FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--All Saints’ Episcopal School, a PK-12 independent college preparatory day school in Fort Worth, Texas, has announced that it will incorporate an Honors College into its curriculum beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year. The first of its kind, the All Saints’ Honors College prepares the most intellectually-capable and highly-motivated students in grades 9-12 for the best colleges and universities in the world. Incorporating a hybrid of the most forward-thinking programs in higher education – Harvard’s Case Study methodology, Princeton’s Gap Year concept and Austin College’s Communication Inquiry platform – the All Saints’ Honors College curriculum will include courses designed to stimulate critical thinking, collaborative problem solving and global awareness.
“As part of our due diligence for this program, we talked with presidents and deans of the most highly-regarded universities in the country,” said All Saints’ Head of School, Dr. Tad Bird. “They consistently shared the concern that many high school graduates are entering college with underdeveloped analytical and communication skills, largely due to the fact that technology makes information so accessible. Students don’t have to work very hard to draw conclusions anymore.”
Beginning in Fall 2013, All Saints’ high school students who are recommended by faculty and meet extensive qualifications will undergo a thorough process to be selected for the Honors College program. The School’s expectation is to include approximately 10% of each grade, or a total of 40 students upon full implementation. Throughout their four years of high school, the majority of these students’ coursework will be honors and AP level classes already in place at All Saints’. Layered on top of that foundation will be one or more Honors College courses each year. For instance, All Saints’ will bring in Scholars in Residence, or thought leaders, from around the world to stay at the school for a period of time to discuss their topics of expertise and engage students in thought-provoking exercises. Another part of the Honors College curriculum is that students are required to be fluent in a foreign language by the time they graduate. Therefore, in addition to normal language requirements, these students will participate in a study abroad component that allows for full immersion in another culture. Honors College students will also have access to some of the best online collegiate-level courses in the nation through programs such as Stanford University’s Stanford Online.
Dr. Daniel Hastings, Dean of Undergraduate Education at MIT, said Saturday at All Saints’ Commencement ceremony, “All Saints’ has chosen to proactively respond to our increasingly complex, volatile and transitional world. They aren’t simply providing their students data. They are providing ways for students to analyze and use that data to go out into the world as engaged problem solvers and servant leaders.”
Innovative thinking is not new for All Saints’. This year, a team of All Saints’ eighth graders entered the NASA Engineering Design Competition with their design of a refractory telescope. The team was the youngest to make it to the national level. All Saints’ is also one of thirteen schools in the country to participate in the Solar Car Project. A team of high school students raised funds, designed the car, built it and will race it from Texas to California this summer.
All Saints’ Assistant Head of School Fr. David Madison added, “Above all, we want our students to leave here with a strong sense of who they are as servant leaders. We don’t want them simply contemplating where the world is, but where it ought to be.”
ABOUT ALL SAINTS’
All Saints’ Episcopal School is a prestigious PK-12 college preparatory day school in Fort Worth, Texas. Grounded in the Episcopal school tradition, All Saints’ offers programming of national distinction in the academic, fine art, athletic and spiritual disciplines, which brings to life the philosophy of promoting each student’s individual genius within. All Saints’ was founded in 1951 and has a current student enrollment of 925. For more information, visit www.ASESFTW.org
