SCHOOL DAY
The TJBA school day begins with arrival and breakfast from 7:40 to 8:00 am. The day ends at 2:30 pm for middle school students and 4 pm for high school students Monday through Friday. Evening study and dinner will be added when transportation becomes available.
SCHEDULE
MONDAY–FRIDAY
7:40 to 8:00 am
Arrival and breakfast
8:00 to 8:20 am
Morning worship
8:20 am to 8:40 am
Advising
8:40 am to 11:15 am
Academics
11:15 am to 12:00 pm
Lunch
12:00 to 1:15 pm
Athletics/Arts
1:15 pm to 2:15 pm
Athletics/Arts
2:15 pm to 4 pm
Academics – High School
4 pm – 5:30 pm
Evening study / Dinner – upon transportation availability
“As an educator and educational consultant I’ve been in hundreds of schools, and the range I have seen is breathtaking. The TJBA concept represents the closest thing I’ve seen to the perfect school—it’s a template for developing perfect schools. Each TJBA graduate will serve as an ambassador who will help to bring the message of how the school works to a wider audience.”
CURRICULUM
The TJBA curriculum is anchored in academic skills: active reading, note-taking, vocabulary development, critical thinking, research, writing, computation, and public speaking.
MIDDLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
6th Grade: Character & Community
7th Grade: Identity & Voice
8th Grade: The World & Ourselves
MATH
6th Grade: Numeracy & Calculation
7th Grade: Operations & Variables
8th Grade: Abstractions & Understandings
SCIENCE
6th Grade: The Earth (geology, meteorology, & the environment)
7th Grade: Health & Wellness
8th Grade: Living Science (genetics, biology & the diversity of organisms)
HISTORY
6th Grade: Ancient Civilizations
7th Grade: Geography & Society
8th Grade: Civics & Leadership
SPANISH [3 Years]
RELIGION [3 Years]
ART [3 Years]
PHYSICAL EDUCATION [3 Years]
HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM
READING & WRITING INTENSIVE:
A THEME-BASED RESEARCH AND WRITING COURSE
9th Grade: Sports and Society
10th Grade: History of Technology and Society
11th Grade: Race, Class and Gender
12th Grade: Social Media and Society
SCIENCE
9th Grade: Lab Science: Skill Building
10th Grade: Biology
11th Grade: Chemistry/Research Project
12th Grade: Physics
HISTORY
9th Grade: Local History/Civics/Geography—Skill Building
10th Grade: US History 1
11th Grade: US History 2 and Research Paper
12th Grade: World History
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
9th Grade: Introduction to the Bible: Judaism and Christianity
10th Grade: Ethics, Origins of the Law, the Constitution, and Capitalism
11th Grade: History of the Black Church
12th Grade: Religions of the World
ENGLISH LITERATURE [4 Years]
MATHEMATICS [4 Years]
SPANISH [3 Years]
JUNIOR YEAR PROJECTS
Two half-year projects, as shown in the curriculum above, are required: a 10-page US History research paper and a 10-page Chemistry research project. Students will present their US History research papers to a panel of judges at an annual conference that is sponsored by the TJBA and includes presentations by students from several area high schools.
SENIOR SEMINAR
A year-long research and writing project includes a paper of 15-20 pages and a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation.
NON-ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
Group counseling once per week
Honor Council, during which students and faculty adjudicate breaches of the Academic Honor Code
Academic advising, 2 to 3 times per week
Community service
“Within the TJBA we can provide the boys with things that some may not have at home—a quiet place to study, help with their studies and homework, and nutritious food. With structure, discipline, and support, TJBA students can thrive.”
ACADEMIC POLICIES
Passing grades are 70-79 for a C, 80-89 for a B, and 90-100 for an A.
Academic success at the Tom Johnson Boys’ Academy is a product of consistent effort as seen through completed homework and other assignments, class participation, and appropriate interactions with peers and teachers in the classroom.
Homework Policy:
- Students failing to complete five homework assignments in a class during one term will fail that class for the term.
- Students with missing homework assignments during a week will stay after school on Friday to complete those assignments.
Promotion to the Next Grade:
- The TJBA does not practice social promotion. In order to move on to the next grade, a student must pass all courses at the end of the year with a grade of 70% or above.
- Students failing one course for the year must complete a remedial course with the requisite hours over the summer. Parents will be responsible for the cost of staffing the remedial course.
- Students who fail two courses for the year will be asked to repeat the grade or counseled to withdraw from the Tom Johnson Boys’ Academy.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
At the Tom Johnson Boys’ Academy academic integrity is taken very seriously. A student who behaves with academic integrity does his own work and—when appropriately presenting the ideas and work of others, as in a research paper—properly credits the sources of his information.
Like honesty and integrity in all other aspects of life, academic integrity is an important part of character, so emphasizing it and teaching it are important at the TJBA. Academic integrity is also key from a learning standpoint, since teachers can properly guide students only when students turn in their own work.
TJBA students are taught the importance of academic integrity, and they are shown how and when to properly cite any thoughts they use that are not their own. The consequences of failing to demonstrate academic integrity are clearly explained to them.
Any student found to be plagiarizing, cheating on exams, or sharing homework will be referred to the Honor Council, a group of students and teachers who determine disciplinary action. Plagiarizing or cheating on a major writing assignment will result in a failing grade on the project and possibly dismissal from the school.
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
The TJBA school day ends at 4 pm on Monday–Friday. Evening study and dinner will be added upon availability of transportation. Students will have the opportunity to participate in athletics, arts programs that are in addition to regular art classes, evening study with tutoring support, and dinner.
COLLEGE COUNSELING
“I envision the first TJBA graduating class. I see the smiles on their faces and feel their powerful sense of accomplishment since they all have letters of acceptance to colleges. I feel the pride of the boys’ parents and grandparents. I see a joyous, grace-filled picture of accomplishment and satisfaction. I see flashes of everything we at the school and the boys did together to get to that point. I feel gratitude for having been a part of it.”
College acceptance for every TJBA graduate is central to the the school’s mission. The TJBA college counseling program provides for students and their parents to become knowledgeable about how to choose and apply to colleges and how to obtain financial aid.
Individualized planning for college begins in the ninth grade, when advisors help boys to determine their possible career interests, which colleges have programs to support their goals, and what they will need to do in order to be accepted at those colleges. Financial planning with parents begins that very first year. So do college visits; by the time they graduate from the TJBA, students will have visited 30 to 40 colleges.
By tenth grade, students will know what college is like. They will be familiar with standardized testing, SAT preparation, and the importance of their grade point average. At the end of the year, students will take the PSAT. In eleventh grade students will take an SAT preparation course, take the SAT, narrow down their choices of colleges to apply to, and evaluate schools’ financial aid packages. And in winter or spring of twelfth grade, students will receive their college acceptances and make their decision.
The TJBA support of its graduates continues even after they leave for college. The school provides advisory and counseling services for students and their families throughout the students’ college years.
STUDENT SUPPORT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The entire TJBA curriculum and culture are based on supporting students in their journey from boyhood to manhood. From their very first day, students are part of a nurturing and affirming school community that is committed to their success in high school, in college and in life. The school provides for its students’ physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual safety.
In turn, the TJBA has both academic and character-related expectations of its students. These expectations are communicated to students very clearly at the start of school, as are the ways that students can get assistance in meeting expectations and the consequences for not meeting them.
Students are expected to arrive at school each day on time and properly dressed. They are to participate in all classes and activities, complete homework assignments, and ask for assistance when needed. They are expected to demonstrate good manners and civility in their interactions with others, to tell the truth and take responsibility for their actions, and to behave with academic integrity by doing their own work and properly crediting information sources in research papers.
Students are expected to comply with all school rules, including the zero-tolerance policy for violence, bullying, weapons, alcohol, and drugs. All rules are in keeping with, and help to reinforce, the concept communicated to students on their first day of school: “We are all responsible for each other.”
PARENT SUPPORT AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The TJBA forms a partnership with parents, so that together we can support their sons’ education and journey from boyhood to manhood. Parents are kept apprised of their sons’ progress via several kinds of meetings. Parents meet with their sons’ academic advisors once each term to receive and discuss grades.
Parents also participate in an enjoyable program called Meal Teams. About six times per year, each parent will be part of a team of parents who cook or have catered, and then serve, a dinner for the students and school staff. The food is enjoyed, the parents are applauded, and the conversation and fellowship flow wonderfully freely at these family-style gatherings.
Parents’ signoff on, and support of, all TJBA policies and procedures are essential to their sons’ success. The boys will take their cues from their parents, respecting the policies and procedures that their parents respect. Parents are expected to ensure their sons come to school every day, properly dressed; to support the school structure, including the extended school year and the extended school day; to keep school appointments; to pay $50 monthly tuition, or more based on income; and to participate in phone calls and meetings as requested by school personnel.
