Bridgewater Woman ‘Pays it forward’ Through Education

As a lifelong resident of Bridgewater, Lindsay Schambach had the good fortune of attending excellent schools offering her an education that would take her whereever she wanted to go.

And Schambach is thankful to her parents, Nancy and the late Joe Cullinan, for reminding her along the way how very lucky she was.

But Schambach said her parents also reminded her that others around the state and the nation did not have the same opportunities, and it was this awareness that inspired her to do something about it.

“Not only did I realize that I was very lucky to grow up in an area like Bridgewater, I also realized that many kids didn’t have what I had and so my focus shifted toward ensuring that all children get the same opportunity for education,” she said.

Now, at 28 years old, Schambach is a recipient of a Fisher Fellowship, which offers her the opportunity to develop her own charter school in Newark.

The Fisher Fellowship was granted through the Knowledge is Power Program [KIPP], a national network of open-enrollment and college preparatory public charter schools that focuses on the needs of students in underserved communities.

KIPP was established by Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, two former Teach for America fifth grade teachers who established the first KIPP schools in Houston and the South Bronx. Through this program, the two attracted the attention of Doris and Donald Fisher, co-founders of Gap, Inc.

In 2000, Feinberg, Levin and the Fishers partnered to create the KIPP Foundation, with a goal of training school leaders to replicate KIPP’s success nationwide. 

Currently, there are 109 KIPP schools in 20 states, serving 32,000 students, including four schools in Newark.

Schambach began her teaching career in 2005 as a corps member with Teach For America [TFA], and taught in the traditional public schools in Newark until this past school year.

Schambach later worked as coach and trainer for the newest corps of teachers, and in 2010 served as School Director for TFA, working with 60 corps members and 300 students.

And Schambach's charter school will be called THRIVE Academy.

“A charter school is a public school that is held to the same standards as any other public schools, but the difference is that the leaders of the school and teachers have greater autonomy," she said. "We are given the freedom to design and change the curriculum to meet the needs of the particular children in the school."

As outlined in her vision for the school, Schambach seeks to create a "socially nurturing and academically challenging culture," in which students can grow. 

"We hope to instill in them the values that will guide them through college as they become the next generation of socially conscious leaders," she said. 

"Our approach will include a rigorous, inquiry-infused, service learning curriculum, so that our students think critically about problems, develop unique solutions and value the process of learning," she added.

Schambach said the students will be in school for longer than they would in a public school.

"They will arrive at 7:30 a.m. and depart in the afternoon at 4:30 p.m.," she said. "Once each month, students and their parents will attend school on Saturday so that they can enjoy the experience of learning together, and classes will begin two weeks earlier than most public schools."

Schambach said she has made it a point to visit the students’ homes to better understand their hopes and dreams, and build relationships with the students, their parents and families.  

Schambach views the KIPP model as part of a journey toward the creation of higher quality public schools.

“Charter schools are not a magic bullet or solution," she said. "There are highly effective charter schools and ineffective ones. We need to focus on creating more high quality public schools, whether they are district or charter schools."

KIPP schools, Schambach said, allow for greater flexibility in exchange for accountability, and these schools operate on a set of core principles called "The Five Pillars,” which include high expectations, choice and commitment, additional time with teachers, the power to lead and a strong focus on results.

“As part of the fellowship, I attended a five-week summer institute at New York University in July that consisted of training on school operations and management," she said. "In the Fall, I will complete several training residencies at high-performing KIPP schools around the country before returning to Newark to build my new charter school from the ground up."

Thrilled by the opportunity, Schambach is one of a select few who have been chosen to establish her own charter school. Only 6 percent of those who applied to the program were accepted this year.

Schambach said a particular Bridgewater teacher also had a strong influence on her future plans.

“Kurt Barbagello was my high school psychology teacher," she said. "I very much wanted to be accepted into his advanced placement class, but my score was just a little below the acceptance rate."

Schambach said Barbagello believed in her and urged the school administrators to give her a chance.

“He took a chance on me and an interest in my life and that made me realize the profound impact that teachers can have on their students," she said. "They truly leave a footprint."

“This is what I want for the students in my school. I want our teachers to leave a lasting footprint on the lives of their students,” she added.

Schambach said there have been so many memorable and gratifying moments in her teaching career, but there is one that she will never forget.

In the city of Newark, Schambach said, one in 10 children are on a waiting list for admission to Team Charter Schools, which is considered one of the most successful charter school networks in the city.  

One of Schambach's students who was always pushing her to come up with more creative ideas became the catalyst for her journey that brought her where she is today.

“When I was working for Newark, I signed my student, Anijah, up for enrollment at Team Schools because 96 percent of the students that attend Team Schools go on to college, and after two years she remained on the wait list," she said. "At that point she said to me, maybe it’s time you open your own school."

“After I completed my last interview with KIPP and received a call that I was offered the fellowship, I received a call from her mother who told me that Anijah did get accepted after all," she added. "And she was so excited. All she kept saying was, ‘We did it Mrs. Schambach. Now my baby will be able to go to college.’”

For Schambach, that told her what she was doing was right.

“It all made sense then," she said. "I realized I was on the right track.”