Catholic hybrid education program looking to open here

By Christina Galeone
CFP CORRESPONDENT
In 2000, when Rich and Kari Beckman were expecting the fourth of their eight children, the couple decided to homeschool their kids. It was an economical way to give their children an education rooted in the Catholic faith. But a few years later, Mrs. Beckman found that she needed a more structured approach. Realizing that there must have been other Catholic parents who had the same need, Mrs. Beckman – who once worked for the Arizona Department of Education and the Georgia Department of Education – prayed and devised an innovative solution.  
That solution was Regina Caeli Academy. She and her husband founded it in 2003. Since then, the Catholic hybrid education program that enhances homeschooling by providing a structured small-classroom environment two days a week, as well as a Catholic curriculum, has grown exponentially. Next fall, it hopes to open one of its newest Regina Caeli Academy centers in the northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire region.   
With centers – which are frequently housed in churches – in 11 states and the United Kingdom – Regina Caeli Academy has become a viable alternative to homeschooling students independently five days a week.  According to the program’s website, its mission is to “form classically educated young men and women according to the tradition and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the Ignatian Principles of Education and the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius.” It further strives to fulfill that mission by serving the “greater glory of God through the Heart of Jesus.”
And its Monday and Thursday classroom experiences provide students in grades Pre-K through 12 with benefits they might not receive through homeschooling five days a week.
In a recent interview on EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo,” Mrs. Beckman, who lives in Georgia with her family, explained how those experiences provide students with greater accountability, structure and positive peer interactions that can enhance the homeschooling they receive on the other three days. The non-profit business, which is accredited by the National Independent Study Accreditation Council and the Georgia Accreditation Commission, also assists parents in meeting testing deadlines and attendance requirements.
 While Regina Caeli Academy educates students in academic areas such as mathematics, science and American history, it also offers courses in subjects such as Latin and religion. Additionally, according to the academy’s website, it expects that every student will achieve salvation, deepen in intellect and character, grow spiritually and develop the ability to win others for Christ. It also expects each student to perceive and elect his or her God-given vocation.
Mrs. Beckman is particularly pleased to see the fruit of the academy’s labors regarding vocations.
“We have had many of our graduates choose a vocation,” she shared. “This is significant, because many young people today remain uncommitted, while our students choose to be married in the Church or serve the church through the religious life.”
There’s a Boston area Regina Caeli Academy in Dedham. But the need for such a unique program continues to grow in Massachusetts.  According to Mrs. Beckman, the program is still in need of around 10 more applications before it can open the center in this area. However, when asked what inspired the hope for a new location, Mrs. Beckman noted, “We grow by demand, which means that the local homeschoolers contact us, and we begin the process based on local need.”
Rebecca Casey, a Catholic stay-at-home mom of three, and her husband, Jonathan, are among those who are excited about the possibility of the new center. Along with other couples in the region - they live in Essex County - they’re Regina Caeli Academy local family coordinators in hopes of establishing the new center by the fall of 2021. They hope to enroll their older two school-aged daughters in the elementary program.
“As parents, we know it is our responsibility and right to be our children’s primary educators for life, faith and academics, but we struggled to figure out how to take the leap into homeschooling while ensuring our children were challenged and surrounded by a peer group that helped reinforce the morals and virtues that are good, beautiful and true, and so important to our family,” Mrs. Casey said.
She said that she and her husband spent a couple of years prayerfully discerning the best way to educate their children.
“When we learned about the Regina Caeli Academy’s Boston center through a group of a Catholic friends, we researched it through their website, and found that the classical style of education and Socratic method rang true to us as the best way to help our children grow into independent thinkers who could navigate being in this world, but not of it.”
Mrs. Casey, who has a background in engineering and business, said that she and her husband believe that the new center could provide the “community in Christ” that they’ve been hoping to find as they raise their three daughters. They also appreciate the economic advantages. Mrs. Casey said that tuition is capped for families after four of a family’s children are enrolled, and the academy allows parents to interview for tutoring positions (with free daycare for tutors with infants and toddlers).
“Since we want to be fully involved and invested in our children’s education and maintain the family unit, this setup allows our whole family to be immersed in the RCA experience, respond more fully to God’s call in our lives, and use our skills and gifts from God in an additional way,” Mrs. Casey shared. She added, “With RCA, you have the potential to truly engage in the community as a family unit with the convenience of getting so much value in one place, only two days a week.”
Ultimately, Mrs. Beckman believes that more parents will embrace homeschooling and hybrid education.
“As COVID-19 and the culture have changed the way we view our normal education, RCA’s structure is even more appealing,” Mrs. Beckman said. “I believe we will see much growth.”

For more information about Regina Caeli Academy’s offerings and tuition fees, visit its website, www.rcahybrid.org.