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| Geneva Academy catering to students’ abilities |
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| News - Louisburg | |||
| Written by Kristen Waggener | |||
| Friday, 30 January 2009 09:00 | |||
In unison, three students rush into the sanctuary at Eastside Church of the Cross in Louisburg and recite a phrase in Latin.  They’re praised by their teacher for their work and quickly retreat to their classroom to absorb more. The small class of three students — all younger than high school age — is typical at Geneva School, a private Christian university-model school based in Louisburg. Organizers Susan Rives and Jean Ryden started the school with 10 students in August 2008 with the goal of providing high-quality Christian education in Miami County. Cafeteria styleStudents are admitted to Geneva Academy after submitting an application and going through an interview process, Rives said.And once a child is considered a student, the parents can choose classes at the child’s level, and enroll them in as many or as few as they would like. Geneva Academy offers classes in including subjects such as English, Latin, Spanish and sign language, algebra, science, history, home economics, learning by doing, logic and art. “The majority of students pick and choose classes they want or classes they need,” Rives said. The school is working to obtain accreditation through the National Association of University-Model Schools. “The benefit of working through them is they provide the framework and the structure and standards to uphold,” Rives said. Strength in teachingStudents at Geneva Academy spend two days at the school and three days working with a parent at home on concepts taught in the classes. That, paired with the ability for students to take classes in whatever level their abilities are instead of their age level, lets students succeed, said English teacher Molly Totoro.“Because the school is not age drive, it’s ability driven, from the teaching point of view, we can cover more material and know you’re reading the students. I think students enjoy learning because of that,” Totoro said. Many of the teachers at Geneva School have master’s degrees in their subject fields, and many teach at Christ Preparatory Academy in Kansas City, Kan., on days they are not teaching at Geneva, Rives said. “I think our strength is our teachers,” Rives said. “The quality of the teachers makes the quality of the school.” Growing in numbersUniversity-model schools started in 1992 in Texas, and the number of similarly structured schools has grown into the hundreds since then.Schools such as Geneva Academy start small, Rives said, and after the first year or two, tend to grow exponentially. That’s the kind of growth the school is seeing, too. There were 10 students enrolled first semester and 18 this semester. “Growth would be great, but the model is such that we can operate in a smaller environment or a larger environment,” Rives said. More information about the school can be found online at www.mygenevaacademy.com.
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