Denver Catholic

6 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 10, 2017 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese Evening of Hope GALA Saturday, November 18, 2017 The Brown Palace Hotel 321 17th Street, Denver, CO 80202 BENEFIT FOR HOPE SCHOLARSHIPS Beverly, Sts. Peter and Paul student Buy tickets at EOHGala.org A look at some of the diƒerent Catholic elementary school models in Denver BY AARON LAMBERT A ll this talk about school choice begs the question: What options are available to Cath- olic students in Denver? Quite a few, it turns out. Parents of elementary-aged children through middle school have a wealth of options when it comes to giving their kids a Catholic education. "It's about getting parents' choice for their kids' education," said Adam Dufault, assistant superintendent of Denver Catholic Schools. "Kids are all di"erent, kids all don't learn the same way. Within the Catholic school system, we want to create options." A handful of the 42 Catholic schools in the archdiocese, 37 directly overseen by the O²ce of Catholic Schools and five a²liated schools, adhere to specialized models of education that fall outside the traditional parochial school models, which contain their own rigorous curic- ulum. There are also a few other una²l- iated schools which o"er educational models that are equally as valuable. No matter which school a parent sends their child to, one element remains a constant. "The unifying force for all of these schools is the fact they're all Catholic," Dufault said. "That is a non-negotiable." CLASSICAL The Archdiocese of Denver is cur- rently home to two Classical academies: Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver and Frassati Catholic Academy in Thorn- ton. Bishop Machebeuf High School is also considering implementing a Clas- sical track in the near future.± The classical model dates back to as early as the 6th century and is built upon three primary pillars: Grammar, logic and rhetoric. The study of Latin, art and music are integral to a classical education, and in the case of these two schools, faith is the foundation upon which the curriculum is built.± Our Lady of Lourdes' enrollment has grown consistently since princi- pal Rosemary Anderson switched the school to a classical model in 2011, and Frassati is currently in its first o²cial year of operation. EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING Two schools in the archdiocese adhere to the expeditionary learning model of education: St. Rose of Lima and Annunciation schools in Denver.± EL schools focus on problem-based learning, and as the name suggests, encourages students to explore con- cepts themselves. For example, stu- dents embark on long-term "learning expeditions" in which they connect classroom learning to real world issues.± Another mantra of EL learning is encouraging high-quality work; teach- ers emphasize the importance of com- pleting every assignment to the best of the student's ability.± EL schools also invest in profes- sional development for their teachers and leaders to keep them at the peak of their development as teaching profes- sionals, which is of great benefit to the students as well. Which Catholic school is right for your child?

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