Our Program
Classical.
Time-tested over two thousand years across the globe, classical education has endured longer than any other educational system for a reason—because it ensures intellectual and moral excellence for all. The secret of classical education is that it is rigorous, inspiring, and permeated with virtue. It directs the mind and heart towards what is true, beautiful, and good. We believe that classical education is a gift to use on behalf of ourselves and for the common good.
Virtue Immersion.
Virtue provides learning with purpose and advances knowledge from the mind into the heart. Virtues are habits—morally sound patterns that we can train to become the default setting for our thoughts, speech, and actions. They are vital to our survival and to our capacity to see and attend to the needs of others. They can be reclaimed and refined at any moment, and we need not be bogged down by our errors. We believe these five Agamim core virtues help develop a soulful, well-rounded, effective, and humane person:
FORTITUDE, GRATITUDE, JOYFULNESS, TEMPERANCE, & WISDOM
Classical Languages.
Agamim’s classical public education borrows from the best ancient Western and Eastern ideas of educating a child’s mind and heart to the highest degree to help them flourish as a person, be capable of serving others, and advance their nation. We study classical languages such as Latin, Greek, and Hebrew as they represent the three ancient civilizations—Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem—that helped shape the philosophy, government, education, and moral aspiration of the United States.
Liberal Arts.
The liberal arts are seven intellectual disciplines that shape the mind and the heart. A liberal arts education frees a person’s mind so we can think for ourselves and on behalf of others. We emphasize the first three liberal arts (called the Trivium)—grammar, logic, and rhetoric—as the hallmark subjects and skills that give structure and substance to all learning. The Trivium is taught at Agamim as a portable framework for learning—and self-teaching—anything.
Curriculum.
Wisdom begins in wonder—as Socrates once said, and a great curriculum inspires broad appetites for learning. We chose Core Knowledge for its Western and Eastern content balance. We offer Saxon Math, Groves Learning Organization Reading programming, and the great works of literature and classical languages to ensure academic success in these core areas.
K-8.
Agamim’s K-8 school model extends the wholesomeness of childhood by providing leadership for the upper grades and care across grade levels.
Uniforms.
Learning is important, and our students and staff dress formally as a sign of respect for each other and for the transformative power of a classical education. Uniforms also give our school a sense of shared purpose, unity, and belonging.
Charter School.
Charter schools are public schools approved by the state to incubate effective teaching, learning, and operating models that can benefit all of public education. Charters offer parents a more specialized choice in schooling for each child while still remaining loyal to the public mission.
Skill-Grouping.
All children deserve to be challenged. Our school groups students by skill rather than grade in math, reading, and foreign languages to ensure all students’ learning is accelerated.
Core Values.
We are an American public school, and it is our privilege and patriotic responsibility to help families raise intelligent, good, and engaged citizens. We cherish the values of liberty and E Pluribus Unum (“Out of many, one”) to create a unified body of strong individuals. We take our mission to strengthen the heart of our nation very seriously. And our nation will be strengthened by the strong minds and hearts of each Agamim scholar. We are excited to see how our scholars will use their classical education from Agamim to benefit themselves and others.
Reports & Data
Annual Report
Strategic Vision
World’s Best Workforce
State of the Academy
Local Literacy Plan
Assessment Results: MCA Testing, NWEA MAPS
Assessments
State-Required Assessments
ACCESS or Alternative ACCESS for Multilingual/English Learners
This is given to all students in K-8 identified as Multilingual Learners who receive English Language services. These assessments are given in the winter and are administered by the MLL/ESL teacher. Testing occurs in English reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Please see the school’s LIEP plan (Special Services portion of the website) for more information about ACCESS testing and about ACCESS cutoff score information.
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) or MTAS Alternative MCAs
These are given each spring to students in grades 3-8. Students take assessments in reading and math for all testing grades and add science assessments in grades 5 and 8.
Agamim-Required Assessments
Each fall, winter, and spring, Agamim uses a nationally normed benchmark assessment called NWEA MAPS for grades K-8 in reading and math.
For students in grades 4 and higher, students may be given a level 4 or higher Hebrew language assessment to determine students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking proficiency in Hebrew.
Students in grades 7th and 8th grades may be given the Classical Learning Test (CLT8), a diagnostic or high school readiness assessment used to improve classical instruction and preparation for high school, college, and career.
Agamim’s Assessment Calendar includes assessment subjects, grades tested, testing cycles, purpose for the assessment, testing format, and results sharing.