Travel and Community
One of our greatest joys during the year is taking many of the boys on trips. The boys are learn so much from these trips, even if the goal is to help a community overseas. One of our students, Nolan, reported his experience and how it affected him...
"Guatemala opened my eyes to a world that seemed forgotten. I was slapped in the face by the firm hand of reality. The one thing I saw least was hope. But God used our whole team to bring hope and joy to the kids at the orphanage.
I realized how selfish and ungrateful we can be -- how small our problems are to the rest of the world. O saw how spoiled rotten America is. When I got back to the states I was disgusted by all the senseless junk we have in our homes and stores. hearing people gripe about petty things made my stomach churn.
My experience in Guatemala was the final tool God used to change my outlook on life."
Small groups of students from our school go on trips. Often today's youth feel a sense of "entitlement" to all of the best life in America has to offer them materially. Boys get a first-hand look at poverty and hunger in less-advantaged countries; having opportunity on these excursions to help meet the needs for those in crisis.
Annual "tours" are taken to other states. The teen travels with staff members and sometimes with the teen's parents.
Learning by Teaching
As students succeed in the program, they are given the opportunity to become part of the drama travel teams and Stay Sharp school ministry team. Stay Sharp teams travel to public and private schools to present drug awareness programs. Recently our Stay Sharp team spoke to an audience of more than 3000 students in Oak Park River Forest High School in Chicago.
Accredited Academics (with a Christian Worldview)
We believe that a Christian worldview education is needed for teens who have previously had a poor or undisciplined educational experience, leading to a lack of preparation for their own future. While enrolled here, students are required to work on their courses all weekdays, catching up for lost time and retaking failed or low grade courses.
A Second Chance at Education
Boys come to us with a wide variety of academic records, often with a history of failing grades and skipped classes. For many of our students, enrollment here means a second chance at graduating high school, a possibility that had nearly been destroyed by their former lifestyle. Our self-paced curriculum, along with one-on-one instruction from our teaching staff, allows students to gain mastery of subjects and earn missed credits toward a high school diploma.
Our educational program features our own in-class teachers, and coursework is facilitated through Ignitia Virtual Academy (a part of Edgenuity). It is a fully accredited academics online Christian worldview school with a personalized learning environment designed to help students achieve strong educational goals. Ignitia motivates our students to achieve phenomenal progress toward high school completion and beyond. Through Ignitia, we offer basic courses, honors, and Advanced Placement courses, credit recovery, intervention, and test readiness.
Edgenuity is a leading provider of online curriculum and instructional services. It is in use by more than 20,000 schools, including 20 of the 25 largest school districts, to meet academic goals and improve student outcomes.
Ignitia Virtual Academy is accredited academics through Cognia (formerly AdvancED) and the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and as such has nationally recognized accreditation. This is the same accreditation awarded to public schools and is fully recognized by high schools and colleges across the country. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has also approved the Edgenuity instructional model and curriculum for online instruction of student-athletes.
While the Ignitia program is intuitive and self-paced, our own certified classroom teachers make sure that our students keep up their coursework, offer tutoring, answer any questions, and give each student plenty of encouragement. Students who fail to keep up or are having difficulty with a certain topic are specifically helped, but if they are just dragging their feet out of rebellion, they may lose out on some privileges like outings and fun times until they choose to get caught up.
Increasing Student Engagement, Progress, and Achievement
Keeping students engaged in what they’re learning is vital to ensuring they master standards so they can move forward in their education
The Ignitia Virtual Academy online classroom program is especially helpful for students who are failing or have fallen behind in their studies. It meets the rigor of Common Core and state standards, as well as various state graduation requirements. Our online courses and curriculum are grounded in research and are aligned to state standards.
The curriculum is laid out using a variety of teaching strategies and assessment tools such as direct instruction videos, use of e-notes, transcripts of lessons, warm-ups, practice journals, quizzes, tests, writing exams, etc. Students who want to use their time here to get ahead can often complete two courses in the same amount of time it would take to complete one classroom course, allowing them to make up credits that they missed out on before coming here, or allowing them to get ahead or retake courses to improve their GPA. Students who return home before graduating high school here can easily continue their courses online at home, making for a seamless educational experience.
Our math subjects are enhanced by IXL.com, which provides grade-level practice problems per math concept that ensures a student’s mathematical confidence. 
We also use other teaching tools such as Reading Plus, which has been shown to improve the reading level of a high school student. 95% of our graduates attain university reading level, showing a dramatic change in their comprehension abilities.
How Our Accredited Academics Program is Different
Our educators and support staff strive to match the student’s courses with courses from their primary school. We work closely with the parents and students to design an individualized program of study that best supports the child’s past educational progress and future educational or career goals.
Our teachers and counselors also lead our own faith-based character-building training courses with the students, which are a key aspect of our overall program. We utilize the Bible and landmark books by today’s leading Christian authors to teach key concepts. Christian speakers and musicians visit our campus to provide spiritual instruction, encouragement, and motivation, and the boys are taken to off-campus spiritual events.
In today’s culture, what we DON’T teach is almost as important as what we DO teach…
Unlike today’s public schools and schoolbooks, we don’t push a sociopolitical agenda, race theories, gender manipulation, and altered American history. We simply teach the most important skills needed in life and we help our students find real purpose and meaning.
Students learn to become independent while building strong academic and problem-solving skills. Our academic program teaches to the child’s strengths and enables our teachers to intercede when conditions indicate help is needed. Close supervision, the latest education technology, and individual workstations support and motivate students to continue their education throughout the time they are in our behavioral change program. Individual tutoring is also available in the classroom for specific subjects.
Our academic program includes:
• Fully Transferable Credits
• Cognia Accreditation
• Latest Technology
• Optional Tutorial Services
• Low Student-to-Teacher Ratio
• Skill Building
• Educational Remediation
• Credit Recovery
• College Preparatory Courses
• GED/SAT/ACT Preparation
Students thrive and get ahead on our structured, year-round schedule. Our educational routine is focused on the classic educational basics, but we also emphasize character, honor, respect, time management skills, responsibility, and accountability. Academic expectations are taken seriously, and our students discover a sense of pride in succeeding with each new educational level.
Self-control and self-discipline are key benefits of our academic program — two character traits that will help them succeed in every aspect of their life. They discover true satisfaction and confidence from attaining goals and achieving good grades, through hard work and self-management. This helps students transform into productive and cultivated adults upon graduation and beyond.
Accredited Academics and Standardized Testing
Gateway Academy’s policy for accredited academics is to provide standardized testing for each student after 6 months of attendance in school. Gateway Academy uses the CTBS Standardized Test (Terranova) to test and evaluate students adequately.
Tests are completed 3 – 4 times each year to accommodate all students since this is a 15-month residential program. Test results are discussed with parents of students during Parent Visit Weekends, and a copy of the test results is placed in the student’s school files.
ACT Testing for College Placement
ACT testing is scheduled twice each year, in April and October. The administrator selects students as candidates for the ACT Test according to grade level. A letter will be sent to the student’s parents giving them information concerning how they are to register their son for the ACT if they desire their son to take the test. Students must be in 11th or 12th grade and 2nd Platoon.
Once the parents have registered their son, they will contact the school secretary to notify the registration secretary. The school secretary will print out the ACT Testing Ticket a few days before the test is taken.
When a student has been signed up for the ACT Test, he is given an ACT Preparation Workbook to work through. This book will provide pertinent information that may be found on the ACT Test. Every 3 pages of work in the workbook will count as 1 goal. Every 25 questions on mini-quizzes will count as 1 goal.
GED Testing Procedures
Requirements for Candidacy for G.E.D. (High School Equivalency Exam)
Any student who is 16 years of age or older, has 6 or fewer high school credits, will not complete 12th grade by the age of 19, and has attended Gateway Academy for a minimum of 6 months is considered a candidate for the GED track. Students must try to get to the 10th-grade level before beginning the GED track. GED testing is administered at the Washington County Technical School. GED testing is conducted monthly.
Teachers should submit the name of any student who qualifies as a candidate for the GED to the administrator. The administrator will contact the parent(s) of the student to acquire approval for the student to pursue the GED track. Once parental approval is given, the parent will be required to fill out the appropriate paperwork for written permission and registration for the GED test.
Once all paperwork is turned in by the parent(s), the student will be pre-tested by the administrator or teacher of the student. Pre-testing will determine what subject areas the student should focus on the most. The student will be given a GED Preparatory Workbook to prepare for the test. Most students are given 4 months to prepare for the test. Every 3 pages of work in the workbook will be counted as 1 goal. Students may also be assigned GED Prep lessons.
A few weeks before the GED test, the student will be post-tested to be sure of his readiness for the test. All pre-test and post-test results will be made available to both the student and his parent(s).
