Dear friends,
This summer, we will be expanding the services made available to Premium Student Plan subscribers. There is a great deal of interest in this enrollment option and we desire to allow as many as possible to make use of it, which requires some adjustments. The cost of this subscription will not change, but service will improve significantly.
1. Developing Independent Students
Students must learn to take responsibility for studies and make the first move. When the responsibility for study is left for parents and teachers to bear, students don’t make progress. No one can manage an individual student’s work better than the individual student and this responsibility must be learned as the principal lesson in his education. Parents and tutors must provide support for studies and remove all obstacles and, when they do, students will normally make great progress.
2. Planning Weekly Tasks
The most important benefit of the Premium Student Plan is the student task planner. Beginning in August, all student planners will be updated over the weekend. New premium students should start a live chat meeting to set up a new planner and get to work immediately. Students must take responsibility for their studies using their weekly planners and request updates when needed.
3. Improving Student Progress
The most important benefit gained by Premium students is that progress is improved by the following:
- on-demand assignment grading/discussion
- review/correction of online quiz results
- manual lesson promotion
All of these benefits are to be initiated by the students. By collaborating with tutors, they can make rapid and steady progress through Academy lessons and courses.
4. Improving Live Support
This year, we are expanding live support for premium students to allow for greater progress:
- both Mr. and Mrs. Michael will be available for live support daily
- Premium students may seek live support any time they need it throughout the week
- all meetings will begin as live chat meetings and move to video only if necessary
- parents may keep scheduled times for their meetings as they please
All meetings will begin on the Academy website by live chat and move to other formats as needed.
5. Adding Premium Student Benefits
This year, we are increasing the benefits Premium Student Plan students will received to include all of the following:
- free access to all online courses
- free online graded quizzes/exams
- free graded written assignments with feedback
- free real-time student gradebook
- free personalized weekly study planner maintained by Mr./Mrs. Michael
- free live support by text/voice/video with Mr./Mrs. Michael
- free access to the Oxford English Dictionary online
- free CLAA Google email/apps account
- free access to exclusive study materials/resources
- free high school diploma program enrollment
- free course completion certificates
- free college prep/records assistance
- free letter of reference for college application
- 50% off private tutoring sessions (students)
- 50% off private consultation meetings (parents)
- 10% off Academy bookstore purchases
Conclusion
The improvements made this summer will benefit everyone involved in classical Catholic studies. Students will be able to make steady progress and always have the help they need, when they need it. Tutors will be able to work with a greater number of students and provide more live support than previously. Parents will know that students are making progress and have the expert help they need, whenever they need it.
Best of all, these improvements will be made with no change to the cost of the Premium Student Plan.
God bless your studies,
Mr. William C. Michael
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
Mr. William C. Michael, O.P. is the founding headmaster of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy. Mr. Michael is a Lay Dominican in the Catholic Church and is a homeschooling father to ten children, all of whom have studied in the Academy. He graduated from Rutgers University with an honors degree in Classics & Ancient History, is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and is currently studying at Harvard University. Mr. Michael has worked in private education as a Classics teacher and administrator for over 20 years. Mr. Michael is known for his talks on the Academy YouTube channel and his sponsorship of Classical Catholic Radio.