FROM THE PRESIDENT

One hundred and fifty-five years ago, in the midst of a terrible war, the Presbyterian Church in Alabama set out on a mission.

The War Between the States was still raging when Alabama’s Presbyterians first met to discuss how they could help the most vulnerable victims of any war — orphans. The church launched a bold initiative to open a home for the growing population of children orphaned by war and by the myriad of maladies that were untreatable in the 19th century.

When the war finally ended, many Alabama citizens were left destitute, making fundraising for a home for orphans especially difficult. But Presbyterian women did what Presbyterian women always do: they stepped up and they stepped in. They made the dream of a home for homeless children possible. In 1868, the Presbyterian-sponsored Home opened its doors to care for their first children in need and quickly became a pillar of stability for countless children from across war-ravaged Alabama.

That’s why it’s fitting that in this, our 155th year, the Presbyterian Home for Children honored Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church (USA) at all three of our signature Sweet Home Soirées. It was the faith and hard work of Presbyterian Women that raised the funds to build the Home 155 years ago, and their support has never wavered.

When I think about the Presbyterian Women and their love for the Home and for the children and their families we care for, I am reminded of one of the most famous books of the Bible, Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. In Chapter 13, most of us easily recall the verses about love being patient and kind. It’s later in the verses that Paul says love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Protection, trust, hope, and perseverance. These are definitions of love, and they define Presbyterian Women. Thanks be to God for them and for the love they have shown the Presbyterian Home for Children and some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens – at risk children and families.

Peace, Doug Marshall President

Ala Students Reach Big Heights This School Year

Ascension Leadership Academy students are out for summer, but before we said goodbye-for-now, we honored many students for high achievement during the 2022-2023 Awards Program. We also had the opportunity to observe the results of ALA’s fine arts program as the choir and piano students performed during the ceremony held at First Presbyteria n Church of Talladega.

Ascen sion serves all students in the Home’s residential programs and private students in gra des K-12 residing in the greater Talladega community.

Dur ing the awards program, two kindergarten students received Kindergarten Diplomas, a high percentage of students received A & B honor roll awards, and students earning high scores on achievement assessments were recognized for their accomplishm ents.

Th is year, as part of Ascension’s continuous improvement process, ALA added the Northwest Evaluation Association (NAEP) MAP Assessment as a measure of instruction and student achievement. MAP, which stands for Measures of Academic Progress, joined with other data points provides actional data about where a student is on their uni que learning path.

The MAP assessments have two levels of scores above the 50th percentile: High Average (scores between the 60th and 79th percentile) and High (scores above the 80th percentile). Schools generally hope that most of their students’ scores will reach the 50th percentile. Approximately one-third of Ascension’s students scored at or above the 60th or 80th percentile in reading, language, and mathema tics.

Al ong with MAP, we continue to measure learning in grades K-6 using STAR Reading and STAR Math assessments. These assessments have four levels of achievement, with level four being the highest. With eight students reaching the highest fourth level in reading and math, 53% of our students were on or above grade level with most well above their current grade-level expected achiev ement.

In a ddition to the accomplishments of our K-12 students, we have one junior, Phaethon Brown, who has completed 28 college credit hours for courses taken at Central Alabama Community College through our dual enrollment partnership. He has maintained an Ascension GPA of 4.25 and a CACC GPA of 3.785 for his college classes.