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As a school which values time outside the classroom as much as time sitting in seats, Sophia Academy takes advantage of the fact that our World-Class city of Philadelphia is full of historical sites, science museums, cultural oddities, and musical performances.

Whether watching Hamilton! with hundreds of high schoolers from across the city or viewing Egyptian mummies with a small class of four, Sophia students enhance their learning with real-world opportunities. We believe that we learn the past best by stepping into the past as archeologists, or medieval monks, or ancient Greek poets. We learn science best by becoming scientists exploring questions that confuses us. We learn math best by using it to design scale models of actual venues.

A favorite field trip is always our visit to the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians. There, students view the odd and the macabre. It is a great introduction to their study of Edgar Allen Poe’s writing, a unit they complete with a visit to the house where Poe penned “The Raven.”

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Helping each other through a challenge course, cooking together, even making videos of each other on the zip line are just some of the ways Sophia Academy began to build our sense of family at our all-school retreat at Camp Andrews. This first ever annual retreat was the perfect start to a year in which we are focusing on “Compassion.”

If there was one subject or one activity that acted like a magic pill, bringing cognitive, social, health, and educational growth and benefits, wouldn’t you want that?

Of course you would– and so does Sophia Academy. Decades-long research shows that MUSIC is that magic activity. Here are just some of the benefits (from NAMM newsletter article “Benefits of Learning and Playing Music”):

• Music engages areas of the brain which are involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating events in our memory.
• Musicians are found to have superior working memory compared to non-musicians.
• Musical experience strengthens many of the same aspects of brain function that are impaired in individuals with language and learning difficulties.
• Those who played an instrument for two years showed a stronger “neurophysiological distinction” between certain sounds than children who didn’t get the instrumental training.
• Listening to music reduced heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety in heart disease patients.
• Music can trigger the brain to release chemicals that distract the body from pain.
• Music both makes [people] feel happier and results in increased blood flow in their blood vessels.
• Students involved in music programs scored 107 points higher on the SAT’s than students with no participation.  

At Sophia Academy, all students learn music theory and take guitar lessons. They had a great deal of fun at the end of the year producing their own music through a music tech program on mac computers. We thank Mr. Tucker for his faithful service to the students at Sophia.

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Sophia students use multiple senses in major subjects as well as in targeted interventions. Here, a student uses tiles on a website called Whizzimo to practice his spelling while another one uses syllable and sound lines on a whiteboard. Hearing, seeing, touching all work together to increase our reading comprehension.

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When we say we learn math hands-on, we sometimes mean that we use manipulatives and overlays to compute or to factor polynomials. But math at Sophia Academy took a serious turn towards hands-on when students used algebra, geometry, and trigonometry to design and build scale models of an airport, a baseball field, and a trebuchet. Understanding ratios and learning to measure precisely as students worked through their design soon turned to sawing lumber, drilling holes, nailing, sanding, painting, gluing, and more as they turned ideas into amazing works of creative genius.

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We turned Sophia Academy into a workshop for two weeks, learning many life skills while using our math. Consider a Sophia Academy education for learning differently. Call us at 267-595-4723 or fill out the contact form on this website.

Sophia Academy’s L.E.A.P. Program ( Literacy Education to Advance Progress) will operate this summer for any student in grades 2-10 who wants to halt the struggles with reading or math.

Students will receive either one-on-one tutoring or small group tutoring depending on their individual needs. Sophia uses the Barton Reading and Spelling system, suitable for ages 5 through adult as well as EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy Instruction) which focuses on automaticity and fluency in reading as well as comprehension. Students who struggle with arithmetic calculations will be re-taught using the hands-on approach of the MathUSee curriculum.

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The L.E.A.P. program includes art classes so that students can operate out of both sides of the brain each day.

Classes will run from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Monday through Thursday. This four day a week schedule allows students to make good academic progress while still giving time for relaxation, leisure, and family activities.

The cost for the full L.E.A.P. program is $250 per week. Students may elect to take classes a la carte as well, in which case the cost is $30 per hour.

Call us at 267-595-4723 or email us at info@sophiaphila.org to register

In our pursuit of awakening genius in each student, we are raising money to develop a truly lab-driven, hands-on, discovery-based STEM program. Money raised through the auction will go toward a mobile science lab, the purchase of chemicals and scientific equipment through SEPUP, and the development of our MakerSpace.

To visit our silent auction and make your bid, click on our link.

Items for bidding include a wide variety of objects, skills, and experiences:

–from hand-crafted items to guided Adirondack High Peaks trips

–from shore houses to art

–from basketball skills training by a former professional athlete to gift baskets.

Bid on any number of items for a win-win: you get something great for a good price and Sophia Academy continues to provide a great hands-on education for students who learn differently.

During J-Term, students chose from one of three options: Robotics, Interactive Humanities, and Fiction World Building. The focus on only one course for an entire month was a welcome break for Sophia Academy students. Here, the Fiction World Building students find the most comfortable and inspiring places to write their stories.

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On January 20, students take a break from inventing worlds to watch history being made in this world as our first female vice-president is sworn into office.

We moved! Sophia Academy’s new home provides plenty of space for our multi-sensory, hands-on education for learning differently. And we have plenty of room to welcome new students. With rolling admissions, Sophia admits students throughout the year. Call 267-595-4723 or email us at info@sophiaphila.org for information. Now enrolling grades 9-12.

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Sophia Academy has been fortunate this fall to be able to hold most of our classes outside, which has enabled us to safely continue in-person education. Art classes, history classes, even math and science have been outside. When colder weather sets in, we will be using natural ventilation as well as air purifiers to continue to keep our students and staff free from COVID-19.

Moving from color theory to skills in copying pictures, students are eager to use the right side of their brains.

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