\u201cEarly aspirations matter. With the right mix of dedication and training, such aspirations can chart a bright and attainable course for the future. That\u2019s the story in the making for Olivia Williams, a 7th grader at RISE Southeast Raleigh Charter School. A standout scholar, trombone player, and cheerleader, Olivia was just selected as a recipient of the Victor E. Bell Jr. Scholarship, one of only 15 students in North Carolina to earn the award. She\u2019ll receive $2,000 this year, deposited into a college savings account, and can renew that amount for up to nine years, for a maximum of $20,000.<\/p>\n
Charter teachers and leaders served as early vision-casters for Olivia. \u201cThey gave us access to stuff that was out of our reach at that time,\u201d Tinesha, Olivia\u2019s mother, says. \u201cWe could dream about going to college.<\/p>\n
RISE is an acronym for resilience, integrity, scholarship, and excellence. The school instills these core values in students, equipping them with powerful, practical skills to succeed. Academics are rigorous. Students are scholars. College hopes? They\u2019re conceived at the outset of education.<\/p>\n
In fact, aspirational messages about educational attainment were embedded throughout Olivia\u2019s early elementary experience at the school, known then as PAVE Charter. \u201cI really liked that the school had a value system built into the curriculum,\u201d Tinesha says. \u201cThey were forward-thinking about preparing kids to work toward higher education. Even when Olivia was in kindergarten, their classrooms were named after universities. They had self-affirming chants that they would do, and things that built students up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s paying off. \u201cIt makes me feel very happy that I\u2019m getting the help that I could possibly need in the future\u2014to do what I want to do in life through college,\u201d Olivia says of the scholarship.<\/p>\n
\u2018Charter school was not on our radar\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Like many parents, however, Tinesha didn\u2019t initially see charter schools as an option. \u201cCharter school was not on our radar,\u201d she affirms. \u201cI thought charter schools were for the people who were able to pay for school.\u201d<\/p>\n But when Olivia was in Pre-K, representatives from several charter schools came to her class, changing Tinesha\u2019s view about what was possible. \u201cIt was eye-opening. My thought was that it was going to be [traditional] public school for us, and we didn\u2019t have any other choice,\u201d Tinesha says.<\/p>\n Since then, Olivia\u2019s brother, Jason, age 9, has joined her at RISE. A cousin, ZaRyan, age 11, is also a RISE scholar. ZaRyan\u2019s little sister is set to enroll next year.<\/p>\n Tinesha notes, \u201cWe\u2019re pretty much a RISE family now!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \"Las aspiraciones tempranas importan. Con la combinaci\u00f3n adecuada de dedicaci\u00f3n y formaci\u00f3n, esas aspiraciones pueden trazar un rumbo brillante y alcanzable para el futuro\". Esta es la historia de Olivia Williams, alumna de 7\u00ba curso de la escuela RISE Southeast Raleigh Charter School. Olivia, destacada estudiante, trombonista y animadora, acaba de ser...<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pave-archive"],"yoast_head":"\n