2022 CES #YearEnd Review with Michael Williams

As the end of each year approaches, I like to reflect on the year that has passed and take time to look for successes, challenges, and growth opportunities. I have been impressed by the students', families', and staff members' dedication to learning, and we have seen improvements across the board. The pandemic was difficult for most students, leaving many in an academic crisis and needing support to fill in the learning gaps. Our team at CES partnered with students, parents, and teachers to create specific learning objectives, develop learning models tailored to each child, and access supports at home and/or school. We are thankful for all our students and their families and their commitment to academic excellence.

In September of this year, we added a new Durham-Chapel Hill office; our office is bright, vibrant, and close to UNC-Chapel Hill. It is exciting to see the company grow and partner with other providers to help those in need around The Triangle area. Serving more families near their homes is helpful as many families have many demands during the week. We look forward to adding more services this year as we partner with UNC and other providers to enhance our service offerings.

CES welcomed two additional educational consultants this year: Dr. Krista L Prince and Pili Johnson. Krista has been a valued team member working with middle, high, and college students. Her love for learning, mentoring, collaborating with families, partnering with schools, and creating differentiated plans to help her students find success has been inspiring. Pili is our Spanish specialist. Pili serves students in our homeschool classes in Spanish I and II. She is passionate about language development and helping students achieve second language proficiency. She looks to add more families in the future as we expand our language services.

Looking ahead, we are excited about the new year. Our services are expanding in many directions as the need for academic assistance increases each year. This year, we added holistic coaching for parents and families of students with Anna's completion of advanced coach credentialing. We hope to add an elementary specialist as well as additional middle and high school consultants to meet our increasing service demands. Our high school-to-college need grows each year, and we are now offering more services to those needing college fit guidance, SAT/ACT assessment support, college essay advising, and acceptance assistance. This year our students applied to many different colleges including UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, App State, Vanderbilt, Oregon State, Cornell, University of Miami, University of North Carolina-Asheville, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Elon, University of Richmond, UVA, William & Mary, and the list goes on and on. It is exciting to explore all aspects of college with students and help them navigate the application and scholarship process to find the right fit.

This year we have revised our business model to reflect our growing company needs. Dr. Anna L. Patton has been named Chief Operations Officer (COO) to streamline day-to-day operations, and Kim Williams has been named Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to help with new marketing adventures and future business partners. I will continue as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to work on future planning, goal setting, hiring, and other educational tasks. This model will help our team grow and learn as we continue to serve more families in the Triangle area and beyond.

We are excited about 2023 and look forward to partnering with even more families in the new year. We are grateful to have such engaged community partners and families, and we hope to continue to make a difference in the lives of our students.

Enjoy the Holiday Season and have a Happy New Year! 🥳🥳🥳