LEAD Academy had a great event to begin its capital fundraising campaign. The night featured a tour of the school, plans for the future, a word from Executive Director, Erik Estill, as well as a debut of the campaign video.
The campaign has a fundraising goal of $500,000. This money will be used to support the costs of expanding LEAD. Since LEAD opened in 2019 as the first charter school in Montgomery, it has seen an exponential growth rate. LEAD serves as an innovative alternative to district and private schools.
LEAD currently has just over 700 scholars and plans to expand to over 1300 scholars in the next several years. Scholars at LEAD are pushed by teachers who care and who want to see them succeed. Teachers at LEAD are accomplished and provide scholars with the tools they need to be knowledgeable, productive, and well-rounded citizens. Our teachers at LEAD are top-notch and that was shown at the campaign event.
During the night, Principal Webster and Mr. Shumaker gave a tour of the school showing the community the value of LEAD. From the Pre-K and portable classrooms to the playground, a thorough tour was given to each guest. During the tour, each guest had the opportunity to hear from teachers. They shared their heart for LEAD Academy and each had the opportunity to show off their scholars’ work as well. This offered great insight into what LEAD looks like on a day-to-day basis and the high-quality education it offers.
Community members met Mrs. Hall in her STEAM classroom. She shared about the coding projects that her scholars are currently working on. STEAM-based learning is an innovative approach to learning that LEAD embraces. Mrs. Hall’s scholars learn about science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math which prepares them to be leaders of the 21st century.
They also met 4th Grade teachers who were able to beam about their class and how proud they are of their scholars for their ability always to be learning. The team of teachers showed off their expertise and it is easy to see they are a good team and they know how to get things done. They were even able to show off a recent scholar’s project on Alabama counties. One community member on the tour even commented that they wished they were in 4th grade again to have such enthusiastic teachers.
LEAD’s new playground was also a stop on tour. Our scholars, especially the younger ones love the new addition to the school. Preschoolers at LEAD even have tricycles that they are able to ride around the playground for an outdoor classroom. The new playground is just one example of how LEAD is continually expanding and improving the experience for its scholars. But this can’t happen without the support of the community.
Investing in education is investing in the future. Serving more families in Montgomery is what LEAD strives to do. Every child deserves a quality education. Help LEAD continue to be a place where scholars succeed and pave the way for scholars today. With determined and dedicated leadership and teachers, this is just the beginning of LEAD Academy.
