These are strange days for education. Schools are sharply polarized around social and political questions, and phones, tablets, and computers have eroded students’ attention spans and left them unhappy and anxious. The Fairhaven Program is a new alternative for high school in Whatcom County that seeks to preserve itself as a place to learn about our world without engaging in political advocacy and without the distractions of digital technology. 9th-12th grade are precisely the years when students most need an opportunity to study and learn free from self-preoccupation and political pressure.
Nothing is more important in education than our ability to attend to things, and we attend to things by learning the arts of reading, writing, drawing, and conversation. That’s best done face to face with real books and real materials. The Program is small—maximum enrollment for any class is 11 students—and students read a curriculum of ancient and modern writers including Homer, Plato, Wendell Berry, and Annie Dillard, as well as studying history and mathematics. Every student learns Ancient Greek and completes a year-long independent project. We cultivate lifelong learners by reading great books, solving difficult problems, and taking students seriously.
We also host Charlotte Mason inspired homeschool co-ops for grade school learners on Tuesday and Friday mornings.
You can sponsor a full tuition scholarship for one high school learner in the Program for $7,000/year or a half tuition scholarship for $3,500/year. Or become a Friend or Supporter of the Program with a monthly donation of $10-$100. Your support allows us to offer full and partial scholarships to teenagers who could not otherwise afford to learn with us and helps the Fairhaven Program establish itself as a model for high school education that can be replicated across the country. Scholarship sponsors will receive updates on the life of the Program and recognition and a chance to meet impacted students at our end of year celebration. Donations are not tax deductible.
Questions? Email donald@fairhavenprogram.org or call (360) 230-8012 to arrange a tour and conversation. We can also receive support by checks made out to The Fairhaven Program | 1106 Harris Ave., Suite 307 | Bellingham, Washington 98225.
Meet the Founder:
Thank you for your support of the Fairhaven Program! My name is Donald Antenen. I live in Bellingham with my wife, two daughters, and thousands of books. Why did I start the Fairhaven Program? There are many K-8 options in Bellingham, but few choices for high school. Students need an environment where they are taken seriously and can read and study serious books. One of my former students writes of a class she took with me, “I think of this seminar as really the beginning of my becoming confident in my own intelligence. I was very apprehensive at first and worried if I would have anything interesting to say. But I was pleased to feel like I could meaningfully contribute. It gave me a lot of confidence in my own ideas and analysis and my ability to communicate them.” That is why I started the Program: to create a place for students in Whatcom County to discover for themselves the confidence to think and to speak and to write without the distractions of politics and screens. And in creating a world-class alternative to high school locally, I hope to build a model for education that can be replicated across the country.
What’s my background? I was graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in classical languages and literature (Greek, Biblical Hebrew, & Latin) and from St. John’s College in Annapolis with an M.A. in liberal arts. At Penn I was recognized as a University Scholar, was on the Dean’s List, was awarded the College Alumni Classics Award and Allen Prize for Excellence in Ancient Greek, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. I’ve taught and mentored middle and high school students, led an annual Plato seminar in Philadelphia, and taught and tutored Latin and Greek, and I am a popular instructor in Western Washington University’s Academy for Lifelong Learning program. Besides reading and teaching, I enjoy vegetable gardening, time in the woods and on the beach, lifting weights, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.