WCA is now K-12th grade!! 2024-2025 enrollment scheduling happening NOW!!
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost?
Full year's tuition is $5000 with an additional $500 registration fee ($5500 total). This amount can be paid in full, per semester, or broken up into smaller monthly payments. The registration fee and first month's tuition is due at enrollment ($1000). Monthly payments will be made until March. No monies are due the final two months of school.
A sibling discount of $500 is offered to the first sibling, a discount of $900 is offered to the second sibling. The registration fee remains unchanged at $500. Any other siblings remain at the $900 discount.
Are there scholarships?
Financial assistance MAY BE available to lower the cost of tuition. No student will be enrolled at no cost. The amount of assistance available will depend on available funds, total kids enrolled, and will be determined based on need. Applications for assistance must be accompanied by the previous two years' tax returns for everyone in the household.
What are the days and hours of operation?
WCA is a 4 day per week school (Monday - Thursday) with a school day from 8:00am to 3:15pm.
Is WCA accredited?
We are intentionally non-accredited by the state of Texas nor by any other government accrediting agency. Our teachers are not certified. However, WCA requires our teachers to be "highly qualified", have a heart for God, a heart for children, and a heart to teach. We do require background checks for all staff and volunteers with consistent direct access to the children (excluding supervised volunteers such as fellow parents). Our micro school falls under the Texas private school and home-school laws. We are purposefully wanting to offer an educational alternative which is different to the traditional public school model, therefore we are purposefully unaccredited so that we are not beholden to the requirements regarding things such as standardized testing, minimum classroom hours, and curriculum requirements which are at times inappropriate and non-conducive with a Christian worldview.
What do transcripts look like for non-accredited schools?
For elementary age students, we will not provide letter grades, so no transcripts will be available. If your child was homeschooled and going to public school, the school would give placement tests to determine grade. The same holds true with students transferring out of our private school. We will provide a functional high school transcript and keep track of appropriate credit hours for graduation and college entrance purposes. The college application process can be different for kids with home-school (or micro-school) backgrounds, but most colleges have policies in place which take into account non-traditional schooling. Click the button below for an example of entrance expectations at a school such as Princeton. Many avenues are available for college entrance, and students can pursue some dual-credit classes through local junior colleges which can help as well.
How does a one-room schoolhouse work?
While very different from current models of public education, one-room schoolhouses worked for generations throughout the 18th and 19th century (somewhat into the early 20th century as well). This era spawned some of the greatest inventors and creators our society has ever known. It Is our belief that one-room schoolhouses offer some of the best of both worlds. In many ways, students are self-paced. Children can progress at their own rate as in the instance of homeschooling, but yet are not isolated to only interacting with their own family. The age differences may seem unusual to our assumptions about what education should look like, but a diverse age range can be an advantage as older kids set the example for and naturally mentor and tutor the younger ones. The one-room approach is not without its difficulties and challenges as there are trade offs with anything. We will not be able to offer as wide a range of extra-curricular activities or specialized courses. These are tradeoffs every parent must consider, but we have purposefully chosen to not be beholden to structures in the public schools which have produced diminishing results for decades.
How safe is WCA?
It is incredibly important to us that we provide a safe and healthy learning environment for your child. Safety is not our top priority, however. Our top priority is to teach your children to be more like Jesus. We want our kids to live and thrive and experience the beauties of the world around them, and the world is full of inherent risks. Now, we will endeavor to keep our students as safe as is reasonably possible. We will take great effort to secure our facilities and prioritize good supervision. We cannot guarantee atrocities will not occur – no school can, but we will be as diligent as we can in regard to your child because we know every kid in our care is a child of God and we will protect them with our dying breath if required.
What will be the role of technology?
While there will be some ways in which technology will need to be utilized, especially as students advance to higher grade levels, we purposefully intend on keeping it at a minimum. Phones and other devices will not be allowed. Parents can get a hold of students through their teachers and we welcome visits from parents anytime. Schoolwork will be primarily paper and pencil and will use traditional textbooks (not digital ones), at least until high school when more online work will likely be needed. A unit on proper typing will be taught as kids progress into more digital assignments. Some devices may be needed for things such as audio - an introduction to classical music is an emphasized part of the curriculum, but our approach recognizes that kids have a natural aptitude for and constant exposure to technological devices, so what is needed in school is more traditional forms of reading, writing, and pencil and paper assignments.
What curriculum does WCA use?
We use “My Father’s World” curriculum. You can learn more about it by going to mfwbooks.com. “My Father's World Christian homeschool curriculum combines the best of Charlotte Mason's ideas, classical education, and unit studies with a biblical worldview and global focus.” It has been around since the 1980’s and is continually being updated and improved. Elementary math uses Singapore Math and then transitions to Saxon Math for older grades.
What are the religious teachings?
Our only goal is to be biblical, not to indoctrinate kids to a particular denominational mindset. We humbly strive to be grace-filled, spirit-focused, and committed followers of Jesus. A statement of faith can be found on our website and in our handbook. All backgrounds and faiths are welcome, but if you have a strong aversion to Christian teachings, this is probably not the school for you.
Are there refunds?
We do not promise any refunds. Payments made to the school are immediately put to use to purchase curriculum and supplies, pay teachers, and cover other expenses. We do this whether or not you choose to pull your child out of our school.
What if I withdraw my child?
You are free to withdraw your child from our school at any time. As above, there are no refunds. We do require two-months notice or two-months paid tuition so we can continue to meet our operating costs. If for any reason WCA chooses to discontinue enrollment of your student such as getting expelled for unacceptable behaviors or violating crucial aspects of our student handbook, no further payments will be expected.