FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING OUR ACADEMIC PROGRAM

In the Ignatian tradition, we strive to recognize and support the individuality of each child, including their unique gifts and talents. Our academic program will be highly individualized and rigorous—tailored to challenge the specific academic needs of each student.

Our maximum class size will be 20 students for preschool and kindergarten. 1st-5th grade will have a maximum class size of 25. This will include a certified teacher in each class, along with a teacher aide during certain subjects. Grades 6th-8th will be similarly sized but may vary due to the departmentalization that will take place in middle school.

Children must be 5 years old before September 1st to enroll in St. Ignatius kindergarten. We want your child to have the best kindergarten experience possible, and we believe that requires allowing for the physical, emotional and social growth that takes place between the age of 4 and 5. Our academic program will be highly individualized and tailored to meet the specific academic needs of each student. Therefore, if your child requires a more challenging curriculum in kindergarten (and throughout their academic career at St. Ignatius), we will strive to keep them challenged and learning at whatever level they can support.

In keeping with our Christian values, we strive to make St. Ignatius School accessible to every student that wishes to attend. While we recognize that we cannot meet all the needs of every child, and we are unable to offer the full extent of services provided by public institutions, we are committed to working with our families to provide as much accommodation to our students with needs as reasonably possible. With the collaboration of school counselor, principal, teachers and the family, we will make a working service plan to provide as many services as we can for students who need additional accommodations, and we will collaborate with families about additional resources for those services that we are unable to provide. We do not currently have details on what specific special services will be offered in our school, but we are certainly working on providing as many services as possible and will keep you abreast of our progress. If you know that your child has specific needs and is currently on an IEP, we encourage you to meet with our Student Support Services Coordinator about your child’s needs.

Our middle school will be departmentalized (meaning that we will have specific teachers teaching specific, and often ability-leveled areas of course work across grade levels 6-8). Students will have the opportunity to choose from elective courses and students will regularly change teachers, classrooms, and peer groupings throughout the day. Middle school students will have different uniform choices, lockers and electives. Middle school students will have the opportunity to participate in the TVCS (Treasure Valley Catholic Schools) Athletics Program. Our middle school program is designed to prepare students for success in a rigorous high school academic program.

Technology can be a fantastic tool for instruction when used well and in balance with traditional face-to-face instructional methods. Effective implementation and use of technology is critical to the station rotation blended learning component of our academic design. We use a combination of iPads and Chrome Books in our K-3 classrooms, our 4-5 grade students use only Chrome Books (1:1 ratio) and our 7th-8th grade students are each issued a Windows based laptop.

While we may hire teachers who are not Catholic, we will have Catholic teachers for religious education course work. Furthermore, all teachers must be willing and able to participate in school wide religious services and events.

Students are not required to be Catholic. We welcome students of all faiths to our program, with the understanding that we offer an experience of the Catholic traditions and rituals along with instruction in the teachings of the Catholic faith.