The NAES Governing Board has chosen Cindy LaPorte, head of school at All Saints’ Episcopal Day School, Austin, Texas, and David H. Charlton, Ed.D., president of the Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, as the recipients of the 2016 Ruth Jenkins Award and John D. Verdery Award, respectively.
“Cindy and David have made significant contributions to the Episcopal school community, and we are honored to recognize them with these prestigious individual awards. NAES and Episcopal schools are privileged to be recipients of their talents, knowledge, and leadership, and our community is richer because of their involvement,” said the Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill II, president of the NAES Governing Board and head of school at the Church Farm School in Exton, Pennsylvania.
The awards will be presented at NAES’ Biennial Conference 2016, November 9–11, in New Orleans.
Cindy LaPorte
Cindy LaPorte, recipient of the 2016 Ruth Jenkins Award, has been head of school at All Saints’ Episcopal Day School, Austin, Texas since 2000.
She began her career teaching pre-k, kindergarten, and middle school language arts in public schools. She later worked 10 years at a public university in Corpus Christi, Texas as a university supervisor of student teachers and as an adjunct professor of education courses. She spent the next 13 years in a variety of positions at St. James Episcopal School in Corpus Christi, Texas with the last 9 years there as the Preschool/Lower School Division Head.
All Saints’ was the first stand-alone preschool to be accredited by the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools (SAES). Under her leadership, the school has received SAES’ Ken Bastian Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Episcopal identity component of the All Saints’ program has been consistently recognized as a model for other schools. She is a member of the Commission on Education for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas; she serves on the SAES Standards Committee; and is a former member of the SAES Board. She is the author of “Episcopal Early Childhood Education Programs” in the second edition of Reasons for Being, The Culture and Character of Episcopal Schools.
David H. Charlton, Ed.D.
Dr. David H. Charlton, recipient of the 2016 John D. Verdery Award, has, since 1988, served as president of the Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, which is comprised of six schools and six foundations with an operations budget of $110 million and assets of $400 million. Prior to joining the Church Schools, he served as student dean at Franklin & Marshall College, assistant vice president for business at The College of William & Mary, vice president for administration and finance at Episcopal Theological Seminary, and headmaster of Christchurch School in Christchurch, Virginia. He is a past member of the NAES Governing Board (2000-2008), and served as its secretary (2002-2003), vice president (2003-2005), and president (2005-2008).
Dr. Charlton earned a B.A. in American History, a M.Ed. in Counseling and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration—all from The College of William and Mary.
An active Episcopalian, David has served as a trustee and treasurer of Virginia Theological Seminary and the Virginia Diocesan Center at Roslyn, and treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. He has served as board chair of Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury and trustee of Rappahannock General Hospital.