College for home-schoolers

Home-educated, high school graduates, like their peers in
“traditional” schools, often face a challenge when choosing which
college to attend. But this decision-making process will involve a new
choice for the nation’s 1.5 million children educated at home, as
development of the first college designed especially for home-schoolers
breaks ground today.

Patrick Henry College, named after the Virginia patriot who himself
had been home-schooled, will be built on 44 acres of land located in the
Loudoun County town of Purcellville, Va. The town, populated by
approximately 2,500, is located one hour from Washington. The college
will begin with 100 students the first year and 200 the following year.

The founding organization of the new college is the Home School Legal
Defense Association. Michael Farris, president of HSLDA and future
president of the new college, said Patrick Henry College has been named
as such because he and the HSLDA have patriotic purposes for the
college.

“Our goal is to teach students to be effective government servants
and leaders with the original intent of the Constitution as the primary
focus of their instruction in government,” Farris said. “We believe
that is — by design — patriotic towards our country.”

Emphasizing the college’s patriotic endeavors, the only degree that
will be offered during its first academic year, which is scheduled for
fall 2000, will be a Bachelor of Arts in government. Promoting academic
excellence in the field of government, however, is only one of the
college’s primary goals. The college will uphold a Christian worldview
as well.

“We seek the unity and the breadth of being a non-denominational
school while at the same time being very focused and very narrow on our
strong commitment to the Christian faith,” said Brad Jacobs, the provost
of the college.

Farris has plans to add a law school to the college and hopes to
incorporate undergraduate programs in journalism, computer science and
business in the future. Since the college’s focus is on an education in
American government, however, Farris said the college will stress
apprenticeships at the junior and senior class level where students will
have the chance to take on real legislative assignments which members of
Congress, the White House and state legislatures need to have completed.

Professors will be directed to guide the “student/legislative aide”
through research, making certain the student’s work meets the highest
professional standards before sending the material to the appropriate
politician. Farris believes by having the students participate in
legislative apprenticeships, graduates from Patrick Henry College will
be the best-trained legislative aides an office could have. By
graduation time, the student will have acquired quite a contact list as
well, Farris added.

“I’ve gotten several requests from members of Congress who say, ‘Boy,
I’d like to have a sharp home-schooled kid to come be a legislative
aide,'” said Farris. “In effect, what they’re saying to me is they’re
assuming home-schooled kids have a certain worldview and that they’re
academically bright. What they’re asking for is people with a good
worldview and good academic skills. Although I know a lot of
home-schooled kids that have a potential of doing those things, I feel
they need further training to make that happen.”

When WorldNetDaily asked Farris if he believed other colleges could
give home-schooled children the training needed to be successful
legislative aides, Farris said he didn’t believe so. Although other
colleges can and do train students for a career in politics, Farris said
they won’t be able to compete with the educational model at Patrick
Henry College. Farris believes it will be the college’s apprenticeship
program that will make the difference.

Although home-schoolers are going to be a large component of the
student body, the college will be open to other students who want to
attend. However, the admittance procedures will be tough. With a
holistic approach to the admissions process, Patrick Henry College plans
to attract the top students in the country.

“I think we’re going to end up with a very academically elite
institution,” said Jacobs. “We think our student applicant pool is
going to be very highly skilled.”

Some students and their families are so excited about the new school
that they have called Jacobs just to tell him they’re going to sell
their home and move to Virginia just so they can be with their child who
— they hope — will attend Patrick Henry College. Jacobs, taken aback
by all the excitement, says he tries to calm down the eager parents by
suggesting they first see if their child is accepted into the college
before selling the home.

Along with highly skilled students, it appears the college will also
have a highly skilled faculty. Jacobs said he has been receiving
letters and resumes from a number of individuals with doctorate degrees
wishing to come and teach at the new college.

Students who do get accepted to the college will have the chance to
develop a close relationship with professors since the student-teacher
ratio will be about 10 to one. Students will also receive laptops upon
admittance into the college. Farris said tuition, which he hopes will
be $12,000 or less per academic year, will pay for the costs of the
laptops.

Farris said the college has received much support from the
home-school community. In fact, many home school families are helping
to pay for the new school which will cost an estimated $39 million by
the time the project is completed 10 years from now.

“It’s kind of like an instant alumni base of people who believe in
the vision, believe in the concept, and share the values of where we’re
coming from,” remarked Farris concerning all the generous donations the
college has already received.

Support has also come from local government officials.

“We’ve gotten good reception from a wide variety of government
officials including the lieutenant governor (John Hager, R-Va.) and the
mayor of our town (John Marsh). The governor of Virginia (Jim Gilmore)
has been very supportive in the past as well.”

Commenting on the ground-breaking taking place today, Hager said, “As
Virginia’s newest private Christian college, Patrick Henry College soon
will become an important part of a broad and diverse system of higher
education that is alive, vibrant and thriving.”

“We live in competitive, opportunity-filled times — and we all know
that in the new millennium, the best jobs and the best opportunities
will go to the students who are the best prepared,” added Hager. “I’m
sure it won’t be long until graduates of Patrick Henry College will be
following in Patrick Henry’s footsteps … and leading Virginians
forward into a new century — where the opportunity, hope, and promise
that was Henry’s dream becomes Virginia and America’s reality.”

At the ground opening today, both Hager and Marsh will be speaking.
Three delegates from the Virginia Legislature, including Jay Katzen,
Robert Marshall and Donald McEachin, will be speaking as well, along
with Farris.

Regarding the vision of Patrick Henry College, Farris said, “We
believe that our long range freedom as a nation depends on developing
leaders who believe in the principles of freedom and who have the skills
to make America work in the way it was intended by people who wrote the
Constitution. We want to train up those leaders.”