THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 1996 TAG: 9609030047
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIA MORGAN ALLEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 100 lines
Regina Lynch watches less than an hour of television a day, grows much of the vegetarian food she eats and owns an Appaloosa.
If that's not unusual for a 16-year-old, consider this: Regina is a sophomore at Virginia Wesleyan College this fall.
That makes Lynch - who is one class shy of an associate's degree in science from Tidewater Community College - the youngest student in VWC's history.
At 16, Regina should be entering her junior year of high school. But since age 13, she has been home-schooled. Her parents say they realized early on that public and private schools were not challenging enough for their daughter.
``Regina's not a rocket scientist, just a little more serious and willing to work hard,'' said her mom, Sharon.
``She's Doogie Howser,'' pipes in Regina's younger sister, Priscilla, referring to Regina's advanced schooling.
Regina said, ``I'm a regular teen-ager. I don't feel any different.''
Her philosophy for being a ``regular teen-ager,'' may be a bit different from the average 16-year-old's. Forget about parties and proms; Regina said she missed them with no regrets.
``I'm not a party person,'' she said. ``Not even a birthday party person.''
But she is independent and self-assured. As she sat in the sloped auditorium at VWC last week, she listened to her botany professor lecture about stems, roots and cells. She scribbled in her green notebook and had taken three pages of notes by the end of the hourlong class. She twitched her pen, maybe a slight indication that she's nervous. But her maturity and ability to conquer ``adult work'' and comprehend upper-level information is clear, observers say.
``There are people who are 20 who can't do college work,'' said Paul Resslar, Regina's botany instructor. Her mental abilities are beyond the typical 16-year-old's, he said.
In the first grade at Virginia Beach Country Day School, Regina recalls, ``I was bored to tears.''
Sharon Lynch said she knew something was unusual when her 5-year-old adamantly refused to go to school. After two years, Regina's parents decided that she was not being academically stimulated and transferred their daughter to Bay Lakes Pines School.
The children there were a year older than Regina, but the accelerated program was right on target.
``It was challenging. I was kind of motivated. It was a higher level of learning,'' Regina said.
Regina breezed through the fourth, fifth and sixth grades at the Beach school but left before graduating.
She attended seventh grade at Great Neck Middle School and was back to being bored.
``It felt like all the kids were goofing off. They would throw spitballs and you could tell some of the teachers didn't want to be there,'' Regina said.
There was a new experience every day, including fights among students.
``My husband immediately wanted to pull her out, but she (Regina) was enjoying the exposure of it,'' Sharon Lynch said.
For Regina, it was all new and exciting. A lot of busy work helped her through the school year, but she admits she didn't ``learn a thing.''
Sharon and Reginald Lynch decided that Independence Christian School might better suit their intellectual daughter.
``There were five girls in my class. It was really nice. I liked the social attraction,'' of the private, close-knit school, Regina said.
While there, Regina took a telecourse at Tidewater Community College. She watched the pre-recorded course Saturdays on cable television at home. She took the midterm and final exams on campus. Once she completed the course, the credits would be applied toward a degree program at a school of her choice.
Her father began taking courses at TCC at the same time. Regina would test herself and try to do some of his course work. That's when her parents realized that Regina was capable of doing college work and decided to home-school their daughter.
Sharon Lynch qualified to have Regina home-schooled because she has a college degree. The other qualifications range from a parent being a certified teacher to being a counselor.
The state supplies the curriculum for the student. The student studies at home and takes a test provided by the state to determine the school level. Regina was advanced enough to enter TCC as a freshman at age 14. She has completed 61 credit hours at the community college and will receive an associate's degree in science after completing a French course.
She fits right in at Virginia Wesleyan with her dirty-blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, jeans, brown sweater and a brown baseball cap she got as a gift from her freshman orientation class. No one suspects that she just learned to drive or that she still is not old enough to vote.
However, Regina is one well-informed teen. When a teacher at TCC suggested that she attend an AIDS seminar for extra credit, the 16-year-old went willingly and asked her dad to sit in on the session.
She's getting used to the accelerated path she's on. She is focused on school, and ready for the challenge of VWC.
``I don't know any teen-agers,'' she said, grinning. ``Actually, I think I forgot how to be one.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Regina Lynch should be starting her junior year of high school. But
when she was in elementary school, her parents realized she could
handle a more challenging educational timetable. by CNB