ESK Voices: Cynthia Gibson

ESK’s culture of trust, honest and integrity doesn’t just stop with the faculty, it is built in a partnership between the students, parents and faculty. Each part links together to ensure a solid education for each child. Thus, parents are considered integral to the success of their child. Parents are encouraged to be active participants in the life of the school! ESK values the involvement of its parents and knows the difference that parents truly make in the life of a school and the community that ESK has built over the last 17 years.

In our ESK Voices series, you will get a unique look at the parents that make ESK what it is. Today, we speak with ESK parent Cynthia, who has two children currently at ESK: Andrew, 6th, and Lauren, 3rd. Her son Zach graduated in 2014 and is a freshman at West High School.

See more below from Cynthia.

Why did your family choose ESK?

Our family chose ESK when we relocated in 2010. The primary drivers were the quality of the education and the faith-based learning environment. It’s really a great place for kids.

What has kept you and your family at ESK?

What kept our family at ESK is the fact that each child is very different. When you have three children you learn that every child is hardwired in their own way. The school met each of their needs in a way in which was unique to their strengths and weaknesses. They all three did amazingly well here.

What has been the biggest surprise about ESK during your time here?

The biggest surprise for us was how much my children really enjoyed being in a faith-based learning environment, having chapel every day, and learning about religion. Even though it’s faith-based, it’s also very inclusive. So they learned a lot about other cultures and other faiths in a way which really broadened their horizons.

Is there a teacher who has been especially amazing during your time here and why?

It’s really hard to choose on teacher, to pick one out of the group because they’re all so great, but I guess I would have to say Mrs. Parham. My middle child had her when he was in third grade. We had just moved here the year before and he had struggled, but she has such a wonderfully quiet way of being reaffirming to the children and helping them to learn. Particularly for boys who can be a little bit active, she really helped build into him. That was a very transformative year for my son, where he settled in and it was very helpful for him. She’s a great teacher.

If you could describe ESK in one word what would it be?

Character building.

Do you have a short story which exemplifies why your children have been successful at ESK?

A success story from ESK has to be about my oldest, who graduated last year. If you’ve ever had a middle school boy you know that can be a challenging time. Especially his first couple years in Middle School he had more fun making his friends laugh than following the rules. ESK kept building into him and kept building into him and by the time he graduated he was just a fine young man.