The Owl's Gazette

Vol. 1 No. 1

Community Investment News for the Week!

Truth, Goodness and Beauty

Community Investment During a Pandemic

The year of 2020 has proven to be full of unpresented situations with the shock of COVID-19. The past seven months has deeply affected children and their educational routines and we are eternally grateful for our Owls' resilience and grit during our opening months. It has been inspirational to witness our scholars working through so many unexpected changes, yet still demonstrating virtue by working hard and powering through. We are so proud of our amazing students and are honored to have you as part of inaugural Owl family!

With the additional technological and safety measures during this time, our Community Investment (CI) campaign has become even more vital than before, as we have spent tens of thousands of dollars guaranteeing that our students and teachers have the materials and resources they need to stay safe and successful.

Our yearly Community Investment campaign closes the gap in funding and ensures the education our students receive is top-tier. As a public, non-profit charter school, Great Hearts Live Oak does not receive local tax dollars nor state funding for school facilities. This leaves a deficit in our yearly budget, and we rely on community support to help us close the gap. GHLO receives $1,200 less per student a year in comparison to traditional public schools. That is over $35,000 less per classroom!

We ask each family to thoughtfully consider contributing to help cover the gap between what we need for our academic model and what we receive from public funding. The average gift range is $10-$100 per month, however we realize that the financial situation is different for every family, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic so we encourage every family to give as they are able. Enrollment status is never dependent upon one's decision to contribute to our school, however given this years additional expenses, we truly need the support.

Many families choose to spread out their contribution by making monthly gifts throughout the fiscal year, July 1 through June 30. Other families make a one-time gift to the Community Investment campaign. Every family's participation, at whatever level, is vital to supporting the priorities of Great Hearts Live Oak.

For the next 8 weeks, The Owl's Gazette will feature key aspects of our rigorous curriculum that make the Great Hearts educational experience so unique and precious.

Coming up in the following weeks the Owl's Gazette: Singapore Mathematics, Music, Spalding Phonics, Art, Foreign Languages, Physical Education, Literature.

Support your school TODAY!

What does Community Investment go towards?

The Great Hearts Live Oak Community Investment Goal for the 2020-2021 school year is $185,000. As of October 16th, we have raised $98,830.

Each and every dollar given to our CI campaign stays entirely at Great Hearts Live Oak and benefits every student.

Community Investment does not go towards extra-curricular activities or anything that does not meaningfully impact every single student at our school.

Contributions go towards:

Salaries for 79 staff members
Computers and projectors
Classroom libraries for every room
School supplies
Paper and copy machines
Textbooks for our 723 students
Staff benefits
Distance learning supplies: microphone, ring lights, camera stands, etc.
School facilities
Plexiglass and safety equipment
Recess bags
PE equipment
Professional development

... and so much more!

What makes Great Hearts unique?

In our fast-paced, digital world we have an ocean of information- and misinformation- at our fingertips. An education for the 21st century must give students the ability to develop a keen eye and ear for what's true and what matters. We could call this critical thinking, but when aligned to the search for truth, the ancients called this form of knowledge wisdom.

For this reason, we seek to cultivate the hearts and minds of our students in the pursuit of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. More and more colleges and employers today want graduates and employees who can see the big picture; who can listen, write and speak well; and who have strong character. The value of a classical, liberal arts education stands out today more than ever.

In a time when many schools are cutting fine arts programs, our students attend music, art and foreign language classes every single day, twice a day. Every one of our classrooms has two teachers, leaving our student to teacher ratio below 14:1.

We take great pride in being fiscally responsible with the budget we have, despite our gap in funding. Every dollar we receive from Community Investment covers what we have here and now and helps us grow as we continue to develop as a school.

Great Hearts Live Oak does not look at a dollar amount and decide what that can get students. Instead, we first decide what we believe every child should have the access and opportunity to learn and make it work. Community Investment is a genuine investment in not only your children's education and moral formation, but an investment in the generation of tomorrow.

Education is not just about forming smart scholars, but about forming flourishing, great-hearted human beings. We believe our students' character and talents will spark a renaissance in civic life in which a search for what is good is the essential starting point.*

*Great Hearts Annual Report 2017/2018

Please consider giving to our Community Investment Campaign as we aim to close the funding gap at our school!

Donation Portal

Thank you to the following families who have contributed to

the 2020-2021 Community Investment Campaign:

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Baldwin

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Cordes

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Durham

Mr. and Mrs. Albie Shaffer

Mr. and Mrs. Alex Frausto

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Aguillen

Mr. and Mrs. Alfredo Huerta

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Arellano

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hartwell

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Kremer

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Schaar

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Taylor

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Valadez

Mr. and Mrs. Ariel Lopez

Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Scott Winstead*

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Wonser

Mr. and Mrs. Berekat Petros

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley O'brien

Mr. and Mrs. Brett Wilson

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Boudreaux

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Vranes

Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Guthrie

Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Ornelas

Mr. and Mrs. Cedric Satcher

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gregg

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Tintes

Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Burns

Mr. and Mrs. Cody Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Correa

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Mcfarlin

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Ruiz

Mr. and Mrs. Danny Uribe

Mr. and Mrs. David Diaz De Leon

Mr. and Mrs. David Ewing*

Mr. and Mrs. David Hastings

Mr. and Mrs. David Palacios

Mr. and Mrs. David Perez

Mr. and Mrs. David Stopper

Mr. and Mrs. David Tidwell

Mr. and Mrs. Denny Lorenzo

Mr. and Mrs. Derek Benton

Mr. and Mrs. Derrick Hardeman

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Romero

Mr. and Mrs. Elias Warndahl

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Acosta

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Farias

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest (eric) Petrowsky

Mr. and Mrs. Everett Pascual

Mr. and Mrs. Farid Meghani

Mr. and Mrs. Fernando Montenegro

Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Rodriguez

Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Rucker

Mr. and Mrs. Gerald O'neal

Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert “leon” Rogers

Mr. and Mrs. Ignacio De Loera

Mr. and Mrs. Israel Jessop

Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Skelton

Mr. and Mrs. Jake Knutson

Mr. and Mrs. Jarid Schaff

Mr. and Mrs. Jarrell Flowers

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Kuiper*

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Masse

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Villa

Mr. and Mrs. Jeromy Lund

Mr. and Mrs. Joe D. Hudson

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Garcia

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Orton

Mr. and Mrs. John Dittmar

Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Sullivan

Mr. and Mrs. Jose Huerta

Mr. and Mrs. Jose Ramirez

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Berg

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Martinez

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Bernstein

Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Radabaugh

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Croteau

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Fults

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Mansfield

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Weber

Mr. and Mrs. Khanh Nguyen

Mr. and Mrs. Landon Rolfe

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Morales

Mr. Reed Hanson*

*Denotes an employee of Great Hearts

Mr. and Mrs. Levi Jenkins

Mr. and Mrs. Luciano Ciorciari

Mr. and Mrs. Luis Leon

Mr. and Mrs. Luke Evans

Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Haselden

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Board

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Langlois

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Levins

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Litwin

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Paiz

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. Micheal Titus

Mr. and Mrs. Miguelangel Acevedo

Mr. and Mrs. Nate Williams*

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Hastings

Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Butterworth

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Garcia

Mr. and Mrs. Pablo Torres

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Metoyer

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gazda

Mr. and Mrs. Rey Sanchez

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hernandez

Mr. and Mrs. Rigoberto Hernandez

Mr. and Mrs. Rob Rye

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bethea

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Guzman

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Alexander

Mr. and Mrs. Roger Ruiz

Mr. and Mrs. Roman Velasquez

Mr. and Mrs. Ron Vest

Mr. and Mrs. Ron Zoromski*

Mr. and Mrs. Roy Nolte

Mr. and Mrs. Ruben Ramos

Mr. and Mrs. Russell John

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Schutter

Mr. and Mrs. Sean Conklin

Mr. and Mrs. Starin

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Roth

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Berryman

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Dunn

Mr. and Mrs. Todd Welch

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Espinosa

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Fong

Mr. and Mrs. William Jacobs

Mr. and Ms. Chris Alvarado

Mr. and Ms. Emanuel Reyes

Mr. and Ms. Ernesto Trevino Iii

Mr. and Ms. Ivan Tirado

Mr. and Ms. Jade Caballero

Mr. and Ms. James Watts

Mr. and Ms. Joel Perez

Mr. and Ms. Joseph Rendon

Mr. and Ms. Josue Lomeli

Mr. and Ms. Lorenzo Reyna Iii

Mr. and Ms. Luis Pichardo

Mr. and Ms. Rene Bautista Gutierrez

Mr. and Ms. Sean O’connor

Mr. and Ms. Suman Shrestha

Mr. and Ms. Vishnu Borra

Mr. Aude Gonzaga

Mr. Basil Franz

Mr. Benson Sainsbury

Mr. Brandon Davison

Mr. Brian Hale

Mr. Brian Pena

Mr. Christopher Reyes

Mr. David Marsh

Mr. David Turcios

Mr. Domingo Gutierrez

Mr. Francisco Cruz

Mr. Gerardo Leon and Ms. Maria del Carmen Sosa

Mr. Greg Billa

Mr. James R. Lewis

Mr. James Saenz

Mr. Jose Gonzalez

Mr. Joseph Berg

Mr. Joshua Hayes

Mr. Mafe Moore

Mr. Matthew Munguia

Mr. Miguel Saldana

Mr. Miguel Zepeda

Mr. Peter Alvarez III

Mr. Sean Hall

Ms. Agnes Ojo Ogunsede

Ms. Aimee Blanco

Ms. Alexis Jenkins

Ms. Amanda Alexander

Mr. and Mrs. Abram Dick*

Ms. Angie Rendon

Ms. Ashley Trevino

Ms. Audrey Wilson

Ms. Ayanna Banks

Ms. Barbara Johnson

Ms. Bonnie Guajardo

Ms. Caroline Pegis

Ms. Claire DeBakey

Ms. Clarrissa Mercado

Ms. Crystal Jarrett

Ms. Cynthia Audelo*

Ms. Cynthia Olivas

Ms. Dana Griffin

Ms. Deborah Billa

Ms. Deborah Kruciak

Mr. and Mrs. Josh Bernstein

Ms. Gavrielle Cavazos

Ms. Herlena Huang

Ms. Jaklyn Taylor

Ms. Janet Pennock

Ms. Janette Martinez

Ms. Jessica Correa

Mrs. Jessica Smith-Perry*

Ms. Johannah Slykhuis

Ms. Karen Munguia

Ms. Karina Sanchez

Ms. Kate Cherubin

Ms. Kathryn Gillespie

Ms. Kathy Holt

Ms. Kelci Jagge

Ms. Kim Bratcher

Ms. Kimeisha McCullum

Mrs. Kristen Villalvazo

Ms. Kristin Gonzales

Ms. Laura Alvarez

Ms. Laura Brent

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Jackson*

Ms. Lauren Billa

Ms. Lee Ann Huff

Mr. and Mrs. Allen Clark*

Ms. Linda Davis

Ms. Linda Whitaker

Ms. LIsa Fitzpatrick

Ms. Lisa Shelton

Ms. Lizette Perales

Ms. Lupe Ornelas

Ms. Margaret Pegis

Ms. Maria Johnson

Ms. Maria Ramon

Ms. Martha Lopez

Ms. Mary Pegis

Ms. Megan Morris

Ms. Meghon Gibson

Ms. Micheline Cruz

Ms. Monica Corral

Ms. Monika Chavez

Ms. Nora Diaz de Leon

Ms. Patsy Rendon

Ms. Rosalinda Leyva

Ms. Sabrina Mena

Ms. Samantha Fletcher

Ms. Sandra Jackson

Ms. Sara Swift

Ms. Sharon Swisher

Ms. Sheela Lakhani

Ms. Sonia Subia

Ms. Stacey Beasley

Ms. Stefanie Paradis

Ms. Stephanie Woods

Ms. Susanna Nixon

Ms. Thelia Brown

Ms. Tricia Davila

Ms. Veronica Cardenas

Ms. Victoria Sandoval

Ms. Yeny Elston

Ms. Yuka Andrade

Ms. Zenobia West

Mr. Robert Hand

Questions about Community Investment? Contact our Director of Academy Giving, Amelia Villalvazo-Dick