Supporting Excellence Beyond the Classroom

Thank you for contributing to the $20k in 20 Days Challenge in support of Excellence Beyond the Classroom. (April 26 - May 15, 2024) Together, we raised an incredible $47,112!

Below is a list of donors who recognized the need and contributed to enhancing this program for the fall.

A very special thank you to an anonymous current family who generously contributed $20,000 as a matching gift. We are deeply grateful for your support.

Anonymous Current NPES Family - Matching Gift $20,000
Sarah and Jonathan Adelstein
Anoop and Priti Anekal
Joseph Bingen
Heather and Chris  Boran
Robert and Julia Burciaga
Eloy Burciaga
Nai and Chul Chang
Lauren Daly
Erica and Ben Davis
Richard and Vicki DuFour
Scott and Susan Feldman
Tim Gallagher and Andrew Sokol
Lyndal Hanna
Delores Heitz
Meredith Hepburn
Andrew Herman and Carolyn Braff
Ginny Hotaling
Satish Kalhan
The Coy Krumm Family Fund
Timothy Krumm
Bryan and Julie Lamb
Jeffrey Levoff
Erin  Leyden
Claire Thomas and Alan Littlechild
Emily and Patrick Little
The Logli/Allison Family
Darren and Elizabeth Lubotsky
Robert Lubotsky
Janet McCauley
Adam and Brittany Miller
Jennifer and Jonathan Miller
Matthew Moren and Rosemary Feit
John and Dana Novick
Mark Pascaris and Jennifer Morris
Linda Paull
Tracy and Bryan Paull
David and Shannon Poe
Jennifer Sampias
Jane Seo
Susan Shure
Paulos Strike and Elizabeth Vadas
David and Amy Webb
Sharon Wise and Nicholas Sinnott

At NPES, we believe that the education of our students extends far beyond the walls of the school, encompassing a tapestry of experiences that shape our students' academic growth, understanding of themselves and the world around them, empathy, and cultural literacy

Here are a just few examples of the community-engagement programs at NPES that offer students rigorous and enriching extensions of classroom learning:

• Field Studies to various local organizations throughout the city;
• Service Learning collaborations with numerous charitable and advocacy groups;
• Immersive Neighborhood Explorations focusing on different Chicago neighborhoods (recently including Humboldt Park, Uptown, and Chinatown);
• And diverse student travel opportunities, such as a civil rights tour in Georgia and Alabama, a visit to Washington, D.C., a day trip to Springfield, IL, and a biannual optional excursion to a Spanish-speaking country in the Americas.

At NPES, our focus spans deep conceptual understanding, proficiency in solving complex problems, and effective communication across diverse real-life contexts. These experiences aim to nurture intellectual curiosity, social-emotional well-being, and self-fulfillment.

However, these expansive and engaging aspects of our school-wide curriculum require resources well beyond the fees families pay for student travel (all other off-campus experiences are offered at no additional cost). These expenses include:

• Entry fees and round-trip transportation for field studies;
• Guides, meals, round-trip transportation, and entry fees for cultural experiences during neighborhood explorations;
• Additional staff costs for off-site chaperones and/or for substitute teachers to sustain on-campus programming when faculty are away with students;
• Staff work managing logistics for all off-site educational programming;
• Faculty work integrating off-site learning into the curriculum (some of which takes place over the summer);
• Additional stipends for faculty who lead a number these programs for NPES beyond the scope of their teaching role;
• Fostering and establishing new partnerships with additional organizations for future student programming. 

Excellence lives everywhere in our school, and with your support, we can continue to nurture it within and beyond our classrooms. Thank you donors for your generosity and support.