Hendersonville – The 36-year-old Henderson County Education Foundation has a new executive director in retired principal Peggy King Marshall, a fundraising concert on Aug. 11 and a benefit golf tourney on Oct. 17.
A benefit concert event will be Thursday, Aug. 11 at 5:45 p.m. at Oklawaha Brewing in Downtown Hendersonville. The brewery owners have agreed to donate 20% of their sales revenue from the event to HCEF. The brewery is also dedicating a portion of pint beer sales to HCEF throughout August.
The folk-blues duo The Last Full Measure (Jamie Gorsuch and Karen Corn) plays 6-7 p.m. From 7-9 p.m., The Stipe Bros. (Kevin and Derek) with Dan (Ruiz) and Joel (Callahan) perform. They do covers ranging from “(pop) A-Ha to (hard rock) Zeppelin.”
The HCEF Golf Classic is Monday, Oct. 17, at Champion Hills. This yearly event is the HCEF’s biggest fundraiser and brought in more than $ 40,000 last year.
Principal Peggy
Summer Stipe, who left after five years to go into business, was succeeded by Marshall. Marshall was hired in February, and transitioned with Stipe’s help for the rest of 2021–22.
Marshall was honored as principal of the year in 2015-16 for the state’s western region and Henderson County Public Schools. She dedicated 28 years to five local schools, first as a teacher. The East Henderson alum has a master’s in education.
“With Peggy’s stellar background in Henderson County education and her track record of collaboration with others, she has promoted a vision of excellence in our schools and within the school system,” HCEF Board member Chr. Jessica Collins stated.
In reaching out to potential donors, Marshall said she is “telling our stories” as educators and about HCEF programs. “We’re changing students’ lives. We can extend our legacy of excellence to greater heights and spread our influence to greater numbers. So we continue to invest and respond to the needs of students, staff, and the communities of Henderson County.”
She spoke with various principals individually and heard from a representative of each school in a Champions of Education committee. “We find out what they see as true needs and how we can best meet those needs.”
Muddy Sneakers
Marshall takes over a non-profit that she noted in 2021-22 distributed more than $290,000 total. The 26 student scholarships were up to $3,000 annually and totaled $33,100.
Teachers got money for scholastic use. The Spring Fund provided $1,000 to each of the 23 HCPS principals for such discretionary use as providing families in need with gas cards or paying their medical expenses.
Marshall also reported 2021-22 HCEF budget allocations of $112,000 for Leader in Me, $95,000 for the new Grow Our Own: Teachers of Color to recruit more minority teachers, $33,000 for the arts, $29,000 for science and math-based STEM, and $22,000 for Muddy Sneakers.
Muddy Sneakers is outdoor learning for fifth graders. It is in eight HCPS elementary schools, with plans for all 13 to have it by 2023-24. Each student goes on six area outdoor expeditions, such as to the Carl Sandburg Home, Holmes, and DuPont forests. “Students engage in science lessons and games related to their science topics, such as ecosystems, heat and energy transfer, and forestry,” Marshall explained.
HCEF secured a Duke Energy grant for robotics clubs to launch at Clear Creek and Hillandale Elementary and for Hendersonville Elementary’s club to expand.
Leader in Me
The ‘Leader in Me’ is a school-wide “transformation” of “teaching student empowerment, leadership, and life skills,” such as through seven healthy habits for communication and learning, Marshall noted. “Every child can be a leader” is a motto. The third year can involve training school parents to develop healthy habits at home. Staff, including custodians, get tips too.
Marshall is a strong Leader in Me (LIM) proponent. She implemented it at Sugarloaf Elementary and Apple Valley Middle School while principal at each local school. Leader in Me is now in nearly half (11 out of 23) of HCPS schools. Marshall said 80 percent of a school’s full staff is required to authorize the program before it is instituted. She took her expertise on the road. She served as a Leader in Me coach and consultant with more than 50 public schools in the Southeast for the past two years, via the program’s parent company, Franklin Covey.
HCEF raises money to help cover the $40,000 per school it costs to implement Leader in Me over three years. This includes $3,300 per day of program coaching and training, typically for five days at $16,500, Marshall explained. There is a $7,500 membership fee for the school, and a $10,000 district fee.
North Henderson ranks in the top one percent nationwide for LIM proficiency, Marshall noted. One of its 2022 grads, Celeste Young, told the Tribune she benefited from ‘Leader in Me’ with greater self-confidence and the intiatives to take on leadership tasks. Young spoke eloquently to more than 200 people on April 26, as the sole student co-host of the 2022 Education Celebration of new HCEF Hall of Fame inductees. NHHS LEAD student leadership team members helped serve guests’ beverages at that awards banquet.
For more about HCEF programs and donor opportunities, call (828) 697-5551, check hcef.org, or visit the HCEF office within the school’s central office building at 414 Fourth Ave. W. in Hendersonville.