By Marsha Michaelis

If you visit the Colville branch of the Spokane Community College on a weekday, chances are you’ll see some of the smartly-uniformed students of Ivy Tutorial, a Christian, K-12, hybrid homeschool program started by longtime Colville resident and homeschool mom, Andrea Brown.

In describing the school and its beginnings, Brown quickly credits the effort “of many hardworking parents and teachers behind the scenes making Ivy a beautiful reality,” and of course this is true. On a typical day, in addition to various classroom teachers, visitors are likely to find a parent helping in the office with bookkeeping, organizing books in the library, or tackling the perpetually high piles of project remnants in the supply closet.

Other parents help organize seasonal music programs, oversee the associated student body activities, assist with term exams, volunteer to serve on the school board, host the annual community dance, collect and organize photographs of school days, and help with a yearly yard sale fundraiser.

The school offers a four-day-a-week program for families, as well as weekly Friday electives for those who prefer to homeschool the rest of the week. There are about 80 students in the Friday program this year, and elective classes include subjects like art, personal finance, biology, world geography, social etiquette, apologetics, Latin and Greek roots, and speech and debate.

Where did it all begin?

Asked why she decided to start her own school, Brown gives three main reasons: “First, I wanted a solid community of like-minded Christian families for our children to grow up with,” she said.

“Second, I had a specific desire to create a Charlotte Mason-based learning environment where studies were not just a chore or drudgery, or even just a test to be aced or award to be won, but were truly engaging, personally enriching, and deeply satisfying.”

And, third, “as a homeschooling mother, trying to do it all, I was burning out,” she remembers. “I wanted a community that would help hold my kids and me accountable, and also that would pick up slack in areas where I was not as strong.”

Ivy Tutorial, which opened for the first time in September 2020 with 30 students and three primary teachers, is all these things and more. Dozens of Stevens County families and about 90 students now benefit from Brown’s original vision, which has expanded and improved every year.

Learning and growing

Responding quickly to challenges and parent concerns is something Brown works hard to do. Though every educational project has its messy edges, peopled as it is by human beings, Brown tries not to let problems fester or root.

Students walking through the halls are reminded of the basics as needed: “Tuck in that shirt! Hats off in the building! No running down the hall!” Disruptive classroom behavior is usually minor and dealt with quickly so all students can benefit from a productive and focused learning environment.

Every day at Ivy will find students interacting with all ages, and it’s hard not to love the adorable kindergarten class as they pass with Miss Lacey. High school students are reminded that their good conduct is part of what helps the younger students learn to mature and engage their studies.

The school’s daily dedication, recited together by students is: “Respect, Excellence, Joy: I am a child of God. I ought to do his will. I can do what he tells me, and by his grace, I will.”

What is the Charlotte Mason educational philosophy?

Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived at the turn of the 20th century. She developed a philosophy of teaching and student learning that could be very broadly summarized with two main ideas: 1) that children are “born persons,” meaning each student is a unique and valuable soul worth investing in, and 2) that “education is the science of relations.”

Schools characterized by this philosophy work to cultivate in students a genuine love of learning, as well as prioritize their individual spiritual and moral habits and character.

Academically, students are introduced to a wide range of subjects and skills, usually in short segments but with a comfortable and familiar daily routine. Emphasis is placed on “living books” that contain rich and colorful descriptions of real things and ideas, and students usually spend a portion of each day outside in nature.

All of these elements are part of the Ivy Tutorial academic program and routine.

Friday morning’s all-school assembly includes a prayer, announcements, singing (one folk song and one hymn), periodic class recitals (each class works on memorizing poems or other rich content), and most weeks features one of many different local speakers, from elected officials and area pastors to recent graduates, professionals, and community members. Each presenter shares for 10 or 15 minutes from their store of experience and knowledge, and then students from kindergarten to high school thank them and shake hands as they file out to classes.

The school year ends with a Shakespeare Festival in the Park (Yep Kanum, in Colville), where the middle and high school students put on a short adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s plays (this year “A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and younger students enjoy themed booths and activities (jousting, sword-making, archery and more) and a maypole dance (as in top picture above). Family lunch is potluck style, with a fitting theme (last year one parent made the trek to Costco to pick up 20 rotisserie chickens; this year the theme is cold cuts and cheese on boards). 

Future goals

Asked what she hopes for the school in the future, Brown answers, “Our goals for Ivy include someday having our own building and property, where we’ll have the freedom to do more. We’d like to include subjects like gardening, raising chickens, and even have a full kitchen for baking classes.”

Other goals include offering more training and encouragement for families in the Charlotte Mason educational method and philosophy. Already the school provides an intensive week of teacher training in the summer, which parents are welcome to attend.

Even with various plans for the school’s physical expansion and increase in student numbers, Brown comes back to Ivy’s core purpose: “We strive to instill a love for Christ and an eventual adult character that pursues truth, beauty and goodness in all their relations with creation, self, God and others. No other subject matters if students don’t grow up to be functioning, mature citizens, living in right relationship with others.”

Achieving that important goal is a matter of diligent, faithful, daily effort, both at school and at home. Ivy relies on whole families to participate in that effort.

To find out more about Ivy Tutorial, contact Andrea Brown at 509-680-4696.