Mother of Hope Hybrid Academy is an unusual school. Students learn from their parents three days a week, then engage in classroom-based study on the former St. Ursula School campus in Fountain Hill on Thursdays and Fridays. The pre-K through kindergarten years follow a Montessori approach to education; instruction for the primary and early middle grades is inspired both by education reformer Charlotte Mason and by the classical progression from grammar (the “three Rs”) in primary grades through logic in the middle grades to rhetoric in high school.

The highest level is currently fifth grade, but the school plans to add grade levels (through grade eight) to support students as they progress. Looking to the future, Executive Director Thea Aclo and her team are working on plans that will allow students to continue their classical education through high school.

“We believe that parents are the primary educators of their children,” Aclo says, “but at the same time, we want to offer them support, so we have a recommended curriculum” for math and reading, which are taught at school and reinforced at home. Other subjects, including music, art and nature study are taught exclusively at school.

Because Pennsylvania law does not have a hybrid provision, the students fall under the state’s homeschool laws. Aclo helps parents by hosting seminars, as well as providing documentation templates and links to relevant portions of state statute.

“The first time you do it, it seems daunting and complex,” she admits, but notes that the paperwork portion of homeschooling feels much easier after the first year.

Mother of Hope’s pre-K and kindergarten Montessori program “is a mixed-age classroom by design, [following] the Montessori philosophy that the younger kids learn from the older kids and the older kids gain confidence from modeling to the younger students.”

Three teachers guide 17 students, and all students receive individual lessons with progress tracked in individual notebooks. Instruction includes literacy, math, practical life (such as slicing different fruits and peeling oranges).

Aclo comments on the appropriateness of the Montessori approach to practical education: “Young children want to be involved, and they want to help, but so often adults stop them … Our Montessori room is a ‘yes’ space.” Montessori students take care of the classroom, including sweeping up after lunch, filling a bird feeder, and watering plants.

“You gain self-confidence and self-purpose when you’re allowed to help,” Aclo explains.

There are about two dozen students currently enrolled in grades one through five. Latin instruction begins in first grade with a song-based curriculum that introduces vocabulary. Aclo says students who complete the program through eighth grade will be confidently translating Latin texts into English. The science program focuses on “think, observe, discover,” and begins with first- and second-graders learning to identify (visually and by birdcall) the birds of North America.

Most students are Roman Catholic, and the Diocese of Allentown has approved the school’s catechetical curriculum.

“A school is not a parish,” Aclo notes, explaining that students will likely celebrate sacraments like First Reconciliation and First Eucharist with their home parishes.

Christian students of other denominations are also enrolled; their families have agreed to the statement of faith posted on the school’s website, which focuses on the beliefs expressed in the Nicene Creed, the sanctity of life, and the integrity of the human person.

In addition to the classical approach to education, parents appreciate the community that Aclo and her team have worked to build.

“Parents come inside to drop off their students so they can touch base with the teacher and meet other parents,” Aclo says, “We have comfy chairs in our main area, with books and coloring materials out for the little ones. We have a little room with a nursing station and a changing table, so if a mom needs a minute before loading the little kids into the car after drop-off, she can stay and sit.”

In a world where the actual work of parenting can be minimized or relegated to an ancillary activity, Mother of Hope’s atmosphere of welcoming young children is rare.

The cost to families is higher in the Montessori-style segment of the school – with tuition at $2,800 and fees at $325 per year – but still a fraction of the price of other local Montessori programs. Extended care is available for an additional $100 per month. Older students have a sliding scale beginning at $2,500 in tuition (plus a $125 enrollment fee) for the first child, with discounted tuition for subsequent children concurrently enrolled. The school offers monthly payment plans for greater flexibility. More information about enrollment is online, visit motherofhopehybridacademy.org/.