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The Ingrams of Hartwood and other home-school families plan to open a Christian-based high school in North Stafford. Working on lessons at home are (from left) Amy Ingram, holding her 3-year-old Abby, Hannah, 7, Denny, 10, and Rachel, 13.
Isaac Apel, 4, gets a violin lesson from Rachel Ingram. Next fall, Rachel plans to attend classes three days a week at Grace Preparatory School, which home-school parents plan to open at Abundant Life Assembly of God. |
Kristi Lisech knew she wanted to home-school her children before they were even born.
The Stafford County resident, who majored in education, said she remembered telling professors in college that one-on-one teaching was more effective than a group setting.
Parents can customize their children's education based on their individual needs, she told her teachers.
In addition, home-schooling would allow Lisech the ability to pass along her Christian faith to her children in a school setting, she said.
So it's no surprise that she has spent the last nine years home-schooling her four children.
But as her eldest son, Andrew, prepares to enter high school level this fall, Lisech said she realized she needs a little help.
"I still believe one-on-one teaching is effective," she said. "But I don't have the expertise to teach upper-level subjects, and he needs more academic challenges."
Plus, Lisech said she wanted her son to have more interaction with other students to prepare him for college.
But she had few alternatives.
Public school didn't seem to be the right environment because God isn't emphasized, she said.
"The Bible is the foundation and guide of all knowledge and basic to all elements to education," she said.
The nearest religious school for her teenage son, Fredericksburg Christian High School, is 45 minutes away from her home. Lisech said she would have to go back to work to afford to send him there. The school's yearly tuition for high school level is $5,268.
So Lisech and three other home-school parents formed Grace Preparatory School--a combination of private Christian school and home-school.
A member of the National Association of University-Model Schools, Grace Preparatory will hold classes for students three days a week. Homework will be assigned for the remaining two days.
The school will give parents a break from teaching, but still allow them to have control over their children's education, she said.
There are 25 schools in the country that work with the Texas-based association. This will be the first one in Virginia. A school in Chesapeake has a similar setup, but is not affiliated with the association.
Grace Preparatory classes will be held at Abundant Life Assembly of God on Onville Road in North Stafford and is open for sixth- to 10th-graders. More grade levels will be added in the future.
The school, scheduled to open this fall, expects to enroll about 75 students covering the equivalency of middle- and high-school grades. Teachers would hold degrees and may be home-school parents.
Similar to a college schedule, the school year will be divided into two semesters. Full-time students will take the four core subjects--English, math, science and history--and one elective. Parents also have the option of registering their child for just a class or two.
Grace school officials plan to send transcripts to other schools and hand out diplomas for students who meet graduation requirements.
Lisech said the school will seek accreditation. They plan to join the Association Christian School International and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, both of which are recognized by the Virginia Council of Private Education.
But the school needs to be in existence for at least three years before starting the accreditation process, she said.
Gary Foss, superintendent of Fredericksburg Christian Schools, said it doesn't take too long to start a school, but it takes years to develop credibility.
The religious-based private school started in 1979 with 30 students and three teachers. It now has 1,150 students and 160 staff members.
"We have been very fortunate," Foss said.
Chris Hazen and his wife, Jayne, drove last week from their home in Dumfries to the Stafford County church to attend one of the Grace Preparatory's required information meetings.
"We are just exploring, but I like the three days a week schedule," Chris Hazen said. "I want my kids to be in that college mode."
The Hazens were among the 50 interested parents at the meeting who were told children will learn at their own pace.
All students, however, are required to take a placement test in English and math before entering the school, Lisech said.
Parents were also told that Grace Preparatory is Christian-centered. There is a weekly chapel service as well as Bible classes free of charge.
Prices vary according to the number of classes a student takes. The cost for a full-time student would be about $2,500 a year.
Lisech said Grace organizers will decide by next month if the school will be classified as a private school. If not, students will have to register with the county as home-schoolers.
Home-schooling is popular in Stafford. With 442 students registered as home-schooled students for the 2003-04 year, Stafford ranks seventh statewide in home-schoolers. The top three districts are Fairfax, Loudoun and Chesterfield counties. Spotsylvania County ranks 11th in home-schooled students.
School districts in the Fredericksburg area have a slightly growing population of home-schoolers, according to Virginia Department of Education data.
Home-schoolers may take up to two classes a year in Stafford County Public Schools, for free, as long as space is available.
Celeste Land, a member of the Virginia Home Education Association's board of directors, said she doesn't consider Grace Preparatory to be home-schooling.
"It's not really home-schooling. I would call it flex-time private-schooling," she said.
Still, she said it's an interesting idea. "I hope it works out for them."
Home-school parents have pooled resources in the form of co-ops since home-education became popular, Land said.
If one parent has an advanced degree in chemistry or foreign language, she said, other parents might send their students to that parent's home for instruction.
Some co-op programs are formal and structured, others are less formal and sporadic, she said.
Overall, the numbers of families who home-school--whether for religious reasons or not--during high school is increasing, Land said.
"I think as more families choose to home-school, and home-schooling becomes a more mainstream option, people are more comfortable going all the way through," she said.
Missy Stockner, one of Grace Preparatory's founding parents, agrees. The Stafford resident, who home-schools her five sons, said she knows parents who have taught their children through high school and had no problems.
She participates in co-ops and doesn't want people to think that the school's purpose is to replace the groups, but rather to help.
"My oldest is in eighth grade and the younger ones aren't reading yet," she said. "He [oldest son] needs more than I can give him."
To reach JESSICA ALLEN: 540/368-5036 jiallen@freelancestar.com
