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In the May issue of Grow with Great Hearts, we explore the ways in which regions are determined, planted, and nurtured in this time of expansion.
You will hear from Great Hearts Director of Strategy and Analytics Dr. Helen Baxendale, Executive Director David Denton, and Founding Headmaster Samuel Heisman, who are leading the charge in various arenas. We are also delighted to share the profiles of two teachers -- "seeding faculty" -- who are stretching their wings to bring their institutional knowledge of Great Hearts to a new campus in the fall. So, at the network level and school-level, Great Hearts is extending its reach to support healthy and thriving communities across the country.
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Great Hearts America Academies Officer and co-founder Dr. Daniel Scoggin recently shared an in-depth presentation to the Arizona Lead Office on Great Hearts emerging growth plans and considerations. The core of the presentation expounded upon work that Great Hearts Director of Strategy and Analytics Dr. Helen Baxendale is undertaking to develop a rigorous method for appraising potential new regions for brick-and-mortar academies. This method, and future updates thereto, will help us make good decisions regarding growth over the next decade.
Dr. Baxendale’s analysis is proceeding in three increasingly granular phases. In the first phase, four key variables were identified and applied in order to cull the list of 46 states that allow charter schools to a shortlist of states that warrant closer analysis. The variables are:
- Per-pupil funding
- State charter policies
- State political climate
- K-12 market size and growth trajectory
Phase Two analysis is currently underway. This second, more qualitative stage of review is considering additional variables.
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“Founding a school in a new state is like trying to translate a Great Text—the substance is the same, but the vehicle which presents it, and which is infused with it, must change in some aspects,” reflects Great Hearts Harveston Founding Headmaster Samuel Heisman.
Mr. Heisman continues, “When I was a Junior in college, I had the privilege and burden of translating an old English poem into modern English.
The experience was invaluable albeit difficult and humiliating. I was in a group of three and we split the poem up into three portions, I aggressively chose the portion at the end because it had the fewest lines to translate. Upon reading them, and re-reading them, and re-reading them yet again, I found myself unable to put pen to paper for translation. Even though I had read the poem in whole, I had not completely received it as a whole. To translate the end well, I needed to spend significant time with the beginning and middle. Not just that, but in order to convey nuance and total effect (as Flannery O’Conner would call it), I had to have a meaningful grasp and experience of the poem as a whole—all this for 30 lines of translation!"
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Nurturing a Scion Region - Great Hearts North Texas | | |
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With the launch of Great Hearts Irving in 2015, followed by Lakeside in 2020, Arlington in 2021, and Prairie View this coming fall, our North Texas region is already set for many years of growth. Each of these campuses project expansion or matriculation plans in the next 1-2 years. Executive Director David Denton shared his projections for the healthy growth of this new region as “increasingly reliant on strong school leadership and seeding faculty,” as well as the expanding needs in special education and other student support services.
“We have an opportunity to show the families in North Texas that we are committed to offering a rich classical education to every student in our community,” he remarked, “and we also seek to extend our reach to new communities within the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.” The North Texas growth plan for 2024 and beyond is exploring options for the steady addition of new schools in Collin, Tarrant, Dallas, and Denton Counties for the next decade.
Mr. Denton highlights the present need for a few more talented individuals from established schools in the network to join this pioneering region. “We have supported and will continue to support the professional growth of our own aspiring leaders here in North Texas, but we foresee an additional need for the rich perspective of other teachers and leaders around the network to join us and bring that institutional knowledge to bear on our burgeoning region here.”
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Seeding within a Region - Great Hearts Faculty Spotlight | | |
A vital aspect of growth for Great Hearts teachers occurs annually, as veteran teachers find opportunities within their own region to bring the Great Hearts vision and mission to a new academy as seeding faculty. This month, we highlight two faculty members, Mr. James Growdon and Ms. Larissa Whitwell, who have opted to transfer to a new Great Hearts academy in the Fall of 2022. | | |
James Growdon
Great Hearts Invictus Humanities Teacher, Fall 2022
Mr. Growdon has served at Great Hearts Northern Oaks for the past three years, but he will join the founding faculty at the new Invictus campus this fall. He remarks, “In my own career, I have felt led to each place of employment and that includes being prompted and invited to be a part of the founding of Great Hearts Invictus. The immeasurable treasures of the Great Hearts curriculum and way of learning ought to be shared with new communities of families and students who have yet to experience the many gifts it can bestow.”
Though commute was a major factor in Mr. Growdon’s decision to join Invictus, he looks forward to building community and virtue through the teaching of history and literature to new Invictus middle school students, as well as advising clubs and coaching athletics. He reflects on the Great Hearts approach, that “joy, humility, integrity, trust in others, humor, and vulnerability (students learn to express and articulate their ideas through oral and written form in their study of primary sources) create confidence and a stronger sense of community which results in an engaged classroom full of students who ultimately teach one another.”
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Larissa Whitwell
Great Hearts Roosevelt Teacher and Dean, Fall 2022
After serving at Archway Trivium East since its inception eight years ago, Ms. Larissa Whitwell will be joining the founding faculty and administration at Great Hearts Roosevelt in the fall. She remarks, “One of the things that I love about Great Hearts is that Headmasters are very open to our career aspirations. Many of them have walked in our shoes, as assistants or apprentices, and they want to support our own desire for growth. Because of this, I wasn’t scared to reach out to my Headmaster to discuss my interest in new positions.” Ms. Whitwell was ready for a new challenge, and she will serve as Dean and Middle School teacher at Roosevelt Prep in the fall.
It was not an easy decision, but I decided to step out in faith and move to Prep. She looks back on her start at Great Hearts, “I learned what it meant to be a classical educator, as I did not have the privilege of attending a classical liberal arts institution. Yet, over the years, the leaders and coworkers around me have guided my own pursuit of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. I know that under the leadership of Tony Cruz, and through the dedication to our mission and vision, trust in one another, and unquenchable goodwill, we will be successful in serving the families of the West Valley at Great Hearts Roosevelt.”
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Highlighted Opportunities this Month
This month, we are limiting our opportunities to those which would not interfere with the priorities for our network in fulfilling key academy teaching and leadership positions for the fall. Please feel free to share these opportunities with someone that you know who may be interested in joining Great Hearts!
Academy Positions
Lead Office/Support Services Positions
Visit the Great Hearts Leadership Careers page information on Headmaster opportunities. The application deadline closes soon for certain positions!
Access our Internal Job Board for up-to-date information on internal opportunities. The Internal Job Board is also accessible to you via your UKG account.
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