Laurel Springs School Offers New Minerva Baccalaureate Program, Starting Fall 2020

WEST CHESTER, Pa., and OJAI, Calif., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Laurel Springs School, a leading pioneer in online K-12 education, today announced its new Minerva Baccalaureate program, a transformative four-year curriculum available to students who wish to elevate and accelerate their high school education and benefit from an online, collaborative learning environment. Created to inspire the next generation of students, The Minerva Baccalaureate at Laurel Springs School is uniquely designed for the real-world application of academic knowledge, across subjects.

The Minerva Baccalaureate was developed in partnership with Minerva Project, a leader in education innovation, and fuses the evidence-based educational approach of Minerva Project with the online learning experience of Laurel Springs School to create a new model of elite college prep. Laurel Springs is the first Minerva partner to offer this first-of-its-kind four-year high school program.

The Minerva Baccalaureate complements the advanced college preparatory courses offered through The Academy at Laurel Springs with two, live online classes each day, wherein students are challenged to interconnect their learning and develop skills in complex critical thinking, advanced problem solving, and strategic decision-making — skills that provide a strong intellectual foundation for college and beyond.

"We are excited to launch the Minerva Baccalaureate in our Academy program. We continue to innovate on educational opportunities in keeping with our ongoing commitment to meeting student needs in a dynamic, global environment," said Peter Robertson, President of The Laurel Springs School.  "This program uniquely combines daily class time with peers and our proven approach to online learning. This approach is ideal for teaching and engaging students in the real-world application of knowledge, and allows learning to transcend subject matter in a way that will produce a more advanced level of understanding and engagement."

Classroom sessions will be delivered on Forum™, Minerva's advanced virtual learning environment. The Minerva Baccalaureate program condenses the curriculum of The Academy at Laurel Springs into a three-year track, with the fourth year focused on rigorous, college-level courses and a capstone project. Graduates of the program obtain a high school diploma from Laurel Springs, a Minerva Baccalaureate including 32 hours of college credit, and the knowledge required to meet the demands of higher education.

"Today, we are providing choice for students and parents who are unsatisfied with traditional high school education, particularly in the unusual circumstances that we are living through," said Ben Nelson, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Minerva. "The Minerva Baccalaureate program is unique in enabling students, starting from the 9th grade, to become equipped with the knowledge and skills that set them up for success — not just for college, but far beyond. We have chosen the Laurel Springs Academy as a partner given their 30-year experience in quality remote education for academically driven college-bound high school students."

For more information on The Minerva Baccalaureate at Laurel Springs School, visit https://laurelsprings.com/minerva-baccalaureate/

About Laurel Springs School
Laurel Springs School is a fully accredited private online school offering a challenging K-12 academic program that engages global learners and values students as individuals. Our school is designed for the college preparatory student who wishes to grow and excel academically and personally while maintaining a flexible schedule. Laurel Springs has an outstanding record of placing its graduates into selective colleges and universities of their choice in the U.S. and throughout the world. To learn more about Laurel Springs School, visit www.laurelsprings.com

About Minerva Project
Minerva Project is a leading educational innovator, providing top-tier higher education offerings to its flagship Minerva Schools at KGI, as well as other educational and corporate partners. Founded by Ben Nelson in 2012, Minerva's mission is to nurture critical wisdom for the sake of the world. Building upon the best traditions of liberal arts and sciences education, Minerva is committed to preparing global leaders and innovators for the complexities of the twenty-first century. Its groundbreaking creation of a new university program is detailed in the book Building the Intentional University: Minerva and the Future of Higher Education (MIT Press). To learn more about the Minerva educational approach, visit www.minervaproject.com 

SOURCE Laurel Springs School