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GEORGE WASHINGTON SCHOLARS ENDOWMENT
“To some, what I am calling for may seem radical...to others, foolhardy. To me it is common sense. It is a matter of Christian conscience. Education is not a good or service to be sold to the highest bidder. Neither is it an inalienable right or entitlement owed by society to those who do not wish to learn. It is a privilege, but not a privilege for the privileged. It is a privilege to be afforded to all those who are eager to learn and willing to work. Under a policy of Merit Based Admissions, no student deemed well suited for this school will be turned away for inability to pay. Instead, the Admissions Office will be charged with seeking out and bringing together a diverse group of young women and men each and all selected for their special promise of becoming servant-leaders for America and the world.”
T. Robinson Ahlstrom
Speech in New York City, September, 2001
The George Washington Scholars Endowment has been established to continue the work initiated in 1785 by General Washington. In July of that year, Washington wrote to Thomas Jefferson of his “inclination” to endow a school for poor and orphaned children, “especially the descendants of those fallen in defense of their country.”
 In that same year, he joined with a small group of Alexandria’s leading citizens led by Dr. William Brown, a physician trained at the University of Edinburgh, in establishing Alexandria Academy. As one of the founding Managers of the school, Washington vowed “to support the new institution as far as it is in my powers.” True to his word, Washington proceeded to pledge £1,000. (Approximately $200,000) The annual interest on this pledge helped to support the school for years until the entire amount was conveyed to the school through his estate.
In renewing the work of the Father of our Country, The George Washington Scholars Endowment is at the very heart of the Fund’s wider mission. Initiated with a small gift from the Fund’s Founder and Chairman, the Endowment is being built so that Alexandria Academy and any other Washington Latin Schools to be established in the future will, in perpetuity, be able to recruit and admit “free scholars” in accordance with Washington’s clearly stipulated behest.
In its first academic year (2010-2011) the new Alexandria Academy – The Washington Latin School in the City of Alexandria will admit sixty-eight students, fifteen of whom (20%) will be “free scholars. By its fifth year, Alexandria Academy will admit five hundred and thirty-nine students, one hundred and seventy-eight of whom (33%) will be free scholars. Over time the Endowment will yield dividends enabling the Fund to provide direct aid to promising young scholars throughout the world. The single object of the Endowment will be ever be to extend the gift of a classical education to worthy students of every social and economic situation, with a special commitment to those whose families serve in the defense of our American liberties.
The merit-based grants awarded through the George Washington Scholars Endowment will enable each Washington Latin School to function as a socially responsible independent academy, identifying and recruiting worthy scholars for whom a classical education has hitherto been out of reach. The process for selecting these scholars will include: (1) nominations drawn from religious societies, branch libraries and other community organizations that partner with the school, (2) personal and family interviews, (3) character and academic references, and (4) demonstrated classroom success.
The Fund for Classical Education was established in the belief that the republican institutions of a free society depend for their existence on virtue rooted in religion and that such a system can only be maintained through universal access to morally informed, liberal education. The George Washington Scholars Endowment has been established to insure that that such learning is ever available to students in every generation whose giftedness might otherwise be lost.
Corporations, foundations and individuals who, through their estate, wish to make a strategic investment in the future are urged to consider a tax-deductible gift. Legacies, Named Scholarships and Memorials with specific terms can be established within the George Washington Scholars Endowment. The Governors of the Fund welcome the opportunity to provide legal and financial counsel that will assist families and foundations in fulfilling their social objectives in perpetuity.
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