High School Program

Our curriculum is designed to be continuous from sixth- through twelfth-grades and is rooted in the same philosophical principles. We invite high school applicants to familiarize themselves with our middle school program and to explore how the high school program prepares scholars for university-level work.

In sixth through ninth grades, history and literature are taught as separate disciplines in order to systematically introduce to scholars the unique tools of each field of study. By tenth grade, scholars are prepared for a genuinely integrated approach. Textbooks are eschewed and primary sources in history, literature, philosophy, and theology, which had been gradually introduced in the earlier grades, now become the main focus of study. Courses are seminar-style, with a strong emphasis on reading, discussing, and writing.

Tenth graders will study Ancient Humanities, reading texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Sophocles, Plato, and Cicero. Eleventh graders study Medieval Humanities, focusing on authors like Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Boethius, and Milton. Twelfth graders study Modern Humanities, with a reading list ranging from Voltaire to Kierkegaard. After graduating from Lumen Verum Academy, scholars will have a rich, vibrant, and deep familiarity with Western intellectual history that will prepare them for future studies in history, philosophy, literature, and theology.

Scholars entering ninth grade are expected to complete one year of the Lost Tools of Writing sequence. In tenth through twelfth grades, composition is integrated into the humanities curriculum.

In the ninth grade, we take a “physics-first” approach that is both philosophically sound and historically aware. Scholars then go on to pursue general biology in tenth grade and general chemistry in eleventh grade. In the twelfth grade, scholars have the opportunity to pursue an elective, selecting from electives such as Anatomy and Physiology, Astronomy, Scientific Epistemology, or other advanced coursework.

In the ninth grade, we take a “geometry-first” approach. In the tenth through twelfth grades, we have two separate tracks: scholars who have mastered Algebra by ninth grade will proceed to Algebra II in tenth, followed by Pre-Calculus and Calculus, while scholars who have not taken Algebra in middle school will take Algebra I their tenth-grade year before proceeding through the remainder of the sequence.

Ninth graders with no prior study of Latin begin in our Latin I course, which covers Books I-VII of Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. This immersive, whole-language textbook prepares scholars to read Latin with fluency and ease. Scholars who complete Latin IV while in high school have the option to continue their Latin studies through reading primary source texts in classical, medieval, and ecclesiastical Latin.

At the high school level, scholars progress to more advanced theological study. Using the Midwest Theological Forum textbooks as a backbone, scholars also read a variety of primary theological texts. Ninth graders study Christology and Trinitarian Theology, tenth graders study Salvation History, and eleventh graders study sacramental and moral theology. Twelfth graders are required to take a theology course but may select from advanced electives.

As in the middle school, high school scholars are required to take a college seminar elective, taught by one of our Distinguished Guest Lecturers. Please see the Middle School page for more detail.