Community Celebration Campaign News: The Shappert Family
Larry and Cathy Shappert met within weeks of her arrival in Oak Ridge in 1959, after he had completed a graduate program at University of Michigan and she, at Louisiana State University. They married and raised their four children here, pleased with the well-rounded education the children received in Oak Ridge schools and with the high quality teachers who challenged their sons and daughters.
"I think we all feel very strongly that we had a very good education in Oak Ridge," said the Shappert's oldest child, Susan Saliba. Their mother, who died two years ago, and father believed education was especially important for their children, Saliba said, and the family wanted to honor her memory with a family contribution to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation for the new high school.
Her name will join those of other family members on the plaque listing them as Laureate contributors at the renovated and rebuilt Oak Ridge High School. Listed as contributors with their parents and in-laws will be Susan, ORHS class of 1979, Becky Luther, 1980, Stephen, 1984, Chris, 1990, and Chris' wife, Kristen, 1991.
Along with the contribution, Larry Shappert has also volunteered in the Education Foundation's Community Celebration Campaign this summer, sending post cards to his neighbors encouraging them to support the drive for the high school.
"I consider it an excellent school system," he said. "My kids have come out of there with such a good education." He was pleased to hear that plans for the new high school include not only recruiting great teachers and expanding the Advanced Placement program, but sharing the expertise of the high school's AP teachers with teachers throughout Tennessee and the region in summer training programs.
Shappert, who retired as senior engineer with National Transportation Research Center in 2003 after 46 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, now serves as a consultant to the program. He is also on the editorial staff of an international transportation journal.
"Now we are getting some good housing here, and education will be a big drawing card for younger folks," Shappert added. "And you look at the commitment that the people of the city have made toward the new high school, passing the increase in sales tax. Then there are the individual commitments of people who are contributing to this, and the contributions that companies have made have been a tremendous help. I think it is really very encouraging."
The Education Foundation has raised more than $6 million of its $8 million goal for the high school. With the $5 million pledged by the city's major Department of Energy contractors, more than $1 million from families and individuals, and almost $270,000 from local businesses, the Education Foundation has raised $6.34 million in the ongoing campaign. The Education Foundation also plans to raise $4 million for an endowment for Oak Ridge schools.
Permanent plaques in areas of the school especially designated by the architects will feature the business, individual, or family names of donors in five categories. Those categories are: Advocates, $5,000 to $9,999; Scholars, $10,000 to $24,999; Laureates, $25,000 to $99,999; Sages, $100,000 to $499,999; and Visionaries, $500,000 and up. Those who contribute up to $5,000 will be listed in a book of donors that will be permanently placed in the high school library. In addition to direct contributions, donors can pledge an amount with payments to be made over a period of five years through 2009.
Kristen Lucius Shappert, the Shappert's daughter-in-law, said ORHS was challenging and provided a great foundation for college. "Going to college was not a shock for me. So many people I talked to in the dorms said it was just killing them. They had never had to work that hard," Kristen said. "You just knew how to study and balance your time."
She and her husband Chris received undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Chris in mechanical engineering and Kristen in industrial engineering. Chris, who had a National Science Foundation scholarship for three years, received his master's degree from there also and now works at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, one of two Shappert children at a university research institute. Kristin, who received a master's degree from Georgia State University, is a program manager for Motorola there.
Susan Saliba is a group leader in the Materials Engineering Division at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. She and her husband Tony have three children. She received her undergraduate chemical engineering degree from Auburn University and her master's in materials engineering from University of Dayton.
Becky Luther, of Bristol, Tenn., received her undergraduate degree in home economics from Auburn University and her master's in sports physiology from University of Tennessee. A homemaker and mother, she and her husband David have three children.
Stephen, who is fluent in Japanese after a tour there with the music group Up With People and working previously with a Japanese-owned company, now works with a Columbus, Ohio, steel plating firm. He received his undergraduate degree in international business and transportation from Ohio State University. He and his wife Rhonda have three children.
The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2000, invests in the Oak Ridge Public Schools to ensure the highest quality of education for its students. The foundation, providing funds beyond public tax dollars for education, raises funds through grants and private donations to invest in enhanced educational programming, innovative technology, and state-of-the-art facilities for teachers and students.
For more information about making a donation to the Education Foundation, call the foundation office at 241-3667 or see the foundation's web site at http://www.orpsef.org. The Education Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization. It has an investment account and does accept gifts of appreciated stock. Call Lila Metcalf at the foundation office for information about making such a donation.