Ensights Magazine

Daphne Butler family

Parent Spotlight: Daphne Butler

the Ensworth Parent Association
The Ensworth Parent Association is spotlighting three Ensworth parents who are building our community one smile at a time.
Why did you choose to send your four children to Ensworth? 
Ensworth is a happy place.  You see it in the faculty and the kids. And there is something extraordinary here for everyone. How can you argue with that?
 
You have been a room parent/parent coordinator for too many years to count and have served on just about every Parent Association committee. Why do you share your time and talents for the benefit of Ensworth?  
Community plays a huge part in ensuring the health of the individual. I think it is really important for a school community to have a strong culture and I choose to volunteer in ways that will impact the culture at Ensworth.  I like having a little hand in organizing the parents and making sure everyone feels welcome. That’s a big thing for me. When I served as sixth-grade coordinator, I called all of the new families. Through those conversations, I realized that as great a job as the school does communicating with parents, personal connection is the most important piece of making a new family feel welcome. I LOVE the Tiger Buddy program and New Parent Support Committee for this very reason. 
 
What did you learn about Ensworth and yourself when you substitute taught and worked as a Kindergarten intern?  
I learned that teaching is one of the hardest professions in the world.  I am in awe of teachers, and Ensworth is filled to the brim with outstanding ones. I spend a lot of time in Nashville schools, and the caliber of teachers at Ensworth is a standout in my opinion. Plus, the faculty body is a really happy bunch—all clearly happy to be at Ensworth—that in and of itself speaks volumes about the school’s excellence. Through my experience as a seventh-grade Spanish sub for Sra. Gould, I realized how much I enjoyed working with teens, in particular middle school-aged children. I am now in the process of getting my master's in counseling so I can focus on cognitive behavioral therapy for teens.
 
Besides Ensworth, what other organizations do you support?  
I am passionate about educational equity in Nashville. Only one in three children in Nashville’s Public Schools is reading on grade level by third grade. I believe this is the product of an ecosystem that has failed to provide high-quality education - for decades. This seems unfair to me, so I spend a lot of my time with organizations (like Teach for America) that are dedicated to changing that reality. 
 
What is one thing that parents might not know about you? 
I am terrified (no doubt for having seen both “Jaws” and “River Monsters”) of swimming in opaque waters!
 
What inspires you? 
Altruistic people.
 
How do you strive to lead a healthy and balanced life?  
I try to get healthy doses of exercise and laughter every day—those, of course, to offset my entirely unbalanced, disorganized life!
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Red Gables Campus (K–8)

Nashville, TN 37205
(615) 383-0661

Frist Campus (9–12)

Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 301-5400
Ensworth is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade, independent day school.