Collaborative Schedule - Austin Classical School

Collaborative Schedule: The Best of Both Worlds

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 is God’s command to parents to rear their children in ardent devotion to the Lord. Parents are to be the primary teachers of their children – consistently modeling a faithful discipleship and intentionally training their children in the Word of God so that the story of redemption and grace becomes as real to them as the nose on each uniquely crafted face.

At ACS, we have been called to walk alongside families in this journey of education and discipleship. A collaborative schedule allows families and professional educators to work together to give each child the most effective education possible. This schedule is referred to by a variety of names, including hybrid schedule, blended model, and a university-model schedule.

In this model, students’ instructional time is divided between classroom and home. Classroom instruction occurs 2 days per week (K-4th), 3 days per week (5th-8th), or 4 days per week (9th and above) and is led by a professional educator. On non-class days, the students remain at home to complete their lessons under the guidance and instruction of a co-teacher parent.

The lesson plans for the entire week are developed by the classroom instructor and are made available to parents at the start each week, allowing the parent and classroom instructor to work in tandem to complete the requisite assignments. It is a beautiful picture of efficiency and teamwork!

Additionally, classroom teachers will have office hours on homeschool days so that when questions arise, parents and students can contact them for assistance.

Benefits

We believe the collaborative schedule provides many benefits:

Family Time Together:

Because of the flexibility of the schedule, families are able to spend more time together. Parents are an integral part of their child’s educational and character development. Parents will know and understand even better their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Siblings educated in this model are not separated from one another five days of the week as in traditional schools. For a collaborative school, unity and time together as a family are of high value.

Accountability and Motivation

In the early grades, co-teacher parents are provided with accountability and structure by the professional teacher for their homeschool days. Equally as important, the professional teacher and school administration provide needed encouragement and motivation for any co-teacher parents new to the homeschool component or weary from their homeschool role. In this model, the co-teacher parent, professional teacher, and student each play an important role in delivering a quality education.

Excellent

The classical curriculum and instruction promote curiosity and deep thinking, providing the student with the skills for life-long learning. The home component allows students to more deeply explore areas of interest or work ahead in areas where the student excels.

Family Time for Other Priorities

The flexibility of this schedule allows more time for families to pursue priorities outside of their school work (community involvement, sports, etc.)

Efficiency

It’s an efficient approach as parents work alongside professional teachers who provide the curriculum, weekly lesson plans, and support to the co-teacher parents. In addition, the school provides the administrative structure for grades and school records.

The collaborative schedule is a way for parents to provide a Christ-infused education for their children with the support of qualified, Christian educators. It truly is the “best of both worlds.”