Starting a school is not an easy task — just ask the founders of Christendom College. And yet, the need for strong schools that build up and educate the youth is needed now, more than ever. Today’s secular culture is a breeding ground for many of the problems that infect today’s young people, but an affordable education in the true, the good, and the beautiful can counteract that.
Two pairs of alumni have seen this growing need, and are now addressing the problem. In Richmond, Virginia, alumni John O’Herron ’06 and Denny Pregent ’07 founded Cardinal Newman Academy, a private, coeducational liberal arts high school. In North Carolina, Dan and Emily Henson founded Youngsville Academy, a charter school. Both were born out of a love for learning, and out of a desire to give to others the same type of joyful education they received at Christendom.
“The commitment that my dad, Dr. Carroll, and the other founders had to a particular vision, and the sacrifices they made to make that vision a reality, have been a constant inspiration,” says John O’Herron, son of Christendom founding faculty member Raymund O’Herron. “I’m confident that we too will look back 40 years from now with fond memories of these early days of the school’s life.”
Alumni John O’Herron (center left) and Denny Pregent (far right) founded Cardinal Newman Academy in Richmond.
O’Herron, Pregent, and other Catholic parents began discussing the possibility of Cardinal Newman Academy in 2013, noting the lack of choices in secondary education in the Richmond area. While there are three existing Catholic high schools in the Richmond area, one is an all-boys military school, another an all-girls, and the other a co-ed school forty minutes from the city center. These parents surveyed other Catholic parents in the Richmond area, who overwhelmingly said they desired a coeducational Catholic high school in their area. With all this in mind, O’Herron, Pregent, and the other parents decided to found Cardinal Newman Academy, an independent school that would follow the great Cardinal Newman as their example.
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“We wanted to create a school where knowledge was valued for its own sake and students could learn in a Catholic culture of joy and service. Blessed John Henry Newman was immediately the obvious choice for our patron,” Pregent says.
Cardinal Newman Academy provides a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum to its students, along with small class sizes, co-curricular activities, including athletic opportunities, and a culture that fosters growth of body, mind, and soul. The school opened with 9th grade this past fall, with plans to add a grade each year. Those who are part of this year’s 9th grade class will be pioneers who will help shape the school for years to come, just as the members of the inaugural class of Christendom College did for the school when they joined in the fall of 1977.
Cardinal Newman Academy is open to people of all faiths, with Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church remaining central to the mission of the school. That idea of evangelical outreach is critical to the school, as it shares the joys of a Catholic liberal arts education with families of other faith backgrounds.
Such an idea permeates Youngsville Academy as well. Dan ’08 and Emily ’09 Henson, along with Dan’s father, Larry, began the process of creating the school in 2012, after North Carolina lifted the cap on charter schools. When asked why they wanted to found a charter school, Dan says he and his family felt a great need for a school alternative in their area — a school that would not be subject to the same curricula as found in regular public schools.
Daniel and Emily Henson travelled to Christendom College seeking quality educators for their growing school.
“We saw a desperate need for a quality educational option for families seeking an education for their children not only in facts and figures, reading and arithmetic, but also in reason and ethics, virtue and character,” remarks Dan.
After three years of hard work and preparation, Youngsville opened in July 2015, initially serving Grades K-2, and adding one grade level with 60 students each year after. The Academy seeks to provide students with a joyful learning environment that cultivates the virtues of good character and equips students with skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The school utilizes the Direct Instruction method, which encourages a high level of student engagement and success. There is a focus on student and teacher interaction in and outside the classroom, and core content for each lesson is scripted for the instructor in order that they can maintain consistent results. This results in teachers being able to focus on their students’ progress and academic needs, inspiring a greater love of learning overall in the students.
If these educational ideals sound similar to those at Christendom, that is because they are. The Hensons were inspired by the formation of student character as well as academic achievement they experienced at Christendom and wanted to encourage that at Youngsville as well.
“At Youngsville Academy, our teachers and staff strive to reach the whole child – academically as well as personally,” says Emily. “Students at the school enjoy fast paced, engaging lessons as well as teachers who take time to be mentors.”
Youngsville, and Cardinal Newman, were founded to provide students with a love of learning that serves as a foundation for empowering them to succeed.
Ultimately, Youngsville was founded to provide students with a love of learning that serves as a foundation for empowering them to succeed. While Youngsville is not a Catholic private school, its board is comprised of members who ensure that the curriculum maintains a focus on the pursuit of truth. Th e school, like Cardinal Newman Academy, is open to families of all faith backgrounds, making the school a great place for education for the whole student.
While Youngsville is an elementary school now, it has hundreds of students on its wait list, a $9.25 million K-8 facility under construction, and plans to add a grade level each year until it is fully enrolled at 780 students, serving grades K-12.
This ideal of preparing students for success permeates both Youngsville and Cardinal Newman. Both schools follow in the tradition of Christendom, existing to give students an education in the true, the good, and the beautiful that enables them to have a positive impact on society. These two schools join a number of already established schools founded by Christendom alumni, including: alumnus Dan Miller’s Holy Cross Academy in Oneida, New York; and alumnus Sean Garvey’s Renaissance Academy in Nokesville, Virginia.
As the college looks back on its roots during its 40th Anniversary celebration, seeing those same roots in two new schools, founded by alumni, is a cause for hope — not just in the future of education, but in the future of society as a whole.