Vaickus said that it took some back and forth with the Department of Public Institution to explain the issue, but that the current building was ultimately approved. On Bald Head Island, where flooding can happen, structures have to be raised. The Department of Public Instruction requires kindergarten and first grade classrooms to be located on the first floor of a school. In late June, the Village of Bald Head Island changed its zoning laws to allow schools on land that is zoned as commercial property.Ĭomplying with building codes set by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction was another challenge. Originally, there was no land on the island zoned for a school. He hopes that the academy’s individualized approach to learning will allow kids to realize what they gravitate toward at a young age, setting them up for success on a future career path.Ĭonstruction workers build the commercial space where Bald Head Island Academy will be located.Ībout seven months ago, Sheree Vaickus began planning to start Bald Head Island Academy, quickly discovering that building a school on the island would be no easy task.
He expects to continue to be involved in his company moving forward. Founder and CEO of akta Pharmaceutical Development, he is a researcher, doctor and immunologist. Louis Vaickus also volunteers as chairman of Bald Head Island Academy’s board. For the time being, the board has decided to only accept students who live on the island or are the children of those who work there. Louis Vaickus, said the academy has heard from families in Southport interested in enrolling their children.
#Ona island free
Tennant currently resides at the academy’s “teacher headquarters,” a recently renovated home in Southport, where teachers are housed free of charge.īald Head Island Academy’s director of life sciences curriculum, Dr. Tennant said the academy will be a “student-centered school” and that small class sizes made up of multiple grade levels will allow teachers to spend more time working individually with students. Prior to her work with the academy, she was chief operating officer of akta Pharmaceutical Development, which was founded by her husband, Dr. Originally from West Virginia, Tennant worked in Ohio before moving to Raleigh, where she met Vaickus, who also serves as the academy’s curriculum operations solutions and marketing officer. It’s not working the way that it is and it’s frustrating for teachers, it’s frustrating for parents, but it’s most frustrating for our students who aren’t getting what it is that they need,” she said. “I’ve seen the brokenness in our nation’s education system.
When Sheree Vaickus pitched the idea for the school to now-head teacher Sarah Tennant, they were excited to explore how Bald Head Island Academy could be different from a traditional public school.Īfter working as an educator for over a decade, Tennant believes the academy can have a positive impact on the education system. Her 5-year-old daughter will be starting kindergarten at Bald Head Island Academy this fall.Ĭo-founder of the academy, Sheree Vaickus, knows getting children to school every day is difficult for islanders. O’Connor is happy that her children can finally stay in the community for their education, and will be able to spend most of their time on the island. That’s one thing we were really dreading, if they were going to have to go to school because especially with young children it’s really difficult for them to behave on the ferry,” she said. Each day of school requires at least two ferry trips. To get her children to preschool in Southport twice a week, O’Connor currently takes the ferry, a commute she said is challenging. A mother of two young children, O’Connor said she’s long hoped a school would open on the island.
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