Calvert School
Encyclopedia
Calvert School is a kindergarten
through 8th grade co-educational private school with a day school
operation in Baltimore, Maryland and an associated homeschooling
division that administers a curriculum
shipped to families around the United States and the world. Developed in 1906, the home school curriculum grew by being advertised in the National Geographic magazine as a kindergarten program for those wishing to offer a better education to their children.
scholar who had served as Head Master of the Calvert Day School since shortly after its founding in 1897, convinced a Baltimore bookstore owner to sell the school’s kindergarten curriculum to parents who, unable to send their children to Calvert School, could give their children the same educational advantage by purchasing the lessons and teaching them in the home. That led to the birth of formal homeschooling
.
Before long, Hillyer placed advertisements in National Geographic magazine announcing the course's availability through the mail, for the sum of five dollars
. The response to his initial offer suggested to Hillyer that parents both near and far were interested in a well-rounded home-instruction course for their school-aged children.
By the following year, the Calvert Home Instruction Department was formally established and in full operation, offering complete curricula
. Head Master Hillyer himself edited and approved each lesson, and these were delivered to parents with detailed instructions for the use and care of the materials. That first year, the school received more than two hundred inquiries from parents in 42 states. Within five years, nearly 300 children were enrolled in Calvert courses.
By the 1930s, the Home Instruction Department had customers worldwide, shipping lesson manuals, textbooks, workbooks, and school supplies—all packed in a single box and marked with the now-familiar "Calvert silhouette"—to students in more than 50 countries. Calvert curricula reached the farthest outposts of civilization, delivered to parents by dog sled
, camel caravan
, even parachuted from airplanes.
As one young boy who lived with his lighthouse-keeper father off the Alaskan coast reported in 1952, "The boat brings our supplies every month from the mainland—and my Calvert lessons, too." That same year, the young daughter of an American missionary in Africa wrote to apologize that she was behind in her Calvert home school studies, because "the lions roaring all night keep us awake."
In the late 1940s, Calvert's curriculum began being used by dependents of soldiers assigned to military installations
in Japan
and Korea
. The military’s use of Calvert material grew and continues today. The U.S. Foreign Service also recommends the Calvert curriculum..
By the 1950s, Calvert shipped more than 85 tons of educational material every year. Performing artists, athletes, missionaries, and others received the Calvert school box no matter where they lived.
, adding staff and upgrading technology. In 2003, Calvert Day School's Baltimore campus opened a new, state-of-the-art Middle School for fifth- through eighth-graders.
In 2006, Calvert celebrated its 100th homeschooling anniversary, having helped children at homes and in various schools throughout the U.S. and the world. In 2007, Calvert partnered with Jemicy School to create Verticy Learning, a comprehensive homeschool curriculum specifically for students with language-based learning differences.
– reading, writing, and arithmetic – as well as science, art, history, geography, music, technology, and other areas of learning. The day-by-day lesson plans allow homeschooling parents, referred to as Learning Guides, to focus on teaching time, not researching and writing lessons.
Calvert routinely reviews major educational publishers to find textbooks and other educational materials. Calvert introduces new lessons to the curriculum each year after conducting a rigorous review.
Calvert School includes teaching support with enrollment in the program. Education Counselors are professional teachers experienced with Calvert's curriculum and methodology. Families can call, e-mail, live-chat, or fax questions and concerns.
Calvert's Advisory Teaching Service (ATS) is optional, for an additional cost. It provides one-on-one guidance. Each child who participates in the program is assigned an individual ATS teacher, who grades tests and provides constructive instruction and correction. This program often helps families meet local and state accountability requirements and ensures that their teaching succeeds. Families receive a certificate of completion only if they use ATS.
Calvert School has been internationally recognized as the first homeschooling curricula accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-regional Accreditation (CITA)
. Courses are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education
and accredited by the Commission on Elementary Schools, a division of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
. Calvert’s materials are used in all states and numerous countries.
Calvert also operates a virtual and distance learning program. Calvert partners with virtual schools, such as Columbia Virtual Academy, to provide online instruction that students access at their own pace. This instruction supplements the parent’s home instruction. The Calvert Partners Program puts students in grade-level, online classrooms where they join with other students and a teacher each day for live instruction; the Learning Guide supports instruction by helping the student with independent study.
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
through 8th grade co-educational private school with a day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
operation in Baltimore, Maryland and an associated homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
division that administers a curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
shipped to families around the United States and the world. Developed in 1906, the home school curriculum grew by being advertised in the National Geographic magazine as a kindergarten program for those wishing to offer a better education to their children.
Homeschooling history
In 1905, Virgil Hillyer, a Harvard-trainedHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
scholar who had served as Head Master of the Calvert Day School since shortly after its founding in 1897, convinced a Baltimore bookstore owner to sell the school’s kindergarten curriculum to parents who, unable to send their children to Calvert School, could give their children the same educational advantage by purchasing the lessons and teaching them in the home. That led to the birth of formal homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
.
Before long, Hillyer placed advertisements in National Geographic magazine announcing the course's availability through the mail, for the sum of five dollars
United States five-dollar bill
The United States five-dollar bill or fiver is a denomination of United States currency. The $5 bill currently features U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's portrait on the front and the Lincoln Memorial on the back. All $5 bills issued today are Federal Reserve Notes...
. The response to his initial offer suggested to Hillyer that parents both near and far were interested in a well-rounded home-instruction course for their school-aged children.
By the following year, the Calvert Home Instruction Department was formally established and in full operation, offering complete curricula
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
. Head Master Hillyer himself edited and approved each lesson, and these were delivered to parents with detailed instructions for the use and care of the materials. That first year, the school received more than two hundred inquiries from parents in 42 states. Within five years, nearly 300 children were enrolled in Calvert courses.
By the 1930s, the Home Instruction Department had customers worldwide, shipping lesson manuals, textbooks, workbooks, and school supplies—all packed in a single box and marked with the now-familiar "Calvert silhouette"—to students in more than 50 countries. Calvert curricula reached the farthest outposts of civilization, delivered to parents by dog sled
Dog sled
A dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing.-History:...
, camel caravan
Camel train
A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...
, even parachuted from airplanes.
As one young boy who lived with his lighthouse-keeper father off the Alaskan coast reported in 1952, "The boat brings our supplies every month from the mainland—and my Calvert lessons, too." That same year, the young daughter of an American missionary in Africa wrote to apologize that she was behind in her Calvert home school studies, because "the lions roaring all night keep us awake."
In the late 1940s, Calvert's curriculum began being used by dependents of soldiers assigned to military installations
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. The military’s use of Calvert material grew and continues today. The U.S. Foreign Service also recommends the Calvert curriculum..
By the 1950s, Calvert shipped more than 85 tons of educational material every year. Performing artists, athletes, missionaries, and others received the Calvert school box no matter where they lived.
Current status
In 1997, the Day School celebrated its centennial. In 2001, Calvert Education Services (formerly the Home Instruction Department) moved to nearby Baltimore CountyBaltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
, adding staff and upgrading technology. In 2003, Calvert Day School's Baltimore campus opened a new, state-of-the-art Middle School for fifth- through eighth-graders.
In 2006, Calvert celebrated its 100th homeschooling anniversary, having helped children at homes and in various schools throughout the U.S. and the world. In 2007, Calvert partnered with Jemicy School to create Verticy Learning, a comprehensive homeschool curriculum specifically for students with language-based learning differences.
Homeschool curriculum
Calvert provides all-in-one curricula, which means it includes textbooks, workbooks, lesson manuals, access to various online resources, and other supplies needed for a full year. The curriculum (Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade) is comprehensive, covering the three RsThe three Rs
The three Rs are the foundations of a basic skills-orientated education program within schools: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic.The phrase is attributed to a toast given by Sir William Curtis around 1825...
– reading, writing, and arithmetic – as well as science, art, history, geography, music, technology, and other areas of learning. The day-by-day lesson plans allow homeschooling parents, referred to as Learning Guides, to focus on teaching time, not researching and writing lessons.
Calvert routinely reviews major educational publishers to find textbooks and other educational materials. Calvert introduces new lessons to the curriculum each year after conducting a rigorous review.
Calvert School includes teaching support with enrollment in the program. Education Counselors are professional teachers experienced with Calvert's curriculum and methodology. Families can call, e-mail, live-chat, or fax questions and concerns.
Calvert's Advisory Teaching Service (ATS) is optional, for an additional cost. It provides one-on-one guidance. Each child who participates in the program is assigned an individual ATS teacher, who grades tests and provides constructive instruction and correction. This program often helps families meet local and state accountability requirements and ensures that their teaching succeeds. Families receive a certificate of completion only if they use ATS.
Calvert School has been internationally recognized as the first homeschooling curricula accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-regional Accreditation (CITA)
Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation
The Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation was an international educational accreditation agency.CITA was formed in 1994 by regional accrediting organizations in the United States following a long history of collaboration under other auspices...
. Courses are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education
Maryland State Department of Education
Maryland State Department of Education is a division of the state government of Maryland in the United States. The agency oversees public school districts. The agency is headquartered at 200 West Baltimore Street in Baltimore...
and accredited by the Commission on Elementary Schools, a division of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
. Calvert’s materials are used in all states and numerous countries.
Calvert also operates a virtual and distance learning program. Calvert partners with virtual schools, such as Columbia Virtual Academy, to provide online instruction that students access at their own pace. This instruction supplements the parent’s home instruction. The Calvert Partners Program puts students in grade-level, online classrooms where they join with other students and a teacher each day for live instruction; the Learning Guide supports instruction by helping the student with independent study.