Curriculum

At St. Frances of Rome School, our children are eager to learn, and they strive to be good students and good people. We are dedicated to making this happen by providing them with the right resources to achieve success. 

Our academic program is currently transitioning to a curriculum inspired by the Trivium as described by author Dorothy Sayers, a staunch supporter of classical education. (The Latin word "Trivium" means "the place where three roads meet.") We have adapted the three learning stages of the Trivium--Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric--to be relatable to students in today's world by identifying them as Content, Process, and Communication: 

CONTENT: Content is gaining valuable information that includes facts about science and history, along with skill development in reading, writing, and math. 

PROCESS: Process is learning to make analytical connections between seemingly unrelated facts. It encourages reasoning as a path to discover the truth and teachers students to analyze and organize information so that it is clear and coherent.

COMMUNICATION: Communication is expressing oneself through a well-written essay, presentation, debate, or work of art. It is easily recognized by parents as desirable and beneficial for their children.

Our program begins in preschool where we foster curiosity with the investigation and project work. The children are encouraged to ask a lot of questions, and the teachers respond with questions of their own. This dialogue helps the children reflect on what they are doing or thinking, and encourages them to articulate thoughts with language. 

Our formal reading program begins in kindergarten. The program is multi-sensory and requires analysis of words as they are learned. Children begin to comprehend phonics and apply rules rather than rely on memorization. 

The next stage teaches comprehension skills, which include comparing and contrasting; drawing conclusions and predicting outcomes; understanding cause and effect; and distinguishing between fact and opinion. 

History is the unifying framework of our curriculum. Studying the past helps us understand human motivation and why the world is as it is today. We also emphasize the inter-relatedness of knowledge by integrating subjects as much as possible. 

St. Frances of Rome has just begun the Singapore Math Curriculum for students in grades 1-7. This curriculum is distinguished by an emphasis on word problems and applications of mathematical topics. The program will be tailored to meet the needs of every student. 

Technology at St. Frances of Rome is used as a tool to help analyze information and create finished documents. However, we believe that an over-reliance on technology can be contrary to the core qualities we seek to instill in our students: focus, perseverance, and an appreciation of complex topics. Technology is never used as a replacement for attentive instruction and engaged discourse that is the heart of quality education.

Students are also offered gym, art, music, library, and Spanish at least once a week.