![\"American](\"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HRA-Flag-400x400.jpg\")
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This summer, as we <\/span>observe the 250th anniversary<\/span><\/a> of the Declaration of Independence, Americans remember with pride the immortal words of that historic document. Addressing \u201ca candid world\u201d in July 1776, Thomas Jefferson, then a delegate to the Continental Congress, boldly proclaimed that \u201call men are created equal,\u201d endowed with \u201ccertain unalienable Rights,\u201d foremost among them being \u201cLife, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n We may feel that we intuitively understand this passage. But that final phrase, \u201cthe pursuit of Happiness,\u201d remains something of a puzzle for those of us seeking to <\/span>connect to the founding era<\/span><\/a> across a vast chasm of time. What exactly did Jefferson mean by <\/span>happiness<\/span><\/i>?<\/span><\/p>\n Historians will remind us that the future third president of the United States drew inspiration from the English philosopher John Locke, who wrote in his <\/span>Second Treatise of Government<\/span><\/i> (1689) of human beings\u2019 natural right to \u201cLife, Liberty and <\/span>Estate<\/span><\/i>\u201d\u2014that is, property or wealth. So is the \u201cpursuit of Happiness\u201d simply the quest to acquire wealth? Is this the right for which the Founders fought, for which they \u201cmutually pledge[d] to each other [their] Lives, [their] Fortunes and [their] sacred Honor\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n Four years later, in 1780, John Adams, who would go on to be elected the nation\u2019s second president, reflected on what independence would enable Americans to \u201cpursue.\u201d While stationed in Paris as part of the United States\u2019 fledgling diplomatic corps, Adams wrote to his wife Abigail of the splendid artwork he had observed at Versailles, which the pressures of the Revolution left him little time to appreciate. \u201c<\/span>I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy,\u201d he explained. \u201cMy sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy \u2026 in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When President George Washington delivered his first annual address to Congress in 1790, he expressed his hope to make good on the vision Adams, his vice president, had outlined a decade earlier. Capping off a list of priorities he suggested to the Senate and House of Representatives, the commander in chief stressed the importance of investing in education\u2014not merely in \u201cPoliticks and War,\u201d but in \u201cscience and literature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKnowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness,\u201d Washington told his fellow elected officials, noting that education was especially vital in a country where the people are empowered to <\/span>select their own representatives<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n For the Founders, then, the meaning of <\/span>happiness<\/span><\/i> was twofold. On the one hand, it referred to a condition of society resulting from every individual\u2019s ability to fulfill the duties of citizenship. On the other, it described the freedom to choose one\u2019s own path, to dedicate oneself to the endeavors that imbue a life with purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n A bald eagle perched above the course at James River Country Club during the 2025 HRA Golf Classic<\/p><\/div>\n At Hampton Roads Academy, we consider it a privilege to welcome students into a learning community that advances both of these ideals.<\/span><\/p>\n The core of the Navigator experience is a <\/span>wide-ranging and interdisciplinary<\/span><\/a> liberal arts education<\/span><\/a>. Our rigorous curriculum, spanning history, language arts, STEM fields, and more, not only equips students with a broad base of knowledge, but also challenges them to cultivate the critical thinking skills required to evaluate information, make civically responsible decisions, and distinguish themselves as <\/span>ethical citizens and leaders<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Along the way, we offer students a wealth of opportunities, matched with personalized guidance<\/a>, to help them discover their passions and achieve excellence in the pursuits that resonate with them, both as students at HRA and throughout their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n This process of exploration begins in the classroom but extends far beyond. It unfolds on the <\/span>athletic<\/span><\/a> field, where every Navigator has the chance to play an active role, collaborate with a team, and build the resilience to overcome any obstacle. It unfolds in the studio and on stage, where our creative students hone their <\/span>artistic talents<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>share them with wider audiences<\/span><\/a> both <\/span>on and off campus<\/span><\/a>. It unfolds in our state-of-the-art <\/span>hydroponics laboratory<\/span><\/a>, where students of all ages learn about a range of topics through the lens of agriculture while cultivating fresh produce for our <\/span>dining hall<\/span><\/a> and for <\/span>families in our community<\/span><\/a>. It unfolds through <\/span>independent research projects<\/span><\/a> that inspire our students to seek out partnerships with mentors in college and allow them to make meaningful contributions to a field even before they graduate. And it unfolds during <\/span>internships, shadowing experiences, and other pre-professional opportunities<\/span><\/a> offered through our <\/span>REACH Initiative<\/span><\/a>, allowing Navigators to apply their knowledge, explore their interests hands-on, and begin charting their career paths.<\/span><\/p>\n In short, we proudly unlock opportunities for students to pursue happiness\u2014for themselves and for their communities. In this way, each and every day, we live the legacy of the Founders. As we mark our nation\u2019s 250th birthday and <\/span>HRA\u2019s 67th<\/span><\/a>, we believe that is worth celebrating.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This summer, as we observe the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Americans remember with pride the immortal words […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,49,50,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-news","category-featured","category-home","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10307"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10397,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10307\/revisions\/10397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Golf-2025_Eagle-400x320.jpg\")