Rockbridge Academy Blog
Posts Tagged "founding"
Volunteering—A Call to a Life Poured Out
April 10, 2025
When the Trellis (Parent Volunteer Network) leadership team asked me to put together some thoughts for their kickoff, they said it was because I’ve been around for a while and have memories of volunteering during Rockbridge’s first years. My husband Rick and I were on an early iteration of the working board of Rockbridge Academy, and I well remember what it took to open the school doors each year. By the grace of God, and through the tireless work of volunteers who gave endless hours of their time to make the audacious dream of starting a classical Christian school in Anne Arundel County come to fruition, Rockbridge Academy was born.
So, what did volunteering look like in 1995 and the years following? While there were certainly lots of important things to be done—like creating budgets, filing for permits, and writing curriculum—most of my own memories of the work are of a far humbler ilk. I remember the shoulder-to-shoulder physical work that went on every August, when parents, teachers, and board members did whatever was needed to ready the classrooms for the new school year. Secondhand desks were scrubbed and repaired, curtains were sewn and hung, and floors and baseboards were scoured and polished. And so many hours were spent—standing on ladders, dabbing with little sponge brushes—painting colorful wall stencils in each classroom. (It was the 90s, so of course, we painted wall stencils!) Painted apples bordered the walls of the kindergarten, colorful Egyptian hieroglyphs ringed the second-grade room, and nearly an entire wall of the fourth-grade classroom was transformed (thanks to laboriously rendered rocks) into something that looked like a medieval fortress. To supplement this trendy painted decor, we all scavenged from thrift stores, yard sales, and our own basements to find bookshelves and clocks and art for the walls and everything else you can imagine a school, created from nothing, needed.
Books for our fledgling library had to have those little borrower’s card pockets glued into the back cover, with a corresponding 3x5 card written out by hand for our cataloging system. Black and white pictures for the bulletin boards were colored with crayons or colored pencils. Posters, signs, lists, and rosters all needed to be carefully hand-lettered. (Did you know we also hand-wrote every report card in those early years?) We, virtually the entire community, spent so much time working at the school during those early days that many of us would bring pillows and blankets for our kids so they could go to sleep under a teacher's desk when it got late. The work would quietly continue apace around them. One or two people would always have crock pots full of food plugged in so that we could take a quick break for dinner and fellowship before getting back to work.
I think back on those days now and sometimes wonder, “How was that even sustainable? Was there anything healthy about that? What on earth were we thinking? Was it all worth it?”
Was it really worth it?
As I sit down to write out these thoughts, I admit that there is some irony in how long I’ve procrastinated about pulling together a few paragraphs of ideas for a ten-minute talk, even though I was asked to do so weeks and weeks ago. My slowness to get at this particular “volunteer” task makes me recognize how often I balk at interrupting my own life these days.
The current zeitgeist consistently tells me that “me time” is to be fiercely guarded and that “boundaries” are essential to my mental well-being. And even though the Christian will recognize the incongruity of hyper-self-focus with the biblical call to die to ourselves, I don’t believe we should throw out these notions entirely. The Bible has much to say about the need for rest and quiet, after all, and the notion of boundaries can help those who are chronic over-workers set a more reasonable and well-paced cadence to their commitments.
But musing about the early days of Rockbridge—and the question “Was it worth it?”—has reinvigorated me with hope for, and delight in, the work that might be put in by this current Rockbridge community. Because, you see, my chief memories from those first years actually have very little to do with the work itself. Rather than detailed recollections of every task on our endless checklists, my memories mainly involve the people and our “life together.”
But if our scale of worth runs broader and deeper—that is, if the doing itself becomes our own participation in the slow but beautiful work of weaving the fabric of life together—then every moment we spend is, of course, “worth it.”
Life together: this is the enduring memory for me, and it’s a large part of the sustaining vision that has kept me involved in this community for nearly thirty years. Because, if Rockbridge is a mere commodity—a place aimed only at creating a product that is the best quality at the highest value—then our work will always and only be measured on an economic cost vs. benefit sort of scale, and how we feel about our work will be tied to the unpredictable vicissitudes of what the results seem to be at any particular time.
But if our scale of worth runs broader and deeper—that is, if the doing itself becomes our own participation in the slow but beautiful work of weaving the fabric of life together—then every moment we spend is, of course, “worth it.”
Of course, there’s a reason we call volunteering an “investment” of our time. We use that financial language because we rightly recognize that God has ordained a limited number of hours and days and that we should spend them with wisdom. But he does not leave us without direction about what wise stewardship of that commodity looks like, and what the reward or benefit of our task should be.
Paul says, in Philippians 2:17, “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.”
Do you hear the language (here paraphrased in the NLT version) that re-orients us into a better way to think about the commodity and payment relationship? While Paul acknowledges that he may quite literally lose his life, he likens that loss of life to his hearer’s willing giving of their service. He says his offering of his very life is just like their offering of their “faithful service,” and tells them he longs for them to rejoice in that pouring out to which they are called. All of this, he frames, in the preceding verses, in the light of the gospel truth: that Christ came and poured himself out—perfectly, freely—for us.
I was delighted when Mr. Griffith chose Philippians 2's theme of “Life Together” for the theme for this school year, because I’ve been chewing for some time on the notion that I’m called to “pour out” my life. The question that’s been increasingly nagging at me as I get older is simple: What is my life for, if not to be poured out?
That question, which I’d often rather not listen to, is a gentle challenge to my self-protective tendencies, but it’s counter-balanced by the earlier question I acknowledged. Is it worth it?
Philippians 2 mercifully answers that it is. “Life together” is both the business we’re to be about and the bounty we’re meant to have. It’s the call on our lives and the consequence of pouring out our lives. It’s the requirement of life in community and the reward of life in community.
Life Together is worth it, for what are we made for, if not for pouring out?
Life Together is worth it, for what are we made for, if not for pouring out?
Especially at such a time as this.
Such a time at this, when it’s tempting to look at Rockbridge as well established, with loads of paid staff and growing programs and at least some small manner of bells and whistles…
It’s tempting to sit back and glory in accomplishments and achievements, and, if we’re honest, just as tempting to grumble about deficiencies and defeats. I’m not reminding you of these temptations, by the way, without reminding myself.
But in as much as I’m admitting my own need to guard against these temptations, let me ask YOU, again, as a curative to our consumer mentality, that question I can’t get out of my head.
What is life for, if not for pouring out?
What the founders of the Trellis organization have begun to put in place is a gift for our entire community. Their vision for quantifying and filling the many needs of our “Life Together” reminds me of a grown-up version of those early hand-written “to-do” lists we had as a fledgling Rockbridge Academy. While desks may still occasionally need scrubbing if you have a willingness to do that, and while it’s possible painted wall stencils may come back into vogue (though I sincerely hope not), the breadth and vision of possibilities for service that Trellis has identified is so much broader.
With the scope of service opportunities identified by Trellis, I believe that everyone in this school has the opportunity to be woven into the richness of a life together. That life together is one of the sweetest distinctives about this place and, simultaneously, one of the chief rewards that make the work worth it. In fact, I might say, as Paul said to the Philippians: I want all of you to share in that joy.
I can’t wait to see how this vision unfolds and see how a community whose members continue to pour out their lives for one another bears witness before the watching world to the love of Christ, who didn’t hesitate to pour out His very life for us.
In all the big and small tasks that Trellis can help you discover, let's get at it together. Life together. It’s worth it.
Please reach out to the Trellis group if you're interested in sharing your gifts and coming alongside to help and support the mission and vision of the school. Reach out at: volunteer@rockbridge.org
Heidi Stevens has a long history of serving in various capacities (parent, teacher, board member) at Rockbridge Academy. She and her husband, Rick, have two daughters who are Rockbridge alumni. She joined the staff and faculty in 2000, and beginning in 2025, will serve as Rockbridge Academy's Director of Fine Arts.
The Roots of Rockbridge Academy
January 24, 2024
Like most great things in this world, Rockbridge Academy was born out of a problem. In 1994, a few like-minded couples with children reaching school age began to ask the question, “How are we going to educate our kids?” These parents desired a Christ-centered education for their children, yet as they surveyed Maryland's education landscape, they found it severely lacking. Not willing to settle when it came to their children, and especially their children’s relationship with the Lord, these couples set out upon a journey that led to the founding of the school we know and love today. Out of prayerful consideration, dedicated work, and God’s faithfulness, Rockbridge Academy came to be.
Out of prayerful consideration, dedicated work, and God’s faithfulness, Rockbridge Academy came to be.
Rockbridge Academy was founded by Rob and Laura Tucker, Dave and Kim Hatcher, and Mark and Kathy Lease: six parents with strong faith and a clear mission. One of these founders and mother of two Rockbridge graduates, Laura Tucker, says she and the other parents “desired to have a Christ-centered education for [their children] and godly training that reflected their training at home.” Tucker imagined a situation in which the training her children received at home and at school flowed seamlessly together, all pointing toward Christ. Jana Trovato, a parent of five Rockbridge graduates who became a part of the Rockbridge family in its third year, explains that this would look like “subjects taught under the Word of God, from teachers and staff that love God, who loved what they taught, who were aiming to live faithfully to him and to encourage their students in their relationship to Christ.” Clearly, an education in which Christ is foremost was important to Rockbridge founders and early families.
Clearly, an education in which Christ is foremost was important to Rockbridge founders and early families.
With this mission in mind, these parents began to prayerfully consider their options. Trovato cites Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson as a resource that greatly influenced the start of Rockbridge. Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning provides a practical approach to the principles of classical education as outlined by Dorothy Sayers in her essay “The Lost Tools of Learning.” Trovato explains that Rockbridge is “classical in the sense of teaching all subjects via the Trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages, consistent with the ages of the children and their development stages, in giving the students tools of learning, a love for learning, for life-long learning.” These concepts come straight from Sayers’ essay. Additionally, classical education is focused on educating the students’ hearts and minds. Heidi Stevens, who began teaching at Rockbridge in 1997 and is now a board member, says that “the emphasis on human formation that runs through classical education's content-rich curriculum invites students to seek wisdom and virtue while maturing as whole and able people.” Here was the model of education that would both teach their children academics and nurture their character in submission to God. Now that these couples had their mission and their plan, all that was left to do was pray that if it be His will, God would provide the means to build a school.
Here was the model of education that would both teach their children academics and nurture their character in submission to God.
As one might imagine, starting a school from nothing and no money takes much time and hard work, and the path to establishing Rockbridge was far from straight. Nonetheless, God provided at every turn. Tucker explains that “in July before Rockbridge Academy opened, God provided three teachers with one as a Head of School, and they knew they were not promised a paycheck. Nonetheless, they were convinced that classical Christian education was crucial, and they desired to be a part of it.” One of these teachers was Jen Schingeck, who was convinced to join forces with these founders by reading Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning. In addition to teachers, the founders were searching for a building to house their school. Schingeck explains that the Baldwin Educational building was willing to rent the bottom room of their building to Rockbridge, but it needed renovations. So Rockbridge met at Riva Trace Baptist Church until the renovations were complete. Tucker says, “God provided everything just in time for the doors to open in September 1995. It was truly His work, and He made it clear by keeping the six founders on their knees until the last minute asking Him to provide.” Through the hard work of these founders and God’s faithful hand, Rockbridge Academy opened its doors in 1995 with 23 students K-4th grade.
Through the hard work of these founders and God’s faithful hand, Rockbridge Academy opened its doors in 1995 with 23 students K-4th grade.
Although this was a momentous occasion, it did not mark the end of difficulty and hard work. The first year proved exhausting for these teachers as they taught many subjects and grade levels and developed curriculum. And the teachers were not the only ones sacrificing time and energy for this school; it truly was a community endeavor. Tucker comments that “throughout the first year, [parents] volunteered to sweep the floors and clean the classrooms because they were grateful and delighted to watch their children learn in this classical Christian setting.” But in the midst of these hardships, God continued to provide. He provided people happy to serve their children and their community, the resources needed for the students to continue learning, monthly paychecks for the teachers, and enough students to keep the doors open. In fact, by the second year, God had tripled student attendance. And Rockbridge only continued to grow from there.
Now, 29 years later, it is easy to look back and see God’s faithfulness throughout the life of Rockbridge Academy. The Lord faithfully provided our own campus where over 400 students now learn and fellowship together. Trovato echoes the six founders' vision when she says, “From the beginning, the desire and vision was to build a school that would be for generations, not only for our children, but for our children's children; for generations to come.” Mr. and Mrs. Trovato are able to see the beginnings of this vision as they have a grandson currently in 3rd grade at Rockbridge. Additionally, the Lord continues to provide amazing faculty and staff who all desire to train up the next generation in submission to Christ, of which Jen Schingeck and her husband, Bob, are still a part. The Schingecks’ five children now attend Rockbridge, and Jen notes that “one of the sweetest most amazing things was realizing that in those years that I sacrificed my time and resources to the Lord by working at Rockbridge, the Lord’s plan was for my children to eventually benefit from that work.” God’s faithfulness is always at work, often in ways that we cannot even imagine.
“From the beginning, the desire and vision was to build a school that would be for generations, not only for our children, but for our children's children; for generations to come.”
These founders’ vision, mission, and hard work as upheld by God’s faithfulness are the roots of Rockbridge Academy. Although the founders’ idea began as a little mustard seed, their tender care and God’s providence sent its roots down deep and branches high. As our branches continue to soar heavenward, as Rockbridge continues to minister to God’s people, it is my prayer that we never forget the roots that uphold us, for without them this school would never be. In the midst of the Lord’s abundant blessings, let us remain on our knees forever, thanking and praising God for His faithfulness.
As our branches continue to soar heavenward, as Rockbridge continues to minister to God’s people, it is my prayer that we never forget the roots that uphold us, for without them this school would never be. In the midst of the Lord’s abundant blessings, let us remain on our knees forever, thanking and praising God for His faithfulness.
Olivia Reardon, class of 2022, currently attends Messiah University where she studies English, education, and dance. When she is not tutoring at the Writing Center or performing with Messiah's dance ensemble, she can be found reading, spending time with friends, and eating ice cream.
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Loving Words and THE WORD
October 05, 2022
The following is adapted from a speech delivered by Heidi Stevens on September 29, 2022, at the Rockbridge Academy Library Grand Opening.
Long before Rockbridge Academy opened its doors in 1995—with three teachers and just shy of two dozen students—a small group of families gathered to dream and plan what a school like this could be. The founding families met together, read together, and prayed together, talking about building a place where our children could thrive and grow, where they could learn in an environment committed to academic excellence that encouraged them to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
We loved our own children, of course, and dreamed of how a school like Rockbridge could come alongside and complement what God called us to as parents: training the children He’d given us to love their Creator with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
We also spent a lot of time talking about how what we were building should be built on a firm foundation that reached beyond our own generation. We spoke of cultivating a “500-year vision” for a place that would serve the parents of our community in educating our children’s children, and their children, and the children for generations beyond, if God would graciously bless and prosper the work.
In addition to talking about those things, you might be surprised to learn how that group of men and women regularly prayed for YOU. They prayed for you, and for your children, even as they went about the arduous work of building a school for their children.
Of course, we who were part of that younger Rockbridge Academy prayed fervently for our own children. But we knew that it was the next generation—and all the generations to come, long after we were gone - that would prove whether our work had been built on the right foundation or on shifting sand. Consider the communion of saints—across time—who prayed for YOU, the Rockbridge parents of the future! You were prayed for: that you would be found faithful in seeking to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
There were so many other things prayed for, But one thing—of particular significance for this night—was the prayer that the future students at this school would be lovers of the Word … and lovers of words.
● Words! The means by which God chose to reveal Himself to His people, even before His incarnation as the Living Word.
● Words! The amazing vehicle of language through which so much of our learning happens.
● Words! The mysteriously powerful, beautiful medium through which we can bless or curse, bring healing or hurt, speak life or death.
● Words! The avenue of our understanding, the tool through which we read and speak truth, and the stuff of which stories are spun to captivate, delight, and lead.
And so, we dreamed of a library: of the smell of books and the lure of comfortable chairs; of a repository of the most wonderous stories and the greatest ideas of mankind; and of a gathering of the collected knowledge of God’s good Creation that has yet only begun to plumb the depths of its extravagant complexity.
We envisioned our children, and the many children to come, being enamored by tales of adventure that would whet their appetites for the real adventure of reigning and ruling as dearly loved sons and daughters of our Eternal Father King.
We smiled to think of our students being brought up on tales of bravery and valor, of justice and love, and all the other noble things that the truest and best stories are both made up of and point to.
We longed for our children to recognize the great Story behind all good stories: the story of a King who is making all things right again and restoring his original pattern of what’s Beautiful, Good, and True.
I was listening to an interview the other day with Carolyn Weber, whose memoir, Surprised By Oxford, is currently being made into a motion picture. Dr. Weber has been on the faculty of prestigious colleges across the United States and Canada, and she was the first female dean of St. Peter’s College, Oxford. She recently moved to middle Tennessee to begin teaching at New College Franklin, a small college that teaches the seven liberal arts—the trivium and the quadrivium—from a Christian perspective.
Knowing her vast experience but recognizing that many of the students she now teaches would likely have been classically educated, the interviewer asked Dr. Weber if she saw much difference between those young men and women and others from more traditional school backgrounds. Her answer struck me. She said that the classically educated students, for the most part, could “think in the dark” in a way that many of her past students couldn’t.
“They know how to think in the dark. They can think unplugged,” she said. “They don’t need Google and they don’t need gadgets.”
That description struck me, because it’s what we hope for in our students, isn’t it? We want them to be able to engage with what they read, regardless of genre, on its own terms. We want them to be able to open a book without opening their computers. To be able to dive in without needing the “light” of predigested information that will tell them what to think before they’ve even begun.
Will this library create that sort of student by itself? Will a library ensure that we have students who can “think in the dark”? No. But it’s evidence that we believe that sort of student will routinely inhabit these halls.
We want our students, who’ve been trained to read in such a way, to have this place to come and experience the riches you see around you. To be lovers of words who come here to be with—to pursue—ideas made incarnate on these printed pages. May they do so, reminded of that more excellent Word and truer Incarnation who came to be with—to pursue—us.
Heidi Stevens taught art and humanities courses for twenty years and now serves on the Rockbridge Academy Board of Directors. She and her husband, Rick, have two grown daughters, both Rockbridge graduates.
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