Hewitt's Past

In 1963-64, the original founders of Hewitt identified a group of business and professional men and women who were concerned about trends in health, education, welfare, and the family decided to put their concerns into action. They organized first as Cedar Springs Foundation and in 1964 were approved as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation was renamed Hewitt Research Foundation in 1969 to honor its co-founder Carl Hewitt. Dr. Raymond Moore, the other co-founder, served as director until 1987. His work was published in Time, Newsday, and Columbia University's Teachers College Record. He was also the author of several books such as Home Grown Kids, School Can Wait, and Home-Style Teaching all of which placed Hewitt at the forefront of the home-schooling movement.

Hewitt's Present

Since 1983, the primary function of the Foundation has shifted from consultation with educational institutions to an examination of institutions in society as they relate to society's basic unit-the family. Hewitt's research has led it to be a proponent of homeschooling, which has experienced its own renaissance in the last twenty years. With an estimated 1.2 million students across the country [Wall Street Journal, March 5, 1997] homeschooling has become a very valid option for American parents. According to research done by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Oregon, homeschoolers test in the 87th percentile on the complete battery of basic skills-37% higher than the national norm. Hewitt has continued to follow a balanced, flexible approach to homeschooling. Our emphasis includes combining excellent academics with character development, instilling the work ethic, and developing a spirit of community service in the next generation. With a current client base of over 30,000, Hewitt's operation is currently divided into three sectors: services, products, and testing. Operating out of our own 8,750-sq. ft. facility in Washougal, Washington, we offer parents with students from kindergarten age through high-school graduation:

• curricula (including over 800 products).
• standardized testing for Grades three through eight with our own PASS test which we had specifically written for home schoolers (over 5,000 were given in the past year).
• from junior high through high school curriculum recommendations, counseling, and written evaluation

Hewitt's Future

Homeschooling has proven itself in the last two decades. It works for students in all grades. We believe that we provide the tools so that all parents, regardless of race, creed, or color can educate their children at home. We believe that many conventional efforts to restore American education-e.g., earlier schooling, longer school days and years, heavy homework-are detrimental to children's innate learning abilities and curiosity.

Our goals for the next decade are to:

• expose parents to the excellent educational possibilities that homeschooling offers their children.
• provide the best services and products available today in the home-schooling arena.
• encourage families to live balanced lives, pursuing excellence in character, academics, work, and service.

In order to accomplish this, we are seeking grants to:

• update our PASS [Personalized Achievement Summary System] testing program for Grades three through eight, which allows parents to administer a standardized test at home.
• target minorities by providing subsidized materials and services enabling them to access the improved education that homeschooling provides.
  
• develop a reading program written for parents (or other non-professional volunteers) to use that will enable dyslexic children and adults to drastically improve their reading ability.

Board of Directors

Our current board of directors includes Jerry Dillon, Chairman—local business owner; April Purtell, President—owner of a local business service, with 20 years of experience with the home-schooling community; Joan Haugaard, R.N., B.S., Secretary—home-schooling mother and nurse; Devan Citron, Treasurer—M.B.A. in marketing; Skip Paynter, M.Rel.—career counselor and home-schooling father; James Wilkins, Ph.D.—professor of French at Lee University, Cleveland, Tennesse; and Steve Tibbits—home-schooling father.