New Covenant Schools is a college preparatory environment and follows a classical model of education that is rooted in the liberal arts. The curriculum is rigorous at all levels and students transferring from other schools both public and private generally require a period of adjustment. The ERB CTP4 is administered annually, and test scores are consistently far above the national average.
Class sizes are small and there is a high level of personal attention to students. The faculty is well qualified, with all faculty members holding at least the B.A. or B.S. and nearly half holding the M.A. Classical languages are required for all students from kindergarten through high school, and students in grades 7-12 typically take four years of Latin and/or Greek. Formal instruction in logic is given in grades 7 through 9 and classical rhetoric is taught in grades 10 through 12.
The Grammar School (K-4th grade) is designed to bring students to a mastery of basic skills in the disciplines of reading, arithmetic, science, art, music, history, Bible and Latin. At this level we seek to teach students not only what to know, but how also how to learn. As students progress to the School of Dialectic (middle school) and Rhetoric (high school) they are expected to acquire and use logic and rhetorical skills in all areas of the curriculum. They are urged to think deeply and defend their positions rationally when answering questions in any discipline across the curriculum. The senior year of high school is completed by researching, writing, and defending a senior thesis before the faculty and parent community.
There is only one academic track throughout the schools. The level of work is generally equivalent to honors standards. Since our course of study is guided by the classical tradition, we typically do not teach directly to the Advanced Placement standards; however, many students sit for the AP Exams in many disciplines, and the pass rate (3+) is achieved by 89% of students who take the exams. Students who have successfully passed these exams have earned credit at colleges that recognize the AP standards. New Covenant classes are graded on a percentage basis and academic honors are as follows: Summa cum Laude, GPA of 4.0, Magna cum Laude, at least 3.5, and cum Laude, at least 3.0. With the rigor of the curriculum, semester and yearly honors are difficult to attain and therefore highly prized.
Grade point averages and class rank are based on a straight 4.0 point scale and it is impossible to achieve above a 4.0 GPA. Semester grades of 94 and above receive 4.0 points; 87 to 93, 3.0 points; 78 to 86, 2.0 points; 70 to 77, 1.0 point. Grades below 70 receive neither points nor credit. Quality points are assigned for academic and extra curricular activities on a similar scale. Graduates of New Covenant Schools typically go on to college or post secondary schooling, and regulary earn significant merit scholarships. Our students have been accepted at many schools around the country. Click here for a complete list.
