. at least 30.00 credits in Religion (3
years/450 hours)
. at least 40.00 credits in English (4
years/600 hours)
. at least 20.00 credits in Languages (2-4
years/300-600 hours)
. at least 40.00 credits in Mathematics (4
years/600 hours)
. at least 5.00 credits in Economics (1
semester/75 hours)
. at least 5.00 credits in Government (1
semester/75 hours)
. at least 10.00 credits in U.S. History (1
year/150 hours)
. at least 30.00 credits in World History (3
years/450 hours)
. at least 30.00 credits in Literature (3
years/450 hours)
. at least 40.00 credits in Science (4
years/600 hours)
. at least 30.00 credits in Fine Arts (3
years/450 hours)
. at least 20.00 credits in Physical Ed. (2
years/300 hours)
Transfer
Students
Students must complete at least the last
two years of high school with St. Thomas
Aquinas Academy. A full year includes
the equivalent of six to eight full time
courses (60-80 credits). The
minimum required credits (listed above)
must be met.
Below is a helpful chart of the
mandatory STAA courses, testing, and
transfer credits required for
graduation.
|
MANDATORY ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
ACADEMY COURSES |
|
GRADE
11 |
GRADE
12 |
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
|
STAA Religion |
STAA Religion |
STAA Religion |
STAA Religion |
|
Essay Writing B |
Logic |
Essay Writing A |
Research Papers or Critical
Thinking |
|
STAA World History |
STAA World History |
STAA World History* |
|
|
STAA Literature |
STAA Literature |
STAA Literature |
STAA Literature |
|
STAA Life Science** |
STAA Life Science** |
STAA Physical Science** |
STAA Physical Science** |
|
STAA Art Practice |
STAA Art History |
STAA Music Appreciation |
|
| |
Standardized
Testing 1: PSAT, SAT, ACT, CAT,
Iowa Basics, etc. |
Standardized
Testing 2: PSAT, SAT, ACT, CAT,
Iowa Basics, etc. |
|
|
Other
Graduation Requirements |
- Total
number of credits earned in
Grade 9, 10, 11, and 12
equals at least 240cr.
- Grade 9
and 10 transcripts
transferred to St. Thomas
Aquinas Academy must include
all of the following or the
student will also need to
add studies in the short
subject areas to his Grade
11 and 12 course of study:
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of Religion
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 18cr of Language
Arts from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 20cr of Latin,
German, Italian, French,
or Spanish from Grade 9
or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of Algebra
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of Geometry
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of High
School Level Math from
Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 5cr of Economics
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 5cr of Government
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of U.S.
History from Grade 9 or
10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 5cr of World
History or Geography
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of Literature
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 5cr of Fine Arts
from Grade 9 or 10.
-
Transfer in with at
least 10cr of Physical
Education from Grade 9
or 10.
|
*Students that did not
complete a year of U.S. History in Grade 9
or 10 will be required to take a year of
STAA World History in Grade 11, a year of
STAA U.S. History in Grade 12, and a
semester of STAA Govt & Natural Law in Grade
12.
**Students transferring in
with a year of high school Biology credits
must complete at least 15 Physical Science
credits from the STAA course list.
Minimal Math
Requirements
Three years of math are required and
must include at least one year of
Algebra and one year of Geometry.
Credits can be earned for Consumer
Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry,
Pre-Calculus, and advanced, college
level math.
How Much and
How Long?
The minimum number of credits needed per
year to earn a diploma is 60 credits in
the required subjects. The student will
need to earn 15 to 16 credits each
quarter. This breaks down to around 6 or
7 full time courses in the above-named
subjects, which is around 4 to 6 hours a
day for 45 days a quarter of course
time. General studying and course work
includes (but is not limited to) reading
aloud, independent reading, writing,
research for papers, written exercises,
oral presentation, course work
corrections, testing, performances, and
preparing progress reporting packets for
St. Thomas Aquinas Academy to review.
We recommend a minimum of 1080 hours of
academics each school year.
Standardized
Testing
. St. Thomas Aquinas Academy requires
that your student take a standardized
test in 11th grade and at least one more
in grades 9, 10, or 12. Furthermore,
the student must demonstrate reasonable
scholastic achievement on his or her
standardized tests. If any of the
student’s scores fall below the 50th
national percentile we cannot mark the
testing requirement as satisfied.
Students with an overall score or any
of the major subscores (Math, English,
Science, Writing, and the like) that
fall below the 50th national percentile
may retest as many times as needed or
utilize another standardized test until
the scores on at least two high school
tests meet or exceed the 50th national
percentile.
. Recommended Standardized Testing
options: PSAT, SAT, CHSPE, ACT, Iowa
Basics, GED, and the like.
High School
Appropriate Work
The student’s course work must be high
school level or above. For a student
that might have remediation needs in
some areas, our advisors will have St.
Thomas Aquinas Academy approved
alternatives. Of course, exceptions and
individualized plans are made for
students with documented learning
disabilities or special needs.
Age of
Student
St. Thomas Aquinas Academy is a K-12
homeschool program, not an adult
education or self-directed program. The
student must be instructed and graded by
a teaching-parent, legal guardian, or a
qualified instructor hired by the
student's family. We do not issue
diplomas to students older than the age
of 19 unless arrangements have been made
at the beginning of 11th grade because
of documented learning disabilities,
special needs, illness, or other extreme
circumstances (subject to the Academy's
review and approval. Official
documentation is required for all of the
listed circumstances).
Paperwork
Sent to the Academy
Semester reporting is required to be
eligible for a high school diploma. The
paperwork submitted:
. must clearly show that the student
demonstrates reasonable scholastic
achievement in his or her daily course
work
. must be received by St. Thomas Aquinas
Academy in a timely fashion (Semester 1
must be received by February 28th and
Semester 2 must be received by June
30th).
. must be neat and orderly
. must include the requested paper work
(approved Course Registration, neat and
complete Semester Forms, High School
Weekly Assignment Sheets, work samples,
etc.)
The Basics
of Semester Reporting: Once a year…
...you must submit a Course Registration
form. This is a statement of what
courses your student will be studying.
An advisor will review your plan to make
sure it is appropriate to achieve your
student’s academic goals. The Course
Registration form is due on or before
September 30th or thirty days after the
curriculum planning phone appointment,
whichever comes later.
The Basics
of Semester Reporting: At the end of every
semester (so, twice a year)…
...1 Semester Report form. This is a
report of the text; progress (in terms
of course plan weeks, page, or chapter
numbers completed); approximate hours
spent in Math, Foreign Languages, and
Non-STAA Courses; and grade for each
course.
...16-18 High School Weekly Assignment
Sheets (one for each week in the
semester). These are maintained weekly
by the student and teaching-parent so
the communication between the parent &
student about assignments, due dates,
time spent, organization, scheduling,
and grades does not break down. St.
Thomas Aquinas Academy automatically
generates these for students, but
customized, equivalent forms are
accepted. Whether using the official
High School Weekly Assignment Sheets or
a customized version, each week must
clearly demonstrate that (1) it was
communicated to the student what
coursework was required for that school
week; (2) that time was tracked in the
courses that need it (Foreign Languages,
Math, and Non-STAA Courses); and (3)
that the student’s coursework was graded
on AT LEAST a weekly basis by his or her
teaching-parent or tutor.
...2 quality work samples for each
course you are reporting—one from each
quarter. In our materials we discuss at
length what a quality work sample looks
like. Some examples: a report, book
report, essay, composition piece, math
test, science quiz, and the like. If you
are not using a study guide for
literature we do ask for two book
reports or essays of comparable length
to STAA book report formats per quarter.
...1 neat and complete Non-STAA Course (NSC)
form for each quarter a Non-STAA Course
is studied. While there is a great deal
of flexibility in our program, we cannot
award credits for courses we are
unfamiliar with. Using our guidelines,
you may develop a course and submit it
to STAA for approval. Only St. Thomas
Aquinas Academy approved courses may
earn high school credits and mention on
your student’s transcript. As a
homeschooler you may study the course
with or without St. Thomas Aquinas
Academy approval, but without our
approval it will not appear on the
report cards. When in doubt, ask! Our
advisors will be happy to discuss with
you which courses we can accept and
which we cannot.
...School Days in Attendance. This is
reported on the Semester Report form and
is essential! The goal is at least
ninety six-hour school days each
semester (minimum 1080 hours of
academics per year).
Semester 1 packets including all of the
above listed paper and information are
due before February 28. Semester 2
packets are due before June 30.
Substitutions and Non-STAA Courses
. While we encourage and accept
reasonable book substitutions and
the development of home-generated
courses (courses NOT designed by St.
Thomas Aquinas Academy), each year
of high school over fifty percent of
the high school student's academic
credits must be from courses
designed by St. Thomas Aquinas
Academy for high school students in
order to stay in our diploma
program. For instance, if a student
is taking Religion (10 credits),
English (10 credits), Latin (10
credits), History (10 credits),
Literature (10 credits), and Science
(10 credits) then over 30 credits of
this 60 credit plan must be from St.
Thomas Aquinas Academy designed
courses, following STAA weekly
course plans.
. We refer to substitutions and
home-generated courses as Non-STAA
Courses (NSC). St. Thomas Aquinas
Academy will gladly accept properly
reported NSC courses as part of the
student’s academic plan.
Dramatic departure from the STAA
core plan tends to compromise the
cohesiveness of the program and may
leave holes in the development of
certain college-preparatory skills.
Please discuss any planned swapping
of STAA courses for NSC courses with
your academic planning advisor to
verify that your plan will skill
keep your student on track for
graduation.
. Properly reported Non-STAA
Courses showing adequate academic
achievement WILL be eligible to
appear on the report cards and
transcript. They will be
labeled “Non-STAA Courses.”
Quality work samples must be
submitted to qualify the courses for
academic credit.
"Can we
enroll in STAA and not participate in
the high school diploma program?"
Yes, you may enroll your student in
St. Thomas Aquinas Academy and
choose not to participate in the
diploma program. The STAA diploma
program is an optional program
available to enrolled students who
wish to obtain a high school diploma
and transcripts from St. Thomas
Aquinas Academy. There is a per
student fee due each year for all students who
will be participating in St. Thomas
Aquinas Academy’s report card and/or
high school diploma program. As of
1/5/2012, the annual fee to
participate in the Report Card,
Transcripts, and Diploma Program is
$35.00 per student.
