About Coram Deo Academy
Coram Deo Academy is an independent, non-denominational, classical Christian day school that provides a complete education, emphasizing a biblical worldview for students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. CDA collaborates with committed Christian families who are willing and able to supervise the home component that complements the three day a week on-campus program. The part-time on-campus concept allows tuition to remain substantially below traditional Christian school tuition and is practical for those who can effectively supervise their student's work at home. Students in grades five through twelve may choose either a part-time option, using the university schedule, or a full time five-day per week program.
Founding and Development
In 1998, two families approached Rodney Marshall, and his wife Robi, about launching a classical Christian educational program to provide a superior worldview-based education for their own children and for similarly motivated families in the Flower Mound area. All three couples believed that an educational program combining the best of an organized school-based education under professional Christian teachers, with one-on-one tutorial in the home, would produce the optimum results. Therefore, Rodney and Robi organized a scoped and sequenced K-12 educational program, modeled on the historic classical Trivium and Quadrivium, with students on the school campus one-half time and in the home campus one-half time, under the supervision of involved parents. The idea quickly gained traction in the community.
Coram Deo Academy has grown from its modest start in 1999 at one location to 911 students at three campuses, 545 at its Flower Mound PreK-12 campus, 288 at its PreK-8 Carrollton campus, and 78 at its Dallas location. “With time, funding and God’s grace, CDA envisions eight DFW-wide campuses training 8,000 youth to live all of life before God. We welcome visionaries who desire to transform the culture one student at a time to join us by supporting this Christian endeavor.", according to Rodney J. Marshall, Coram Deo Academy president and headmaster.
Coram Deo Academy advances a renaissance in classical education and the Christian family. At CDA, professional educators and parents collaborate to educate Christian youth to live all of life before God and to prepare for roles as ethical leaders and wise thinkers that will shape culture for the glory of God. This is accomplished by educating youth in an historic Christian worldview through a rigorous classical curriculum.
In agreement with Augustine that all truth comes from God, CDA’s learning programs teach students to discover truth in the book of God's Word and in the book of God's works (creation and providence). At CDA, students, staff and parents engage each other in discussion and debate over historical, political, religious and literary issues, delve into scientific theories and experimentation, enjoy theatre, music and fine art, and revel in athletic competition -- all to help each student prepare for his or her God-given purpose in all of life. Parents and students who share this passion to serve God may apply for admission.
At Coram Deo Academy, students will receive an education that is:
Classical...
Coram Deo Academy encourages each student to develop a love for learning and to live up to his or her individual academic potential. Achieved by adherence to the time-tested classical trivium of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, each student progresses through curriculum, based upon works of scholarship that have defined our civilization. Students learn the significant, that they may lead lives of significance.
Christian...
The Academy inculcates truth in the light of God and His holy Word. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are integrated throughout all subject areas with the college of faculty, made up of fervent believers. The development of each student's life in Christ is supported, while respecting the place of the church and the primary discipleship role that belongs to the family.
Committed...
CDA partners with parents committed to their Biblically ordained role as the primary instructors of their children. The Academy offers classes two to three days per week on site, that must be supplemented by supervised parental involvement on the days that students are at home. CDA works closely with the students and parents in developing a legacy of lifelong learning.
Organization and Governance
Coram Deo Academy is incorporated in the State of Texas as a non-profit corporation, exempt under section 501(c)3 of the IR Code. Charitable contributions made to CDA are tax deductible.
CDA is governed by a Board of Directors that under God seeks to develop policies and approaches consistent with the Word of God for the glory of God. The board has adopted an approach to board governance modeled after The Carver Institute Policy Governance Model*. The board develops policies regarding the ends (mission and affect of CDA) and means for accomplishing them through four broad policy categories; ends, governance process, management delegation and executive limitations. Through this approach, the CDA Board expects to provide for long-term organizational success even during times of board or executive succession. [for more about the Board click here]
*"Policy Governance® is the world's most complete theoretical foundation for the board's governance role in business, nonprofit (NGO), and government organizations. Policy Governance is an integrated set of concepts and principles that describes the job of any governing board. It outlines the manner in which boards can be successful in their servant-leadership role, as well as in their all-important relationship with management. Unlike most solutions to the challenge of board leadership, its approach to the design of the governance role is neither structural nor piecemeal, but is comprehensively theory based. The model covers all legitimate intentions of corporate governance codes (including Sarbanes-Oxley), but in a far more comprehensive, theory-based manner." For more information feel free to browse the web site of The Carver Institute.
Administration and Leadership
While the Board of Directors provides policy governance oversight, Rodney J. Marshall, President and Headmaster, provides executive oversight and organizational leadership.
[for more about Rodney click here] A qualified administrative team provides business management, curriculum development and day-to-day oversight for each school location.
[for more about the administrative team click here]. In addition the CPA firm of Ratliff and Summerville performs an annual audit of accounting records.
Strategic Initiatives and Funding
CDA has identified three primary strategic initiatives for the qualitative development, long-term permanence and increased influence of the Academy. Donors are invited to join CDA in accomplishing this transformational vision.
- Qualitative Development through Accreditation
- The CDA Flower Mound school achieved accreditation with SACS (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools), in December 2006. The Carrollton school will formed its accreditation team Spring of 2007 anticipating accreditation in 2008 followed by the Dallas school.
- Accreditation and all other basic school operations are funded by tuition and fees.
- Acquisition and development of a permanent campus locations:
Flower Mound
- The fifteen-acre campus at 4900 Wichita Trail, Flower Mound was acquired in the summer of 2005.
- Develop the property over time to include separate grammar-level (K-4), logic-level (5-8) and high school (9-12) classroom buildings, a commons building for dining and convocations, expanded indoor and outdoor recreation and athletic facilities, a free-standing science and discovery center, main administration building, pedestrian walks and gardens, and reformatted parking and circulation.
- Fund campus development through a series of capital campaigns to provide a combination of charitable contributions, and bank and bond financing to support development
Carrollton
a. Extended lease on The Rock, at 2435 Hebron Parkway, beyond 2010 to assume it as a long term location.
b. Make lease hold improvements to accommodate more classrooms, art studio, science labs, and improved offices.
c. Increase identity through signage.
Dallas
a. Grow into all classrooms available at Trinity Episcopal Church.
b. Assist the church with classroom expansion.
- Enrollment growth
- Continue to grow enrollment from qualified applicants at each existing campus in Flower Mound, Carrollton and Dallas by 10-15% per year.
- Launch additional satellite campuses in the Frisco/McKinney area, the mid-cities, Fort Worth and the south as the Lord provides and as demand grows.
- Develop an extension office to support school starts and development in the Metroplex and then beyond.
Coram Deo Academy has always funded basic school operations and especially its academic, artistic and athletic programs from tuition and fees. The Academy has steadily increased tuition-based funding, while establishing a student tuition assistance program, to enable anyone in the school to continue their education during times of temporary financial hardship. The outward impulse of the Academy to grow and influence more students in the Metroplex and to provide a permanent campus requires funding beyond tuition through charitable development.
Memberships and Associations
Coram Deo Academy maintains membership and association with the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS), the Society for Classical Learning (SCL), The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) the Texas Colloquium, Texas Association of Non-Public Schools (TANS), a network of classical and Christian school administrators and The National Forensics League.
Academic Program
The Grammar School includes grades K-6, enrolled within a core academic program with options for enrichment in the fine arts. The Upper School includes grades 7-12, and operates on a university schedule. A full-time option is available through a staffed study center. Subject areas offered include Latin, Logic, Rhetoric and Great Books, English, Spanish and German, History, Mathematics, Sciences, Fine Arts, Philosophy, Theology and Athletics.
The academic program is designed to develop the student through classical Christian learning in the knowledge (grammar), understanding (logic, dialectic or reasoning), and wisdom (rhetoric) of each subject with increasing sophistication as age, grade level and ability rise. Classical elements such as Latin, Logic, Rhetoric, good and great books are provided as formal classes and integrate across the curriculum.
Grammar Stage: Students in grades kindergarten through four focus on the grammar stage of learning. Memorization and drill using rhyme, rhythm and recitation regularly characterizes classroom instruction. One primary teacher may be supplemented by specialists in the Arts and Latin at the various grade levels. The teacher introduces concepts and provides a schedule of assignments for reinforcement at home.
Logic Stage: Students in grades six through eight mature into the understanding, logic, dialectic or reasoning stage of the classical trivium. Although memorization and drill regarding content continue, students begin to ask and answer “how” and “why” questions regarding their studies. In grade eight, students formally study Logic as a well-ordered system. Younger students in grades five and six continue to have a primary teacher supplemented by specialists, while students in grades seven and eight transition into the university-style schedule. Teachers assign home studies to provide proper pacing to complete subject content over the course of the school year. A tuition-based study and tutorial center is available upon request.
Rhetoric Stage: High school studies include the grammar of each subject, but concentrate on developing the logic and rhetoric stages of the classical trivium. Students may enroll in three or more courses on a university-style schedule. Each course includes classroom instruction two hours per week at the school site. Some courses include a laboratory or studio component and meet a third day per week. The balance of the educational program will continue at home where the parent supervises each student's directed study. A tuition-based study and tutorial center is available upon request. Selected courses culminate with the Advanced Placement exam for qualified students.
Offerings By Subject Area
English language, writing and literature: In grades kindergarten through six, reading, handwriting, spelling, grammar, writing and period-specific, age-appropriate literature is emphasized. Seventh-grade curriculum emphasizes grammar, language development, writing and a survey of good books from American literature. Curriculum in grades eight through 12 emphasize writing and continued language development, with SAT verbal-section preparation. Literature content in grades eight through 12 progresses through the good and great books of ancient, classical, early church, medieval, renaissance, reformation, modern, and American periods. The content parallels the study of history, providing advanced exposure to the finest literature of the West. In grades four through 10, students learn the 14 pre-rhetoric heuristics called the Progymnasmata in preparation for grade 11 Rhetoric.
“Progymnasmata are collections of speaking and writing exercises for students of rhetoric. As historians have shown, they played an extremely important role in European education from Antiquity to the beginnings of the Modern Era. Unfortunately, they are treated today, if at all, as an historical curiosity, a relic of the old "school rhetoric." Occasionally, there are attempts to revive the traditional sequence. Both approaches miss what I believe is most valuable about the Progymnasmata, the very idea of a unified pedagogical program in the language arts, spanning primary, secondary, and higher education, oriented toward the shaping of rhetorical character, and organized around a sequence of well-defined exercises in verbal analysis and composition.”
-- The Very Idea of a Progymnasmata, Fleming, J. David, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison.
History: Grades kindergarten through 12 survey the world, and especially Western Civilization, from the ancient to the modern day, three times, in increasing sophistication. The grammar stage emphasizes mental cataloging of the major people, events and dates. Upper School history reviews the cataloged facts and seeks to assure students understand a Christian perspective on the development of civilization. Discussion helps students see the providence of God in the outworking of His overarching plan. The chronological sequence of presentation parallels the study of literature. Principles of logic and rhetoric are integrated to enhance student learning, discussion, debate and presentation. Original works of history make this course the equivalent of an advanced study of the West.
Mathematics: Solid practical instruction is included so students grasp principles and progressively master the subject. Recognition of the orderly nature of God's creation under girds the philosophy of Mathematics to enrich study. The Saxon math series is used for both Grammar and Logic level instruction through the eighth grade. The introduction of Geometry in the ninth grade introduces new texts from the University of Chicago's School Math Project. Upper School students are also offered supplemental training in PSAT/SAT preparation. Calculus is offered to, but not required for, students before graduation.
Foreign Language: Latin under girds a classical education and provides much of the foundation of English and Romantic languages. It opens a window into the thinking of the classical period. Grammar School offers introductory Latin beginning in the third grade. Upper School requires two, and offers more, years of advanced classroom instruction beginning at the seventh grade. High school Spanish and German is available to most students, while Greek may be offered by arrangement to serious students.
Fine Arts: CDA provides training in music, visual art, drama theory, history and appreciation -- with technical training -- in vocal music and classical guitar, drawing and painting, and oratorical arts through speech and Shakespearean drama.
Science: Science students discover the works of God in His creation through study and laboratory experience in the physical and life sciences. Logic provides the basis for ordering this revelation of God when students enter the logic, reasoning or understanding stage of learning while laboratory experience verifies the great discoveries of scientists.
Bible, Theology and Philosophy: Classical Christian educators describe theology as the "queen of the sciences" and philosophy as its "handmaiden." Bible, theology, philosophy and apologetics develop the thinking of the maturing student to effectively defend and advance the Christian faith in any arena. Grammar School students study a portion of the Bible, beginning with Genesis and moving through Revelation, in a five-year sequence. In the Upper School, a comprehensive study of the law, history, poetry, and wisdom literature of the Old Testament, as well as the Gospels, Acts, and Pauline Epistles, exposes students to the revelation of God. Later studies include the creeds and confessions of the church and apologetics.
College and Career Guidance: Each student has been called by God to a life of Christian influence whether in the church and family or in the broader society through law, politics, economics and business, the arts, sciences or industry. CDA provides assistance with the help of certified college career-consulting and well-ordered preparation for college exams and the application process. Graduates of CDA have enrolled in private liberal arts and Christian colleges, state institutions of higher learning and military service academies pursuing a plethora of post secondary training. [for the high school profile click here] [for more on the academic program click here]
Faculty
College of Faculty is composed of qualified individuals who are committed Christians and masters of the content in the respective fields. Classes are conducted utilizing lecture, dialogue, shared inquiry, Socratic, laboratory and studio methods. Many staff members hold advanced degrees, or are authors and conference speakers. [for more on faculty click here]
Student Life
Coram Deo Academy offers a rich and rigorous environment for Christian students interested in developing a full-orbed biblical world and life view and preparing for lives of Christian influence. Students enjoy participation in classical Christian education in the arts and sciences as well as athletics, chess and other clubs, the Lions' Roar Student Newsletter, yearbook, school pictures and Christian fellowship and friendships. Many students participate in independently organized international educational travel; parents organize an annual spring formal.
