starters and want to keep up with their school work, or have parents who can follow-up on their daily schoolwork do very well with hybrid-learning.  They only do math and some of the language arts at home for the hybrid-learning option.  The in-person tutoring covers science, history, literature, writing, and creativity time.  They spend four hours a day with in person tutoring.  This option costs less for tuition. 

Full-day school has the students doing all the subjects mentioned above at the school.  This option costs more for tuition, but is better for those students whose parents (or the students themselves) don't feel they could keep up with their on-line school work at home on their own. 

Which option you choose depends on your budget and your child's ability to work independently on his/her on-line school work.  Students doing the on-line options have Zoom meetings to help them set-up and learn how to use the on-line resources.  The parents follow up daily with schoolwork completetion during the days that academic work is done from home.  The teacher checks in weekly to see if the student has questions and is completing work.  If there is a consistent pattern showing the student is struggling to get his/her school work done at home, a GPS (guide, parent, student) meeting is held to decide what to do going forward. 

Many students who choose the hybrid-learning option enjoy the flexibility of choosing when to do their online schoolwork. 

Access to the on-line programs with parent and teacher oversight is also a good option for home-school students desiring to purchase a separate on-line math or language arts curriculum.

Q:

What are the options for home school students?

A:

Home school students are an important part of our academy.  Once we fill minimum class requirements with blended-learning and full-time students, we open our classes to home school students seeking individual classes.  We provide transcripts for these classes.  Each class topic is paid for individually.  Please contact us for more information.

We also provide on-line blended options that allow your child to do their language arts and math online at home, then join us four days a week for a half day program that covers history, science, literature, and creative/innovative time.  An additional fifth day is available for one-on-one mentoring appointments. 

We also provide proctored testing for the Stanford Achievement Test, ACT (pending), CLT, DORA, ADAM, and PEERS to homeschool students in the summer, fall and spring.  We do not release test results to anyone outside the school besides parents and students unless you request with a signed release.

Finally, we provide homeschool curriculum advising to families free of charge during the summer.  During the school year there is a minimal fee of $20.00 per hour.

Q:

What is the Principal Approach to teaching?

A:

The Principle Approach “places the Truth of God’s Word at the heart of education in every subject” (FACE.net). The scriptures also help teachers, parents, and children see the importance of learning through study and experience. These following verses eloquently help us to focus on this need for all children.

Proverbs 4:7 - Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Alma 37:35 - O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

Alma 38:9 - And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

Luke 2:52 - And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Q:

Is your school Christian?

A:

Yes, our school is Christian and teaches from a Judeo-Christian perspective.  We use the the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ as scripture.  All faiths are welcome to apply.

Some of the math and language arts options provided are seculuar.  It depends on the family/student's choice of curriculum.

Q:

What is a Classical Education?

A:

A Classical Education introduces students to the “great conversation” where they are able to read, discuss, and write about the great works of literature, history, science, math, and ideas. They learn grammar and how to write and speak with confidence; their science curriculum is rich and hands on; and they discover the unique and wonderful history of their country within the chronicle of the world. (https://welltrainedmind.com/a/classical-education/?v=7516fd43adaa )

Q:

Do you have the resources to teach a child with special needs?

A:

Being a small private one-room school, Meadow Ridge Academy is not equipped to work with children with moderate to severe emotional, cognitive, or physical challenges. Please email us with any questions about mild special learning needs of your children to see if we can work with your child's unique needs.  meadowridgeacademy@protonmail.com

Q:

Who will be teaching my children?

A:

Annamarie Reed has lived a life full of learning, teaching, and celebrating her students' successes.  She began with a degree in Comparative Literature from BYU where she focused on Spanish and English.  She also has a Plant Science/Horticulture degree from USU and a teaching certificate in The One Room School House Method from Aletheia Christian College.  Being a one room school teacher requires a teacher to be well rounded in all academic areas.

Annamarie is also a certified therapeutic horseback riding instructor through PATH Int.  She received her training and taught at Healing Strides of Virginia in Roanoke, VA.  She also taught at Courage Reins in Highland, UT.  She maintains her certification with PATH.

Annamarie worked in Early Intervention for the Provo School District and has worked as a classroom aide in the Jordan School District.

Annamarie's future plans include acquiring a masters degree in Classical Education.

Q:

Can I be a parent voluteer at the school or help out in some other way while my child is a student at Meadow Ridge Academy?

A:

Yes.  Meadow Ridge Academy needs and wants parents to work with us as a team in education.  We value parent involvement.  We believe the parent has the primary responsibility for the education and upbringing of their children.  We see ourselves as a resource for the family to achieve that responsibility.  At the summer curriculum evaluation interview we will ask parents how they want to be involved and find ways for them to help support the mission of Meadow Ridge Academy.

Q:

Is there a waitlist?

A:

Meadow Ridge Academy will maintain a waitlist after the classroom has filled. If an opening becomes available the waitlist will be consulted.  At the end of each school year, those currently enrolled with Meadow Ridge Academy will have the first opportunity to register for the next school year. Please stay in contact with us so we know of your continued interest. 

Q:

What is your policy on family vacations, absences, and tardiness?

A:

Meadow Ridge Academy has a schedule that allows families to have more time together than the publics schools do.  Each semester has two separate full week-long breaks spread out in the semester that allow more time together than the mix of one or two day breaks the public schools typically have scattered throughout the school year.  Christmas break is a full two weeks.  There are several national holidays on Mondays throughout the year when there are no classes. We also end the school year two weeks earlier than government schools to allow families to head out on family trips before the rest of the nation gets out of school.  These family trips or projects are a life-long investment in your relationships and the building of memories -- not to mention great learning situations.  We encourage you to use these times thoughtfully so the students don't have to miss school while it is in session.  I work hard to make sure the time they spend in class is used fully to help them grow academically and is not wasted.

Students are occasionally absent for illness or other planned or unforeseen circumstances.  Please check the school website for assignments and the school calendar for additional information.  You can also plan a Zoom meeting or telephone call with the teacher.  There are no consequences for missed school other than the additional stress placed on the child - natural consequences are rough enough as it is.  Missing school does place extra stress on the child as they try to catch up and be ready for exams, to finish projects, and meet personal goals.  Please be aware of how this affects them and the fact that the money you paid in tuition won't be used well that day.

Being tardy or late for the start of the school day is to be strongly avoided.  Please have your children arrive 5 to 10 minutes before class starts prepared with all supplies so they can unload their school bags and set up their desk area to be ready to start class promptly at 8:30.

Being on time helps the student use the daily goal setting time to plan their school work.  If they are late they will spend the rest of the day floundering without solid goals and waste their parents' hard-earned money for that day.  They also miss the memorization practice and won't be able to pass off their memory work on time.  This can be discouraging as their class-mates move ahead of them.  Finally,  when they arrive late, they disrupt the class and other students' learning.  That's not respectful of the other students who got there before class and were prepared to start on time or the teacher's work.