Northwest Liberty School.
by: Bob Hagin
In one of my first blogs, it makes sense to begin at the inception of starting a high school. It was easier to identify the courses and services we would offer than it was to create our name. After a Scrabble like name-game, I wrote “Northwest Liberty School” on the state application to become an approved Washington State private high school.
As a native of the Pacific Northwest, I wanted our name to reflect the Northwest’s diversity of geography, the independent thinking, and its people. Northwest Liberty School mirrors the Northwest in its variety and perspectives. My intent has always been to develop an academic resource that takes the structure of our public schools and adds a dimension of fluidity like the running rivers through our valleys. In addition, the Northwest plateaus, vistas, and open ranges also inspire me to see a broad and long-range perspective, looking for options that open new educational horizons.
A parent once asked if “Liberty” had some political orientation. Did the school have an agenda around a partisan cause? The question took me off guard and an eloquent, well-conceived response was lacking on my part. I stammered, “No. Absolutely not.” Education and the truest sense of liberty should hold a sense of freedom. In the early 1900’s, my orphaned grandfather arrived in New York Harbor. Seeing the Statue of Liberty, he understood that America was the land of hope and that hard work creates opportunities. This was the inspiration for “Liberty.”
In my decades in education, I know two things about students. The first is that students who have hope, seek opportunities, and it doesn’t take much hope to go a long way. The second thing I know is every person wants to succeed. Our whole educational system should constantly ask “What’s best for students and learning” and then respond.
I am fortunate to have the opportunity to develop a northwest-type of freedom for students and schools.