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CCES Voices

The Sturdevant Family

Richard and Kate Sturdevant started their family in Joplin, Missouri, where their family had been for generations. They were already part of the 65-year-old family business and well-established members of the community, so it seemed like the perfect place to raise their kids. That is, until they started thinking about where to send their kids to school. That’s when they started looking into other options for their two kids, Frank and Charlotte.

Deciding on a Change

As a child, Kate’s parents, along with Dr. Leonard Kupersmith and a few other community members, formed an independent day school that would provide their children with an exceptional education. At the time, Dr. Kupersmith, who has since retired from his headship at Christ Church Episcopal School, became the first Head of School of their new school. However, Kate fondly remembers receiving an excellent education and enjoying being under Dr. Kupersmith’s leadership. Thinking about her own education helped her dream about what she wanted for her own children.

Kate says, “We made a checklist for moving forward, and education was a main priority.” The Sturdevants heard that Dr. Kupersmith had moved to South Carolina as the Head of School of a school with values similar to their own and, after a bit of research, made the move shortly they sold their business in 2015.

“If I could have drawn a picture of what I wanted for my kids,” Kate says, “it would have been CCES. It’s been great and hasn’t let us down yet.”

But that does not mean there were never any bumps in the road for the Sturdevants. Kate says, “We were coming to an area where we knew Dr. Kupersmith and his wife and that was it.” But she remembers telling herself, with her son Frank starting Primer in the fall, “we’ve got to do it now. It only gets harder.”
 

Making the Right Decision

Frank took to Primer at CCES “like a duck to water. The school does such a good job of identifying who your child is and what their needs are. They do a better job of it than I could.” Initially, though, their daughter Charlotte had a bit of a harder time with the move. She had to change preschools a few times and missed her friends from Missouri. Once she started at CCES though, “everything clicked and she got that little fire back in her.”

“Both of my kids come home with big smiles every day. When you’re trying to cultivate a love of learning, that’s really important.” Today, both of the Sturdevant children are loving their classes, what they’re learning, and where they live.

Find Out More About CCES

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Christ Church Episcopal School (“CCES”) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at CCES. CCES does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, scholarship or other programs, or athletic or other school-administered programs and activities.