We received exciting news on Wednesday, July 21st that Bios Christian Academy earned its second accreditation in three months for our high school. This time it is through North Central Association (NCA CASI). Founded in 1895, NCA CASI accredits over 8,500 public and private schools in 19 states. We also became accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International in June.
What does accreditation mean to you our parents? Here is what NCA CASI says about it on their website, "A school's commitment to accreditation assures parents and the community that school is focused on raising student achievement, providing a safe and enriching environment, and maintaining an efficient and effective operation. An accredited school adheres to high quality standards based on the latest research and successful professional practices.
NCA CASI / SACS CASI accreditation means that your school has opened its doors to review... "
The NCA website continues on the benefits of attending an accredited school. "Qualified teachers.....rich, diverse, and sound curriculum; access to a range of student activities and support services; transferability of credits from school to school; greater access to federal loans, scholarships, post secondary education, and military programs that require accreditation. "
Good news for Bios and the families we serve.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Arizona Regents, Merit Scholarships, and Bios Christian Academy
The Arizona Board of Regents for the second year in a row is trying to do away with the AIMS merit scholarship. This scholarship is available to over sixty percent of our graduating seniors this year. It would be a major loss to this current class as well as to our future graduates. My schools average at least thirty-three percent of graduates being eligible for this state university scholarship each year.
The AIMS merit scholarship is awarded to all Arizona high school students who earn a score of "exceeds" on the reading, writing, and math portions of the test and earn a grade of "A" or "B" in their high school core classes. They have up to three attempts to earn this score their tenth or eleventh grades.
While the state average for earning this scholarship is six percent for graduates, ours has always been between thirty and seventy percent of our graduating classes being eligible to use it.
The scholarship covers the tuition and fees set at the freshman year.
The AIMS merit scholarship is awarded to all Arizona high school students who earn a score of "exceeds" on the reading, writing, and math portions of the test and earn a grade of "A" or "B" in their high school core classes. They have up to three attempts to earn this score their tenth or eleventh grades.
While the state average for earning this scholarship is six percent for graduates, ours has always been between thirty and seventy percent of our graduating classes being eligible to use it.
The scholarship covers the tuition and fees set at the freshman year.
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Importance of Teachers
The Importance of Teachers
Tiger Woods recently endured the loss of his swing coach, Hank Haney as reported in the June 19 issue of World Magazine. Two things about this news holds my interest. The first is that the amazing Tiger continues to work with an instructor. The second point is the difference this teacher/instructor/coach has made in Mr. Woods' golf game.
Soon after reading the article I mentioned its contents to three semi-random people (my wife, oldest son, and a friend). Their collective reactions were the same. "Tiger Woods has a teacher?" He does, as almost all great and famous athletes, musicians, and scientists. Tiger's dad was a very skilled golfer who loved to teach. Tiger had his first metal golf club at the age of seven months. He had professional teachers from the age of four on. Mozart had a father who was a performer and a composer of some renown. His father also began his son on an intensive training schedule beginning at three years of age. By the age of sixteen Mozart was also advancing his skills through his studies with another accomplished performer, Johann Christian Bach. Top performers seek top teachers.
Before the excellent tutelage of Haney, Tiger won 24 percent of his tournaments. An amazing feat unto itself. But with Haney his victories grew to 44 percent of his tournaments. One teacher made a difference.
At Bios, we hire men and women who we expect to make a noticeable difference in their student's lives. The teacher who provides the structure and encouragement to the young boy who in previous schools was in trouble and bored, now truly excited to arrive each day at school because of the challenges his teacher provides daily. Or the primary student with Down's Syndrome beginning to read for the first time while integrated into a regular class.
All of the Bios instructors are recommended by friends and family or I have sought them out because of their great intelligence, warm personality, impressive knowledge, and an intense, personal relationship with Christ their savior.
Serving our Lord one student at a time as successfully as we do comes through prayer, hard work, and great teachers.
Tiger Woods recently endured the loss of his swing coach, Hank Haney as reported in the June 19 issue of World Magazine. Two things about this news holds my interest. The first is that the amazing Tiger continues to work with an instructor. The second point is the difference this teacher/instructor/coach has made in Mr. Woods' golf game.
Soon after reading the article I mentioned its contents to three semi-random people (my wife, oldest son, and a friend). Their collective reactions were the same. "Tiger Woods has a teacher?" He does, as almost all great and famous athletes, musicians, and scientists. Tiger's dad was a very skilled golfer who loved to teach. Tiger had his first metal golf club at the age of seven months. He had professional teachers from the age of four on. Mozart had a father who was a performer and a composer of some renown. His father also began his son on an intensive training schedule beginning at three years of age. By the age of sixteen Mozart was also advancing his skills through his studies with another accomplished performer, Johann Christian Bach. Top performers seek top teachers.
Before the excellent tutelage of Haney, Tiger won 24 percent of his tournaments. An amazing feat unto itself. But with Haney his victories grew to 44 percent of his tournaments. One teacher made a difference.
At Bios, we hire men and women who we expect to make a noticeable difference in their student's lives. The teacher who provides the structure and encouragement to the young boy who in previous schools was in trouble and bored, now truly excited to arrive each day at school because of the challenges his teacher provides daily. Or the primary student with Down's Syndrome beginning to read for the first time while integrated into a regular class.
All of the Bios instructors are recommended by friends and family or I have sought them out because of their great intelligence, warm personality, impressive knowledge, and an intense, personal relationship with Christ their savior.
Serving our Lord one student at a time as successfully as we do comes through prayer, hard work, and great teachers.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Bios Cross Country and Family Running Club
It is not supposed to begin for another week, but already on Monday and Wednesday of this week seventeen runners and walkers ranging in age from ten to fifty-something came out for our second annual Bios Cross Country and Family Running Club summer season.
During June and July, a group of Bios students and parents meet in front of our house every Monday and Wednesday morning at 6:15. The group consists of cross country team members, soccer and volleyball team members who want to get in shape, younger siblings, coaches,and parents.
The club is set up, like everything else at Bios, to encourage the individual. That includes experienced runners as well as those new to running. Everyone is part of one of three groups- a faster running group, the steady pace group, and the walk-and-run group. No runner is stuck in just one group. Runners usually move up as the season goes and some rotate to a slower pace.
I enjoy the opportunity families have of exercising together as well as spending time with other Bios families.
The club ends the season in August with an optional 5K race in Higley aptly named "Beat the Heat".
All Bios families are welcome to join. The Club officially begins Monday, June 14.
It is not supposed to begin for another week, but already on Monday and Wednesday of this week seventeen runners and walkers ranging in age from ten to fifty-something came out for our second annual Bios Cross Country and Family Running Club summer season.
During June and July, a group of Bios students and parents meet in front of our house every Monday and Wednesday morning at 6:15. The group consists of cross country team members, soccer and volleyball team members who want to get in shape, younger siblings, coaches,and parents.
The club is set up, like everything else at Bios, to encourage the individual. That includes experienced runners as well as those new to running. Everyone is part of one of three groups- a faster running group, the steady pace group, and the walk-and-run group. No runner is stuck in just one group. Runners usually move up as the season goes and some rotate to a slower pace.
I enjoy the opportunity families have of exercising together as well as spending time with other Bios families.
The club ends the season in August with an optional 5K race in Higley aptly named "Beat the Heat".
All Bios families are welcome to join. The Club officially begins Monday, June 14.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Above and Beyond
When new families come to visit Bios, I always mention as we tour through the classes that our teachers are very hard workers. For instance, you will never hear of or see any instructor at Bios showing a video to their class because the teacher wasn't prepared or just did not feel like teaching that day.
And it's true. Each student has individual goal sheets called "check sheets". These check sheets provide daily goals that are particular for the individual student. Throughout the quarter and at the end of each quarter our Bios teachers are evaluated on how each student progressed towards their goals.
But today I am going to present to you two recent demonstrations of teachers going "Above and Beyond" the daily high expectations of instructing at Bios Christian Academy.
Our first example involved a high school teacher and a new student who arrived at the beginning of the year with a first grade reading level. With the effort of all of the student's teachers during the first three quarters of the school year this student was able to attain reading skills at a fourth/fifth grade level. At this point, she began using a fifth grade science text which was not a part of our regular curriculum. (We do not use text books for elementary science but instead individual and team projects.) The high school teacher created individual check sheets, lab projects, and tests for this student. This took many hours of work to create a science experience for this student at her reading level. Because of the teacher's efforts the student passed the first test and successfully completed a lab.
The next "Above and Beyond" is also a high school example. Joining our industrious school at the beginning of the fourth quarter, a student came to us with seven weeks left before her AP biology exam. One of our science teachers gave the student a previously released test from College Board to determine where she placed in her knowledge and skills. Much to both of their disappointments, the student scored a one on a scale of 1-5. This lack of accomplishment was attained after already spending the three previous quarters in an AP Biology course. The science instructor and I met with the student and her family to explain the situation and a possible solution.
Even though our science teacher was not planning to organize the AP class until next year, she offered to organize an intense study and practice time over the next seven weeks which would require a commitment from both student and teacher of many hours outside of school of study and preparation.
Over seven weeks and four practice tests later, the student raised her score on the practice tests significantly. She has taken her AP exam and waits impatiently along with her instructor for the results to come in July.
Teaching at Bios is well-structured yet within that structure teachers have freedom to serve our families one student at a time. Above and Beyond moments like these occur often because of that freedom at Bios.
Monday, May 24, 2010
B-I-O-S: Part 3
by Staci Fletcher
Just recently I was reading a book entitled “The Prodigal God” by Tim Keller and in the readings the term “bios” came up. Unexpectedly upon reading that word my heart seemed to skip a beat. This in turn caused me to pause mid-sentence and analyze why this word would cause such an emotional response within me. As I pondered that thought it didn’t take long for me to realize the response was due to my deep belief and support in our own school named “Bios”. My last two posts centered on this term, bios. It is an important term to our school because of its meaning which is “life.” Synonymous to a computer’s instruction set entitled “BIOS” which is an important network of programs aligning many aspects of the computer in order to bring it to life.
My last post focused on our school’s sports program as an integral part of our campus and bringing life to our students. This post will focus on the academic portion of the same instructional set that is in place to bring life to our students in preparation for the world around them. In the past month I have heard students say “I am glad I am at Bios because they make me work hard; I cannot slack off there.” and “I have gone farther in this subject than I have ever been expected to go in all my years in school.” When these statements are made they are not made by the students to gloat, but rather because the students are excited about what they have been able to accomplish or what they know they will be able to accomplish in the future. The academic curriculum at Bios is not in place so that we can stand before men in a prideful manner and boast about our high scores on the SATs, ACTs or even boast on the awards the students have achieved in writing or math; but rather it is in place to push students to the belief and understanding that they can learn. There is not one student at Bios, from those who score the highest in many areas to those who struggle just to read a complete sentence, who is not challenged to learn at least one new idea, concept, verse, word, etc. on a daily basis. The bottom line to this thought is that at Bios every student is uniquely created the way they are and the status quo is not who they are called to be. With God at their center every student will be more than they could every dream; every student can and will learn and are called to a higher purpose as long as they are willing to take risks, be pushed and trust in the Lord. This thinking is most fully exposed at Bios in academics because if you were to walk the campus and visit the classrooms you will find students regularly working hard, trying harder and challenging themselves throughout the day to complete the required expectations and even more. They do this because they know they can learn, they know they matter, they know they are valued and most important they know they are fully loved by a God who wants them to give their all for His purposes in their lives. You will find students who are full of life because they believe and trust in their Creator. Academics for the Glory of God. Just another component in the complex network of programs all working together to bring students to life. Bios.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Just recently I was reading a book entitled “The Prodigal God” by Tim Keller and in the readings the term “bios” came up. Unexpectedly upon reading that word my heart seemed to skip a beat. This in turn caused me to pause mid-sentence and analyze why this word would cause such an emotional response within me. As I pondered that thought it didn’t take long for me to realize the response was due to my deep belief and support in our own school named “Bios”. My last two posts centered on this term, bios. It is an important term to our school because of its meaning which is “life.” Synonymous to a computer’s instruction set entitled “BIOS” which is an important network of programs aligning many aspects of the computer in order to bring it to life.
My last post focused on our school’s sports program as an integral part of our campus and bringing life to our students. This post will focus on the academic portion of the same instructional set that is in place to bring life to our students in preparation for the world around them. In the past month I have heard students say “I am glad I am at Bios because they make me work hard; I cannot slack off there.” and “I have gone farther in this subject than I have ever been expected to go in all my years in school.” When these statements are made they are not made by the students to gloat, but rather because the students are excited about what they have been able to accomplish or what they know they will be able to accomplish in the future. The academic curriculum at Bios is not in place so that we can stand before men in a prideful manner and boast about our high scores on the SATs, ACTs or even boast on the awards the students have achieved in writing or math; but rather it is in place to push students to the belief and understanding that they can learn. There is not one student at Bios, from those who score the highest in many areas to those who struggle just to read a complete sentence, who is not challenged to learn at least one new idea, concept, verse, word, etc. on a daily basis. The bottom line to this thought is that at Bios every student is uniquely created the way they are and the status quo is not who they are called to be. With God at their center every student will be more than they could every dream; every student can and will learn and are called to a higher purpose as long as they are willing to take risks, be pushed and trust in the Lord. This thinking is most fully exposed at Bios in academics because if you were to walk the campus and visit the classrooms you will find students regularly working hard, trying harder and challenging themselves throughout the day to complete the required expectations and even more. They do this because they know they can learn, they know they matter, they know they are valued and most important they know they are fully loved by a God who wants them to give their all for His purposes in their lives. You will find students who are full of life because they believe and trust in their Creator. Academics for the Glory of God. Just another component in the complex network of programs all working together to bring students to life. Bios.
Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Bios SAT Scores
A quick note on our SAT scores for our junior and senior class. We have very good individual scores and very good averages as a school. As you can see, we compare very well to the national and state averages. Praise God!
AZ Reading: 516
U.S. Reading: 501
Bios Reading: 596
AZ Math: 521
U.S. Math: 515
Bios Math: 608
AZ Writing: 497
U.S. Writing: 493
Bios Writing: 594
AZ Reading: 516
U.S. Reading: 501
Bios Reading: 596
AZ Math: 521
U.S. Math: 515
Bios Math: 608
AZ Writing: 497
U.S. Writing: 493
Bios Writing: 594
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