Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Ambler.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Julie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in Dallas where I was blessed to grow up in a family that valued education. I graduated from The Hockaday School, one of the most academically-rigorous private girls’ schools in the country, where I developed a life-long passion for education. I earned a BA and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. For seventeen years, I worked as a real estate investment banker in Houston, TX and Los Angeles, CA, financing major commercial real estate deals nationwide. In 1999, I sensed God’s call to quit that career and use my skills to serve Him in the Christian community. Both of my children began attending The Woodlands Christian Academy in 2000, and I served on the Executive Board for four years, the last two as Chair. In January 2006, I agreed to become the Interim Head of School for an anticipated six to nine months. I am now in my 12th year in this position. I love education, and it has been a privilege for me to use my business and financial background to help support the mission of Woodlands Christian.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like most new schools, Woodlands Christian had a very rocky beginning. One parent described it as a new school every two years because that was how often the head of school changed. There were varying visions and priorities. Policies changed or were nonexistent. There was a constant turnover of employees and families. The board was unclear of its vision and meddled in the minutia.
Woodlands Christian had always struggled with finances. The administration tried various games to raise enrollment and cut expenses, but these schemes always put the school in a deeper hole financially, requiring more and more debt, and the education suffered as a result.
In January 2006, I stepped into the Head of School role to figure out what was wrong with our finances. As it turned out, we were short more than $1,000,000 and didn’t even have enough money to finish the current school year or graduate our senior class.
On March 7, 2006, the board and I met in the library to pray fervently. We knew that the school was broken financially, spiritually, and academically. We were flat on our faces, asking God to forgive us for anything that was ever done at Woodlands Christian that was not of Him. If it was God’s will to close this school, we were willing to be the bad guys and face public humiliation. If God intended to keep His school alive, He would have to lead us and show us how. We had no resources to fix this problem by ourselves. And day-by-day, as we put Him first and sought to follow His lead, God did save His school.
There is a rock on my desk that says, “March 7, 2006”, because this was the day we rededicated Woodlands Christian to our true head, Jesus Christ. As school leaders, we didn’t have the funds to personally fix our financial problems, but some of us were able to risk short-term cash flow loans to buy time. Through constant prayer and by the grace of God, we built our way to fiscal health. We never ever missed a debt payment or payroll and, since 2006, we’ve always operated in the black, paid our bills on-time and received very clean 3rd party financial audits.
We strived to be good stewards of what we already had. As we were able, we cleaned the campus, added fencing, painted portables, and cut the grass. Eventually, we began raising faculty salaries and adding other amenities like classroom buildings, athletic facilities, and technology.
We had also experienced missional drift. Thus, we began realigning our activities with the original mission of the school, and we rapidly raised academic, spiritual, behavioral and admission standards. We hired administrators and faculty who were passionate about the school’s vision for students.
Those were hard days. I had two nicknames at the time, “Machine Gun Annie” because I fired so many people, and “Queen of the Trailer Park” because we had so many portable buildings and the campus was so run down.
In 2008, we restructured the board to a policy governance model where the governance board focuses on the long-term vision of the school, and the Head of School concentrates on aligning the operations of the school to achieve the board’s vision. This structure frees the Head of School to serve as the CEO, working closely with the board to set the vision, aligning institutional and educational goals with our leadership team, managing the business side of our school, and building relationships with our students, families, employees and the greater Woodlands/Houston community.
The Woodlands Christian Academy – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Woodlands Christian Academy is an academically rigorous, Christ-centered college preparatory school serving students from Preschool 4 through 12th grade. We are accredited by AdvancEd (formerly the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) and ACSI (the Association of Christian Schools International). We have been named an Apple Distinguished School for the integration of technology and 21st Century learning skills into our curriculum and a Best Christian Workplace based on the results of confidential surveys with our faculty and staff.
We believe that parents are the primary educators of their children. Thus, it is our mission to partner with families and provides educational expertise to help equip students of strong moral character to become well-rounded leaders – spiritually, academically, physically and socially. Our outstanding administrative team provides the infrastructure and support that enables our phenomenal faculty to concentrate on teaching and building strong relationships with students.
Our enrollment has doubled over the past eight years, and we currently have 640 students enrolled at Woodlands Christian with wait lists for most grades. It is our plan to grow steadily and methodically to 950 students over the next 5 – 7 years. All of our graduates are accepted into four-year colleges and universities ranging from Yale and West Point to The University of Texas and Baylor. For each of the past six years, our seniors were offered an average of more than $100,000 per student in merit-based college scholarships.
We compete in 11 varsity sports. More than 80% of our middle and high school students play one sport and 50% play two or more sports. Through our Learning Beyond the Walls programs, our students take annual class trips to Washington DC, London England, the Grand Canyon, Orlando and New York City, with an annual mission trip to Quito, Ecuador.
Our beautiful 40-acre campus now boasts multiple state-of-the-art permanent buildings and extensive athletic facilities situated in a wooded park-like setting.
Our tuition and fees cover 100% of our operational costs. Through successful annual fund campaigns, auctions & galas, and capital campaigns, we have raised more than $16,000,000 over the past eight years to construct permanent buildings and enhance our educational programs without incurring long-term debt. Additionally, we have recently raised $5 million of the $8 million needed to begin construction on our next academic building.
Because we believe that students are uniquely and wonderfully made in the image of God, our exceptional faculty helps them find and develop their unique gifts and talents. Thus, our distinctive is offering a warm and close-knit community where students feel safe to be themselves and, ultimately, find their purpose in life.
God has blessed Woodlands Christian with a rising reputation in the community and a joyful spirit of Christ on our campus. Our students are thriving, in a community where they can build strong relationships, be transformed through the power of Christ and are celebrated for their unique gifts and accomplishments.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
The greatest compliments I hear from parents include comments like, “We couldn’t have raised our children so well without the teachers and coaches at Woodlands Christian.” “My child came out of his shell and thrived at The Woodlands Christian Academy.” “The faculty care so much about my child.” “My tuition was not a cost but an investment in my child’s eternal life.”
It has been a wonderful journey – partnering with the board, building a strong team, seeing the development of our campus, and rejoicing in the many successes of our students. I am humbled to remember that all of this might have ended in 2006, and none of us would have experienced the joy of being a part of this now flourishing school community.
Success, for me, has been watching God build the foundation of His school through the dedication and support of so many people over the years. I’m even more excited when I think about how He will use His school to prepare even more students to make a positive impact on this world for Jesus Christ.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5800 Academy Way
The Woodlands, TX 77384 - Website: www.twca.net
- Phone: 936-273-2555
- Email: jambler@twca.net
- Instagram: instagram.com/twcawarriors
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/
WoodlandsChristianWarriors - Twitter: @twcawarriors
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