The primary role for parents with children in elementary (grammar) University-Model® courses is Assistant Teacher. Parents will receive instructions from the classroom teacher about various tasks such as outlining homework assignments, reviewing previously covered material, or preparing the child for the next class. Parents also have the main responsibility for direct instruction in some aspects of the course (such as spelling, reading, multiplication tables) and for monitoring their child’s academic progress including the timely submission of all assignments. The parent is charged with reinforcing, reviewing, and repeating key academic material and skills that the classroom teacher has initiated with the students at the school.
The primary role for parents with middle school students is Supervisor. Since, at this level, more responsibility is placed on the student, parents have limited and fewer academic tasks assigned to them. Sometimes the parent will function more as a course monitor whose main task is to track the progress of the student and to be alert to any problems. At other times, the parent may function as a project assistant where more hands-on help is required in support of a particular project. In whatever role, however, the parents’ supervisory presence and watchful eyes are integral to the student’s success.
The primary role of parents with students in high school is Mentor. At this stage, parents reduce but do not eliminate their roles as academic teachers and supervisors as they become more responsible for the child’s moral and spiritual training. The University-Model positions parents with the time, opportunities, and tools they need to mentor their sons and daughters spiritually, academically, morally, and socially during those critical, final years of high school.