The LSA Model includes programs to support the whole student: academically, spiritually, and physically. LSA intentionally limits its class size to 15 students per grade because maintaining a small student-teacher ratio is critical to effective teaching methods among inner city students. LSA’s staff carefully infuses trauma-informed teaching methods to address potential barriers to learning.
La Salle Academy teaches our students using the high-quality Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s curriculum; however, as an independent school, owned by our LSA Board of Trustees, our model allows us to do so much more. LSA students attend 1,496 school hours annually, 596 more hours annually than Pennsylvania’s Public-School requirement. The Extended Day/Extended School Year model allows our students to experience various enrichment programs not easily accessible to underserved families. These include chess, Scrabble, electronic coding, cooking, arts and crafts, gardening/ecology, financial literacy, CYO basketball and Swim lessons in July.
This LSA Extended model also includes: LSA Graduate Support, for high school placement and graduation; Education Plus Health, onsite nursing services; Music and Art, for cultural and creative expression; Extracurricular and Summer programming; Service Learning, to broaden students understanding and embracing of the Catholic Social Teaching; and a full-time Social Worker to nurture the whole child. These programs enhance academics.
Integral to our mission and infused in our academics are the seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching: Human Dignity, Pursuit of Peace, Individual Human Rights, Care for the Poor and Vulnerable, Workers Rights, Solidarity (our brother’s keepers), and Care for God’s Creation. Each grade adopts a service-learning project that supports the poor locally and globally, including clean water in Nigeria and supplies for Ronald McDonald House.
Click on “Curriculum” to learn more about what makes La Salle Academy exceptional!
