Excel Charter Academy Original Retires After Decades with NHA
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Chandler Woods Named 2024 National Blue Ribbon School
Published: Sep 23, 2024
Maryanne Bartell has been with National Heritage Academies from the beginning, even before the first partner-school opened its doors.
It was the summer of 1995 when Founder J.C. Huizenga hosted an open house at Excel Charter Academy’s original building. At the time the Bartell family had two children in school and a third as an infant. Huizenga spoke of wanting to give parents another tuition-free choice in education and after hearing him, they decided, “We’re in.” The extent of their commitment turned out to be longer than Maryanne could have imagined.
Her two oldest children ended up attending Excel, as did their youngest son, who went on to Grand River Preparatory High School as NHA expanded to grades 9-12. Maryanne was a stay-at-home mom with a part-time job when her children started at Excel, but it wasn’t long before her giving nature brought her into the school and into NHA for more than two decades to follow as its approach resonated with so many families.
“The fact that there’s 100 schools in nine states, or high schools, I never would have envisioned that,” she said.
Now, after nearly 22 years working on management side and the education side of NHA, both on the ground in the classroom and at the Service Center supporting schools, Bartell has retired. But her penchant for giving is sure to keep her busy.
She and her husband will volunteer in the media department at Campus Crusade for Christ, now Cru, a few times during the year. She also aspires to volunteer at her grandsons’ grade school. And with a milestone approaching in her 50th high school reunion, it dawned on her that those were signs that she should move on to the next chapter in her life.
“When all these dates came together, I thought, ‘This is time,’” she said.
Volunteering is what led Maryanne to working at Excel, which has outperformed the district for 14 years. She started by watching the class during lunch while teachers had their lunch break. As she got to know the Excel community, she started to volunteer more. She jumped at the chance to be even more involved in the school when a paraprofessional position opened in 2003.
As she got older, the rigor of keeping up with so many young students wasn’t sustainable. That led to her transitioning to a receptionist position at the Service Center in more of a support role. Whether it was with a friendly smile, a wave, or a timely phone call, Maryanne provided customer service help for the staff at schools that could use all the backing they could get, as she saw first-hand.
“When you’re at a school, you jump in with both feet and you’re in a raging river,” she said. “It’s been great to see another part of NHA from the Service Center side.”
As she departs, Maryanne said she is thankful to have been there for NHA at its infancy and to be part of its growth in a variety of capacities.
“I’m forever grateful to J.C. Huizenga and NHA for giving our family another choice for education,” she said. “I’m forever in your debt.”
Congratulations on a great career, Mrs. Bartell!
About National Heritage Academies
National Heritage Academies (NHA) is a network of more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
It was the summer of 1995 when Founder J.C. Huizenga hosted an open house at Excel Charter Academy’s original building. At the time the Bartell family had two children in school and a third as an infant. Huizenga spoke of wanting to give parents another tuition-free choice in education and after hearing him, they decided, “We’re in.” The extent of their commitment turned out to be longer than Maryanne could have imagined.
Her two oldest children ended up attending Excel, as did their youngest son, who went on to Grand River Preparatory High School as NHA expanded to grades 9-12. Maryanne was a stay-at-home mom with a part-time job when her children started at Excel, but it wasn’t long before her giving nature brought her into the school and into NHA for more than two decades to follow as its approach resonated with so many families.
“The fact that there’s 100 schools in nine states, or high schools, I never would have envisioned that,” she said.
Now, after nearly 22 years working on management side and the education side of NHA, both on the ground in the classroom and at the Service Center supporting schools, Bartell has retired. But her penchant for giving is sure to keep her busy.
She and her husband will volunteer in the media department at Campus Crusade for Christ, now Cru, a few times during the year. She also aspires to volunteer at her grandsons’ grade school. And with a milestone approaching in her 50th high school reunion, it dawned on her that those were signs that she should move on to the next chapter in her life.
“When all these dates came together, I thought, ‘This is time,’” she said.
Volunteering is what led Maryanne to working at Excel, which has outperformed the district for 14 years. She started by watching the class during lunch while teachers had their lunch break. As she got to know the Excel community, she started to volunteer more. She jumped at the chance to be even more involved in the school when a paraprofessional position opened in 2003.
As she got older, the rigor of keeping up with so many young students wasn’t sustainable. That led to her transitioning to a receptionist position at the Service Center in more of a support role. Whether it was with a friendly smile, a wave, or a timely phone call, Maryanne provided customer service help for the staff at schools that could use all the backing they could get, as she saw first-hand.
“When you’re at a school, you jump in with both feet and you’re in a raging river,” she said. “It’s been great to see another part of NHA from the Service Center side.”
As she departs, Maryanne said she is thankful to have been there for NHA at its infancy and to be part of its growth in a variety of capacities.
“I’m forever grateful to J.C. Huizenga and NHA for giving our family another choice for education,” she said. “I’m forever in your debt.”
Congratulations on a great career, Mrs. Bartell!
About National Heritage Academies
National Heritage Academies (NHA) is a network of more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.