TCMS COMMITTMENT TO EXCELLENCE

TCMS COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

Standards: The staff members of Tyndale Classical Montessori School are committed to guiding all enrolled students through a rigorous and comprehensive learning program designed to produce a virtuous learner who is equipped with the skills necessary to successfully navigate our complex world.
A classical program is neither elitist nor exclusive, but welcomes all students who are truly hungry for learning.
- A classical Montessori education dispels arrogance and increases virtue. This statement is true for students and learning guides alike.
- Curriculum: The TCMS curriculum includes, but is not limited to:
  - Montessori didactic materials
  - Story of the World and History of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer
  - Civics courses for Rhetoric School students through Hillsdale College
  - A wide selection of classic literature
    - A list of novels and works will be published on the website as it is compiled
  - Berean Science and NOEO Science curriculums
  - Math with Confidence Series for Grammar/Logic School
  - Math U See combined with Montessori curriculum for Logic/Rhetoric School
  - Latin Road to Grammar Series
  - Logic Series for the Well-Trained Mind

Accreditation
- The state of Arizona does not mandate that private schools be accredited; however, TCMS is voluntarily undergoing an independent accreditation process that will be updated as it is completed. We promise excellence; we also require excellence. Therefore, the accreditation program will be both rigorous and comprehensive.

EXPECTATIONS

Staff qualifications and expectations of character:
- Staff members are highly qualified for the positions they fill. They are committed to ongoing education, collaboration, and refinement. Staff members lead by example and honor the goodness and capability inherent in each child.
Student expectations of behavior and scholarship:
- Students consistently model grace and courtesy. They demonstrate an intrinsic motivation to learn and excel. They value their peers and seek to build a community of scholarship.
AI/Chat GPT policy:
- Although artificial intelligence proves useful in limited capacities, it is not an appropriate tool for classical learning. AI, and particularly Chat GPT and similar technologies, contradict the nature of classical learning. Students at TCMS are focused on critical thinking, authentic creation, problem solving, discovery, and authentic reasoning; this is work that must be done with a mind unhampered with artificial technologies. No form of AI will be a part of the learning process at TCMS, and students who utilize AI to complete their work will be excused from the program.
Technology policy (both staff and students):
- Staff members will only communicate with students via school email and Zoom. Texting between students and staff members is discouraged. All communication, whether in person or electronic, will be courteous and constructive.
- Technology use at school will be limited to those resources necessary for completing school work. Students are discouraged from using technology for any reason outside of dedicated learning. Students will be taught grace and courtesy as it applies to technology, and they will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of these boundaries. Any inappropriate use of technology will result in appropriate disciplinary action.
Parent expectations:
- Families of students are expected to support student learning and encourage scholarly behaviors. Families must model behaviors of grace and courtesy that we seek to cultivate in our students. These positive behaviors include refraining from disrespectful comments, emails, and social media use directed at TCMS and/or TCMS staff.

ACCOMODATIONS

Students with IEPS are welcome to interview with TCMS; however, we do not have a Special Education Coordinator at this time. If the child is a good fit for the program, all accommodations will be met and documented.

SAFETY POLICIES

TCMS is a partially open campus with semi-rugged terrain. Children will be encouraged to play and discover under the guidance of a staff member at all times. Although safety precautions will be taken, children will not be discouraged from participating in a wide range of activities that include digging, hammering, building, climbing, etc.
Children will never be alone with a staff member; there will always be either two staff members present or more than one child present in all learning activities.