Families of NCCS: The Fletchers
Families of NCCS: The Fletchers
This year, NCCS will be profiling families across our diverse community as part of our “Families of NCCS” series. Our first post features, Princecilla Ridley, who is the proud caretaker of two NCCS alumni, Bayona (a Junior at Harpeth Hall) and Amari (a Freshman at Hume Fogg), and two scholars – Keaton and Elyze.
When Princecilla Ridley gained custody of her nieces and nephew, Bayona was already enrolled at Nashville Classical and in first grade. Ms. Ridley had two older kids of her own, who she’d sent through private school for their whole academic career. She was eager to get involved in the education of her new kids, and support them, but was unfamiliar with the world of charters and what they had to offer. When we spoke, Ms. Ridley remembered that time, “At the time, my two kids were in college and high school. It was an overwhelming time.” With two older kids of her own, and starting over with the younger kids, she got in touch with the school as soon as she could.
She recalls being notified that Bayona hadn’t been attending school regularly, and was beginning to fall behind. She worked closely with Mr. Friedman, and Ms. Ruscoe (now Mrs. Pritchett) to catch Bayona, and herself, up. By the time it came to enrolling her next niece, Amari, somewhere for kindergarten, she had two options: she could go with the same private school she’d sent her own children, or with a new, growing school: Nashville Classical. She chose us.
Ms. Ridley says that, even though at the time Bayona was still so young, she was impressed with the academics of the school. “The staff, the support, the academics that I saw in the school that I wanted was there. My two kids had gone through a private elementary school, and honestly the things I saw at that private school, I saw at Nashville Classical.” She recalls the most important skills she’s watched all of her kids, now 4, enrolled at Nashville Classical pick up over the years: “The processes that you all have in place to help the kids to learn how to think analytically, and process the information and data that is given to them, to the point that they master the skills, to the point that they can regurgitate it, not just at school but in any environment. With or without the support of a teacher! That’s very important to me. All the way down to putting words and sounds in the right places, write effectively and being able to express their thoughts. Doing so in a proper, analytical way is what I was looking for and hoping I would find in their academics.” These were the things that made enrolling Amari, then Keaton, then Elyze in Nashville Classical a no-brainer. Now, Bayona and Amari have both graduated, and Keaton and Elyze are enrolled in fifth and fourth grade respectively.
Now, Amari and Bayona have both moved on in their academic career – Bayona to Harpeth Hall, and Amari to Hume Fogg. “Bayona, for example, can tell her own story about how prepared she has been for Harpeth Hall. We went into that as a freshman and she found a challenging academic environment. Through that process, Harpeth Hall told us to be prepared for Bayona’s grades to drop. Come to find out, Bayona was able to not only meet the challenge, but exceed the challenge there. Leaving NCCS and going into Harpeth Hall, a more challenging and rigorous academic environment – Bayona was not only prepared, but she had the habits to exceed the expectations.“ Ms. Ridley credits many of the habits Bayona has, and the ability to think critically and problem solve, to her time at Nashville Classical. As far as Amari, she is in the very early weeks of her freshman year. Ms. Ridley shared with us, “Amari now in Hume Fogg, what you all did at NCCS in preparing them in that academic setting has prepared both of my girls for the next step. “
In their time enrolled at the school, Keaton has gotten extra support from the school. Ms. Ridley looks back on the first 6 years of his academics as challenging, but full of support. “The development I saw in Bayona and Amari, and the support we got with Keaton, helped to keep him on track, and also helped me. It also helped me be socially and emotionally supportive of him, which has been great. Overall throughout the years, I’ve seen the way that the school has grown has been so impressive – consistency with staff, inclusion of families. NCCS is a school that can be very supportive of the kids, but also the social emotional needs of the school. That support happens, and it happened for us.”
That support happens, and it happened for us.
Ms. Ridley has a unique perspective – Bayona was part of the founding class at Nashville Classical. Her youngest is still in our elementary program. She has been with us from the start, and watched us change, grow, and get better over the years. Her ability to be involved in our community is something that keeps her here. Most of her favorite memories of the school involve working closely with the teachers to provide each of her unique kids exactly what they need to be successful.
Charter schools, including Nashville Classical, are free, public schools that are open to all students. The families in our community are your friends, your neighbors, people who look like you, and people who don’t. All of our families have their own, diverse reasons for attending our school. Without our families, we wouldn’t exist. They are what come together to build us, and make us strong. We feel so lucky and honored to have worked with the Fletcher kids, and Ms. Ridley for so many years, and we look forward to continuing to watch each of her kids flourish beyond our walls. We are grateful for your belief in us, and grateful to have been a part of the story of each of your scholars.