HOPE Fidelis, the seventh school in the HOPE network, celebrates the completion of their founding school year, 2016-2017. Principal Edie Martwick led the school to amazing results while building a strong team and family. One example of great work is Ms. Sirmons’ 1st grade class, where 90% of scholars met or exceeded their goals in both reading and math by the end of the school year (as measured by NWEA MAP). Ms. Sirmons lives within the community and was excited to be a part of recruiting and community engagement. She is a talented teacher who pushed her scholars to academic excellence, motivating them and relating to each one individually.

What makes a great teacher? Ms Sirmons worked closely with Mrs. Martwick as not only her Principal, but as her one-on-one coach. Mrs. Martwick had her watching videos of herself teaching, internalizing lesson plans, anticipating misunderstandings of her scholars, and pushing self-reflection. She soon understood that planning details of the day - including how to have scholars hang up their jackets - was important so that every moment in the classroom could be maximized for academics.

Ms. Sirmons said that the best part of being a on the HOPE Fidelis team was learning to move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Congratulations on a successful year of growth to Ms. Sirmons, Mrs. Martwick, and the entire team and family at HOPE Fidelis!

At HOPE we love to create partnerships in the communities we are privileged to serve. For HOPE scholars, growing as serving members of their communities enhances their overall education. The Buddy Program is a partnership between HOPE Prima and St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care, focusing on service-learning, education and mentorship.

Together, HOPE Prima and St. Ann’s have created a mission to strengthen intergenerational relationships between HOPE Prima scholars and and the elderly individuals at St. Ann’s. Select scholars from 7th and 8th grade volunteer one hour a week at St. Ann’s during the fall and spring semesters with the option of continuing the work throughout the summer. The result: increased respect for diversity within the community.

There are other results, too: The Buddy Program enables scholars to learn valuable job skills, social skills, and how to budget money. At the conclusion of the semester, scholars who have participated in the program receive a small stipend as a token of appreciation. Join us in celebrating the hard work and dedication that HOPE Prima and St. Ann’s have put into creating lasting partnerships benefiting our community and our scholars! 

A year ago, a flyer in the mail caught the attention of Pastor Ethan Davis and his wife, Moriah. HOPE Christian Schools had invited them to consider its new Racine school and apply to attend through the Racine Parental Choice Program. While the Davis family did not know much about school choice or voucher program, they had been searching for the best possible Christian education for their four young children.

The answer was clear when Pastor and Mrs. Davis toured HOPE Via. Here was a place where their Christian values and high academic and behavioral expectations were shared. Theodore, Allistair, Jubal, and Charlotte Davis enrolled and found a home at HOPE Via.  

The staff at HOPE Via met each of the Davis children at their individualized levels and continue to get them excited about learning every day. Each scholar has a unique personality that is encouraged and fostered within the HOPE family. Mrs. Davis, who grew up in Racine and graduated from Washington Park High School, had not imagined the challenges she would encounter when looking for a school for her children, and was not satisfied until she found HOPE Via. She is confident she and her husband made a good choice - one that would not have been possible without the voucher program.

HOPE strives to be a place where staff members can learn, focus on individualized career goals, and progress toward those goals. Brenna Prochnow is a shining example of a growing career fueled by a heart for service.  

Brenna joined the HOPE Fortis family in 2012 as a Teacher’s Assistant. Showing incredible potential, Brenna was moved into a Lead Teacher role halfway through her first year.  Two years into her role has Lead Teacher, Brenna took on an additional challenge as Grade Level Chair and led the entire middle school team in behavior management efforts and organization. By 2015, Brenna was promoted to Dean of Instruction for the entire campus.  

Today, with five years of experience at HOPE Christian Schools, two of those years as a Dean, Brenna has now humbly accepted the role of Principal of HOPE Fortis. Brenna’s passion for the work we do here is firmly grounded in her faith. She believes that our scholars deserve the chance to not only receive the highest quality academics Milwaukee has to offer, but to do so while strengthening their relationship with the Lord and developing their Christian character. We celebrate Brenna and our entire staff as they grow in their educational expertise together with a genuine desire to see children grow in the 3 Cs: Christ.College.Character.