School of Liberal Arts

SOLA (an acronym for "School of Liberal Arts") was a private, co-educational, university preparatory high school located in central Toronto. It was founded in 1989 by G. Michael MacConnell and David L. Ferguson and ceased operation early in 2010.
SOLA focused on integrating the liberal arts curriculum and employed Socratic method as the preferred style of teaching. The relaxed atmosphere was enhanced by a close teacher/student relationship, with teachers addressed on a first name basis, as well as small class sizes (approx. 1:12 on average, 15 max.) and an interdisciplinary approach. Students were not required to wear uniforms.
The school motto "Non Lugere Sed Intelligere" is a quotation from the philosopher Benedict Spinoza, which translates as "End Lamenting By Understanding." The marketing tag line for the school, which summarized its educational philosophy, was "Intellectual Stimulation; Emotional Support; Personal Accountability". These three components were integral to the school's approach, since many of the students were bright underachievers who had often been bored in large institutions where the subject matter was less relevant and less challenging. Extra help was available in one-on-one tutorials at the end of the school day. Due to the small class sizes students were highly accountable for the efforts they made. Close and frequent communication between home and school was an important feature in helping teens to become more responsible students. The founders MacConnell and Ferguson were teachers themselves and strongly believed that student self-esteem could build on a solid foundation when real progress was made in challenging domains.
SOLA was given its name by its founder, Mike MacConnell, who wanted to follow in the classical, liberal arts tradition of encouraging students to study a broad range of subject disciplines, rather than specializing at too young an age. Although students were offered flexibility in their course selection, they met personally with the Principal Dave Ferguson each year to choose their timetable, and were advised to take the broadest range of subjects that they could handle with success. In addition to a full range of courses in Mathematics, Science, Foreign Languages and English, SOLA offered a particularly wide range of Social Science courses such as Economics, Law, Philosophy, Native Studies and Science-in-Society, in addition to standard Social Science courses such as History and Geography. Physical Education, Dramatic Arts and Computer Studies were also on the curriculum, with Music being the only major discipline not offered.
Staff members were hired not only on the basis of their educational credentials and interest in interacting closely with teenagers, but also on their willingness to adopt an educational approach that focused on critical thinking. SOLA was a school for individuals. Many of them had left other private schools where they were not encouraged to think "outside the box". Teachers at SOLA were interested in memorization only as the basic first step in building and supporting coherent points of view. Thinking about how to think, and how to communicate with power, was the subtext for each subject in the curriculum. Students were encouraged to challenge set opinions, provided they could support their viewpoints with reason and evidence. Academic standards were set at a high level, with students given the opportunity to upgrade by rewriting major assignments. (The final grade on such assignments would be an average of all submissions.) This rewrite opportunity did not apply to seminar presentations, tests or examinations.
The school functioned on the semester system with students undertaking a maximum of four courses per session. While a full load of courses was normal, single courses were also available. The school was typically top heavy, with many students entering during the senior years of high school in order to develop academic skills and earn the grades needed to enter and succeed in University. The school graduated between 80 and 100 students per year at its peak enrolment, 96% of whom attended the university of their choice.
SOLA offered semestered, summer school and study abroad courses (primarily in Costa Rica) for day school and summer school students. Tuition for courses was roughly $2,200, while full school year tuition was roughly $15,000 to $17,000. Study Abroad courses carried tuitions that varied with destination.
Notable alumni
*Simina Grigoriu (b. 1981) Romanian-born Canadian-German electronic musician

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