Dr. Melanie Askew (@DidIASQ) - The Educator Entrepreneur: How To Start A Charter School

Élan Academy is a free public college preparatory charter school, Élan Academy Charter School currently educates prek4 through sixth-grade students. We will grow one grade level at a time to eventually educate pre-kindergarten through grade eight students in New Orleans, LA.

OUR MISSION

Through a classical curriculum, high-quality instruction, and leadership development, Élan Academy Charter School ensures that all students have the foundation necessary to thrive in secondary school, succeed in college, and access lives of opportunity.

OUR MODEL

We maximize individualization and propel early technology literacy through rich and frequent blended learning. We stand firm on three concepts - grammar, logic, rhetoric - and three components – structured learning, Great Books, spoken language. Our 21st-century approach to learning, joined with a classical curriculum, provides an innovative and powerful option for preparing students with the foundation necessary for lives of opportunity.

Melanie Askew is a dedicated educator who has spent the last several years working and leading in education. Beginning as a research assistant in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt's Peabody College, Dr. Askew confronted the large disparities across special education and gifted education for students of color. With the drive to close those gaps for all children, she has worked as a founding teacher, instructional coach, curriculum content specialist, adjunct professor, and educational consultant. Dr. Askew has a Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development, a Master of Education in Organizational Leadership, and a  doctorate in Leadership and Learning in Organizations,  all from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College.

She is a graduate of the inaugural cohort of the New Orleans Stand for Children Education Leadership Institute (ELI). She is a graduate of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans' Urban Leaders for Equity and Diversity (ULEAD) 2016 Cohort. With a committed founding team, she is humbled and driven towards the opportunity to open an excellent K-8 school that provides a quality option rooted in the voices of the community of New Orleans.

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