There are really two main reasons I founded Wonder Lab Academy, a prestigious private school serving the Kansas City Metro area in grades third through sixth.

The first reason is personal. Well, I guess both are personal, but the first reason is about me. When I was a little girl, most things did not make sense to me. Don't get me wrong: I was always thinking, questioning, and wondering. But in the 80s, as a little Black girl, curiosity wasn't something people wanted to tolerate. Classmates thought I was weird. They said things like I walked like I thought I was all that. I don't even know how you walk like that, but I do know my mother used to make me practice walking with a straight back and a book on my head in the evenings. 

I experienced a variety of emotions during school as a child, especially in elementary and middle school, where I was bullied significantly for many reasons. One reason being I was Black and didn't act the way people thought Black people were supposed to act, so I always felt like an outcast. But I didn't belong with white people either. In fact, in the fifth grade, I was told I was Black on the outside and white on the inside, that I was an Oreo.

These experiences, coupled with the fact that I don't remember many of my teachers taking an invested interest in me or pushing me toward the things I did naturally well, like writing, speaking, reading, analytical thinking, and creative thinking, left me feeling unseen. I don't know that anyone encouraged me to move toward my passions, and I think that is a shame. Of course I had amazing teachers, but not as many as you'd hope to have. Because here I am at 42 years old, only just now discovering that I can do anything, that I am brilliant, and that I should go after my dreams.

I am married with two children, a boy and a girl. Both of them are gifted. 

They are exceptionally talented and good at almost everything they try, without having to try very hard. I don't say that to brag (I post very little about them on social media). I say it because that is simply who they are. I don't know how they got this way. Still, I know that, like me, they deserve an educational setting that moves past what traditional education can offer and leans into what they can do and what they should be learning, individually and collectively. 

My children need to be built into the leaders they were born to be. They need to be allowed to be as creative as their minds want to be. At ten and seven years old, my son and daughter have accomplished a lot. They have won more awards and medals than I can count, and I need them to thrive, not just survive, in an educational setting.

Enter Wonder Lab.

One night I was sitting in bed thinking: where in the world am I going to send my son for middle school? I had been pretty disgruntled, there's been both good and not as effective, with the quality of education he had received so far, and as he approached the end of fifth grade, I started to panic. I knew I could not send him to just any middle school in the city, and even in the suburbs, I didn't feel those schools were sufficient for him. That's when it came to me. If it's not out there, I need to create it.

I started thinking, brainstorming, and envisioning the possibilities. What could I do if I really put my mind to it? Because like my children, I was never really challenged either. People thought what I was doing was great, but it took little to no effort on my part. I didn't even have to read the book to write an amazing paper about it. When you don't have to try very hard, and no one is pushing you, and you're not naturally driven to be the best of the best, you will allow yourself to function well below your actual level. I believe I've been doing that for a good portion of my life. I've had many accomplishments, and that's wonderful, but I know I could do so much more. And this is my first step.

Creating a school truly deserving of children like mine. Not just for my children, but for all the other children who are not getting what they deserve in their traditional academic settings for whatever reason, who are not being culturally affirmed, who are not being treated as the leaders that they are, who are not being taught to think critically, deeply, and analytically, and not to simply accept what they are told. Our children deserve educators who are passionate, because there are far too many who are not. There are far too many teachers just collecting a check. That is not the kind of educator I am. That's not the kind of educator I want to work with. And that's not the kind of educator I can respect.

At Wonder Lab Academy, we strive for excellence every day, with every child. We meet the needs of diverse learners. We culturally affirm children so they can grow into who they are meant to be. We use real-world learning experiences and partnerships with businesses, local foundations, and organizations to bring the world to them so that when they are old enough to step out on their own, they are well-equipped for success.

If you know anyone interested in supporting this unique and amazing educational opportunity for diverse, gifted, talented, and neurodiverse children, please visit our website at www.wonderlabacademy.org, where you can donate to our foundation, which provides scholarships for children with financial need.

Wonder Lab will be located in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, close to the Kansas City Streetcar. Students will be provided a wardrobe of uniform items and will learn to cook, teach, be financially literate, and engage in civic leadership. Students will learn how to change the world into what they want it to be. That is what Wonder Lab Academy does.

I would love to hear from you! Send me an email: info@wonderlabacademy.org