What are King’s Academies?
King’s Academies are premier educational institutions designed to address the needs of children located in predominately African American communities. The King’s Academy mission is to transform, empower and awaken African American people, their communities, families and futures through education.  King’s Academies will operate under a number of financial structures ranging from public charters to privately funded institutions.

Why are you called King’s Academies?
African American children are direct descendants of captured and enslaved Africans- many of whom were royalty in their native home.  However, even those who had no known royal lineage can be said to possess the qualities of royalty given their strength and courage in surviving the middle passage and the brutality of slavery.  King’s Academy calls on all of its students to honor the great sacrifice of these Kings by committing themselves to rigorous study, the development and edification of the Black community including the elders of the community, self-determination and creative enterprise and to the study of Black history and the perpetuation of Black culture.  

Our name also holds social significance drawing on the life-work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  King’s Academy promotes a philosophy of non-violent direct action.  This commitment to non-violence is perpetuated through study of the works and writings of Dr. King.  At each grade level, students read and study one of Dr. King’s writings.  This study is accompanied with a grade-wide community and/or civic service project where students are encouraged to thoughtfully, non-violently and directly address issues of inequity and injustice.  

How are King’s Academies Different than other charter/private schools?
There are many schools throughout the U.S. (including many charter and private schools) that work to address issues concerning urban students in general.  Many of these schools have a mission of raising academic achievement and closing the achievement gap.  While the King’s Academy holds academic achievement as one of its greatest priorities- our mission is much broader in nature. This mission includes:

•    Addressing issues of identity by teaching students the unique and central role of Africans in the development and history of the Americas and the world
•    Teaching students their unique responsibilities as descendants of enslaved Africans
•    Helping students gain the tools to build and redevelop impoverished and underdeveloped communities
•    Addressing issues of mental and physical health associated with the stresses of institutional and individual racism
•    Preparing students for a wide variety of careers including the professions, business and trade
•    Addressing the unique social issues of the Black community including incarceration, poverty and violence
•    Helping students to navigate and engage in the global community- all students are required to reach fluency in at least one language besides English and all King’s Academy students will engage in an ongoing international speaker series where citizens from around the world are invited to come and dialogue with our students around important issues.
•    Helping students successfully navigate and deconstruct print, and digital media
•    Inculcating students with a philosophy of non-violence, service and self-determination

In short, our mission is not only that Black students leave our school with a world-class education, but that these students have a firm, secure identity, are grounded in their history, possess a tested and tried commitment to community development and empowerment and have a determination to bring about greater levels of peace, justice and opportunity in our society and in the world. 

Why is the King’s Academy Needed?
Each year billions of state and federal dollars are allocated towards education in this country.  Despite such monies, African American children continue to be the designated serfs of the American education system.  They are taught by fewer credentialed/licensed teachers, have less access to college preparatory courses, and are more likely to attend overcrowded schools in dilapidated buildings.  Many, many African American children respond to this neglect by both mentally and physically “dropping out.”

Are King’s Academy a return to segregated schools?
An entire generation of children has been educated in so-called desegregated schools throughout the US.  But, the promise of desegregation has not been fulfilled because of a number of realities.  First, when Black children were bussed into predominately white schools, many white parents removed their students from these schools-re-creating segregated schools. 

Second, even where white students remained, a “school within a school,” phenomenon ensued.  In such schools, white and more affluent students were placed on higher tracks, and given more access to honors and college-preparatory courses. To this day, most African American children attend segregated public schools.  A desegregated public school system in the United States is a mere conception- not a reality.

King’s Academies are not segregated schools.  However, we service students who once attended segregated schools in their own neighborhoods as well as those who were re-segregated within so called integrated schools.
 

Research shows us that educational opportunities are not distributed equitably throughout this country. Based on the color of a student’s skin, they can expect to be educated in a school with fewer credentialed teachers, fewer college preparatory courses, a higher number of basic skills courses and larger class sizes.  Far more devastating than these physical inequities are the psychological ones.  The negative effects of teachers’ attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about their students on learning outcomes has been documented again and again. In a real sense, pre- Brown segregated schools were better educational institutions for Black children than present day “desegregated” schools.  This is because these “segregated” schools provided an environment where Black children were cared for academically and psychologically- where the entire educational enterprise was invested in the success and rearing of each child. The King’s Academy embraces the spirit of these historical schools. Concurrently, we acknowledge the necessity of providing Black children with access to the best educational resources and opportunities.  Together- with strong cultural and identity development and equitable educational opportunities- King’s Academies provide a plan for equipping Black children to be active, critical citizens of the twenty first century and beyond. Please join us in this work.