Academics Come First
At Auldern Academy academics come first. Our curriculum is rigorous and our attention to the individual learning needs of our students is unparalleled.The faculty of Auldern Academy excels at helping students who have fallen behind academically to catch up to their peers. The students are able to gain ground quickly by participating in flexible programming. Our girls boarding school offers one-quarter and one-half credit courses, and allows students to take classes out of sequence if necessary. Girls may also work to catch up during a Summer Program.Open enrollment allows parents to place their daughters with us throughout the year. We understand that math is an unavoidably sequential subject so Auldern Academy offers an in-house math tutor to help mid-year enrollees to catch up quickly.Each of the four grades taught at Auldern Academy are considered college preparatory and include Honors and AP coursework. Our small classes rarely exceed ten girls; therefore each student enjoys a high level of interaction, communication and one-on-one time with her teachers. A personal faculty advisor is assigned to each student and assists with academic planning. The advisor communicates with parents, staff and referring professionals regarding the student’s progress. Auldern strives for 100% college acceptance of our students.
ACADEMIC FACULTY
Chris Will, Lead Teacher - Social Studies and History
Chris Will has been with Auldern since the beginning and then became the Lead Teacher in 2007. Chris loves sharing his passion for History and Geography with our students. Chris has lived in North Carolina since 1984 and was raised in a large family of seven boys and one girl. He earned a degree in History Education from North Carolina State University and is certified to teach World History, World Geography, U.S. History, U.S. Government and Economics. He is an avid N.C. State Wolfpack fan. He is a U.S. Army veteran infantryman, who was awarded many honors including Expert Infantry Badge, the highest honor an Infantryman can receive. He served overseas and in the Middle East. He was a member of a security force for Secretary of State Colin Powell. Chris is a Civil War buff and has traveled to many Civil War battlefields. Chris and his wife, Alice, a veterinarian, reside in Raleigh.
Jim Philips - English
Jim holds a Master of Arts degree in English from North Carolina State University. He is a North Carolina native who hails from Jacksonville. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He joined Auldern in the summer of 2007 where he inspires our students through his own passion for reading and writing. Jim enjoys playing the guitar, watching college basketball and collecting books. Among his favorite authors are Herman Melville, J.D. Salinger, and WIlliam Faulkner. Jim resides in Raleigh with his wife Rachel and their two dogs.
Ed King - Spanish
Ed King received his M.A. in Latin American History at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He studied Spanish and Latin American History in a doctoral program at the University of Florida in Gainesville. An avid world traveler, Ed lived in Chile for two years. He taught HIstory at Austin College in Sherman, TX for 7 years, taking students to Peru, Columbia and Mexico for January term courses. He was the Regional Director of Church World Service/CROP in both Illinois and the Carolinas for 18 years. He inspected CWS relief and self help development projects in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. He helped build housing in the slums of San Felipe, Guatemala for two summers with the God's Child school project. He traveled to Nicaragua and Cuba in Spring of 2004 with the delegation of Witness for Peace to study "Neo Liberalism in Central American and the Carribean." He has three grown children.
Chana Meeks - Art
Chana Meeks is a North Carolina Native who is absolutely in love with painting and is excited to be sharing her creative energy with the students at Auldern Academy. Chana holds an Associate Art Degree from East Carolina. Through the years she has received specialized training at several area community colleges in pottery, jewelry making and painting.
Chana is the owner and studio artist of Raleigh Street Gallery in Siler City. She sells unique and original artwork of more than 60 other local artists. A gifted painter herself, Chana enjoys teaching art as the expression and infusion of the heart, mind and hand. She believes art can be learned by anyone, not just those who have a natural talent for it.
Cheryl Essex - Art
Cheryl Essex was born and raised in Nebraska and moved to North Carolina in 2002. She obtained her degree from the University of Nebraska and also holds certification as a substance abuse counselor. Cheryl’s love of art has her continually attending workshops and continuing education classes to keep up with current art trends. Her involvement in the arts started as a teen, and over the years she has become adept at watercolor and acrylic painting, but she excels in pottery and sculpture. Her work is on display in two galleries in the local area.
Cheryl’s background has seen her working for 25 years in the counseling field and for the last 8 years facilitated an at-risk youth program for a local school district. She loves integrating her love of art with counseling. She is excited about teaching and is determined to help those students who might not have much natural artistic ability learn to love art for its own sake. She believes anyone who is willing to try can be creative.
Jason Justice - Science Teacher
Jason Justice received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry from North Carolina State University. He then continued on as a Teaching Assistant at NCSU for 4 years where he received the “Robert A. Osteryoung Award” for excellence in teaching. He then accepted a position to teach high school math and science at a private school for students with learning disabilities in Raleigh where he stayed for 3 years. He has also been awarded “Community Based Service Worker of the Year” from the Wake County Autism Society. Jason’s passion for teaching is contagious and he brings this enthusiasm to the Auldern students.
In his free time he has enjoyed performing as an actor in several regional productions and as a musician in many local bands and music groups. Jason has also been known to teach drama and music classes to aspiring performers. His passion for teaching is contagious and willing spreads his enthusiasm in many diverse areas to our students.
Andrew Johnson - Mathematics Teacher
Andrew Johnson received his Bachelors of Science degree in mathematics from Mount Union College in Alliance Ohio. He joins Auldern with great enthusiasm for challenging and inspiring our students to build their mathematical confidence and skills.
Andrew and his wife moved from northeastern Ohio to Sanford, NC, where his wife is also a teacher. Along with his passion for teaching, he enjoys fishing, canoeing, backpacking, bicycling and the many other outdoor activities available in North Carolina. While not in the classroom, he can be found enjoying a good movie with his wife and Great Dane, Georgia and cat, Carl.
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
In order to graduate from Auldern Academy a student must earn twenty-five credits as follows:
- 4 in English
- 4 in Math (Algebra 1, Geometry, and two additional courses)
- 3 in Science (a biological science, an earth science, and a physical science)
- 3 in Social Studies (Government/Economics, United States History, and World Studies)
- ½ in Health
- 1 in Physical Education
- 2 in the same Foreign Language (recommended)
- The balance in Elective credits
Additional Requirements
a. Minimum of 30 hours of community service
b. ACT or SAT testing
c. College applications ( 3 suggested) d. Advancement through the Phase System to Ambassador