How It Works
Elementary School
Who can attend?
Marian University Preparatory School’s (MU Prep’s) elementary school program serves students in grades K–5. Check our student eligibility page for the full list of states where our program is available.
What are the costs?
MU Prep is a private school. We provide licensed teachers and instructional materials. Students and families will be responsible for providing some school supplies, such as printer ink and paper. Because our students learn online, a computer with an internet connection is required. Loaner computers are available for families based on demonstrated financial need. Our enrollment consultants can help address your technological and computer questions and needs.
What is my role as a parent?
As a parent, you (or another responsible adult you choose) serve as your child’s Learning Coach. You’ll work with your child’s teacher to help record student attendance, monitor mastery of online lessons and assessments, and review student work.
Parent/Learning Coach involvement is vital to your child’s success, especially at the elementary level. The typical Learning Coach time commitment in grades K–5 is 4 to 6 hours a day. The first 4 to 8 weeks can be intensive as your family settles into a routine. MU Prep provides a dedicated support system to our families, so you don’t have to go it alone.
Grades K–2
Parent/Learning Coach daily involvement is critical, and approximately 10–15% of this time is online.
Grades 3–5
Students begin to have increased independence, but parent/Learning Coach involvement is essential for about 70–80% of school time, and approximately 15–25% of this time is online.
What will my child study?
Coursework is a mix of online and hands-on work, which caters to a wide variety of learning styles. Unit and course assessments are built in to each subject, and easy-to-use online planning and progress tools keep you and your student on track.
K–5th graders take courses in the core subjects listed below. Beginning in grade 3, they also take a self-guided elective course in music or a world language.
ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
MATH
SCIENCE
HISTORY
ART
RELIGION
Working With Your Teacher
Teachers provide individual and small group assistance via online synchronous sessions called “Class Connects.” Students are expected to attend all required Class Connects and meet with their teacher to receive course assistance, tutoring, and instruction. Class Connects vary by grade level and are scheduled by your teacher.
Mastering Lessons
In the elementary grades, students are required to show mastery of each lesson by achieving 80% or higher on all lesson assessments. If your child has difficulty mastering a lesson, let their homeroom teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers offer many support sessions to help students learn new concepts.
Attendance
All students enrolled for the entire school year must attend 180 instructional days per school year. The total instructional days are prorated based on the student’s start date. The daily amount of expected instructional time for K–5th grade is 5 hours.
Grades K–2
Estimate approximately 4 to 5 hours of productive schoolwork 5 days per week.
Grades 3–5
Estimate approximately 5 to 7 hours of effective schoolwork 5 days per week.
Email is the primary form of communication between the school and families. Learning Coaches and students are required to check and respond to emails daily. Students will be provided an MU Prep email account for school use.
Assessments
Our testing is purposeful and meaningful and drives our instructional practices to best serve the individual needs of your child.
State Testing
MU Prep students will complete national benchmark assessments through NWEA at the beginning, middle, and end of each school year. MU Prep-Indiana students must also comply with all Indiana-mandated testing requirements.