New Way Academy Head of School Michael Walker and Executive Director Abbey Ross.
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NEW WAY ACADEMY
CELEBRATES
50 YEARS By Kara G. Morrison | Photos by Rick D’Elia
14
SEPTEMBER 2018 raisingarizonakids.com
ENNIFER AND EDDIE KESNER STRUGGLED to find the perfect learning environment for their daughters — especially for their oldest, Lily. It took three separate recommendations before they gave real consideration to New Way Academy. The east Phoenix private school is a long way from the Kesners’ Mesa home. Impressed after just a few months by the results for Lily, and then for Molly and Olivia, they eventually enrolled all five of their daughters — now ranging in age from 8 to 11. “They’re doing well,” says their mom, who also volunteers at New Way. Kesner says her girls — all of whom were adopted and have unique needs and learning differences ranging from cerebral palsy to ADHD — love that they share a school campus. Mom watched her daughters go from largely thinking of school as a chore to “school being a place where they go to be themselves and be loved and cared for for who they are. A place where they just feel comfortable,” she says. In addition to the campus feel — amenities include a library with cozy reading spaces, a large playground with buddy benches, green courtyards and comfortable classrooms — it is the low student-toteacher ratios and speech and occupational therapies during the school day that have made a big difference for their family. The girls even have time for extracurricular activities, and all five got parts in “Cinderella,” last fall’s school play. Chloe was cast as the lead. Their dad joked that