Tell Your Story!

How do you serve? Do you know an organization or person you'd like to acknowledge? Email me here.  In this issue I share an experience with Candeo School, Peoria, AZ.

Growing Brilliance

It was a Friday morning around 8. I was standing with the parents in the outside foyer at Candeo School, Peoria, Ariz. watching the monthly Friday assembly. Seated on the ground in front of us were the 400 plus extremely well-behaved elementary school children, many with back packs still attached, who attend this charter school.  

I was there to meet with Stephanie Musser, MA.Ed., founder and executive director. She wanted me to see the assembly to get a feel for the school and what it stood for.  

I stood in the back, yellow pad and pen in hand, and watched the kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the beginning of the Declaration of Independence (that was a surprise!) and sing America the Beautiful. Then, after the fourth graders sang a song about the water cycle (neat way to share Core Knowledge), the teachers from each classroom recognized one child for exemplary citizenship. One by one, these smiling little kids walked to the front and received a certificate for REACHing excellence. REACH stands for Respect, Attitude, Effort, Cooperation and Heart.   

At the end of the assembly, these children went inside to have "Muffins with Mrs. Musser." Do you remember the kind of tables you sat at in elementary school? These kids sat down at those tables amd joyfully partook of banana nut, chocolate chip and poppyseed muffins while Mrs. Musser congratulated them. Never to miss a teachable moment, the muffins had been cut into fourths. Mrs. Musser told the children they could eat a quarter of the muffin at a time, going from one-quarter, to one-half to three-quarters to finally, the whole muffin! 

What struck me, though, was her obvious love, and commitment to these children. She gave every child a hug, a pat on the back, and a loving smile. This was their special time together. 

Musser was a teacher, associate principal and education consultant before deciding to start a school to offer students all the things she knew a school could -- a preparatory elementary education complimented with what would normally be found in a gifted program.  

Candeo School's commitment is "Growing Brilliance." Stephanie Musser founded the school in 2008 to offer a rigorous, nurturing and joyful educational environment for young children and teachers. It is a public, independently managed 501(c) 3 corporation operating under a charter contract from the State of Arizona. Candeo exceeds the assurances district public schools make to the state. In four short years, the school has has filled to capacity and consistently earned the highest performance rankings from the state.

"We are truly mission-driven," says Musser. "We opened to be different. We understand the power of vision, culture, and fidelity to our purpose and how we implement our purpose. We are in the business of producing exceptional outcomes and we accept nothing less."   

Classrooms have already been filled for the 2012/2013 school year. For more information on Candeo School and enrollment for the 2013/2014 school year, click here on or after November 1: Click Here for the 2013-2014 Enrollment Application