This week, Kerry James, father of Jessica ’23, reflects on his time at the Academy and the investment they have made in her education.
MAGICAL MATRICULATION | I’m not going to mess with dates as I don’t remember right now, all I know is time has passed with a swift irreverence I did not appreciate although everyone told me that it would. Our daughter, Jessica, is getting ready to graduate from 8th grade … let’s take a second to give it the respect it deserves. She started AND finished what her mom, Beth, and I determined to be “hopefully” the best elementary education money could buy. When I tell people about this school and they say, “but it’s expensive,” my cliché response is “you get what you pay for.”
That saying is thrown around a lot by people trying to substantiate their extravagant decisions. I can’t say this with more sincerity, “YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!” In this case we are talking about the most important gift anyone can give a child, a concrete, fundamental, educational foundation on which to build the rest of their lives. Our time at ASH has been a magical experience, not only for Jessi, but for her mom and I as well. We were welcomed into a “family” we didn’t expect. I mean, after all, this is an education for our daughter, not a lifelong family of friends for us as well. But that is exactly what we got. “The full experience,” and we dove in with both feet. We have had YEARS of great experiences and commonality with like-minded parents, expecting nothing short of excellence for their most prized possessions.
The education Jessica has received from the Academy of the Sacred Heart has been everything and more that we wanted for her. I am unwaveringly confident that ASH has built a foundation so strong that few things will ever be able to sway her from her upward growth as she matriculates through her other educational scenarios. As we embark on her next chapter of education, we leave confident that her experiences and instruction at ASH will forever guide her in the right direction. Eternal thank you to the staff, teachers, and administration of the best (in our experience and opinion) elementary school in the St. Louis area. We got EXACTLY what we signed up for.
THANK YOU ASH, from the James family — Kerry, Beth and Jessica
