Our Curriculum
Comprehensive, Integrated, Inspiring
Our Montessori curriculum is a spiral of interrelated, cross-curriculum study. One lesson leads to many others.
For example, a history lesson may link to concepts about architecture, the arts, sciences, and technology. This learning spiral helps students make meaningful connections between their studies and the world around them.
How It Works
Our teachers begin study with the big picture and move towards increasing detail. Starting in preschool, students are introduced to large concepts such as reading, geography, mathematics, botany, or zoology. As students move on into elementary and middle school, the concepts are revisited, each time with more detail and complexity. Because we have multi-age classrooms, older students are able to mentor younger students, deepening topic understanding for both the mentor and mentee.
What We Study
At the beginning of the school year, children are introduced to Montessori’s Great Lessons. These big-picture themes, such as “The Coming of the Universe and the Earth” and “The Coming of Human Beings”, spark imagination, give students an understanding of their place on Earth, and give context to the topics they’ll study throughout the year.
Ramalynn Academy’s curriculum includes:
- Science and Environmental Studies
- Mathematics
- Language Arts and Reading
- Foreign Languages
- Social Studies and Ancient History
- Philosophy, Wisdom Tales, and Meditation
- Fine Arts
- Life Skills
The Radial of the Montessori Curriculum
Our montessori curriculum is a spiral of interrelated cross-curriculum study.
This graphic shows how:
- Everything is interrelated. One lesson leads to many others.
- The child moves from the concrete toward abstract understanding.
- We always work from the big picture to increasing detail.
- Every three years major themes in the curriculum are studied again
Academic Performance
Ramalynn Academy students out-perform their peers on standardized tests, stand out at academic competitions, and transition easily into secondary schools, including some of the best college preparatory schools in the state.
- The majority of our students’ SAT results were in the 92nd to 95th percentile—the top 8% in the nation.
- Our Math Olympiad team finished in the top 2% in the nation.*
- The majority of our kindergarten students read at a 2nd or 3rd grade level.
- Our Knowledge Bowl team ranked in the top five for all regular season meets. Knowledge Bowl is a multi-disciplinary competition.*
- Ramalynn Academy students scored consistently high marks for creativity at the Minnesota Odyssey of the Mind divergent thinking contest.*
*Note that while many schools send only their gifted and talented students to these competitions, Ramalynn Academy sends all students eligible to participate.
Beyond Academics
Former students report using life skills they’ve learned at Ramalynn Academy well into adulthood. In addition to academic skills, they say they acquired:
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Critical and Strategic Thinking Skills
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Collaboration and Communication Skills
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A Sense of Personal Responsibility and Worth
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Capacity of Self-Control and Internal Motivation
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Leadership Skills
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Time-Management Skills
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Joy of Learning for Learning’s Sake
Results that Last a Lifetime
Unlike many of today’s conventional schools, Ramalynn Academy does not “teach to the test.” Instead, we focus on helping each student achieve their best, in the classroom and in life.
We believe academic success occurs when students have a healthy self-image, a love of learning, and an interest in the world at large. And, our test scores prove it.
Accreditation
In 2014, AdvancEd now known as Cognia, a quality assurance accreditation service that reviews secondary-to-university level schools, gave Ramalynn Academy its highest possible accreditation.