Ebbink Leaving for Virginia, Starting Own School

Chase WohrleStaff WriterAt the end of the first semester, Samo English teacher Jeremy Ebbink will leave for Virginia to start his own alternative school, which will only have ten students."I just love education and knowledge," he said. "I love learning myself, I want to help people who also want to learn and become knowledgeable. I studied the whole issue of education in the Untied States, and I became really interested in education reform, and how the United States is trying to improve our education relative to other countries."The move to Virgina Beach was influenced by the states' cultural and legislative acceptance of homeschooling. In Virginia, sports leagues and social gatherings are established exclusively for children who are home-schooled, with the purpose of mimicking the high school experience. Compared to Virginia, California's process of starting a home-school system is much more complicated. According to Ebbink, Californians who wish to home-school their children basically must start their own school, even if they only want to educate their child.Upon arriving in Virginia, Ebbink plans to advertise his program with a brochure and then hold meetings with parents who are interested. Once he has received applicants, he will interview them along with their parents. His next step will be to set a location; ideally, he will rent out a small office space, consisting of roughly three rooms.In the beginning, parents will have to pay for their child's enrollment in the program, but as it becomes more "well-known," he hopes the government will help with some of the funding."Right now it has to be private," Ebbink said. "I need parents to pay, but if it gets that popular than its really easy for the government to allow the students to go to these schools. It's like a charter school."Ebbink says his goal is to provide a stronger alternative to public education for students who have troubles learning in the high school setting. Despite the fact that such a small class size can come off as a bit radical, Ebbink believes it solves the biggest problems of public education. He also aims to popularize schools of small sizes.Ebbink plans to be the only administrator, so that money can be put toward other things. He also believes that the smaller class size at his new school will solve the problems that overcrowding — which is all too common in today's public schools — presents. The smaller amount of older students (he only plans to teach grades 10-12) will allow him to get to know them better and more quickly, and with a small class of equally competent students, he can focus on a coherent teaching curriculum.

"My main concern isn't trying to find the best students, but students that will fit in this kind of setting, that will actually want to get something out of it," Ebbink said. "What I'm trying to do is get away from big schools and make [learning] more personalized."

Ebbink believes that all of his experiences as an educator will influence the way he runs his new school, but he believes the most important thing he will take with him is his method of motivating students.

"At my other school, grades were a huge concern for all students; it was really easy to use grades as a motivational tool," he said. "You can give them a low grade like a 'C,' and that will motivate them to want to learn,  'How can I get to an "A?"' Whereas here if you do that, it kind of discourages students. They think 'Oh, I can't do it.'"

He plans to use this experience at his new school in order to benefit both the students and the school as a whole.

As opposed to finishing out the second semester, Ebbink wants to be in Virginia well before the next school year starts. He plans to leave after the finals so he can accommodate his current students if they need help prior to the testing."I guess it's better to wait until the semester ends," sophomore Eddie Moosebrugger, one of Ebbink's students, said. "The transition to a new teacher will be weird though."He wants to get started as soon as possible; however, Ebbink isn't turning his back on Samo."We'll be disappointed to lose him," Samo English teacher Jennifer Pust said. "He was giving some ideas and suggestions on ways the Samo English department can move forward, which I think is a really classy move on his part. Even though he is not going to be here next semester, it's really admirable that he's still thinking critically in his department meetings about ways that our work can improve and things we can do to make the experience better for our students."Ebbink says that his family also influenced his decision to move to Virginia — his brother, nephews and nieces reside in Virginia Beach."I also want to go out there is to be an uncle and be a part of their lives," Ebbink said.As for the future of his school and others of the sort, he has high hopes."What I'm hoping is that, when I run the school, it shows a different option, a different kind of system we can have," Ebbink said. "Maybe in the future, more and more people will choose an alternative school."cwohrle@thesamohi.com