Apologia Changes Hands

08.20.2008

By: Hal Young

Apologia Science is closely identified with Dr. Jay Wile, founder and principal author of the curriculum. The Ball State University professor was so impressed with the ability and enthusiasm of homeschool graduates in his college classes in the early 1990s, that he connected with state and local support groups and began writing science curriculum specifically for home educators. The business grew to the point he left university life to focus on "making parents comfortable teaching science."


Starting this year, several new names will be associated with Apologia, and a new line of practical and inspirational titles will join the popular science textbooks. After fourteen years, Dr. Wile is handing the management of the company to a pair of veteran homeschoolers who will expand the business and ministry, but keep Dr. Wile in the forefront as author, speaker, and representative of the creation science program.

The Genesis of Apologia

When Dr. Wile offered to advise homeschooling parents on the college application process, he found they were more interested in recommendations for science curriculum. Many of the Christian textbooks had a basically secular outlook, "with some Bible verses and a chapter against evolution," he said. Wile wanted to teach science as the examination of God's works, not as a secular subject that needed to be harmonized with the Bible. What's more, the school books always assumed the teacher would be a trained science instructor – not a given in most homeschools.

"I wasn't satisfied with that," he said. "We started over."


When he wrote a home-study guide for chemistry for a local group, the no-assumptions, self-instructional format was like "an answer to prayer" to homeschoolers frustrated with the typical textbooks, he said. Wile was surprised to find a wide demand for his admittedly low-tech, study notebook. The chemistry text led to books for physics and biology, and soon Wile found himself exhibiting at homeschool conventions.

Many of their first customers tried Apologia because they were struggling. "The desperate ones had tried to teach science and just couldn't do it," he said. "Apologia gave them hope."

In the early days, "They were saying, 'Oh! This is so good!' even though the production quality was horrible. It didn't matter, because it was useful." While some may have overlooked Apologia in favor of more attractive covers and bindings, word of mouth got around and business tripled in one year.


New titles continued to come out until the catalog offered seven high school subjects, two for junior high, and five for elementary students. By 1999, Jay's wife Kathleen was a full-time employee, and Jay left the university setting for consulting work that would allow him to devote more time to Apologia and their adopted (and homeschooled) 15-year-old daughter.

However, success and growth also revealed two uncomfortable facts. Dr. Wile didn't really want to be a publisher; he wanted to help families teach science. "Both Kathleen and I don't like business' in any way, any aspect of the business," he said. "I like science, she likes science, so we needed a point where I could go back to doing what I like and I'm good at." However, their daughter didn't want to inherit the business either, which meant the Wiles needed to find someone with "business savvy" who understood homeschooling and shared their vision of Apologia as a ministry.

Moving to the next stage


Davis and Rachael Carman are veteran homeschoolers, parents of seven, who found themselves at a similar crossroads in their lives. The couple was in their second decade of homeschooling, and Davis had spent several years as a vice president of their state organization, North Carolinians for Home Education. He was a successful general manager of manufacturing facilities on both coasts, but long involvement with the homeschooling movement had convinced him to seek a business that was closer to his heart. His wife, Rachael, a full-time homeschool mom and a published author with Focus on the Family, shared his dream of a family-owned and family-centered company where they could integrate their home life with business and ministering to others.

Their friend Zan Tyler, an editor for a large Christian publisher, knew the Wiles were looking for a buyer who had a heart for homeschooling and Apologia, and sought to bring the Wiles and Carmans together. Davis had already met Dr. Wile through NCHE's convention, and when he called Wile, the two of them made an immediate connection "like we had been discussing the idea for months already," Davis said.

That call started a twenty-two-month saga of business discussions, visits to Apologia's facility in Indiana, and many, many meetings with lenders. Davis said the initial work to secure a small business loan was a long roller coaster ride complete with objections to the Christianity and creationism in the textbooks which nearly resulted in a religious discrimination lawsuit. The spiritual battle convinced Davis that God wanted him to persevere because this was a fight worth fighting. Eventually, Davis started over with a different bank and in June of this year, officially took ownership of Apologia Educational Ministries.

While there are interesting changes ahead for the publisher, some things are not changing. Dr. Wile is one of them. "Jay is going to continue to speak and write for Apologia and the science creation side of things. This is what he does best and enjoys doing," Davis said. "People want to hear what he has to say."


The main operation will remain in Indiana, as well. The facilities and staff are well-established and the overhead is low, and since his role will involve a lot of travel anyway, Davis will run the company from his home in Waxhaw, N.C. "I have no intentions of building an office for me to leave the home and go to," he said.

That commitment to family foremost is evident in their management plan, too. Davis' title is "President and Owner"; Rachael's title is "President's Wife," which Davis said is real and on her business cards. It's intentional, he said.

"A big part of that is because Rachael is still a homeschooling mother. She is speaking as much as she can, but I will be running the business. Just as I defer the lion's share of the homeschooling to her, she defers the lion's share of the business to me." He emphasized that either way, they are making decisions together based on their shared goals and philosophy.


One of those goals is to expand Apologia's ministry. While the business will continue to support the Homeschool Foundation and various college scholarship programs, Davis plans to introduce "Apologia Live" – local /regional events and teleconferences which will start in early 2009. Additionally, a new e-newsletter, Apologia World, will be available in fall 2008. Sign up for the e-newsletter now by clicking HERE.

Another change is expanding beyond science curriculum. The new line, Apologia Press, has a running start already, with eleven titles to be in the catalog for 2009 and authors including Deborah Bell, Sally and Clay Clarkson, Diane Waring, Sarah Clarkson, Zan Tyler, and Rachael Carman. The new line is being established with the help of Zan Tyler, who spent several years editing online and print media with Crosswalk.com, Broadman & Holman Publishers, and others.

"What Zan did for B&H, she will do for Apologia," said Davis. "She took them from a handful of titles to nearly forty in four years. Lord willing, the same will happen here."


Zan's experience in the publishing business may give her the best perspective on the changes. She's looking forward to it all.

"I'm so excited that a company with Apologia's reputation and credibility in homeschooling is reaching beyond science and offering people new inspiration and practical resources, as well as curriculum options," said Zan. "The Lord has already done great things through Apologia, and I think this is going to be a continuation of that."