The Beautiful Field Trips

If I asked my daughters, both already mothers, about their most memorable moments in school, I would not be surprised to hear them describe in great detail their amazing eighth grade field trip.  If you are surfing the K12 school websites, you will find many beautiful and nostalgic photos of school field trips, students by …

What Happened to the Book Report?

Many of us remember writing book reports when we were in elementary school.  The book report may not sound like a high-tech, 21st century assignment, but it was effective at teaching us how to learn. At Studia Nova, we embrace top content creators and excellent “explainer” videos.  Explainer videos and innovative animations bring more difficult …

Computer-Delivered Curriculum

Studia Nova delivers all its curriculum through our online platform.  In about three hours a day, most students are able to complete all their subjects.  This approach leaves time for other activities, like P.E., art projects, or just regular family fun.  I have heard many parents say that they do not want their kids sitting …

Competing for Talent

Private schools who want to hire highly qualified and experienced teachers must complete in the market with California public schools.  Let’s consider the benefits of becoming a public school teacher in California: The CDE reports: “The average salary of public school teachers in 2020–21 for the State of California was $85,856.“ In an 2019 EdSource …

IEPs and Autism

Refresher on Immunizations addressed how SB 277 removed the personal belief exemption, and how this bill was motivated by a high-profile measles outbreak. The article went on to explain the exemptions, how SB 277 can not exclude students with an IEP, so I realized it is time to check in on those IEP statistics. CDE …

Refresher on Immunizations

I’m just a school teacher, I’m not a lawyer, and I certainly don’t give legal advice.  However, as Studia Nova’s Head of Teachers I need to have a good grasp of the legal framework in California, particularly on hot-button issues. It all began with the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak. The measles is a highly contagious …

A Literacy Guarantee

Prosperity for America recently published an article on Literacy Statistics,  “Adults with literacy below the 6th grade are 54%”  In the USA, 8th grade reading level is generally considered to be literate.  Our system of education is completely failing a half of the adult population.  Further, California has one of the worst adult literacy rates of …

De-Institutionalizing Children

Our great institutions. Perhaps you are an institutionalist, one who believes that our institutions are part of our nation’s greatness.  Many people admire American institutions.  But should we instiutionalize our children?  Yes that sounds over-dramatic since the word has many meanings, so bear with me. Let’s consider for a moment if instiutionalizing our children, in …

Learning Communities

The New One Room School House The way we teach students has failed on so many levels, so let’s imagine how we would create a new type of schooling system.  It is surprising that we all tend to imagine the exact same format of classroom learning, we just imagine we will do it better.  Frankly, …

The Decision to Go Private

It’s a tough choice to go private. Because after all, public education is free. But it’s worse than free. We have already paid for public education when we pay our taxes. So when a family considers private education, the family is not opting for paid versus free, they are opting for paying even more than …