While John Edwards presses his plan to create a “West Point for teachers,” other presidential candidates have advocated a different focus for a national civilian academy.

Three 2008 contenders have expressed support for creating a U.S. Public Service Academy to develop a new generation of civic leaders, says Chris Myers Asch, chairman of the Campaign for a U.S. Public Service Academy.

Mr. Asch outlined his case for a civilian counterpart to the military academies in The Chronicle last year.

Modeled on the military academies, the Public Service Academy would provide a rigorous undergraduate education and require its graduates to complete five years of civilian service to the country. The tuition of the academy’s students would be covered by the federal government.

The idea has gained support from Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joseph R. Biden Jr., both Democrats, as well as Mike Huckabee, a Republican, according to Mr. Asch.

Ms. Clinton has sponsored legislation in the U.S. Senate to create a national public-service academy.

“This is one of those big ideas whose time has come,” she said when she introduced the bill in March:

Time magazine also has plugged the idea, listing it as one of 10 steps the next president can take to “harness the spirit of volunteerism that already exists and make it a permanent part of American culture.”