GLOW Academy announces plans to provide more equitable access to high quality education

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — As GLOW Academy’s inaugural class of students prepares for high school graduation in 2023, the Board of Directors of GLOW NC, the nonprofit foundation that supports the school, is changing its name and broadening its mission to provide earlier and more equitable access to high quality education.

The new foundation, Beacon Education, is informed by the seven years invested in creating GLOW Academy, as well as compelling data.

On average, students at GLOW are beginning the sixth grade at more than three years behind their grade level. And ProPublica, in 2018, using data from the U.S. Department of Education, found Black students in New Hanover County were academically three grades behind white students.

Therefore, to have the transformative impact envisioned in closing the county’s opportunity and achievement gaps, Beacon Education will open four or five co-ed, mixed income early childhood education centers over the next three years, the first in July 2023. In approximately four years, the foundation will open a co-ed elementary school, and later a middle and high school for boys.

The Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington, GLOW Academy, opened in 2016 with its inaugural sixth grade class. The middle and high school is one of 21 groundbreaking single-gender schools across the country that follow a proven educational model developed for girls from predominantly underserved communities who are often the first in their families to attend college.

Beacon Education CEO Todd Godbey announced the new name and its goals to guests attending a fundraiser on Friday. “Our Board spent a couple of years considering data and community need to determine how to make the greatest impact in our community.

Together with GLOW faculty and community leaders, it became clear that we need to start earlier to address the inequities in education that cause the opportunity and achievement gaps.” Mr. Godbey also sits on the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board.

Beacon Education’s early childhood education schools will provide high quality programming for children six weeks through pre-kindergarten. The co-ed, mixed income program will offer sliding scale scholarships for families in need and provide proven, high-quality educational programming to draw families with financial means.

Each center will accommodate approximately 150 students. Geographic locations will be targeted for access and appeal, with the first location to be announced later this summer.  A community health care clinic will also be on site, and a community farmers market will frequently be offered on weekends.  The first of Beacon Education’s early childhood centers will open in July 2023.