Sophia Academy

Each year, students studying Ancient World Cultures participate in a hands-on DIG. After studying culture in general, and ancient cultures in particular, they create their own culture, produce artifacts that will reveal an aspect of their culture, bury it–and then the fun begins.

When students exchange archeological plots, they are required to dig carefully, clean the artifact, and study it for clues. How was this society ruled? What does the artifact reveal about the cultures’s religion? Economy? Family structure? Is there a “rosetta stone” to use to decipher the language?

Why do we turn ourselves into archeologists?  Doesn’t it slow down the acquisition of knowledge?  It is our goal to cement a broad general store of knowledge into each of our students’ minds. The best way to accomplish this is to have them learn by doing. And so we dig in the dirt.

Whether building an eco-system, creating a clean basketball court from a filthy warehouse floor, or baking bread, Sophia Academy students practice science and math with their hands. We set aside some days every month to engage in what we call authentic learning. Other days, we work diligently through problems in Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2, and take tests on kilocalories and DNA. But some days? Some days we build, create, and produce with our hands. That brings us joy.

While speaking with parents and potential students at the GreatPhilly Schools Fair (#phillyhsfair), we were reminded of why we have all our 9th graders take a class in Chair Caning:  it provides a way for them to use their hands, often their strongest mode; it prepares them for the future with a bankable skill; it is fun.  Good reasons all. But here’s the best reason:  weaving a cane seat through all seven steps requires every student to “cross the midline.”

So what, you say? Ah, but listen well to occupational therapist, JJ Schweikert, who explains that

“When we perform activities that cross the midline of our body, these movements are helping build pathways in the brain that are extremely important for various skills such as gross motor, fine motor and cognitive skills. All movement requires a sense of balance.  When the equilibrium is deficient, it can affect how we sit and may produce an increase in fidgeting and restlessness.  Poor midline skills can also cause the learner to have scattered attention.  Movements that cross the midline are important for fine motor skills, directional skills (such as up, down, left and right) and for interpreting symbols (such as letters or numbers).

In other words, Sophia Academy requires Chair Caning because it makes our brains grow smarter and work better.  Since research shows a strong connection between dyslexia and midline crossing deficiency, we’re all about crossing the midline.

We focus on executive function skills in all of Sophia Academy’s classes: the ability to plan, organize, categorize, achieve, and so on.  But, according to the Center on the Developing Child at Harv are University, there are many things parents can do at home to help teens acquire more robust executive function skills.  Among these are

• Encourage your teen to identify something specific that he wants to accomplish. Start with something fairly simple and achievable.
• help your teen develop plans for steps to reach these goals. Have them think through what can be done to achieve both short and long-term goals
• Remind your teen to periodically monitor his behavior and consider whether he is dong the things he planned. Have him ask “Is this part of the plan? If not, why am I doing it? Has something changed?”
• Self-talk is a powerful way to bring thoughts and actions into consciousness. Encourage self talk that focuses on growth.
• Help your teen to be mindful of interruptions
• Encourage self-reflection through the keeping of a journal.  

Excitement is in the air at Sophia Academy as we move to new classrooms, add new students, meet new teachers, and add new subjects to our curriculum. Our move to 5500 Tabor Avenue began in June and was complete by the second week of September. Classrooms that are bright, airy, and painted a calming light yellow have had an obvious impact as students have thrown themselves willingly into work as varied as Latin and Logic, Government and Geometry. 

Our newest teacher, Ms. Spearman, has students loving both Drama and history class, where she uses the History Alive curriculum, while our Math tutor and PE teacher provides fun as well as academic success. Best of all, we welcome a new class of ninth graders who have bonded well with our current students.  Their presence keep us on track for our growth projections for our third year.

EBLI (ebli.com) stands for Evidence Based Literacy Instruction that is suitable for any reader: young, old, elementary, high school, slow, fast, whatever.  All students at Sophia Academy @ ICHS will have EBLI instruction as part of their English class.  We expect to see quick gains in comprehension as shown by the material our students are able to conquer. According to the EBLI research and data collection, the average student gains almost three grade levels with only 9 hours of instruction!  It increases reading accuracy, reading speed, and reading comprehension for all students from the lowest to the highest reader in the class, by building a strong foundation (phonemic awareness, EBLI concepts and skills), solid walls(vocabulary, fluency, spelling and writing), and an impervious roof (reading text and Guided Reading) to our literacy house. We encourage you to visit the website ebli.com to watch the videos and learn more.

 Creative Teacher?

Sophia Academy @ICHS,  an arts-based school providing multi-sensory and personalized education for bright students with language-based learning difference, seeks an exceptional, renaissance teacher to provide engaging instruction in multiple subjects.

Job Description

• Cultivate a learning environment that encourages discovery, creativity, and student growth through a rigorous, hands-on, and inquiry-driven approach.
• Offer positive feedback and coaching to promote student confidence and high academic outcomes.
• Demonstrate awareness of students’ backgrounds, skills, proficiency levels, interests, learning styles, and special needs in lesson planning, pacing, and presentation.
• Employ innovative instructional methods and adjust instructional strategies to meet each student’s learning needs.
• Utilize a variety of creative assessments to track student learning
• Meet all teaching and job expectations with positive professionalism.
• Willingly take on other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Clear Christian testimony
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in primary subject
• Effective classroom experience
• A love of exploration, discovery, and creativity
• Willingness to build new skills through college courses or professional development
• Maintain compliance with state and federal laws; pass pre-employment background check.
• Able to teach combinations of subjects

Desired Qualifications and Attributes:

• Pennsylvania Teaching Certification
• Visionary
• Organized
• Experience or training with students with dyslexia or dyscalculia

If interested, complete our application

Sophia Academy @ ICHS is a Christian arts-based high school serving bright students with language-based learning differences. All classes are taught using our successful multi-sensory and personalized approach. We are searching for an exceptional part-time Educational Aide who will provide engaging, one-on-one instruction in reading and math.

Job Expectations

• Cultivate a learning environment that encourages discovery, creativity, and student growth through a hands-on approach.
• Offer positive feedback and coaching to promote student confidence and high academic outcomes.
• Demonstrate awareness of student’s background, skills, proficiency levels, interests, learning style, and special needs in lesson planning, pacing, and presentation.
• Employ innovative methods and adjust instructional strategies.
• Promote positive professionalism in all communications involving students, parents, staff, and visitors.
• Eagerly engage in professional development to learn more about teaching students with dyslexia or dyscalculia.
• Other duties as assigned.

What qualifications are needed?

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher
• PA teaching certificate preferred but not required
• Special Education coursework preferred but not required
• Available to work Monday through Friday with part-time hours
• Maintain compliance with state and federal laws; pass pre-employment background check.

If interested, call Sophia Academy at 267-595-4723. For an application, click here

A tradition at Sophia Academy is for World Cultures students to learn the concept of culture by participating in an archeological dig while studying ancient history. Our 2017-18 DIG began in the beginning of the year as we learned to think like historians and archeologists. Next, we studied the concept of culture and seven key markers that reveal culture as we looked at the civilizations of the Ancient Near East. After that, we created our own cultures, including a Rosetta Stone that provided the key to our language. On one rainy day in early November, we buried our cultures and left them to be found by our fellow archeologists. When they were dug up, some of our artifacts had been destroyed by the ravages of time (3 days!) while others were in great shape. Each student had enough artifacts, however, to ably analyze and decipher the unknown culture.

Creating a Rosetta Stone and laying out our plots.