Homeschool a community of faith

November 16, 2024

Children can be seen at Mass and heard on the playground during recess two days a week at Ss. John and Paul Parish in Altoona, where the St. Thomas Classical Academy uses the Faith Development Center for students ranging from first grade through high school.

The independent hybrid academy offers an option for homeschool families who want the flexibility  of homeschooling with the benefits of a traditional classroom.                

“It’s the best of both worlds,” said Joe Stopulos, board member and parent of four students at the academy.

The Stopulos family homeschools because it offers an opportunity to tailor education to their children and spend more time with them. With the hybrid education model, their children go to the academy two days a week, where they benefit from structure offered by teachers and develop friendships with classmates and their families.

Most importantly, though, Stopulos said the academy’s foundation is a group of homeschool families focused on their Catholic faith.

The academy began in 2017 with six students and four homeschool families, and has grown consistently since then. Their curriculum includes Latin, grammar, philosophy, theology, mathematics, art, logic, history, and science. Each day the students gather, they celebrate Mass.

“It’s an incredible faith community to the parents, the teachers, the students, the volunteers, and the board,” he said. “Our goals and our vocation as parents is to get our kids to heaven. St. Thomas Classical Academy gives us the best opportunity to do that.”

Thirty youth aged 1 to 6 use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd as their model for teaching the faith. It uses a Montessori method in which the children discover and learn through a prepared environment. Eighty-four older students learn from tutors and volunteers in a typical classroom setting for learning.

^{Michael Stopulos contemplates the Mass with child-sized replicas of an altar.}

“I personally love the hybrid model, especially in the younger years,” said cofounder and homeschool mom Dawn Ogden.

“It gives them time to play, to read and be children. They get a solid education in a few hours a day. The curriculum is designed for the whole family; we’re reading the same books and learning similar material,” she said. “It fosters discussion about the faith and history around the dinner table or in the school commute. Those are some of the great advantages of a hybrid program.”

For more information, go to stthomasclassical.org.