Espiritu Schools integrates the Arizona's College and Career Ready State Standards (ACCRS) into its classical education curricular model to ensure and facilitate the highest levels of learning. 

 

Espiritu Schools focuses on literacy attainment by integrating the Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE) qualitative and quantitative text complexity rubrics in conjunction with the English Language Arts (ELA) College and Career Ready Standards.  Classical Education (Great Books) literature texts have been selected using the text complexity rubrics and appropriate reading lexiles identified for each grade level band. All instructional materials are aligned to the College and Career Ready Standards in reading and math to ensure these standards are taught with fidelity.

 

Students grasp a rich understanding of the great historical texts that the world has to offer.  Students immerse themselves in the literature and subsequently openly discuss, and interpret amongst their peers utilizing the Socratic method of instruction in which the instructor serves as a guide to learning as opposed to one transmitting the knowledge to the students.  Students become the masters of their learning therefore taking ownership. 

 

Grades follow a four-year time period rotation beginning with ancient history texts, progressing to early renaissance, late renaissance, and modern times.  All non-tested subjects, including history, science, and technical subjects, will incorporate a blend of AZCCRS and National Standards into the Classical Education framework.  For example, while students study a discrete event in history, there will be a focus on literacy skills through the analysis of primary and secondary source texts to align with AZCCRS.  Science classes will align with AZCCRS and support the Classical Education Model by emphasizing the development of science as a discipline throughout history.