ARCH Education

An ARCH Education is:

Authentic - Real life activities, not just worksheets!  The Best Learning occurs when children are engaged in activities and experiences they enjoy and can understand.

Relational - Learning and sharing in community with others: children & parents, siblings, friends, partners &  teammates; teaching is seen as guiding, mentoring, and building relationships.

Creative - The arts are as basic as the three Rs; differences are celebrated; uniqueness is encouraged; time for "daydreaming" is vital!!

Holistic - Every aspect of a child's being is important - physical, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, artistic, and creative;  evoking both reverence for life  and a passionate love of learning. 

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Education is not merely a means for earning a living or an instrument for the acquisition of wealth.  It is an initiation into life of spirit, a training of the human soul in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue.

                Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900-1990)

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The Story of "ARCH" 

In the 1990s, ARCH was the name given to the 3rd homeschool support group we founded.  Later, we started ARCH Academy, a private school that first served as an umbrella school for homeschoolers, then expanded into an alternative day school with both full time students and homeschoolers who attended part time.  The brick & mortar school closed in 2009 but ARCH Academy remains a part of ARCH Education, where it now serves families who wish to keep their children out of traditional schools. 

Why an ARCH?

An Arch is both a support and a passage.  It can be a link to help you get from one place to another while undergirding your progress (such as a bridge).  It can also serve as a doorway into new places.  Structurally, arches are fascinating to study, with various shapes and degrees of support developed through the ages.  The keystone at the top holds the arch together, but every part of the arch is important and necessary for it to stand.

Meet Our Director

Dr. Brenda Rose

is a long-time educator with experience in public, private, and home schooling.  She began formal teaching at the age of 19 in a small Christian school in California.   Later she taught at schools in Texas, South Carolina, and Virginia, from preschool to university level.  Her main focus in schools was on those with special needs.  She began homeschooling her own children in 1990 and with two other moms started a local support group that year in Rockbridge Co.  

Family Experience:

> married to Gary Rose since 1974 

> homeschooled and/or unschooled six children; the sixth graduated in 2011 

 > one graduated from a trade school and owns her own business, five have attended college, and two have Master's degrees.

> claimed Religious Exemption in 1992

> began using certified tutor option in  2004

Homeschool Experience: 

> leader in local homeschool groups

> founder of 3 support groups

> wrote articles & edited newsletters

> planned fieldtrips & group activities

> led classes for people of all ages

> worked with state homeschool orgs.

> coordinated one of the largest Used Curriculum Sales in Virginia

Qualifications: 

> B.S.Ed. in Elementary Ed (1979)     Abilene Christian University 

> Master of Arts in Teaching (2002) Mary Baldwin College   

> Ph.D. in Education (2009)         University of Virginia   

> Dissertation - Compulsory Education and the American Homeschool Movement

> Licensed in Virginia and Texas to teach elementary, kindergarten, and special education (MR).

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 It is not sufficient, and it may actually undermine our democracy, to concentrate on producing people who do well on standardized tests and who define success as getting a well-paid job.

                   Nel Noddings (1929- )

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