Most private schools hold Open Houses during this preview season of January and February.  But not MGA.  We do not find that visiting a school during non-class hours is as helpful as joining us for classes and truly experiencing the MGA environment.  

Rather than address you generally in a meeting with other families attending Open House, we prefer to visit one-on-one.  We visit with each family individually to discuss your educational goals and situation, and carefully describe for you how we can partner WITH you.  It is our intent to offer worthwhile group learning activities and assign valuable at-home work for your student.    We help you envision how our partnership works by being completely transparent about who we are and what we do while your children are with us two days each week.  

Schools are like clothes:  you don’t want to choose the best fit by ‘window shopping.’  You want to try it on for size.  Visit MGA, let your student participate and you observe.   Our Open Door is wide open February through end of April.  Appointments may be scheduled by contacting the directors.

Contact us to visit MGA:

Grammar School (ages 5-11)

Susan Riddle, Director:  817-706-9888     susanriddle.mgaoffices@gmail.com 

Upper School (ages 11-18)

Leslie Kent, Director:  817-905-3861      lesliekent.mgaoffices@gmail.com

Our “What is MGA?” page provides our Vision Statement, an explanation of how we are structured and partner with parents, and links to our “How We Differ from Other Private Schools” and “Location and Schedule” pages.

“Grammar School Overview” page provides class descriptions, capabilities of students by level, and GS curricula for Levels K, and A through E (students 5 to 11 years old).    “Introducing Our GS Teachers” page introduces you to our GS teachers.

“Upper School Overview” describes the expectations and policies for US classes,  class schedule and curricula for Logic 1, 2 and 3 levels (comparable to 6th – 8th grades) and for Rhetoric 1-4 levels (comparable to 9th-12 grades).  You can also access the “Introducing Our US Teachers” via this Overview page.

Information on how to enroll and our fees is on the “Enrollment” page.  Our class calendar for the entire school year may be viewed on the “Calendar” page.

At the bottom of every page is Contact information for the two directors. 

For questions regarding the GS levels (approx. ages 5 – 11, K – 5th) contact:
GS Director, Susan Riddle
817-706-9888
jamesriddle1@msn.com

For questions about US levels (approx. ages 11-18, 6th-12th) contact:
US Director, Leslie Kent
817-905-3861
underhisgrace316@gmail.com

Please review our site and contact us with any questions.  We welcome your interest, and will be happy to help you decide if MGA is God’s provision for your family and is a ‘piece of the puzzle’ you will assemble to meet your education and training goals for your children.

University model:  Similarly to college and university classes, in a university-model school the student does NOT attend classes all day, each week day.  Instead, students study at home to prepare for class time, and come to class prepared for review, discussion, labs, and teacher instruction.  It is a true collaborative effort between the student’s self-study and preparation and the class time that offers peer interaction and learning environment, guided by an adult teacher.

Classical education:    Classical education means different things to different families, educators, and schools.  At MGA, we believe a classical education defines both the content and pedagogy of an education.   Our content is guided by the principles of a’ liberal arts’ education.  Liberal refers to a broad-based education across all the core subjects, the ‘arts.’   A classical educator:
trains children in math concepts;  
introduces them to all the science disciplines;
teaches all of world history chronologically, since that is the order in which this ‘story’ did unfold;
reviews the geography of the whole world, not just one country;
explains the phonics and spelling rules that govern much of our language;  and
introduces students to good literature.  
The classical method (pedagogy) of teaching is to tailor the content to the age of the children, and to have reasonable expectations based on their maturity.   Content is guided by this sequence:  knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  These three phases of content parallel the developmental stages of grammar, logic and rhetoric (outlined below).

Knowledge - facts and information;  the building blocks that form the basis for future learning. 

Understanding – seeing the connections between times, events, and people one has studied, and beginning to evaluate relative importance and form opinions based on a wider framework of knowledge.

Wisdom – comparing the information received and the viewpoints encountered with God-given truth, and responding to circumstances righteously.

For a Christian, a classical education is a search for truth, and a commitment to personal virtue.

 Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric:  these are terms used by Classical educators to refer to developmental phases of a child’s life, described in detail below.  Our Grammar School (GS) serves students in the Grammar stage and early Logic stage.  Our Upper School (US) serves students in Logic and Rhetoric stages.

Grammar Stage is the phase of development in a child’s life that begins at birth and ends about 12 years of age. Grammar stage students are building a foundation for future learning by gathering basic information about the world around them. The learning focus at this stage is on building their knowledge base while developing basic skills, including reading for information. They need lots of hands-on, activity-based learning. They are sponges, absorbing information, and mentally cataloging it for future use. Their analytical skills are very basic, and generally they will parrot back to you the information they’ve received, with little analysis added. But that’s okay, because this stage is all about taking in facts and building a frame of reference for the world around them. Such learning lays a foundation for future learning and decision-making.

Logic Stage begins at approximately 11-12 years of age. Children in the logic stage of learning are moving from acquiring basic knowledge about the world around them to beginning to see themselves as part of the greater whole; beginning to make and test the connections between the parts of the whole, including themselves; and forming their own individual and sometimes distinct view of the whole. They ask questions and question the answers. They are beginning to articulate their view and need the interaction of a group of fellow learners to test and expand their ideas. Additionally, they need to develop their ability to express themselves coherently, verbally and in writing.

Rhetoric Stage students are generally 14-18 years old, and are learning to not only analyze written material and arguments, comparing it to their standard of truth, but to defend their position orally and in writing. They are acquiring enough knowledge of the history of the world to wisely measure current events and place them in the context of our human history. They will read enough literature to begin to recognize themes of good and evil, to identify wisdom vs. folly, and to consider the consequences of ideas. These students are preparing to encounter the wider world as adults, by learning to read critically, analyze thoughtfully, and articulate their beliefs clearly.  At MGA, Rhetoric students will read adult-level fiction and biographies for their Humanities studies, and use high school/college level texts for history, math and science.