Coram Deo Academy

Coram Deo Academy is a private school located in Flower Mound, Texas. It is a classical teaching school.

History

Rodney and Robi Marshall and two other couples planned the school concept in 1998. At the time they were homeschooling their children. The Marshalls and the other couples believed that their children needed more support in subjects such as calculus, Latin, and physics. In 1999 the school opened as the Flower Mound Christian Academy. Joseph Fox, the principal of the Carrollton, Texas campus, said that the Latin words "Coram Deo" illustrate that the school's education is "in the presence of God."^[1]

Structure

Coram Deo ia a hybrid between a private school and a homeschool. Students may attend the school on two days of the week, and go to homeschool on the other two days. For instance students may go to school on Mondays and Wednesdays and homeschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays students do electives.^[1]

Academics

Coram Deo emphasizes Christianity and subjects from classical education, such as Latin and logic. The Christian religion is integrated into various subjects at Coram Deo. Students also take Bible classes.^[1]

Campuses

Coram Deo has a K-12 campus in Flower Mound, including Grammar School (elementary, K-4),^[2] Logic School (middle, grades 5-8),^[3] and high school (9-12).^[4] The Coram Deo administrative offices are on the Flower Mound campus.^[5]

The Collin County campus is located in the One Church (previously Four Corners Church) facility Plano.^[6] It opened as the Coram Deo Academy of North Dallas in August 2004 in a building in Carrollton.^[7][6] During the first year, it offered grades K-8. Each subsequent year it planned to add a grade to cover high school.^[7] In 2009 high school was added.^[6]

It also has a PreK-8 Dallas campus, which opened in 2006.^[8]

Flower Mound Campus Construction Plan

On June 1 of 2009, Coram Deo Academy (CDA) began the conversion of its gym building into classrooms by replacing the old interior with two bathrooms, two waterfountains, a second story storage facility, and seven brand new classrooms. The school underwent this project because of a city ordinance that stated that the school needed to remove its temporary buildings (which contained the old classrooms). The renovation of the building was finished later that year before the CDA school year began. Over the summer of 2009 the school removed its two temporary buildings as per the city's ordinance. During the beginning of the school year, the school began to improve the landscape by adding new features such as new grass, three outdoor dining tables, embellishing shrubbery, and a pebble pathway to and from the school's pavilion.

Phase One

In October of 2009, Coram Deo Academy (CDA) broke the ground of Phase One in its New Campus Master Plan. The school contracted with Archistructure (Newark, TX) for the construction of three brand new 600-square-foot (56 m²) classrooms that would give the school more space to aid in the teaching of its students. Also in the plan for the school's Phase One schedule is a deceleration lane, a new entrance with the removal of the old one, a new monument sign, and a perimeter drive with fire safety.

Entrance Requirements

To gain admittance, all prospective students are required to score well on the ISEE placement test. Prospective students must also submit their academic records from the school they are transferring from. Additionally, every prospective student and their legal guardians must confess that their beliefs are in accord with the Nicene Creed.

National Average

Ninety percent of all high school students at Coram Deo Academy score higher than the national average on the SAT [1]. Additionally, over 95% of graduates attend a post secondary education. [2]

Faculty and Staff

Coram Deo Academy employs a highly qualified staff of teachers and faculty. Over the years, students have studied under the tutelage of doctors, authors and master naturalists. Thirty-nine percent of the teachers have a graduate degree, while 58% of the teaching staff have graduate degrees or ten plus years of teaching experience. Many teachers choose to continue studying for the advanced degrees in their field while maintaining a teaching position at CDA.

University Schedule

Coram Deo Academy employs a university schedule system, so classes are scheduled two days per week, with the remaining days set aside for homework and electives. Students may take electives on campus each Friday. This permits parents to have a more active role in the their child's education. Collaborative education is a defining feature of the school - CDA believes each parent should play an active role in the education of their children as much as possible. In 2006, a five-day program for grades 5-12 was implemented to assist parents who needed an additional option for educating their children in the classical Christian worldview. This five day a week program complements the three-day program, which includes electives.

Curriculum

CDA's curriculum is modeled after a the classical trivium. It is composed of three stages of learning: "Grammar," "Logic," and "Rhetoric." In the first stage, Grammar, grades K-four, are given a foundation of basic knowledge through joyful memorization and repetition. The following Logic stage, grades five-eight, concentrates on developing the mind through questions such as "how?" and "why?",though the fundamentals of the previous stage are still largely incorporated. Finally, the Rhetoric stage, which encompasses grades nine-twelve, contemplates almost entirely on the ideas developed in the Logic stage and established from the Grammar stage. Students at the Rhetoric Stage begin to polish their debate skills and further delve into the advanced math, science and literature classes.

Student body

Athletics

Coram Deo Academy has viewed athletics as essential to the well-roundedness of its students. Coram Deo Academy offers a wide variety of sports from which a student may choose, including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, track, volleyball, softball, golf, and cross country. In 2006, the academy was accepted into the TAPPS 4A conference and regularly competes with other teams in the state of Texas. Currently, Coram Deo Academy has nine varsity and seven junior varsity teams.Even in their short time in existence, the teams have been very successful. The Coram Deo football team won its state conference in 2006 and the tennis team placed third at a state competition as well.

Government

Coram Deo implemented a type of student government known as the house system in Autumn of 2007.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Hughes, Kristine. "School offers new twist on classical education." The Dallas Morning News. Monday June 12, 2006. Retrieved on October 12, 2011.
2. ^ "Grammar School Profile." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011. "Located at 4700 Wichita Trail, Flower Mound, TX"
3. ^ "Logic School Profile." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011. "Located at 4700 Wichita Trail, Flower Mound, TX"
4. ^ "High School Profile." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011.
5. ^ "Contact Us." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011. "Location: 4700 Wichita Trail, Flower Mound, TX 7022"
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Collin County Campus." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011. "Located at One Church- 2400 State Highway 121, Plano, TX"
7. ^ ^{a b} "Coram Deo Academy of North Dallas." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011. "2435 E. Hebron Pkwy. Carrollton, TX 75007"
8. ^ "Dallas Campus." Coram Deo Academy. Retrieved on October 12, 2011. "6464 East Lovers Lane, Dallas TX"

External links

	Dallas-Fort Worth portal
	Schools portal
	Christianity portal

• Coram Deo Academy