Education Program
Our Education Program ensures a life-changing education for all girls, either in the Grace House Campus School or one of our private school partners. We believe that providing our girls with an outstanding education will prepare them for success throughout their lives, both in future academic environments and the broader world.
Grace House Campus School: Campus School is an alternative option for girls who don't thrive in a traditional classroom setting to realize their full potential. Additionally, Campus School allows Grace House to start girls immediately into a private school setting, regardless of the time of year or length of their placement. From serving just 2 girls and meeting inside one of the homes, Campus School has grown to serve 30 girls at one time, employ two full-time certified teachers, and have its own fully renovated building on the Grace House campus.
Our Partner Schools: Some girls who live at Grace House are enrolled in one of our private, Christian partner school. Our current Partner Schools are Restoration Academy and Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School. We believe that the structure and rigor of these schools is a reflection of the structure of Grace House, and we want our girls’ educational experiences to prepare them as much as possible academically, spiritually, and physically.
Which girls attend Campus School?
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Girls who perform behind grade level or are missing credits to graduate on time. Girls take the Measures of Academic Progress Online Assessment to help determine true performance level versus grade level.
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Girls who suffer socially and emotionally in a traditional, larger neighborhood school environment.
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Girls who are placed at Grace House midway through the semester or year and need a bridge program to prepare them to transition into one of our partner schools.
Why We Choose to Homeschool:
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The academic pace can be determined by the child’s rate of learning.
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Teachers can teach in the style that a girl learns best.
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Teachers can incorporate a girl’s therapy and sensory needs into the classroom and focus on a girl’s development as a whole.
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Grace House staff have the flexibility to make appointments with caseworkers, counselors, specialists, therapists.
Homeschool Myths vs. Facts
Myth: Kids who are homeschooled can’t go to college.
Fact: Alabama law prohibits public two-year or four-year institutions of higher learning from denying admission to an otherwise qualified student based on the fact that the student attended, graduated from, or is enrolled in a non-public school.
Myth: Kids who are homeschool don’t succeed academically or socially.
Fact: The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. Homeschooled students graduated college at a rate of 66.7%, which is almost 10% higher than students who came from a traditional public high school. Studies have also shown lower depression, less use/abuse of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, and higher empathy/self-control.
Myth: Homeschooling is uncommon.
Fact: There are about 2.5 million homeschool students in grades K-12 in the United States (or 3% to 4% of school-age children). The homeschool population is continuing to grow at an estimated 2% to 8% per year.
The Grace House Campus School is an extension of Harvest Christian School, which operates as a “church school” under Alabama law. In 2014, Alabama passed Senate Bill 38 which defines church schools as those that “offer instruction in grades K-12, [...] through on-site or home programs, and are operated as a ministry of a local church, group of churches, denomination, and/or association of churches...” The law states that “[…] church, parochial, and religious schools […] are not subject to licensure or regulation by the state or any political subdivision of the state, including the State Department of Education.”
Life Skills and Service
Etiquette Sundays: Etiquette Sunday take place on the first Sunday of every month and is a time for Grace House girls, house parents, and staff to come together for special lunch after church. This lunch takes place at a nice restaurant and serves as a time for our girls to practice proper etiquette and good manners in a social setting.
Volunteerism: All girls participate in quarterly service projects (with the Campus School volunteering monthly) at various partner organizations including the Foundry, First Light, and Red Mountain Park.