Grade skipping, also known as academic acceleration, is the process of moving a student from one grade level to the next without completing the current one. While this may sound like a radical idea, research has shown that grade skipping can have a positive impact on a student's education and future success. Here are some of the key benefits of grade skipping:

Challenging Curriculum: Grade skipping allows students to move ahead to more challenging and stimulating coursework, which can help them develop their skills and knowledge at a faster pace. This can be especially beneficial for gifted and talented students who may be bored or unchallenged in their current grade level.

Social Development: Grade skipping can help students to develop stronger social skills by placing them in a more age-appropriate peer group. This can lead to better social integration and a more positive school experience.

Improved Self-Esteem: By successfully navigating more challenging coursework, students who have skipped a grade can develop a sense of confidence and competence. This can lead to improved self-esteem and a greater belief in their own abilities.

Preparation for College: By moving ahead academically, students who have skipped a grade are better prepared for the rigors of college. This can lead to more successful academic careers and improved prospects for the future.

Time Savings: By skipping a grade, students can complete their education more quickly, freeing up time for other pursuits, such as advanced study or internships.

It is important to note that grade skipping is not suitable for every student and should only be considered after careful evaluation. Factors such as a student's academic record, emotional and social maturity, and the opinions of teachers and parents should be taken into account when making this decision.

In conclusion, grade skipping can be a beneficial option for students who are academically advanced and seeking a more challenging educational experience. With the right support and guidance, students who have skipped a grade can achieve academic success and set themselves up for a bright future.  If you would like to learn more about Covington Latin School's approach to grade skipping, please contact us at admissions@covingtonlatin.org.

Classical education has been a fundamental part of Covington Latin School's philosophy for a century. It encompasses a comprehensive study of history, language, philosophy, mathematics, and the arts, providing individuals with a well-rounded understanding of the world and equipping them with critical thinking skills. In today's rapidly changing world, classical education is more important than ever as it provides a foundation for continued learning and personal growth. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of classical education and why it remains relevant in today's society.

Promotes Critical Thinking and Rationality

One of the most significant benefits of classical education is that it fosters critical thinking and rationality. By studying the classics, students are exposed to a wide range of perspectives, ideas, and worldviews, encouraging them to develop their own opinions and engage in meaningful discourse. This ability to think critically and logically is essential in today's complex and rapidly changing world, where individuals are faced with a plethora of information and must be able to analyze and evaluate it to make informed decisions.

Provides a Solid Foundation for Further Learning

Classical education provides a solid foundation for further learning and personal growth. By studying the classics, students gain a comprehensive understanding of history, language, and culture, which allows them to more deeply engage with the world around them. This foundation allows individuals to continue learning and exploring new topics with confidence, as they have a well-rounded understanding of the world and its history.

Encourages the Development of Virtues

Classical education is rooted in the idea that education is not just about gaining knowledge, but also about developing virtuous character. By studying the classics, students are exposed to the great thinkers and leaders of the past and learn about the virtues that they embodied, such as wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. This exposure helps to cultivate these virtues in students, making them well-rounded individuals who are capable of contributing to society in meaningful ways.

Prepares Students for Success in Today's Global Society

In today's global society, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of different cultures, languages, and historical events. Classical education provides students with this understanding, as it covers a wide range of subjects and perspectives, including Western and non-Western cultures. This knowledge is essential for success in today's interconnected world, where individuals must be able to engage with people from diverse backgrounds and understand their perspectives.

In conclusion, classical education is a valuable and timeless form of education that provides individuals with a comprehensive understanding of the world and equips them with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in today's rapidly changing world. Its focus on critical thinking, rationality and virtuous character development makes it an ideal choice for anyone looking to invest in their personal growth and future success.  If you would like to learn more about how your child could benefit from a Covington Latin School classical education, please contact our admissions director. 

Citations:

"Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America." The Heritage Foundation, 8 Mar. 2012, www.heritage.org/education/report/classical-education-the-movement-sweeping-america.

"The Benefits of a Classical Education." Great Hearts Academies, greatheartsamerica.org/the-benefits-of-a-classical-education/.

"The Importance of a Classical Education." The Claremont Institute, 14 Aug. 2015, www.claremont.org/crb/article/importance-classical-education/.

Gifted Children: Understanding and Nurturing Their Unique Talents

Gifted Children: Understanding and Nurturing Their Unique Talents

At Covington Latin, we often get asked about the term gifted and talented. Our child is doing well in their classes and seems to come by it naturally. How do we know if our child is gifted? The answer isn't always clear but by definition, gifted children are individuals who possess exceptional abilities or talents in one or more areas, including academics, creativity, leadership, and athletic skills. They often perform at a level significantly higher than their peers and require specialized educational and social support to reach their full potential. So how do you know if your child might be gifted?

Identifying Gifted Children:

Gifted children may demonstrate their exceptional abilities at an early age and continue to excel throughout their school years. However, not all gifted children are easy to identify, as their talents and abilities can take many forms. Some common characteristics of gifted children include:

• Advanced problem-solving skills

• Early development of language and communication skills

• A wide range of interests and intense curiosity about the world around them

• Advanced reasoning and abstract thinking abilities

• A tendency towards perfectionism and high standards for their own performance.

Nurturing the Talents of Gifted Children:

While gifted children have unique abilities, they also face unique challenges, including feelings of isolation and boredom in traditional classroom environments. To nurture their talents and support their overall development, it is important to provide them with:

• A challenging educational environment that fosters their intellectual and creative growth

• Opportunities to pursue their interests and passions

• Encouragement and support for taking risks and trying new things

• A supportive community of peers and mentors who understand and appreciate their unique abilities

Gifted children are unique and there is not a one size fits all approach to how best to fill their needs. As parents and educators, it is our responsibility to identify and support their talents. By providing them with the appropriate resources and opportunities, we can help them reach their full potential and make meaningful contributions to the world. This support might be in the form of acceleration either by subject or by grade skipping. It could also be by expanding their experiences beyond the classroom through enrichment classes.

In the coming weeks, we will be sharing information about giftedness, the challenges they may face, and the options that are available. Covington Latin School is committed to being a resource for your child at any age.

Reading: It's a gift that keeps on giving

I see a love of reading as one of the greatest gifts we can give our children and students. A person who reads for pleasure will never be bored. There can always be a magazine, book, or cereal box around for the moments of downtime. In recent times, parents are more likely to hand a child a screen rather than a book when there is a need for a distraction. But there is a much greater benefit when the printed word serves as the time filler during those unfilled moments.

Research shows that a habit of regular reading – twenty minutes a day – yields significant benefits, particularly for preschool and school age children who are expanding their vocabularies.  The difference between students scoring in the 90^th percentile in reading and the 10^th percentile is literally how many minutes a day that child spends reading. This mastery exceeds by far the vocabulary gain from any direct vocabulary instruction like a vocabulary workbook.

 

Creativity and the world of imagination is also enhanced more through reading than through viewing stories on a screen. When we create our own pictures in our brains, the imagery if far more developed than that of seeing someone else’s imagination on a screen. Every good writer was first an avid reader. The two skills are linked which is supported by a 2005 National Center for Education Statistics study.

Students who read a lot often seek books written at a higher level that might contain more mature content.  Librarians have long explained that in a book, a child will comprehend information based on prior experiences. If the child has not cognitive or experiential basis for a description, he or she will often pass over it unawares to get to the next adventure. Many adult readers have told me tales of rereading a book first encountered in middle or high school.  With more life experiences, they marvel that they missed the intent or additional messages aimed at a more mature reader. The same is not true when these stories and scenes are viewed on a screen.

The gift of reading has never been more timely choice.  Americans are reading less.  The National Endowment for the Arts report To Read or Not to Read (2001) reported the following facts:

• Less than one-third of the thirteen-year-olds are daily readers, a 14% decline from twenty years earlier.
• The percentage of thirteen-year-olds who read for fun on a daily basis declined from 35% to 30%, and for seventeen-year-olds the decline was from 33% to 22%.
• On average, Americans ages fifteen to twenty-four spend almost two hours a day watching television, and only seven minutes of their leisure time on reading (that was in 2007- with the increase in the number of smart phones, the amount of screen time has certainly increased).

And the saddest of these findings:

• Nearly half of all Americans ages fifteen to twenty-four do not read books for pleasure. 

Turning such trends around can have a significant positive impact on the overall language skills of our youth. Students who engage in free voluntary reading on a regular basis improved test scores in reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling, and also have a lifelong gift of entertainment, fascination, and discovery that comes with losing ones' self in the printed word.  Let's all give the screen a break for a little while and go enjoy a good book!

Covington Latin - A Look at Catholic Education

Acceleration- Skipping to Succeed

The age old question in education is what to do with our over-achieving children who become bored in class.  Are they the child that is disruptive because they have finished their work early? Are they the daydreamers or the absent-minded professors?  What can you do for them? There has been a constant stream of contradictory research as to what is best for these absorbers of knowledge. Our gifted journey started off as most do, a quest for knowledge.  We saw issues regarding our son and the school recommended testing.  What I had prepared for was a diagnosis of dysgraphia or sensory integration disorder. My background was teaching and I knew I could handle those diagnoses. Those diagnoses were confirmed but what I didn't anticipate was a diagnosis of profoundly gifted.  I felt like the wind was knocked out of me.  My first instinct was to question the results.  After all, this is a kid who makes armpit noises.  But as I listened to the psychologist, I began to wrap my head around the results.  Most people would be happy to hear that their child is gifted but knowing how school systems can fail these kids, I had a lot of anxiety of what could potentially happen. Would he do well in school? Sure.  Would he test well? Absolutely.  But would he succeed? Would he ever understand what it meant to work hard? Face adversity? Learn from mistakes? I knew I had to advocate for him and put him in a place where he could thrive but also learn the importance of hard work. We tried homeschooling but I couldn't keep up with his thirst for knowledge.  I knew I needed to find something more for him.  After reading A Nation Deceived, I quickly realized what the solution was.  I needed to find a school that would allow for his acceleration.  He needed to be with kids who love to learn. He needed to be with kids who were like him and would appreciate his intellect. Luckily, we have a local school whose hallmark is acceleration.  Students at this school can accelerate one to two years starting in the 7th grade. We jumped at the opportunity to see if this was the answer we were looking for.  Research is great but does it work in the real world?

I remember on the day that he shadowed, he came bouncing out saying that he had found his people. What an amazing feeling to see your once unhappy, hated-to-go-to-school kid want to be in a place where he felt he belonged.  This sense of belonging is something I have heard from many a parent who made the leap with their child.  It makes you wonder, how many kids are like my son? How many could benefit from acceleration? Why don't we, as educators and parents, advocate for this? My son completed 8th-12th grade at Covington Latin School and he blossomed from a quiet, shy, awkward kid to one that participated in a ton of activities, played in a rock band, and traveled abroad. No one can believe the transformation he made in those 5 years.  What confidence he gained from being with like minded students who he fed off their intelligence.  He no longer had to hide who he was, what he was.  He was able to flourish.  He was challenged.  He definitely learned how to study. He definitely learned how to overcome adversity and ask for help.  He is now a college freshman and finds it to be a piece of cake because he learned the skills necessary to be successful. Was accelerating worth it? Absolutely!

Blog contribution from a former parent of Covington Latin School. 

For more information on acceleration and other topics regarding gifted education, go to Hoagie's Education Page.