Please send an email to campaign@endeavor-foundation.com to schedule a meeting with our campaign leaders Scott Mathers and Lisa Wilson.

To encourage innovative teaching methods and expand educational choices for parents, the North Carolina Legislature allowed the creation of up to 100 charter schools throughout the state.  Charter schools are individually managed and are not accountable to other school systems, although they must adhere to the same standards as traditional public schools.  This allows charter schools, like Endeavor, flexibility in curriculum design and delivery.

Endeavor Charter School first opened its doors to students at the beginning of the 2008- 2009 school year.  The founders created an educational plan, incorporating proven best practices with an emphasis on hands-on learning, public speaking, and the fine arts.  Their plan was validated by their receipt of one of the two remaining charter slots available in the state.

Once the notification of approval was received, the Board of Directors had to quickly hire faculty, find a location for the school, purchase supplies, and begin the admissions process- all without the $200,000 start-up funding that charter schools had received in the past, due to state budget cuts which eliminated charter school seed money.

Despite the short timeline and significant financial challenges in getting the school ready to open its doors, Endeavor Charter School had unprecedented success during its first year both in academic performance and fiscal management.  The N.C. Department of Public Instruction designated Endeavor Charter School as a “2008-2009 Honor School of
Excellence,” and Endeavor had the fifth highest scores on end-of-grade tests in NC charter schools with the same grade levels.  In a year when start-up funding was withheld and operational budgets for charter schools were cut, Endeavor still managed to open on time and finish the year fiscally sound.

Experiential learning is at the core of the school’s philosophy.  Academics are based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, focusing on five core areas:  composition, literature, math, science, and social studies.  However, the curriculum is integrated throughout and enriched by a strong fine arts program with weekly classes in drama, art and music for all students.

At Endeavor, the teaching is based on student-centered, hands-on learning both inside and outside the classroom.  A typical day at Endeavor might feature third graders creating a “Wax Museum” where students bring history alive by delivering oral biographies in full costume to the museum “visitors.” You may catch second graders traveling by virtual planes, covered wagons or hot air balloons to different parts of the United States as part of their study of the fifty states.

Endeavor students often go “on Safari”, whether they head to the local planetarium to learn about our solar system or to Space Camp where they can learn how to travel through it!  Our students made the local news when they joined the throngs at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.  To deepen our sixth graders understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust, they traveled to the Holocaust Museum in Richmond, Virginia where they were provided a tour by an actual survivor.
 
The goal is for students to leave Endeavor with a firm understanding of the curriculum, experience with real world applications, confidence in expressing and voicing opinions, and an internalized drive to continue to learn.  In order to make this vision a reality, Endeavor seeks to provide students with a holistic education –academic, social, and emotional – that prepares them for high school, college, and the “real world.”