Founded by Chris Yates '73 in 1998, the Discovery School of Virginia is a year-round outdoor therapeutic program for bright but behaviorally challenged teenage boys. It is a fully accredited secondary school, offering middle school and high school credit classes, as well as special education, remedial, and GED preparatory classes. In its five years the school has quickly established a track record of fostering emotional fulfillment and academic success in young men who had previously experienced ongoing frustration and failure in their homes and schools. The outdoor setting, which Yates says is uniquely equipped to address boys' social, academic, and emotional needs, is an integral component in this success. Living in the woods provides an ideal environment for the hands-on and action-oriented learning that adolescent males typically thrive on but are often denied in traditional school settings. Nature is also an unyielding teacher when it comes to revealing the cause-and-effect relationship between actions and consequences. "These kids have gotten by by manipulating the angles," he says. "But out here, there are no angles." Requiring students to fend for themselves, in a sense, not only requires constant structure and a sense of responsibility, but also fosters a sense of self-worth which is often the most crucial missing link for many of these boys. And in accordance with Yates' belief that emotional success is a necessary precursor to academic success-the fundamental principle which guides his program-the wilderness provides an ideal safe "guy space" in which boys can express their anger, talk about their emotions, and see themselves honestly.

Combining nature with teaching also helps to build close, positive relationships between students and teachers. And while the outdoors naturally provides challenges and opportunities to experience tangible success, the Discovery School itself provides mentors who are an example, and in some respects a product, of the same valuable lessons they are helping to impart. Yates frequently looks to his alma mater for such mentors. Yates came to Hampden-Sydney from Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Alabama. He majored in English, was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, President of Students for Community Service, and a member of the golf team under Coach Gus Franke. Yates was director of the similar New Dominion School before founding the Discovery School.

Currently there are several of Hampden-Sydney alumni among the Discovery School's staff. The most recent addition is Chris Russo '03, who took a position as group leader shortly after graduating from Hampden-Sydney. Russo graduated from Monticello High School in Charlottesville. At Hampden-Sydney he majored in history and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta, where he was one of the leaders in its drive to raise money for the family of Daniel Suhr, a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on 9-11. Just as Yates did when he took a job as a counselor New Dominion right after graduation, Russo lives and works with a group of ten students in the wilderness. He teaches them necessary outdoor skills, leads their work routines, plans various adventure activities like extended canoeing and camping trips, and helps create an environment where students can grow emotionally. This type of growth is possible when students learn to develop positive relationships both with their peers and with authority figures. And group leaders, Yates explains, are able to earn their students' respect in a way that other authority figures may not be. "Kids don't give away respect, but they're not going to hold it back either. And when these guys are right out there with them, they establish a tremendous degree of trust in that person. Chris and the other group leaders have the respect of their students, but they earn it honestly and that's fair. It's a very fair system."

Reciprocating that sentiment is also a vital part of Russo's job, and that means avoiding what Yates calls "adultification." "You have to hand them ownership," Russo explains, "and as a group leader you can never take any of that responsibility or accountability away from the kids."The pride and validation that comes from this sense of ownership, coupled with the right-of-passage effect that young men are afforded through outdoor living, makes students more comfortable expressing their feelings, an activity vital to the school's program; Russo enforces it as a required component of each day. For the first month, students do not attend formal classes but are eligible to earn credits for successful mastery of fundamental living and problem solving skills. At this point, if they have demonstrated emotional growth and maturity, they can apply for their first school hour and must repeat the process each month to continue earning additional hours.

Gordon Johnson '97, who teaches formal academic classes at the Discovery School, came to Hampden-Sydney from Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach. He majored in history and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta. Johnson witnesses the effectiveness of the Discovery School program first hand. "These guys used to hate school. But what I see are guys who see each class as a privilege," he says. "Once they feel that they are a part of something and they resolve the emotional side, they see the success of others and want it too." "Earning your classes is a struggle, but when it's a struggle they can and want to succeed in, it's a healthy thing," says Johnson, who teaches history as well as leading student trips and other outings. "That's why school can't be easy. Hey, I remember rhetoric back at Sydney," he chuckles.Johnson says one of the best features of the school's academic programming is that the small classes and focus on individualized instruction encourage students to progress quickly in their strong areas and to spend extra time on material that may be causing difficulty. He also says that close communication between teachers and counselors allows them to engage the important interrelation between treatment and education.

The four Hampden-Sydney alumni at New Dominion School (left to right): Chris Russo '03, Chris Yates '73, Gordon Yowell '01, and Gordon Johnson '97.

Gordon Yowell '01 is another Hampden-Sydney alumnus on the Discovery School staff. Yowell came to the College from Western Albemarle High School in Crozet. As a freshman he helped found the Hampden-Sydney Pep Band, in which he played the drums. He was an active member of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the Glee Club (winning both the C. T. Crawley Music Award in 1999 and the Kearfott Stone Memorial Award in 2001). Yowell worked in the Hampden-Sydney Admissions Office as an Assistant Dean from 2001 to 2003.

At the Discovery School Yowell serves as a family worker, a liaison between the student and his family. An important goal of the program is to reintegrate the student into his family's life. Removing the child from the family does not change the problem. Yowell's responsibility is to keep parents fully informed of their son's growth and development, to help parents understand the student's problems, and to resolve those problems in the context of the home. An English major, Yowell puts his writing skills to good use in the numerous reports he must file.Cody White '05 spent much of the second semester of his junior year on an internship at the Discovery School. "We are always enthusiastic about interns from Hampden-Sydney," says Yates.Do Hampden-Sydney graduates bring something unique to the Discovery School? According to Yates, "Because Hampden-Sydney is small and relationship based, students have had excellent male role models-men whom they look up to and respect but, because of the close relationships, also identify with."

"Men who can teach boys the right way to do things and the importance of honesty and integrity in their lives are always needed; these are the kind of men Hampden-Sydney produces."