About the Director

Throughout my career in public schools, I had always looked for better ways to meet student’s needs. Public schools were having more and more problems with their ability to handle students and meet their needs. In the early ‘90’s, the small school where I worked noticed an ever rising drop out rate. I developed a plan to solve the problem and showed the school board and other administrators how it could be done with no increase in costs to the district. I was given a year trial for the first small-school alternative program within the existing high school in Eastern Washington.
   It was successful and cut the drop out rate appreciably. I continued to run the alternative school within a school for the next five years. Having graduated three of our own children, and after twenty-seven years in public education in the state of Washington, my wife and I decided to retire. We moved back to our original hometown from where we had both graduated high school and her parents still lived. I was tired of fighting the problems created by increased state and federal bureaucracy and elected and appointed officials who made more and more of the decisions that negatively affected schools once directed by communities. Seldom, in my opinion, was the student’s best interest the over riding reason used by these people. Values, once an important part of education, were no longer allowed to be taught. Students could not be held accountable because of the “system” and I saw more and more students in the regular classroom never reaching their potential. I was therefore done as an educator.
    It just wasn’t meant to be however; the Lord had different plans for me. Within two weeks of our move, I noticed an ad in the paper for teachers at a new private boarding school in the area and was intrigued by the idea of having kids in a controlled environment where they would not be exposed to the negative behaviors of peers or the negative influences of parts of our society.  Also, a private school had much more latitude in determining how classes could be set up and students could be taught. The traditional system that most public and many private schools continued to use with less and less success could be more easily changed in a private system.
   The school had already determined that individualized education was much more successful for their system, so I spent the next few years helping the system improve and eventually took over the academic department. Students no longer were at the mercy of teachers teaching to the average student, the top student, or the educationally challenged student. They did not have to become bored by slow moving classes, lost by classes moving too fast, or dependent upon a teacher dealing with continual discipline problems.
   After seven-plus years of this, I got the opportunity to begin my own dream; that of building a school. Not many get a chance at fifty-seven years old to begin again.
   I believe that it is important for you as parents to know me before making the difficult decision of sending your son or daughter to a boarding school. That is why I have written this information and   attempted to give you insight into the type of person I am and what drives me to want as many students as possible to become successful. Along with this, you must, prior to enrolling your son or daughter, meet with me, or at least meet with me when you bring him or her. The following will give you an even more personal understanding of my career and beliefs.
   When I received the opportunity to start a school of my own my dream was for a school designed to give kids the opportunity to excel in their studies and learn to develop and function in healthy relationships without fear. This school would provide a safe environment that focuses on the positive goals in their lives. This school would have a caring staff that would share the student’s goals with a willingness to help them reach them. This school would also provide individualized classes that could help a student catch up or go beyond in his/her studies while also providing healthy, fun activities. Sky View Academy is where our dream comes true.

Thanks,
Orval Hagerman