character and integrity Archives

french broad river academy fbra international field experience

“This Ain’t no Teen Tour… The Evolution of the FBRA International Field EXPERIENCE

Costa Rica, Outdoors, Service, Thoughts from Will Yeiser / Elizabeth Douglas

By Will Yeiser, Executive Director & Co-Founder From the day I started teaching middle school in 2002, I knew I had to create an international travel and immersion experience in a Spanish-speaking country that went beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. Most people wait until high school or college for some type of study […]

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Service Learning At FBRA

Outdoors, School News, Service / Elizabeth Douglas

By Stiles Rader and Sam Iatarola, FBRA Heads of Community Engagement Service learning is an integral part of our mission at French Broad River Academy. We intentionally build opportunities into our weekly field lessons to fulfill our mission of building character and integrity for a lifetime of learning, service, and leadership. We independently clean waterways

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FBRA at 15

School News, Thoughts from Will Yeiser / Elizabeth Douglas

By Will Yeiser, Executive Director & Co-Founder This year the French Broad River Academy (FBRA) celebrates its fifteenth year of building character and integrity for a lifetime of learning, service, and leadership. FBRA at 15 has served over 1,100 students and families since we opened our doors in 2009. Whether we are in the classroom,

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Thoughts from Will, June 2021

Uncategorized / Will Yeiser

Lessons Learned After Operating a School During a Pandemic Will Yeiser, FBRA Co-Founder & Executive Director WE MADE IT!!! As the last group of 8th grade students left campus with their families on the evening of June 4th, 2021 after our final graduation event, I finally was able to repeat these words and internalize

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Meet Dorrie Sieburg, FBRA Girls’ New Admissions & Communications Director

Uncategorized / Elizabeth Douglas

Welcome Dorrie Sieburg to FBRA as the new Admissions and Communications Director for the Girls School. Dorrie’s work and life experience over the last twenty years have pointed her toward FBRA all along the way. After graduating from Penn State University with a BS in Education, Dorrie worked for the Student Conservation Association and Padilla

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Alumni Update – Connor Schulz

Uncategorized / Elizabeth Douglas

“I didn’t realize that I was going to have to crawl through holes in the mud that were so small that we had to push our packs through ahead of us.” — Connor Schulz describing his sixth grade experience in Worley’s Cave A short conversation is all that is needed to realize that 2014 FBRA

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Thoughts from Will, March 2021

Uncategorized / Will Yeiser

Will Yeiser, Executive Director The recent warm weather has been a welcome reminder that spring is just around the corner. After a long, dark, and cold winter exacerbated by the isolation and the daily stress of trying to manage family and work under the “COVID clouds,” a short burst of sunshine and sixty-degree weather

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Development Update – March 2021

Uncategorized / John Douglas

John Douglas, Director of Development It’s hard to imagine that the 2020-2021 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for the Development Department at FBRA. Thanks to the generosity of our amazing families and supporters, the Salamander Fund has crested $90,000 this year, surpassing our goal by $15,000. We had no idea what

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Ski Season 2021

Uncategorized / Elizabeth Douglas

While skiing is a lot of fun, our primary goal in the FBRA ski program is for students to grow in ability and confidence as skiers by providing specific skill instruction and practice time. In order to provide appropriate instruction at every level, each year our staff members attend a one to two day ski

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Curriculum Discussion: Natalie Sayre & David Byers

Uncategorized / Elizabeth Douglas

Jack Pitfield, Director of Marketing & Technology The list of responsibilities and skills of any one teacher at the French Broad River Academy is long: some of our teachers hold advanced outdoor skills, many of our teachers are Spanish speakers, and all have a wilderness medicine certification. It is not uncommon to see the school’s

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