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The Lyceum Academy was established by Gordon Massengill in 1998 at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Inspired by Aristotle's Greek Lyceum, the modern Academy educates high school students in an accelerated college preparatory program.
The Lyceum Academy is composed of 100 students in the Senior Class, and 100 students in the Junior Class. These students are selected through an application and interview process, the latter of which is sometimes conducted with the aide of graduating Academy members. The program is scheduled to meet from 7:30 a.m. until 11:40 a.m. Monday through Friday, but weekend obligations can sometimes be required. |
The Lyceum Academy is often cited as the prime example of a fully integrated, multidisciplinary education. The Lyceum Academy teaches in all four of the primary subjects: English, Math, Social Studies and Science. All projects assigned to the students are designed such that a mastery of all four subjects is necessary for a decent grade. The midterm required of the Junior academy members, for example, involves creating an individual from the 1800s and explaining how all four subjects had a major impact on their lives.
This two-year program purposefully abandons the block scheduling approach in favor of year long classes which provide more comprehensive and challenging coursework in addition to allowing the faculty and students to develop a strong advisor/advisee relationship since they will not only serve as instructors, but they will also assume homeroom responsibilities for these students as well. |