Three Children and Forty-two Years: Priceless -
Leon Elliston

In 1979, W. Leon Elliston, M.D. moved with his wife, Bette, to western North Carolina from Winston-Salem. Dr. Elliston, an allergist, founded his professional practice, Regional Allergy & Asthma Consultants PA, in Asheville and Hendersonville, N.C. Regional Allergy has grown now to four doctors, three nurse practitioners, and twenty-seven staff. Elliston has always insisted on premier medical service to his patients and looked for that same excellence in a school.

In 1982, the Ellistons enrolled their first child, Andrew, in the pre-school program at Carolina Day School. They heard good things about the school and decided to give it a try. They were pleased with Andrew's first-year experience and kept going. Two years later, they enrolled Lauren in the program, and again three years later, they enrolled Audrey.

How did this happen? “We knew they had a very good preschool,” says Elliston. “Andrew's first two teachers, Genevieve Fortuna and Ginny Hamilton, were nurturing and enthusiastic. We were so pleased that we kept going… and going… and going. Next thing you know we had sent three children through 14 years apiece! That's 42 years of bonding to Carolina Day School.”

What makes Carolina Day School so special? To Leon Elliston, it is, above all else, the faculty. “What I really admire about the faculty is that they have the courage to open up to the kids, to allow themselves to be honest and loving,” he says. “That takes a lot of courage. They have the ability to find the unique goodness in each child and identify their budding strengths, then encourage them. That is something that's priceless to me.”

The intimate nature of CDS also contributes to its success with students, according to Elliston. “Because of small class size and close relationships with teachers, our children had a love of learning and trust in their teachers. From that they were ready to get to know their teachers when they got to college. They enjoyed learning.”

And they had tremendous success after CDS. If the proof is in the pudding, the Elliston children define the recipe for academic achievement. Andrew graduated from CDS in 1996, from Duke University in 2000, and is a senior in medical school at Loma Linda University (California); Lauren graduated from CDS in 1998, from Stanford University in 2003, and is in her second year of medical school at New York Medical College; and Audrey graduated from CDS in 2001 and from Claremont McKenna (California) in 2005 with a degree in psychology. She will work in Americorps for the next year.

Although the educational experience of their three children was “priceless,” the Ellistons wanted a more tangible and lasting way to say “thank you.” That opportunity came in 1996 while the school was in a capital campaign. One of the school's needs was to have professional development funds to allow faculty to travel to attend professional workshops or other educational explorations. It was a need that spoke directly to Leon Elliston: “The teachers work harder than they have to, serving as role models as well as teachers. It's a life work, a seven-day-a-week work. I was so thankful for their gifts of time and love to my children that I wanted to make sure they had the resources available to be able to keep the spark in their careers.”

And so, Leon and Bette created the “ W. Leon Elliston Endowment Fund to provide professional development funds for Upper School faculty with more than five years tenure with CDS.” They pledged over a five-year period to the fund, giving a combination of cash and appreciated stocks, and set up the award to be made annually at the discretion of the Head of School.

To date, there have been six recipients of the award. Tom Marberger, college counselor and history teacher, took a study tour to Europe to research issues related to World War II and the Cold War. Math teacher Candy Hardy visited two independent schools in Charleston, S.C. (Ashley Hall and Porter Gaud) to compare math programs. Hope Concannon, Ph.D., math and physics teacher, attended a workshop in Belmont, California, on teaching calculus-based physics. Chemistry teacher Bill Wolfe attended the American Chemical Society national convention in Orlando, Florida, focusing on recent developments in industrial, theoretical and educational chemistry. Sue Ellen Sims, drama and AP English teacher, attended a musical theater workshop in New York City for drama teachers and attend several plays. And Susan White, upper school English teacher, is using her award to help with her MFA in short fiction at Stonecrest, which is part of the University of Southern Maine.

The Ellistons are well pleased with the success of the endowed fund. “We set it up as a reward for teachers that had been there a number of years and were daily examples of caring and leading professionals,” says Leon. “It's already made a great impact. We're excited about Carolina Day School's future. We're glad to know that our fund will always be there to encourage the best from our finest teachers.”

Read other stories:
Bob Henson
Charlie and Don Reed