Dr. Tom Synnott was the principal of Devlin Junior and Senior High School from 1996-2000. During his tenure Dr. Synnott became involved with some homeschool families. He learned that some parents could not afford the better curriculum. These families were making due by purchasing their curriculum at King Soopers.
In 1996, Dr. Synnott decided to start a program that would allow homeschool families to borrow curriculum to use during the school year without any cost to them. In order to do this he had to offer classes one day a week so that the public school system would pay for the textbooks. H.O.P.E. (Home Options Program of Education) originally started as a program in Arvada with thirty-five students. In the fall of 2000 Dr. Synnott became the Principal of Hinkley High School. Word spread that an administrator, friendly to home school, was in our midst.
In the 2000-2001 school year, Dr. Synnott’s H.O.P.E. program had opened another site at Trinity Baptist Church with approximately thirty-five students. The program continued to grow until Dr. Synnott’s supervisor gave him the choice of remaining the Principal at Hinkley High School or becoming the Principal of H.O.P.E. Since the program had grown so large it was no longer possible for him to do both. He asked what would happen to the homeschool program is he remained at Hinkley. The dreaded answer? There will no longer be a program.
Dr. Synnott retired from Hinkley High School in 2003, and became the Principal of HOPE. The H.O.P.E. program was transformed in HOPE Options School. The school’s enrollment is now above 500 students, attending at one of ten sites, located from Estes Park to Castle Rock, Colorado.
Dr. Synnott still resides as Principal of HOPE Options School and continues to be a fighting force for the homeschooling community
