Leman Academy of Excellence is an independently operated, tuition-free public charter school with an open-admission policy. The foundational principles for the educational philosophy of Leman Academy of Excellence has been formed and established by Dr. Kevin Leman, the founder of the school, who has often dreamed of launching a school and learning environment for young people that willingly engages and embraces parents in the educational process, highlighting the parent-teacher-scholar relationship to bring out the best in each and every child.
Our Mission
Leman Academy of Excellence offers a rigorous, Classical Education based on the traditions of Western culture where all disciplines are interrelated allowing scholars the ability to think independently and critically. We purpose to partner with supportive parents, pursue excellence, provide a safe and challenging environment, and instill morals and values in order to produce tomorrow’s leaders today.
Academic Excellence
We have adopted a rigorous, classical approach to education. We believe that the holistic approach personified by the classical model is exceptionally outstanding in preparing the scholar to retain knowledge, think logically and analytically, communicate effectively and succeed in life by being a responsible, caring, contributing member to society. Within that context, every teacher is passionate about their subject and has exceptional qualifications to perform their role with excellence. High academic standards are maintained for each scholar, with the expectation that each can succeed. Every young person is encouraged to maximize his/her learning potential and develop a lifelong love for learning.
Partnership with Families
We believe that parents have the ultimate responsibility for the education of their children. We serve as an extension of the home, partnering with parents and serving families in the intellectual, social, emotional and ethical development of their children. Parental support is essential to the success of educating young people with a classical approach to education. Teachers, administration and parents must work together to make sure that scholars’ learning takes place in both the school and the home.
Children & Learning
We believe that children are unique and worthy of our utmost attention, love and respect. The child’s mind is not a blank slate or a bucket to be filled. It is a living thing and needs knowledge to grow. We believe that the normal child has powers of mind which fit him to deal with all knowledge proper to him, and therefore, we should give him a full, rich and generous curriculum, taking care only that all knowledge offered him is vital; that is, that facts are not presented without their informing ideas, allowing scholars to think in an independent and critical fashion.
Classical Education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing and comprehending facts; in the middle grades scholars learn to reason out the relationships between the facts and think through arguments; in the high school years, scholars acquire the skill in effective expression and learn to express themselves in purposeful and meaningful communication. This classical pattern is called the Trivium. The Latin word “trivium” means “three roads.” The three roads of learning consist of three subjects: Grammar for the early years, Logic in the middle grades, and Rhetoric for high school scholars.
A charter school is a public school founded by one or more individuals. The main purpose for starting a charter school is to improve scholar learning and achievement as well as to provide parents with quality educational choices.
Leman Academy of Excellence is its own educational institution and therefore is not part of a school district. This means Leman Academy does not follow the school calendar, policies or curriculum of other schools or school districts. Leman Academy abides by the rules and regulations set forth by the Department of Education and State Board for Charter Schools and reports directly to these two groups. Most importantly, there are no boundaries regulating scholar enrollment to attend Leman Academy of Excellence. Therefore, scholars may attend Leman Academy regardless of their address or location.
Leman Academy of Excellence in Colorado is part of the Douglas County School District. As a charter school, Leman Academy has freedom to make decisions regarding it’s calendar, policies, and curriculum. Leman Academy does abide by the rules and regulations set forth by the Douglas County School District and the Colorado Department of Education.
Leman Academy of Excellence follows state-mandated rules and regulations and reports to the Department of Education and State Board. As a public charter school Leman Academy:
- Provides a free education to all enrolled children
- Does not charge tuition for enrollment or attendance
- Keeps copies of employee fingerprint clearance cards on file
- Adopts a school calendar according to the state guidelines
- Holds children accountable for school attendance
- Provides services to children in the special education program per the IEP’s
- Implements the AZ or CO state standards within the school’s curriculum
- Administers the state-mandated standardized tests
Parents of children who meet the enrollment requirements for voluntary Kindergarten program at Leman Academy of Excellence will have the opportunity to place their child in a full-day Kindergarten instructional program.
The state of Arizona only provides funding for half-day Kindergarten. Leman Academy wants to partner with our parents by offering a full-day Kindergarten program of instruction to give parents a choice that will best meet their family and child’s needs, as well as give parents an opportunity to explore the two options (half-day & full-day) in order to determine which option might be best for their child as he/she first enters Kindergarten and all of its expectations.
Therefore, Leman Academy of Excellence will provide an optional fee based, full-day Kindergarten to the families of Leman Academy if there is a demand and the parents are seeking such an option for their child. When selecting this option, the parent/guardian may choose to pay monthly, semi-annually or choose the yearly option and pay in full. If parents choose the yearly option we ask that payment be made prior to the start of the school year and for parents choosing the semester option, we ask that payments be made prior to the start of the school year and the start of the second semester in January.
The state of Colorado provides funding for full-day Kindergarten. Families will have the option to enroll in free full day or free half day Kindergarten.
Parents can drop their child off at school by 7:15 am.
Parents can drop their child off at school starting at 7:30 am in Colorado.
Leman Academy will have a Standard Dress Code Policy for our scholars, but we are not asking that scholars wear a school uniform.
No. Parents will be responsible for providing transportation to and from school and from extra-curricular activities.
Leman Academy’s Classical Education program has a strong curricular focus on the academic foundations of history, grammar and mathematics:
- History/Geography – subject areas (science, literature, art and music) of our Classical Education program are linked to history studies and taught around the time period under study in history. This includes Ancient Times in Grades 1 & 5; Middle Ages for Grades 2 & 6; Early Modern Times for Grades 3 & 7; Modern Times for Grades 4 & 8.
- English Language Arts - includes Shurley English, Journeys, Sitton Spelling along with rich literature selections. We will provide 90 minutes of daily instruction in grades K - 6 and 75 minutes for Grades 7 & 8.
- Saxon Math – will be taught at an accelerated level. Kindergarten, for example, begins with Saxon Math 1, 1st Grade uses Saxon Math 2, 2nd Grade Saxon Math 3, and so on up to 8th Grade which studies Algebra 1. We provide 60 minutes of daily instruction in grades 1-8.
We have included in our educational program a comprehensive and rich curriculum that looks to educate the whole child by offering Art, Music, Spanish (K-2), Latin (grades 3-8), Logic (starting in 6th) and Physical Education (PE).
Research supports that a course of study that includes Latin makes a significant difference in developing a child’s reading skills, vocabulary skills, study skills and math problem solving abilities.
The following is a Homework Guideline for each of the grade levels at Leman Academy. Obviously, homework may vary from day to day, and each child and assignment is unique which makes it a challenge to say with absolute certainty how long homework may last for each of our scholars, but here are some general guidelines based on the curricular demands of our classical education program:
| Grade | Daily Average Time |
|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 10-20 minutes |
| 1st Grade | 20-35 minutes |
| 2nd Grade | 30-45 minutes |
| 3rd Grade | 35-50 minutes |
| 4th Grade | 45-60 minutes |
| 5th Grade | 50-70 minutes |
| 6th Grade | 60-80 minutes |
| 7th Grade | 70-90 minutes |
| 8th Grade | 80-90 minutes |
Parents will receive regular feedback and academic progress reports indicating their child’s performance in the core academic subjects. Please see the school calendar for details on Parent/Teacher Conferences.
Parents will be encouraged to volunteer on campus throughout the school year through involvement with our lunch program, assisting the classroom homeroom parent, participating in classroom reading groups and more. Homeroom parents will help organize opportunities for parents to participate in their child’s class, assisting teachers in the classroom and help drive on field trips.
Yes, Leman Academy has an after-school program called After Bell. Scholars will have the opportunity to have a snack, do homework, and participate in physical exercise and activities all under adult supervision.
The after-school program is not part of the regular instructional program covered by state funding, so there is a fee for this activity. Please contact the school for after-school program fee details.
The enrollment policies and procedures follow the rules established by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools and Arizona Department of Education as defined in A.R.S. 15-184 as well as C.R.S. 22-30.5 in Colorado.
All parents are welcome to fill out an application in order to enroll their child. No tuition or fee is charged for attending Leman Academy, and admission is not based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition or proficiency in the English language. Leman Academy of Excellence does have the right to review a child’s educational records and may refuse to enroll a child who has been expelled or is in the process of being expelled from another educational institution (per A.R.S. 15-184 and C.R.S. 22-30.5).
During Open Enrollment, once the number of applications to Leman Academy exceeds the number of available seats so that the program, class or grade level has reached capacity, then there will be a lottery to determine enrollment and wait-list numbers.
Leman Academy of Excellence is an independently operated, tuition-free public charter school with open-admission policies. We receive government funding, and therefore, do not charge tuition.
The following two programs are not part of our regular instructional program covered by state funding and therefore have fees as they are additional programs offered by Leman Academy of Excellence:
- The Full-Day Kindergarten Program Fee (AZ only)
- The After-School Program Fee