DeKalb Brilliance Academy

Demographics

Percentage of students*

Why DeKalb Brilliance Academy was nominated

DeKalb Brilliance Academy is a new school that combines rigorous & relevant academics with social-emotional learning. They put all of this together through Entrepreneurial Project-based Learning, where students learn not only from their teachers and peers, but also directly from scientists, lawyers, engineers, and designers. The school's design principles are rigor and relevance, real-world projects, building leadership, honoring identities, exceptional teaching, and collaborative partnerships.", Our school will empower students to be leaders through combining rigorous & relevant academics with social-emotional learning. We put all of this together through our Entrepreneurial Project-based Learning, where students learn not only from their teachers and peers, but also directly from scientists, lawyers, engineers, and designers., DeKalb Brilliance Academy is a free K–4 public charter school (growing to K–8) that pairs rigorous academics with career-connected, project-based learning supported by real professionals in fields like science, engineering, medicine, and entrepreneurship. Through hands-on, community-rooted projects that build problem-solving, collaboration, and leadership skills, students learn how their brilliance can shape their futures and create meaningful change in South DeKalb.

Student experience design

- Honoring Identities: Our school honors students' identities and creates the predictable, safe learning environment students need to grow into their leadership. - Exceptional Teaching: We honor our teachers as professionals with high-quality teaching materials and significant time for collaborative planning and learning from each other. - Collaborative Partnerships: We treat our families and community as the valuable experts they are, and strengthen our school through early, frequent, and thorough partnerships. - Building Leadership: Through goal setting, reflection, and intentional skill development, teachers and students engage in the skills we need to collaborate and lead. - Rigor & Relevance: Our students have rich, complex experiences in humanities, math, and science to empower them to be critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. - Real-world Projects: Our teachers partner with community experts to create real-world learning. The same experts coach teams of students and are in the audience to celebrate students' work at the end of each semester.

Core Practices

Core Practices	Length of Use
Co-leadership	3-4 years
Community And Workforce Partnerships	3-4 years
Individual Learner Profiles	3-4 years
Project-based Learning	3-4 years

All Practices

Student Advisories

Anti-racist Practices

Assessments For Deeper Learning

Culturally Responsive Practices

Disaggregated Data On Student Participation

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Grading Policies Focus On Mastery

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Individual Learning Paths

Mental Health Services

Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics

Performance Based Assessment

High Quality Instructional Materials

Restorative Practices

SEL Integration School-wide

Universal Design For Learning

key reasons for innovating

Artifacts

Evidence of Impact Resource 2023 - 1 Y2 Q3 Visitor Packet.pdf Y2 Q3 Visitor Packet.pdf Portrait/Profile of a Graduate Resource 2023 - 1