I write this to commend Progressive Academy for being “progressive” in their approach to educating children. Initiating an “options” course as part of the elementary curriculum has seen a significant improvement in my son’s grades overall. Not only is he interested and excited about the options course, without even knowing, he is excited and motivated for his other courses as well. What I like most about the system is that one course does not stand alone at Progressive Academy. The courses are as interwoven as a fine Persian carpet where each course is impacted by the other. Aside from the positive grade improvement, the options idea has strengthened relationships between the students of various grade levels, encouraging cooperative behaviour in a team environment not solely dependent on the specific grade level. With the options you see Grade six students interacting and encouraging children in the lower grades and having fun cooperating and most importantly learning!

Thank you for stepping up and out of the box to improve learning.

– parent

 

My Ideal School

Unlike other schools, Progressive Academy would have to be the only school I know so far that offers my ideal program. It’s nearly perfect! When you need help, you got it. Want to work ahead? Go for it! Need help with some homework or having troubles understand concepts? The teachers will take their own free time just to help you! At P.A they actually CARE on what you want to do! Everyone there is open-minded and is always happy to help make learning more fun! We have to agree, that everyone learns faster when they’re having fun! I mean, who doesn’t want to have fun?! The options here are spectacular! What P.A does is they do a vote on what option should we do and they take the top 6 or so. Then, to finish it all off, they add in an extra options called Independent Studies! You would go there if didn’t like any of the options then you CHOOSE to do whatever you want to learn about! Like everything in life, nothing is perfect. A good school should help us prepare for the future. As a student, I think children are the future. If we hope to solve the world’s major problems: achieving world peace, healthy lives, economic development, and global sustainability; we must provide richer learning opportunities for the world’s children. An educated and creative population is, without a doubt, the best path to global health, wealth, and peace.

– a student perspective

Why we returned to Progressive Academy

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your hard work and determination in providing such a fantastic independent school! Our daughter has excelled beyond our expectations in your program. I want to share with you the reasons we put her in Progressive Academy, why we left after kindergarten and the reasons we brought her back. Maybe it will give some other parents a few things to consider when deciding whether or not to continue with Progressive Academy.

We came to Progressive Academy looking for a half day educational/social outing. Maybe some work on the alphabet and numbers, and a look at the calendar and the weather outside. What we got was Jolly Phonics and a child who could easily identify the letters and knew their sounds. As a lefty her printing was amazing. She could sound out words and was beginning to read books. She learned so much, so quickly that there was no question as to where she would attend Kindergarten. In Kindergarten the learning continued and upon completion she was reading and spelling at a Grade Two level. She could do basic addition and subtraction.

We had always planned to move to the public system after Kindergarten as we thought it would be tough to pay the school fees. Anyway, we had given her a great head start for the rest of her education. After much research, open houses and meetings with principals we found a small school with small class sizes and an academic focus. Several of the specialized programs were full as we were outside the designated area or else they were inaccessible to us. We thought that the teacher would be able to provide some more challenging material to encourage her learning. After the first week I knew we had made a mistake, but I held out because I wanted to give the school and the teacher a fair try. The spelling words she could recognize in Jr. Kindergarten and the printing practice was almost nonexistent. They encouraged you not to correct their reading or spelling and worked more on sight then using phonics. I felt that a month of school had passed but she hadn’t learned any new reading or writing skills.

Since coming back to Progressive Academy, Cassidy’s academics have blossomed. Her teacher has modified the program for her ability and as a Grade One student she is functioning in spelling and reading at a Grade Four level. She has a keen interest in school and a nice group of friends. Financially, it’s a bit of a strain, but, what better way to spend your money than on your child’s future! The only regret I have is to have ever taken her out of PA to begin with.

Our son will be attending Jr. Kindergarten for the next school term. He may or may not be the same type of student as his sister, but at least he will have the same study skills and a strong foundation for learning that she does. I feel the teachers really care about teaching and about the kids themselves. I have recommended PA to many of my friends and family members and will continue to do so. Once again I just wanted to commend you on your vision for such a unique school and your motivation to make it a reality. We are very happy with the program and encourage other parents to seriously look at keeping their children in such a great learning environment.

– parent

 

The greatest benefit that I have received is a child that is interested in learning.

– parent

 

You have profoundly impacted our family with your world class expertise educationally and your caring.

– parent

 

I learned that at this school I have a better chance because I am really learning, not just floating along.

– student

 

Probably the small classroom size and the large family atmosphere has benefited our son the most. He enjoys the younger students at school, and it gives him and other older ones incentive to set a good example in behavior. In big schools, kids can get lost; at Progressive Academy our son gets more individualized attention. With the personalized attention he is learning a lot more and the teachers take the time to catch the things that have been missed.

– parent