Frequently Asked Questions The Camerata School www.thecamerataschool.org 469-319-1312 What is the history of the Camerata School? Jody Capehart and Dr. Corey Rom are the founders. They have been friends for 14 years; members of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, and worked together at another Christian and classical school. We met to share our ideas and Dr. Rom s vision for the Camerata Fine Arts, gardening, and Rhetoric tracks. As we prayed about it, the Lord led us to start now for the 2016-17 school year. Jody Capehart has 44 years experience starting and sustaining schools in the Dallas area including Grace Academy of Dallas, Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, and Legacy Christian Academy in Frisco. She has also served as head of school of several Christian and classical schools. Her heart is clearly for Christian and classical education. Her heart s desire is to impart learning strategies to encourage and empower students of all learning styles to succeed as well as to be passionate about the Lord, serving, learning, and reading. Corey Rom has been teaching for over 20 years in both public and private schools. As a musician, he has performed all over the country and has learned how to create something at the highest quality. As a teacher, Dr. Rom hopes to pass on the skills he has learned in hopes that they will help any student to excel in any field. Jody serves as the Head of School at the Camerata School. Dr. Rom serves as the Director of the Conservatory of Fine Arts at the Camerata School. Why the name Camerata? We chose the name Camerata as it was used in the Florentine Camerata. The Florentine Camerata, also known as the Camerata de' Bardi, was a group of musicians, poets, and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss and guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama. Their goal was to return to the forms and style of the ancient Greeks. If the arts could be improved, society could be improved as well. It is this spirit that embodies our Camerata. We seek to return to a classical style of education inspired by the education of the Greeks. The chamber meaning of the word represents how we learn better in small groups, like the size of those found in chamber music and in the small classes at the Camerata School. We also embrace camaraderie between our students, teachers, and parents. Thus the word Camerata truly does represent the culture of our school.!1
What grades do you have? The Camerata School provides education for students in K to grade 12. What are the school hours? K 4 th Grammar School 8:30 a.m. 3:15 p.m. 5 th -8 th Logic School 8:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. 9 th -12 th Rhetoric School 8:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. How would you describe your curriculum? It is first and foremost a Christian school which clearly teaches the Word of God and salvation through Jesus Christ. Our doctrinal statement is available. As a classical school, we use the trivium model which is divided into three different time periods for learning encompassing the elementary through high school years. These three periods are the Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric stages. The goal of the trivium is to help the student through these progressive stages to embrace knowledge, evaluate what they are learning and finally, be able to clearly express and communicate truth and core convictions in an intelligent manner. In this process we embrace the wealth of our western civilization by immersing our students in quality classical literature, music, and art in order to cultivate an appreciation of these treasures of knowledge. As a Fine Arts School, we provide classes and training as part of our core curriculum. We also provide a Fine Arts Studio for those who want to develop their gifts and talents on a deeper level. Lessons may be set up with Dr. Rom. As a STEAM school, we provide in-depth instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Gardening and Life Skills are essential and unique parts of the Camerata School. We offer a wide variety of Sports Programs which includes volley ball, basketball, track, cross country, soccer, swim team, and archery. A wide variety of Clubs will be available such as: Chess, Debate, Robotics, Thespian Society, Eco, and more as we see the interests of our student body. There are individual information packets for each of the respective schools within the Camerata School: Grammar, Pre-Logic, Logic, and Rhetoric Schools. We will be posting more detailed curriculum by grade level as we continue to develop our programs.!2
Will the Camerata School be accredited? We are starting the accreditation process this school year with the following: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Advanced Ed, Association of Classical and Christian Schools, and Association Christian Schools International. Is your faculty degreed and certified? Every teacher has a minimum of a bachelor s degree, extensive teaching experience, and many have advanced degrees in the areas they are teaching. We do require teachers to be certified or in the process of receiving their certification. Each teacher must have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ as evidenced in all aspects of their lives. Is the school affiliated with any church? We are a non-denominational school, independent of any church affiliation. We deeply appreciate Grace Church located in the Frisco Square for opening their doors for the Camerata School to lease space. Do you offer financial aid? It is our sincere heart s desire to make attendance at the Camerata School possible for children of parents who are committed to our mission/vision but who are not in a financial position to provide such an education experience. Each year an application for financial aid will be put on our website in January and must be submitted for review by February 1 in order to be considered for the following school year. How are your finances organized? We are a 501c3 non-profit corporation. We are able to accept donations. As you can certainly appreciate, there are many needs with a start-up school. Fund Raising We are having a beautiful dinner in the fall of 2016 to raise funds for our school. We will have lovely music performed by classical musicians and a lovely meal will be served. We will have a short multi-media presentation about the Camerata School. We encourage you to invite friends and family members who may be interested in our school and/or are part of the Fine Arts community. Please send us your information and any interested friends and family so we can send them an invitation: 'Dr. Corey D. Rom' @ drcdrom@icloud.com!3
Do you have an athletics program? We plan to offer volley ball, soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, baseball, softball, golf, track, and cross country, Olympic archery, and martial arts as we evaluate the interests of the students in grades 5-12 th grade. Do you have a lunch program? It is our heart s desire to do so but for the first year, the students will pack a lunch. Do you have uniforms? Yes. We will have uniforms for you to view at our Information Meeting. Please see Mrs. Angela Carnathan at the Uniform Table. Our uniform information is at Parker School Uniforms located in Plano. Parker School Uniforms 4909 WEST PARK BLVD # 173 OUTLET: #24 PLANO, Texas 75093 (469) 467-9712 : Customer Phone # REGULAR STORE HOURS MONDAY- FRIDAY: 10AM-6PM SATURDAY: 10AM-3PM 2015 SUMMER HOURS (August 1st through August 22nd) MONDAY- FRIDAY: 10AM-6PM SATURDAY: 10AM-4PM School Calendar: Our calendar is on the website and a copy will be given to each enrolled family. School Handbooks: These will be posted on our website. Will there be Supply Lists? Yes, those are available and will be on our website and you will receive a hard copy upon enrollment. What are your qualifications for acceptance? Our goal is to fill the Camerata School with strong Christian families. At least one parent must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and believe in Him as Lord and Savior. We desire!4
for the older Grammar School, Logic and Rhetoric students to have a strong desire to be at the Camerata School and have no history of discipline problems. Parents of all applicants, as well as students in grades 5-12, will be interviewed by the administrators of the school. What is the process for admission? Please refer to the Admissions Checklist in this packet. Starting in April, we will have weekly Open Houses during the day and monthly Open Houses in the evening. Our first Open House is Tuesday, April 5 th at 7:00 PM. Application and testing An application must be submitted to the school office with a nonrefundable application fee of $100 per child. Our admissions office will send your Grace Evaluation form directly to their office and they will contact you to schedule a testing date with their testing services. Copies of the testing results are emailed to you and us at the same time. Grace Evaluation Services 206 S. Kentucky, Suite 100 McKinney, TX 75069 972-646-2722 PLEASE NOTE: If you have previous testing with Grace Evaluation Services (or another diagnostic service), you may include a copy with your application and then you will not need to repeat the testing. Thank you. Academic records and enrollment forms It is the responsibility of the parents to provide grade reports, health data, and standardized test scores from the past two years your child has been in school or homeschooled, and any diagnostic testing for learning problems, attention deficit, hyperactivity, or other special needs. If the previous school requires written notification, a Release of Records form is included in your packet or on the website for you to copy and use. Parent Interview An interview appointment is made with the parents after the testing and application are reviewed. We will review the test results and application packet, interview for philosophical compatibility, answer your questions, and assess whether our program meets your needs. Acceptance and Registration Official acceptance (or non-acceptance) will be communicated to all families. Contracts will be issued at the time of acceptance. Only a signed Contract guarantees enrollment for your child. Payment of tuition and fees The registration fee and one-time enrollment fee are to be paid with the contract of enrollment. The tuition installments will be due on the first of each month, March to December of 2016, as stated in the contract of enrollment. If you enroll after March, your payments will be prorated with the final payment due in December of 2016. After the 10 th!5
of the month, late fees will be in place. We will email your invoice each month and you are responsible to pay the Camerata School. You may pay the year in full to receive a savings. After the 2016-17 school year, we will be on FACTS. We thank you for your interest in the Camerata School. You may call us at 469-319-1312 or plan to attend our weekly Open Houses starting in April. Please check our website, www.thecamerataschool.org for future announcements and additional information which will be added each month. We also have a Facebook page.!6