Tempe Preparatory Academy
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| Motto | Verum, pulchrum, bonum "Truth, beauty, goodness" |
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| Established | 1996 |
| Type | Public (charter) secondary |
| Students | 340 |
| Grades | 7–12 |
| Location | Tempe, Arizona, USA |
| Accreditation | North Central Association, American Academy for Liberal Education |
| Mascot | Knights |
| Website | tempeprep.org |
Tempe Preparatory Academy is a charter school in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. Founded in 1996, Tempe Preparatory Academy (also known as Tempe Prep or TPA) offers a "Great Books" curriculum centered around Western culture, history, language, and literature. Its motto is Verum, Pulchrum, Bonum, meaning Truth, Beauty, Goodness, the individual ideals that the school upholds. It is also the founding model of the network of Great Hearts Preparatory Academies.
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[edit] School Philosophy
As a charter school, Tempe Prep offers a "Great Books" education centering around fundamental texts in the Western pantheon. Tempe Prep's philosophy includes small class size (no classroom has more than 20 students) and education using the Socratic method.
[edit] Admission
As a public school in the state of Arizona, Tempe Preparatory Academy has no entrance requirements. Interested families must apply for the school's annual admissions lottery, which takes place in the spring of each school year. However, if a family has one child enrolled, any other children automatically receive a spot.
Because the academy is a charter school, it has the right to cap its enrollment, and does so at 360 students with no more than 20 students per section. However, starting in the 2008-2009 school year, Tempe Preparatory Academy will cap each class at 22 students, allowing two more students into each class. Another addition in the 2008-2009 school year is three classes of sixth grade.
[edit] Awards
According to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools 2002 Parent Satisfaction Survey, Tempe Preparatory Academy ranked #1 in its category, with 146 responses averaging 4.05 on a 4.0 grade scale (A+ to Total Failure).[citation needed] Over all categories of schools (elementary, middle, high), TPA ranked 9th in the state.[citation needed]
The state of Arizona has repeatedly rewarded Tempe Prep with an "excelling" label, an honor it shares with a very small number of schools.[citation needed]
[edit] Coursework
Tempe Preparatory Academy offers few choices in its academic curriculum. 9-12th grade students may choose to study Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, or German. The rest of the curriculum is fixed. Students at Tempe Prep exceed all requirements for students graduating from the state of Arizona.
- 7th grade:
- Literature and Composition
- Ancient History
- Pre Algebra
- Life Science
- Latin I
- Art / Music Theory
- 8th grade:
- Literature and Composition
- Medieval History
- Algebra
- Earth Science
- Latin II
- Art / Music Theory
- 9th grade:
- Humane Letters Seminar (emphasis: American History/Literature/Political Thought) (2 Hours)
- Geometry
- Biology
- Music Theory / Poetry
- Language I
- 10th grade:
- Humane Letters Seminar (emphasis: European History/Literature/Early Modern Political Thought) (2 Hours)
- Algebra II
- Physics I
- Music Theory / Poetry
- Language II
- 11th grade:
- Humane Letters Seminar (emphasis: Greek Literature/History/Philosophy) (2 Hours)
- Pre-Calculus, Calculus I
- Physics II
- Drama / Art
- Language III
- 12th grade:
- Humane Letters Seminar (emphasis: European Literature/Modern Philosophy) (2 Hours)
- Calculus II
- Chemistry I
- Drama / Art
- Language IV
[edit] Non-Athletic Extracurriculars
Tempe Prep offers many extracurriculars in fine arts and academics. Although Tempe Prep is a small school, the Speech and Debate team and Odyssey of the Mind teams are competitive, regularly placing in the top 5 at tournaments with many schools over 10 times the size. Tempe Prep is the current Arizona state champion in its division in Speech and Debate, first winning in 2006 and repeating in 2007 and 2008. The team regularly places in the top 5 at tournaments, regardless of size. The Odyssey of the Mind teams have State Championships beginning in 2002 until 2007 with a World Final Placement of 5th place in 2004 and 4th Place in the 2007 World Finals Competition. Tempe Prep also features a number of other clubs, such as Model United Nations,Fat Students Club, Science Bowl, AJCL and Yearbook Club. The school also offers numerous musical groups, such as string ensemble, wind orchestra, percussion ensemble, and Cantamus, a successful, extracurricular choral ensemble, which sang at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2007.
[edit] Athletic Extracurriculars
Tempe Prep competes in the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) in the 1A Conference's West Region. As of summer 2007, Tempe Prep is the three-time defending state champion in girls' high school track and field. In women's high school soccer, Tempe Prep has won four straight North Region championships and is a four-time state finalist in the Winter 1A/2A/3A league, winning the state championship in 2008.
Tempe Preparatory Academy offers the following athletic teams:
- Junior High Boys
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Flag Football
- Soccer
- Track and Field
- Junior High Girls
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Volleyball
- Soccer
- Track and Field
- High School Boys
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Football
- Soccer
- Track and Field
- High School Girls
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Soccer
- Track and Field
- Volleyball
[edit] Senior Thesis and Defense
Senior students at Tempe Preparatory Academy must complete a written thesis and defense before receiving a diploma from the school. Students are required to write a fifteen page thesis including academy texts. They are advised by a faculty member and must appear before a defense committee.
[edit] Senior Trip
On an annual basis during the school's spring break, senior students join faculty members on a trip to Washington D.C. The trip regularly lasts several days and sometimes includes visits to Philadelphia and historic sites in Virginia.
[edit] Dress Code
A strict dress code is enforced for all students. Male students wear khaki slacks, white or blue shirts, dark socks and dress shoes, while female students have their choice of mini skirts or blue dress slacks, white or blue shirts, and appropriate socks. Students must maintain conservative standards in terms of hair and jewelry.
[edit] External links
- Maps from Google, Mapquest, Yahoo, or Terraserver
