The end of this year was a whole lot more complicated for Mary Daniels and Chris Middleton.

Daniels, Seatack Elementary School principal, and Middleton, ta hird-grade teacher at Landstown Elementary, straddled two delicate worlds of completing their school year in their designated roles while also preparing for the launch of the new An Achievable Dream Academy at Seatack.

“I’ve got two lists going on right now,” Middleton said with a laugh, earlier this year. He added that the majority of the planning and busyness is behind them, but there is plenty of excitement to go around.

Daniels will continue her role as principal, and Middleton will serve as the An Achievable Dream director at the school. As a former teacher at Seatack, Middleton said his role with AAD was “the perfect job” for him.

“It just felt like it worked well with my experiences I’ve had,” he said.

Come July, the program will begin its summer intersession: one week of training for staff and two weeks of school for An Achievable Dream students.

Students in the program will have an extended-day and year-round schedule, and their course load will include a series of additional enrichment classes, including etiquette and financial literacy courses.

“I’m really looking forward to the seeing the children come in…to get the children what they need,” Daniels said. “I can’t wait to see them get off the bus in their uniforms. I think it’s going to be so cute.”

For Daniels and Middleton, the goal has been to create a new family atmosphere at Seatack, with the combined elementary school and the AAD program working seamlessly together to provide a new school experience for the Seatack community.

In order to deliver the ambitious program, Daniels said she believes fully in her dedicated staff to make AAD a success.

“It’s only going to be as good and as strong as the teachers doing the teaching and loving the kids,” she said. “The teachers are the ones making the difference. It’s the teachers that get in there day after day, working with those children and making a difference.”

Helping to make the program possible has been the work of dozens of volunteers and business partners. So far, more than $3 million has been raised from private donations to support the program at Seatack.

Daniels and Middleton call the support “humbling.”

“It floors me that there are so many people out there looking for ways to help,” Daniels said.

“It’s just amazing they are willing to put that money into a program and entrust us to be successful with it,” Middleton added.

It is in the same spirit of generosity and service that founded the An Achievable Dream program more than two decades ago in Newport News. Daniels said she intends to make sure the work and the mission of founder Walter Segaloff, who passed away last year, remain at the heart of the school.

“I wonder if he ever knew – throwing that pebble in the water – what ripple effect it would spread,” Daniels said. “He put things into place that will go one forever. I don’t ever want us to forget that.”

For more information about the program, visit online at www.vbschools.com/aad.

 

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