The Repository
What is The Repository?
I wrote a trilogy of essays for Front Porch Republic at the end of 2023 (at FPR here, here, and here; on my Substack here, here, and here) exploring the relationship between manual labor and spiritual formation. What began as a couple thousand words in one essay turned into nearly eight-thousand words across three, and in the process I had the joy of discovering that there exist schools which are not only forming their students in theology and/or the liberal arts, but also require either learning a trade or working in one on-campus during their time as part of their core programming. Since then, others have appeared on my radar.
When I posted to X and in a Substack Note saying that the list had grown, I received an enthusiastic response, primarily folks asking for school names, and even a couple parents suggesting they’d be interested in knowing of these options for their children who are approaching college age.
I don’t intend to rehash any of the thoughts or arguments from my essays on this page, nor will I introduce the schools any further beyond which categories I place them in (more on that in a moment). The purpose of The Repository is simply to aggregate a list of schools, including links to their websites when available and where in the world they are located, to which list I will add further schools as I learn of them.
I have done my best to create categories that are broadly accurate but not so narrow that each school gets its own heading. The categories will identify religiously affiliated versus non-religiously affiliated (sometimes these affiliations aren’t obvious, so I expect and welcome corrections) and high school versus undergraduate and up. I will do my best to keep The Repository as up-to-date as possible, and I welcome messages with any corrections or additions.
Please Note
If you would like to add to this list: I am specifically looking for schools that either require a trade along with their liberal arts or theological programming, or else have trade paths alongside their liberal arts/theological degree programs. I am not so interested in schools that offer trades courses without certification or that have trades-related clubs. Their inclusion, while admirable, would make The Repository less helpful.
You may email proposed additions to: bluescholarwork@gmail.com
There is no guarantee of inclusion, but I promise I will give due consideration to each school sent to me.
Enough introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, the schools!
The Schools
Religiously affiliated, high school
Saint Andrew's Academy (Verona, KY)
St. Dunstan’s Academy (Nelson County, VA)
St. Peter Catholic (Houston, TX)
Religiously affiliated, post-high school
College of St. Joseph the Worker (Steubenville, OH)
College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, MO)
Excel College (Black Mountain, NC)
Greystone Theological Institute (Coraopolis, PA)
Harmel Academy (Grand Rapids, MI)
Kateri College (Gallup, NM)
San Damiano College for the Trades (TBD)
Santiago Trade School (Silverado, Orange County, CA)
Service Over Self (Memphis, TN)
The Maker's Institute of Studio Art + Theology (Richmond, VA)
Non-religiously affiliated, high school
I don’t expect I’ll include schools here since “high school with shop class” was largely a standard in the United States up until fairly recently, and inclusion of every public and private high school that offers shop, automotive, or some other trade curricula will become unwieldy.
Non-religiously affiliated, post-high school
American College of the Building Arts (Charleston, SC)