Friday Feature: Aquinas Learning

pa href=https://www.cato.org/people/colleen-hroncich hreflang=enColleen Hroncich/a
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pNecessity is the mother of invention. This simple phrase sums up the origins of a href=https://www.aquinaslearning.com/homeAquinas Learning/a./p
pRosario Reilly was anbsp;homeschooling mom and coordinator of anbsp;local homeschool co‐​op. While she liked having the community, there were anbsp;lot of unknowns with the co‐​op. She had to teach different classes each year, and she never knew who would return from one year to the next. She still had to be the primary curriculum planner for her children./p
pShe wanted something that was still flexible but had anbsp;bit more structure. They tried out a href=https://www.cato.org/blog/friday-feature-classical-conversationsClassical Conversations/a, which gave Rosario much of what she was looking for—she loved the once anbsp;week meeting and that they were paying trained mentors who were committing to teach for the full year./p
pRosario inquired about offering Classical Conversations as anbsp;Catholic group but was told it wasn’t possible. So, she started researching classical education and found some differences in the more recent neoclassical approach and the ancient classical model that stretches back to Aristotle and was used by Catholics for centuries. Rosario decided to embrace this Catholic heritage and create anbsp;classical education program that would incorporate the liberal arts, the sciences, and the great ideas of Western civilization./p
pIn 2009, Rosario launched Aquinas Learning in Manassas, Virginia, with 40 students. She designed it to be family friendly—the content is divided into three cycles and every level is studying the same cycle. This means the whole family is learning the same thing at different levels of difficulty, so they can discuss what they’re learning and take relevant field trips together./p
pAquinas Learning families enroll in anbsp;28‐​week course based on their children’s ages. The curriculum is broken down by weekly study and tries to integrate subjects within different disciplines. For example, when the students study volcanos in science, the history classes will study mosaics from Pompeii and maps of Europe, so the students are getting more relevance, not just memorizing. The content is housed in an online course site that parents and mentors can access./p
pAt her original Manassas location, which now has 165 students, families meet in person once anbsp;week for the core curriculum. There are also optional days available—science and math on Tuesdays and integrated humanities on Thursdays. The remaining days are homeschooling days, which means families largely control their own schedules. They also have after‐​school clubs for drama, space, and Lego simple machines./p
pJust one year after Rosario started Aquinas Learning, people started asking if they could license it to start their own. There are now eight centers across the country and one international location with several others being considered. Families can also use the curriculum on their own without anbsp;community or become part of the a href=https://www.aquinaslearning.com/alvc-eastAquinas Learning Virtual Center/a./p
pRosario says she had an uptick in interest due to covid. “It was anbsp;mix of people, including anbsp;lot of crisis homeschoolers who just needed an alternative,” she says. Others have joined after not liking what they’re seeing in schools. The growth has been through word of mouth, not anbsp;coordinated campaign./p
pAquinas Learning offers anbsp;robust option for parents. While the content is steeped in classical learning, history, and Catholicism, it uses an online delivery model to ensure widespread access. By using anbsp;hybrid model of some days at home and some days in community, it offers parents support but still anbsp;lot of flexibility. And through the licensing options, education entrepreneurs can start their own learning centers to meet their local needs./p