The Perry Family is Planning for the Future

Ford and Jeanene Perry love a good plan.

Sometimes it’s the simple, pragmatic decisions that lead to the greatest opportunities. Ford and Jeanene believe deeply in this idea. It’s a perspective they regularly share with their children, Web ’24 and Arianna ’27.

Perhaps it’s this approach of paying it forward that influenced the Perrys’ thoughtful investment in the CHARGING forward campaign. Even more inspiring? The family has only been at PD for two years. But in true Perry fashion, they saw an opportunity to invest and they took it.

“You want to build for tomorrow,” says Jeanene, a choreographer and instructor at Charlotte Ballet. “It takes planning. It takes money. It doesn’t just happen.”

Ford, a Managing Director at Wells Fargo Securities, echoes his wife’s notion. The first step toward growth begins with a structured plan that will move a project forward with clarity and precision. He and Jeanene heard such an approach for the CHARGING forward campaign while attending a new parent reception at Dr. Cowlishaw’s house.

“To me it was simple,” says Ford. “PDS has a vision and it’s clear that they are managing the process thoughtfully and strategically. There is a professionalism and discipline to the plan that we feel confident investing alongside it, especially knowing that there will be appropriate fiduciary oversight.”

New facilities are nice, and necessary, but they are so much more than just bricks and mortar. The Perrys understand new buildings and fresh spaces are really the manifestation of a school community’s commitment to the students they serve. With two children who learn in very different ways, the Perrys see the need for innovative, differentiated learning environments.

When she first toured the school with Lower School Head Erin Harper, Jeanene recalls a moment in one of the classrooms with mobile furniture when Erin spun a little round chair, looked her in the eyes and said, “Learning looks different nowadays and we embrace that here at Providence Day.”

“That really struck me,” said Jeanene smiling. “I thought ‘WOW’ and saw the new buildings in my mind as a tangible way to make that theme of ‘learning looks different’ a possibility.”

Ford shares Jeanene’s enthusiasm for new facilities as a vehicle for student success. “To me, the two most important aspects of the campaign were the facilities and the endowment securing the future,” said Ford. “I applauded the immediate impact on our children’s opportunities, and I saw the building providing the infrastructure for all students, now and in the future, to have extraordinary and varied experiences.”

The Perrys’ desire to invest in the future of Providence Day reflects how they see the world: a place full of possibilities. It does, however, take planning, professionalism, and commitment to move an idea from concept to reality.

“Providence Day understands the idea of how learning looks in 2018,” says Jeanene, “and I think they are able and willing to evolve those ideas.”

Ford and Jeanene are the parents of Web ’24 and Arianna ’27.

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