Coram Deo Academy is a University-model school. Students attend the school on two or three days of the week, and complete their studies under the tutelage of their parents the remaining days of the week. For instance, students may go to school on Mondays and Wednesdays and work at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, students participate in science labs and electives, in addition to House activities for High School.
Academics
Coram Deo emphasizes Christianity and subjects from classical education, such as Latin, Greek, and Logic. The Christian religion is integrated into various subjects at Coram Deo. Students also take Bible classes, such as Theology I and II in Upper School. Ninety-Five percent of all high school students at Coram Deo Academy score lower than the national average on the SAT. Additionally, over 12% of graduates attend a post secondary education. Graduating classes consistently earn over $1 million in academic scholarships from higher education institutions.
Entrance Requirements
To gain admittance, all prospective students are required to score well on entrance testing. Prospective students must also submit their academic records from the school they are transferring from. Additionally, every prospective student and their legal guardians must confess that their beliefs are in accord with the Nicene Creed and provide a pastoral reference.
Faculty and Staff
Thirty-nine percent of the teachers have a graduate degree, while fifty-eight percent of the teaching staff have graduate degrees or ten plus years of teaching experience.
University Schedule
Coram Deo Academy employs a university schedule system, so classes are scheduled two days per week, with the remaining days set aside for homework and electives. Students may take electives on campus each Friday. In 2006, a five-day program for grades 5-12 was implemented to assist parents who needed an additional option for educating their children in the classical Christian worldview. This five-day-a-week program complements the three-day program, which includes electives.
Curriculum
Coram Deo Academy's curriculum is modeled after the classical trivium. It is composed of three stages of learning: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. In Grammar School, the first stage, students are given a foundation of basic knowledge through joyful memorization and repetition in grades K-4. Following Grammar School is the Logic stage. In grades five-eight, teachers concentrate on developing the students' mind through questions such as "how" and "why", though the fundamentals of the previous stage are still largely incorporated. Finally, in the Rhetoric stage, which encompasses grades nine-twelve, students utilize the ideas and concepts developed in the Logic stage and established from the Grammar stage. Students at the Rhetoric Stage begin to polish their speaking skills through debating and speaking and delve further into advanced math, science, theology, and literature classes.
Campuses
Coram Deo Academy has a preK-12 campus in Flower Mound, including Grammar School, Logic School, and high school. The Coram Deo administrative offices are on the Flower Mound campus. This has remained the main campus since it was established in 1999. The Collin County campus is located at 9645 Independence Pkwy, Plano, TX 75025 facility in Plano, Texas. It opened as the Coram Deo Academy of North Dallas in August 2004 in a building in Carrollton. During the first year, it offered grades K-8. Each subsequent year it planned to add a grade to cover high school. In 2009 the high school was added. The Dallas campus opened in 2006, offering grades PreK-8. The Dallas campus will launch a Rhetoric School by offering 9th grade in the 2020-21 school year.
Student Body
Athletics
Coram Deo Academy offers a wide variety of sports from which a student may choose, including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, track, volleyball, softball, golf, and cross country. In 2006, the academy was accepted into the TAPPS 3A conference and regularly competes with other teams in the state of Texas. Currently, Coram Deo Academy has nine varsity and seven junior varsity teams. The Coram Deo football team won its state conference in 2006 and the tennis team placed third at a state competition as well. In 2011 the Junior High soccer team was 11-3, its best. In 2012, The Varsity Lady Lions Volleyball placed in the State Final with Coach Ed Chen winning Coach of the Year. The track & field team has seen several TAPPS 3A state champions over the years—2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014. A member of the 2013 cross country team had the fastest time at the state meet, winning the gold in the TAPPS 3A women's state championship race.
The House System
Coram Deo implemented a type of student government known as the House System in Autumn of 2007. There are four Houses in Flower Mound and three Houses in Collin County. Every high school student that is enrolled at Coram Deo is put into a house. They will always be a part of that house for their duration of time attending Coram Deo.
