Collaborative School Culture

Parent “Co-teachers” attend an annual conference a few days before classes begin. New parents attend onboarding seminars and workshops, and all parents are invited to extended meetings with classroom teachers, curriculum training, and various other workshops designed to support learning at home. See a recent Co-Teacher Training agenda.

Co-Teacher Connect consists of monthly workshops throughout the school year, designed to support co-teaching parents in their biggest areas of need. Previous workshops have covered family discipleship, learning differences, emotional health, the process of discipline, growing in classical understanding, and more. The school also offers several follow-up workshops on key pieces of our curriculum throughout the year, such as math and our phonogram-based reading program. Once a month, “What’s Brewing with Mr. Billman” gatherings are held to keep our parents in the loop about the various school initiatives, events, and happenings.

Our weekly lesson plan format might be the “secret sauce” of our collaborative school. Each Monday, teachers distribute detailed lesson plans that guide students and parents through the learning activities of the week. We always provide information about what students learn at school, as well as detailed instructions about what to do on “home days.” Not only do these plans guide our families on a daily basis, they provide one of the highest levels of school transparency that you’ll find.

• Explore a sample Lower School lesson plan. In Lower School (PK-4th grades, when students are home three days a week), parents play an active role in teaching particular lessons to young children; the plans are naturally quite detailed.  
• Explore a sample Upper School lesson plan. In Upper School (5th-12th grades, when students are home two days a week), the subject material becomes more complex, students grow in independence, and the lesson plans are written to the students. The format thus prepares them for higher education; Providence alumni report that Providence trained them to study independently. 
• Explore a sample Lamp-Post, the weekly Providence family newsletter.