The educational philosophy of Mount Royal Academy is grounded in the unique dignity of the human person. Every child is made in the image of God, and deserves an education that nurtures the yearning for truth, goodness, and beauty that exists in every human person. The classical liberal arts education has been the most enduring method of imparting this kind of foundation.
The natural development of learning begins with facts and structures of knowledge. As those are acquired, the learner transitions to logic-based reasoning about the knowledge. This, in turn, leads to the ability to articulate truths about what has been learned. This is classically known as the grammatical, logical, and rhetorical phases of learning. These phases organically align with the progression from elementary, through junior high, and high school. However, they also remain essential to any kind of learning throughout life. Thus, ideally, anyone who possesses a liberal arts education has the ability to learn anything.
The curriculum at Mount Royal Academy is a liberal arts curriculum. As students absorb the facts and structures of mathematics, science, theology, language arts, and history; they are also challenged to logically analyze the subject and draw conclusions. Mastery of the subject is gained as students are asked to articulate the truth based on what was learned. This happens through various written and oral assessment techniques.
The Catholic faith is central to the educational philosophy of our school. As stated in our mission, we are called to inspire students to grow in their knowledge of and love for God, which enables them to love and serve those around them. To accomplish this mission we look to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, as both our model and our means. We also acknowledge the vital witness of our parents, teachers, administrators, Board of Directors, and priests as they reveal the Christian message; not only by word, but also by their example. We understand that the teaching of our Catholic faith is not limited to religious instruction in the classroom or during liturgical celebrations throughout the year, but through modeling Christianity as a comprehensive way of life. It should animate our attitudes and be integrated into all our activities as we strive to create an environment in which students’ faith and virtue will gradually mature.
For a further elucidation of the liberal arts education, please read this brochure produced by the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education.
Mount Royal Academy and the Common Core Standards
Mount Royal Academy eschews Common Core standards. As a private school, we are not obligated to adopt the standards proposed by federal and state policy makers.
The Common Core is irreconcilable with the noble vision and truly dignifying heritage of classical education. Instead, MRA embraces the renewal of the mind, the will, and the imagination that emanates from our Catholic identity. Our core is uncommon, for it rests on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, true God and true man. The Catholic is our Core initiative developed by the Cardinal Newman Society captures the transcendent and transformational objectives of an authentically Catholic, classical education.
Catholic Curriculum Standards
Mount Royal Academy aspires to the educational standards developed by the Cardinal Newman Society.
The Cardinal Newman Society offers these Catholic Curriculum Standards as a resource for educators to help maintain their focus on what is unique about Catholic elementary and secondary education: its evangelizing mission to integrally form students in Christ and transmit a Christian worldview.
The standards cover English language arts, math, scientific topics, and history, focusing on unique Catholic insights in these curricular areas and complementing the Church’s standards for religious instruction. They are broadly grouped into two grade levels, K-6 and 7-12, and they express student levels of learning, inviting educators to assign or develop materials and choose subject matter that serve the unique mission of Catholic education.
We built the standards on the solid foundation of Church documents, the educational philosophies of faithful Newman Guide colleges, and many writings on Catholic, liberal arts, and classical education. We consulted with many leading Catholic scholars, school leaders, and standards experts to ensure the highest quality resource.