User:Mpacione/St. Paul's Academy

St. Paul's Academy (located in Alberta, Canada, and often referred to as SPA) is an online school serving students in Grades 4-12. The school is one of 17 schools in a school district called Christ the Redeemer Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 3. The majority of St. Paul's Academy's students live throughout the province of Alberta while accessing their education from their own home. A small percentage of students enrolled with St. Paul's Academy attend traditional schools in the school district or elsewhere in the province, while taking online courses with SPA.

Origins
St. Paul's Academy begain in 1996 as a paper/fax operation where students would receive correspondence packages containing course material and submit assignments to teachers using a fax machine. After this first year, computers became the main communication tool, allowing students to download assignments from a web page, e-mail their assignments to teachers, and communicate with other students online either via e-mail or chat rooms. In its early days, SPA consisted of homeschooling students whose parents were looking for more instructional support from teachers along with students who previously attended a traditional school.

Over time, enrollment increased, especially with students who used to attend traditional schools until today, where more than half of the students taking classes at SPA previously attended a traditional school. St. Paul's Academy currently serves approximately 850 students in Grades 4-12.

Academic Program
St. Paul's Academy offers a full program for students in grades four to twelve, following the Alberta Program of Studies (mandated by Alberta Education. The school is publicly-funded like all schools in Alberta, fully-accredited with certified Alberta teachers, and all graduates are eligible to receive the Alberta High School Diploma.  Students can choose from all core subjects, numerous complementary courses, and either Spanish or French as a Second Language.

Students receive four report cards each school year (November, January, April, and June) and write Provincial Achievement Tests in Grades 3/6/9 and Diploma Exams in Grade 12.

Community
St. Paul's Academy maintains both an online community (where students, teachers, and parents communicate on an hourly/daily/weekly basis) and an in-person community through over 300 school events held each year around the province. These in-person activities include field trips, workshops, sports teams, and recreation opportunities focusing on arts, music, crafts, and sports.

School Traditions

 * School colours are royal blue and gold.
 * SPA's teams are called "The Flight."
 * Annual events include September and June family picnics, November Awards Ceremony, Christmas Open House, May Talent Show, and June Graduation Ceremony and Banquet.

Partners
St. Paul's Academy belongs to a larger school called The Centre for Learning@HOME - this umbrella organization combines the expertise of online education with St. Paul's Academy and the homeschooling expertise of Okotoks Homeschooling. The Centre for Learning@HOME brought these two entities together in 2004 in order to increase course offerings and allow for greater customization of educational programs for students registered with the school district.

SPA also serves students in various other schools within its school district: Holy Trinity Academy (Okotoks), Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy (Canmore), Notre Dame Collegiate (High River), Holy Cross Collegiate (Strathmore), St. Anthony's School (Drumheller), and St. Joseph's Collegiate (Brooks).

Notable Alumni

 * Miles (Rob) Aronson - Spread the Love (Feed the Hungry program) and one of Canada's Top 20 Under 20
 * Austin Fyten - Western Hockey League
 * Scottie Upshall - National Hockey League