Home schooling is not easy. However, it is extremely rewarding. We at Our Lady of Victory School are committed to your success — and, consequently, to the success of your children, by challenging them academically in this world, and by giving them necessary tools to help guide them to eternal salvation. Home-schooling families are close-knit families who work together, pray together, and play together, and who will, by the grace of Almighty God, become the backbone for the Restoration of all things in Our Lord Jesus Christ. Catholic home schooling is truly the beginning of the Restoration!

You may start your school year at any time. Our recommended 36 week school year has some time off for Christmas and Easter, and is divided into four quarters. While we provide a 36 week suggested academic calendar with the course material, there is no requirement to start on the date proposed, nor even to finish the work in the 36 week span. Our Lady of Victory School has students throughout the world, including the Southern Hemisphere, where the school year is opposite that in North America. Therefore, our tutors are retained throughout the calendar year.

The answer to this question is dependent upon a number of factors, ranging from the child’s previous educational formation to his achievement and aptitude. Additionally, it is not uncommon to find children who perform fairly well in one area, and quite poorly in another. If time is not an issue, we recommend having each child tested (some states even require this on a periodic basis) through a standardized testing process. These are not infallible, but they do give a good idea of an overall placement. We prefer the Iowa Basic Skills Tests.  See section above on Standardized Testing.

The amount of time required for homework normally varies from a minimum of about 20 – 30 minutes in Grade 1A (Kindergarten) to at least two hours in high school. Because of the uniqueness of home study, homework time may be adjusted on an individual basis along with extra reading assignments.

While OLVS does not offer any materials specifically designed for Special Needs students, our program can be used in a way that will help the special needs student to succeed academically. Here is a statement from one of our parents of a special needs student:

“I cannot begin to express how pleased I am with my daughter’s progress. This is a child who was deemed to be ‘special ed.’ material by the public system this time last year. She can now read, write, spell and form legible sentences. Your curriculum has proven to be invaluable! Thank you so much.”

By simply following our daily lesson plans while adjusting the suggested time frame to the specific needs of the child they will be able to master the basic fundamentals of learning. As a result, both parent and child are given the opportunity to overcome the frustration and the rigors of daily schoolwork, while strengthening the bond between them. Please contact us for further details.

Our program fosters a love of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the traditional rites of the sacraments, the Rosary, novenas, and the study of the traditional catechism, e.g., the Baltimore Catechism.  We promote a strong personal love for the saints and the Roman Catholic Church. With your nurturing, our religious program, encourages children to live and practice the Ten Commandments, to dress modestly, and to be respectful of their superiors (especially to priests and nuns with whom they may come in contact). Our program is especially unique because, throughout our materials, the Traditional Latin Mass is exclusively featured each time the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is discussed or depicted.  At Our Lady of Victory we are striving to do our part in the effort to preserve Catholic Tradition by supporting each of our families who are trying to do the same.

The Our Lady of Victory School home school program is for concerned parents who have decided that the danger to their child’s education, mental tranquility, and especially to his moral life, is so great that they cannot continue in their current school.

Yes, in grades 9 through 12, we offer a number of diverse courses, including Latin, Philosophy, Advanced Math, Typing, and a number of other challenging classes.  Generally, universities require at least two years of language.  Community college requirements are not as stringent, but do vary from one region to another. For those planning to enter college, we recommend two years of a modern foreign language.  Although we do not currently offer any modern foreign language curriculum we will gladly review an appropriate grade level language program of the parent’s choice and include it on the OLVS transcript after approval and completion.

An OLVS elective course can be used to replace a subject in the same category (no substitution for Religion) or may be added as an extra course. There is no additional charge for the elective chosen if replacing one of the six courses, although the cost of textbooks may be more or less. If permission is given by OLVS to add an elective to the other six subjects, an additional fee of $100 (plus cost of the textbooks) will be charged for the lesson plans and for our tutor to correspond with you, grade papers, and issue official grades and documents. If you should decide not to use our tutor, and instead wish to do all the record keeping yourself, the cost of the lesson plans for an elective is $25.

Yes, graduates and their families are invited to the annual commencement exercises, held each summer right here in beautiful northern Idaho. Contact us by phone or e-mail to find out the date for the next graduation ceremony. If you are unable to make the commencement exercises you will receive your diploma through the mail.

As long as your student’s ACT or SAT scores (or other such required standardized tests) as well as their GPA meet the college’s criteria, the student should have no problem gaining admittance to any institution of higher education with an OLVS diploma. Over the last four decades, our graduates have gone on to countless colleges and universities.