The Ben Franklin Academy is an independent, progressive, college-prep high school. We teach a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, tailored to each students individual learning style, needs, and special interests.
Our mastery curriculum, in conjunction with our individualized instruction, allows us the flexibility to accommodate students who may need more time on a particular subject or who want to speed up their progress.
We teach a “mastery” curriculum: students work on a subject until they demonstrate mastery of it, which to us means a grade of 90% or higher on each assignment and assessment. Our mastery standards are as high, if not higher, than the ones used at most traditional schools, and we think our mastery curriculum is a superior model for preparing students for the rigors of college work.
Our mastery curriculum, in conjunction with our individualized instruction, allows us the flexibility to accommodate students who may need more time on a particular subject or who want to speed up their progress. An additional advantage of mastery learning is that it gives those who are ready for additional challenges in a subject the opportunity to do advanced work.
At BFA, all instruction is one-on-one or in small groups. This individualized instruction sets us apart from the typical high school and confers huge advantages on our students.
Individualized instruction allows students at BFA to work at their own pace, proceeding more deliberately through challenging material, and moving quickly through material they grasp more easily. Our students find this a welcome change from the traditional classroom setting, where instruction proceeds regardless of an individual student’s comprehension, often leading to confusion when a course is moving too quickly, or to boredom when it is moving too slowly.
