Academics

DLA is driven to ensure all students are provided with high-quality instruction, every day, that allows them to meet and exceed growth expectations and grade level norms. Each day, we are challenged with the responsibility of shaping the life trajectory of students and families, who entrust their minds, to our care. This is no easy feat; at DLA, we accept this challenge with privilege, gravity, and urgency. We stand firm in the belief that our students can do anything we teach them to do.

To actualize this conviction, Detroit Leadership Academy is working to implement an academic model that borrows best practices from top performing charter networks across the country, that puts teachers at the center of a dynamic and thoughtful system of support. Bottom line: passion is not enough. Teachers must have the will AND the skill.

Behavior, like academic content, is learned over time and in order for one to be successful, the other needs to be as well. The behaviors that students engage in can tell you if students feel safe, if they feel like they belong, and if they take ownership of their own education. The student support team throughout the network aims to aid teachers and administrators to achieve success, keeping the whole child in mind.

We are committed to supporting excellent work across our school, doing whatever it takes to ensure teach- ers have the tools and professional learning necessary to achieve ambitious academic outcomes for all stu- dents. In turn, we expect that our staff deeply fix their minds on our common purpose: building students’ confidence and competence so they can build the life they choose.

In a child’s life, it is essential that all areas and moving parts work together to ensure that child reaches their full potential and success. At DLA, we believe that academic success is not attainable without the sup- port and interworking of what the child is needing in all areas of their life.