Recruitment Rally!
Do you love Carowinds? Always wanted to go to Great Wolf Lodge? Do you know other families that would benefit from the unique experience the ATHS will offer? For every student that you recruit that confirms their seat before April 28th, you will be entered into a drawing for 3 FANTASTIC grand prizes!
You can use this link to submit names of students you recruit, AND there is now a spot on the enrollment form where new families can say who recruited them, so as you invite new families, be sure to tell them to put your name there! If you already submitted names, you are already entered, but can keep adding entries if you recruit more families!
AND everyone is a winner! Join us for an ATHS Family Prize & Pizza Party on April 29th for all families who have confirmed their seat for next year! We will announce the 3 grand prize winners and will have some fun, new ATHS swag for everyone!
Please let us know if you have any questions! We can wait to celebrate with everyone on April 29th!
Jamie Boll WBTV On Your Side Tonight Interview with Jennifer Nichols and Scott Whitlock.
We are delighted to share this news interview with you featuring Jamie Boll, our Executive Director – Jennifer Nichols, and our Tile and Masonry lab partner Scott Whitlock (Whitlock Builders). There are tremendous opportunities and careers available in trade and technical jobs and a high labor shortage for those positions right now. Our free charter trade high school will allow students to enter a trade position upon graduation with no need to take on additional college debt.
We are excited to share this video about Aspire Trade High School filmed in partnership with Nudura.
Nudura video featuring Aspire Carolinas Foundation – Executive Director – Jennifer Nichols.
Meet Our New Leadership Team
Press Release – Aspire Trade High School – Meet the Administrative Team
[CHARLOTTE, NC, March 2023] – Aspire Trade High School is a new free charter trade high school that will open this August 2023. At this rigorous academic school students will have the ability to earn a diploma AND a trade certificate during their four years. In preparation for the school’s opening, we would like to announce that we have hired three members of our Administrative Team. Mr. Larry Sullivan will be our Principal, Ms. Marianna Parker will be our Director of EC and Assistant Principal and Dr. Meghan Frazier will be our Director of CTE and Assistant Principal.
Mr. Sullivan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Clemson University and Master’s in School Administration from UNCC. He started his teaching career in the low country of South Carolina in a small, underserved community before moving to the Charlotte area. He then started working as a middle school history teacher at the charter school Union Academy. During his ten years at Union Academy, he was promoted to Principal. Mr. Sullivan then served as the Principal of Lake Norman charter school before moving to Cabarrus County. He then took a position as Assistant Principal at Mount Pleasant High School where he has worked for the last 10 years. Mount Pleasant High School is well known for its Career Technology Education department, and Larry has been a keen supporter of the technical education system. He has seen first-hand the benefits for students reaching their potential and building a career from their high school education. Aspire Trade High School perfectly fits Larry’s background, beliefs and enthusiasm to prepare the next generation for the skilled trade industries and life. Larry understands the importance of getting students ready for the future.
Ms. Parker holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Clemson University, a Masters of Arts in Teaching, Special Education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Winthrop University. She was a classroom teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) for 8 years before moving into the role of Itinerant Coordinating Teacher for the Exceptional Children (EC) Department, where she worked to support classroom EC teachers for 4 years. She then served in the role of High School Program Manager for the CMS EC Department, coordinating and supporting instructional programming for High School EC programs across the district. Ms. Parker joined our team in 2021 as a volunteer and in July 2022 she was hired as an employee of Aspire Carolinas Foundation. She has completed Aspire Trade High School’s charter school ready to open tasks, attended NCDPI charter school training, and created and attended events to enroll students. She is excited to see the school open this fall.
Dr. Frazier holds a BA in English and Technical Writing from California State University Long Beach, a Masters of School Administration from UNC-Charlotte, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UNC-Charlotte. She started teaching high school English in 2003 as a lateral entry teacher after a career as a writer in the motorsports and automotive industries. Dr. Frazier taught all levels of English before moving into school administration as a Principal Fellow in 2014. She followed up her fellowship by becoming the assistant principal of instruction at both the elementary and high school levels. After over five years as an administrator, Frazier moved into an instructional coaching role with both the NC New Teacher Support Program and an area high school. Dr. Frazier is looking forward to the opening of Aspire Trade High School.
Aspire Trade High School (www.aspiretradehs.org) is currently enrolling 9th and 10th grade students for the 2023-2024 school year. This innovative industry specific trade school serving grades 9-12 is a project of Aspire Carolinas Foundation Inc.
Topping Out Ceremony – January 10, 2023
We are excited to share photos from the Aspire Trade High School Topping Out Ceremony! This is when the last steel beam is placed before the roof goes on the building. A big thank you to Samet, our construction team, and all our partners and supporters for their hard work and dedication!
Trade Exploration Day – October 8, 2022
A big thank you to everyone that came to our trade exploration day! We enjoyed meeting you and talking with you about our trade offerings at the high school.
Lake Norman Publications Article
We are excited to share this article by Lee Sullivan at the Lake Norman Media Group about our Aspire Trade School and Samet Building Corporation groundbreaking ceremony! Please click the link to view.
Aspire Trade High School and Samet Building Corporation – Groundbreaking Event.
June 9, 2022 – Aspire Carolinas Foundation was thrilled to host our groundbreaking event in partnership with Samet Building Corporation! The Aspire Trade High School is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023. This state-of-the-art building will be the first trade high school of its kind in Mecklenburg County. A big thank you to our Aspire Carolinas Foundation Board: Dale Halton, Jennifer Nichols, Jim Secunda, and Lauren Nicholson and all our partners: Boomerang Design, Burton Engineering, Concrete Supply, Nudura, Dryvit, Tremco, Trane Technologies, SteelFab, Müller Corporation, Precision Plumbing and Atrium for helping to make this project happen!
