Profiles in Support: Sarah McConnell

As previously mentioned, the faculty of creative and committed teachers are clearly one of the elements that makes Endeavor Charter School shine. In our ongoing quest to show the many ways our community supports the work of the Foundaton, we caught up with Sarah McConnell this week to get her perspectives as an Endeavor teacher.

How long have you been part of the Endeavor Family?

My oldest son won the lottery and entered Endeavor as part of the inaugural First Grade class.  We were thrilled to have gotten in to such a unique and excellent school.  My daughter did not get into Endeavor until her Second Grade year, in 2010.  There was a very noticeable difference in her First Grade experience compared with her brother’s.  On his fifth birthday, my youngest son started counting down the days until he could come here for Kindergarten.

He was beyond excited to finally get to come to school here this year.

How are you involved in the school?

My husband and I have volunteered for lunch duty, chaperoning field trips, and helping maintain the building and grounds since the school opened.  One of the qualities that makes Endeavor so special is the level of involvement parents have and the way that parents are always welcome in the school.

As a former Wake County teacher and private tutor, I have personal experience with all different kinds of schools in Wake County—regular public schools, magnet schools, Montessori schools, private schools and other charter schools.  There is no school like Endeavor in Wake County.  I feel so fortunate to be a teacher here.

Why do you think it’s important to contribute to the Foundation?

Endeavor is a place where every child is challenged at his or her own level, where teachers build their lessons on a research-based foundation, and where students have incredible continuity not only in their academic growth from year to year, but also in their peer relationships.

My husband and I donated to the Foundation during the Home for the Pride campaign because we could tell from the very first day of school in 2008 that Endeavor was going to be a school like no other in Wake County. We will be donating again because our own children are benefitting from Endeavor, but also because we want this school to continue to be here for Wake County students for years to come, long after our own children have graduated and moved on.

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Thank you, Sarah, for all that you do!  And thanks to all our other dedicated teachers that make the difference at Endeavor.

Please continue our strong legacy of support by contributing to the Capital Campaign today.  Every contribution takes us one step closer to having a permanent home for Endeavor.

Stand by for more updates and thank you for following!

Profiles in Support: Ashley Jacot

One of the many strengths of Endeavor Charter School is our faculty of creative and committed teachers, providing an in-class environment that inspires our children to reach far beyond the ordinary.

Their diverse backgrounds really come to life at a school like Endeavor, where the “Learn by Doing” philosophy lends itself to an interdisciplinary view of the curriculum and a team approach to teaching.  That said, it’s certainly a pleasure to introduce our first teacher profile –  Ashley Jacot.

How long have you been part of the Endeavor Family?

This is my second year at Endeavor and I am very excited to be a part of the Pride!

 How are you involved in the school?

I am a language arts teacher for the fifth grade.

What motivates you to support Endeavor?

It’s incredibly motivational simply to be able to teach at this amazing school! Each day, I get to experience first-hand the positive impact that Endeavor has on the lives of our students and their families and being a part of that is very fulfilling.

Why do you think it’s important to contribute to the Foundation?

Supporting the foundation is important because of its critical role it plays in the future of the school. One of the biggest drawbacks to our current facility, of course, is that it’s leased. So even if we wanted to stay, it’s simply not an option that’s open for us. The work of the Foundation is addressing this issue.

Do you have any advice for new parents at Endeavor?

Get involved in the school in any way you can. There are so many ways to volunteer at Endeavor, and each one of them enable you to experience your child’s school life in a unique way.

And you can be sure that your involvement makes a different for your child, and certainly for the school.

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Thank you, Ashley, for all that you do!  And thanks to all our other dedicated teachers that make the difference at Endeavor.

Please continue our strong legacy of support by contributing to the Capital Campaign today.  Every contribution takes us one step closer to having a permanent home for Endeavor.

Stand by for more updates and thank you for following!

Profiles in Support: Lisa Springle

Endeavor Charter School is fortunate to have a community of supporters without whom the school simply could not function, including our all-volunteer Board of Directors made up mostly of parents. We took a moment to ask our Board members a few questions so you can get to know them better in our series called “Profiles in Support.” As the second in this series, we’re very pleased to introduce Lisa Springle.

How long have you been part of the Endeavor Family?

We have been with the school since it opened its doors in 2008, but I’ve been committed to the school since I first heard Christi Whiteside lead an information session to interest parents in entering the lottery for the soon-to-be-opening new school.

We entered our son Jacob in the lottery for kindergarten, but we could not make it in person to find out the results. A friend took a picture of the numbers being pulled, and when I found out we made it in, I was so excited.

How are you involved in the school?

I am currently the Chairperson of the school’s Board of Directors, which also means that I serve on the Foundation Board (which is a separate entity with separate meetings and procedures).

As Board Chair, I run the monthly meetings and preside over discussion, research conducted and decisions that are made. I am also on the Board’s Finance Committee. Another important function is the regular meetings I have the school’s Director, Steve McAdams, to talk about what’s going on at the school.

I’ve been a Foundation Board member since its formation in 2009, and have also served as chair of the Design Committee and also on the High School Committee.

I began my volunteer career at Endeavor as Board Secretary of PAWS back in 2008-2009, and whenever I can I try to get involved in any in-class activities.  My husband Mike gets involved as well, supervising lunch & recess and chaperoning field trips whenever he can.

What motivates you to support Endeavor?

On one level, it’s clearly for my children – Jacob is now in 4^th grade, Katie is in 2d and Liliana is in kindergarten, and all three of them are thriving at Endeavor.  In turn, I am very interested in doing what I can to enable the school itself to thrive, so my commitment extends way beyond my kids.

My background is in education, and at the time I had not yet returned to teaching, so I saw volunteer work at Endeavor as a way to put my skills to good use. Then I found that as I got more involved, I realized that I care deeply not just for the current state of the school, but also what kind of school will be there for the next generation.

Why do you think it’s important to contribute to the Foundation?

Every day that my children walk into Endeavor, I know that they are working with teachers who care about them and who challenge them. That doesn’t happen everywhere. Endeavor’s teachers have created amazing classes for their students in a less-than-ideal setting. I can’t imagine the wonderful things they will do for their students in a new building on a piece of land with lots of space.

Contributing to the Foundation can make an already great school that much better. Supporting the Foundation means furthering Endeavor’s mission of “Learn by Doing” by providing teachers and students with the space they need to learn. It also means financial security for the school in the long term.

I am proud to have donated to the work that teachers and the administration do our current space, and I can’t wait to see what they do next in our very own space.

Do you have any advice for new parents at Endeavor?

I will say this – get involved with your children in the classroom. Not only is it essential for the school, it’s a wonderful way to get to know the other people in your children’s daily environment.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions of other parents, the teachers and the administration – we’re a tight-knit community and we’re all interested in the well-being of our children.

And few things speak more eloquently to your interest and enthusiasm than your hands-on involvement.

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Thank you, Lisa, for all that you do!  And thanks to all our other dedicated parents that make the difference at Endeavor.

Please continue our strong legacy of support by contributing to the Capital Campaign today.  Every contribution takes us one step closer to having a permanent home for Endeavor.

Stand by for more updates and thank you for following!

Profiles in Support: Christian Nechyba

One of the many wonderful things about Endeavor Charter School is that it’s made up of a community of supporters without whom the school simply could not function. We believe its important for everyone to get to know our Board members and other supporters of the school, so we’re rolling out “Profiles in Support,” a series of short interviews that spotlight our supporters.

Our first discussion was with Christian Nechyba:

How long have you been part of the Endeavor Family?

We have been here since the beginning! I have been involved since 3 months before the school opened, and both our children (Sam, 9, and Alex, 12) have been enrolled at Endeavor since opening day 2008.

How are you involved in the school?

I have been a member of the ECS Board of Directors for 4 1/2 years, and have been Board secretary for 4 years.  My wife Lyana has provided psychological consulting services to the EC program for 4 1/2 years.

In addition to our formal roles at the school, we both participate regularly in lunch duty and chaperoning field trips, and I (as a pediatrician) have volunteered time conducting vision screening, reviewing health and vaccination records, creating medical policies, addressing health issues, and educating the staff on health issues.

What motivates you to support Endeavor?

I have often heard it said that an education at Endeavor is like a private school education at a public school price. My response to this has always been this: Endeavor is not just as good as a private school education; it is much, much better. At Endeavor, it takes more than dollars to become a member of our school community.

The bond which makes us part of the Endeavor family is service, dedication, volunteerism, and involvement to a greater degree than I have witnessed in any other school community. It takes some real idealism to devote the time, the talent and the treasure which Endeavor staff and Endeavor parents give to make this place what it is. That commitment shows in more than our four years (and counting) of designation as an Honors School of Excellence – you can see it in the faces of our students and our teachers every day.

Why do you think it’s important to give to the Foundation?

Our family became regular contributors from early on in the first capital campaign. Financial support of the Foundation is so important because although charters are public schools, they do not receive state funding for a school building. Funds from the state of North Carolina are only for use in operating the school. Because of that, I believe that our hopes for Endeavor’s long term future do not rest on public revenue or remote philanthropists. Ultimately, it’s up to each of us.”

Do you have any advice for new parents at Endeavor?

This school will inspire and challenge your children in new ways with each passing day. But it will inspire and challenge you even more.

Where will that inspiration and that challenge lead us when we pack our bags in the summer of 2014 and leave Forum Drive behind forever?  That is up to you, and that is up to all of us. Let’s face the challenge as well as our kids do every day.

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Thank you, Christian, for all that you do!  And thanks to all our dedicated parents that make the difference at Endeavor.

Please continue our strong legacy of support by contributing to the Capital Campaign today.  Every contribution takes us one step closer to having a permanent home for Endeavor.

Stand by for more updates and thank you for following!