Staff

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At LEAD Academy, we believe that a passionate, well-trained teacher can be the lever that changes a child’s life. With that belief, comes an inordinate amount of work: from recruiting and hiring dedicated individuals, to providing them with the training, information and support they need to be effective, to supporting each other’s professional and personal development.

To say that we take this work seriously is to underestimate how deliberately we work to create a rich, intellectual life for faculty, from our teaching excellence program that supports a teacher’s individual needs–from lesson planning to diagnostic assessment and daily instruction—to honoring instructors not just on staff appreciation day but everyday in providing the materials, resources, and support they need to be successful.

What makes us different

Our results, impact, and mission make us different. The collective expertise, talent, and experience of our staff have helped us achieve incredible results for our students, prove that the achievement gap doesn’t have to exist, and create opportunities for individualized professional and personal growth.

At LEAD Academy, you will have the opportunity to build relationships with the best-trained, most motivated teachers, administrators, and support staff in the country.

Additionally, all staff can expect:

  • A Professional Work Environment: LEAD Academy is serious about treating instructors as scholars and professionals. The school provides instructors with office space, computers, phones, and administrative assistance from college interns.
  • Lesson Coaching: Instructors are encouraged to practice lesson autopsy—the meticulous design, dissection, observation and analysis of a lesson or unit with a peer or Grade Level group. Through this collaborative practice, communities of instructors enhance their skills by thinking deeply together about teaching and learning.
  • Collaborative Weekly Planning Time: Grade level instructors have common planning time every day and meet as a grade level at least once per week to collaborate on lesson planning, analyze student work, and review assessment data. Every Wednesday afternoon, school releases early so that all LEAD staff have the opportunity to share instructional challenges as well as their most effective instructional strategies.
  • Peer Observation and Feedback: LEAD Academy embraces a culture of feedback as a means to improve instruction. Instructors at LEAD Academy regularly observe other instructors within the school and consult with one another regarding strategies that are contributing to student achievement. A protocol guides the feedback provided to one another. Faculty members observe peers across grade levels and disciplines.

SCHOOL LEADER ARCHIVE

MS. FUTURE PRESIDENT

schoolblock-img1LEAD Academy is a school filled with dreams. I feel I can be whatever I want to be when I graduate from LEAD. THis school is filled with lots of love; teachers that want to help you. Our motto is “Whatever it takes.”  The students are encouraged to work hard, so that they will have enough LEAD Lucere at the end of the year to go on a special field study  to college campuses.  LEAD Lucere are given for positive behaviors and taken away for negative behaviors. Learning is so much better when everybody acts right. Last year I went to UT Knoxville and ETSU. It was really fun.

LEAD has high expectations and they are never lowered, no matter what. There are lots of schools in the world, but there isn’t a school better than LEAD Academy. My grades have never been better. I know that going to LEAD will help me to reach my goals in life. I love LEAD and I feel that LEAD loves me.

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FOLLOWING MY DREAMS

schoolblock-img3Hello, my name is Teiranie Buckingham, and I attend LEAD Academy. Going to LEAD has helped me achieve many goals. One of my first priorities was to get all A’s on my last quarter Report Card, and I was able to achieve that. Going to LEAD Academy has helped me achieve that goal by encouraging me to never give up and strive for what I want. My educators always told me to pursue my dreams, no matter how big or little they are.

When I grow up I would like to be a Surgical Doctor. I know that’s a hard goal to achieve, and I am nowhere near achieving it. However, my educators have prepared me by letting me experience the “College Life.” I have participated in many Service Learning activities; I have joined a Youth Club called NYLC (National Youth Leadership Council), I have also helped design a Youth Room for NYLC. I think that I am on the right track to becoming a positive example for other students here at LEAD. I think that I have the motivation and determination to achieve anything I put my mind to.

"I'm going to own a newspaper after I graduate."

schoolblock-img2I came to LEAD to bring my grades up and to become a better person. I also came here to have a brighter future; before I came here I didn’t even know what I wanted to be in life or what year I would graduate from high school. Now, with the help of the LEAD staff, I know what year I’m graduating (2014!), where I’m going to college (Stanford), and what I’m going to be in life (newspaper owner).

At LEAD we work as a team and we are like a big family. Every day we learn so many different things, not only academically but behavioral also. We work so hard to achieve our goals; we help people with their problems and we have a little fun too.My favorite part of the day is Crew. This is the time during the day when we gather as a small group and talk about our goals and accomplishments and talk about what makes us LEADers. If you want to learn more about Crew and what we do every day, click here.

One of the things I started here at LEAD was the newspaper, which we call the LEAD Story. You can read the LEAD Story here. Starting the newspaper and studying hard is helping me reach my dreams. When I grow up I plan on having a newspaper company or some kind of business and then come back and work at LEAD for a little.