Frequently Asked Questions
Friendly Academy FAQs
Friendly Academy’s mission is to equip students with a quality and holistic education rooted in Love. As a proposed public charter school, Friendly Academy will be a free, open to all, families and not specifically provide a Christian education curriculum.
However, families will have the opportunity to opt into additional programming provided by the Friendly Temple community outside of regular school hours. With Friendly Academy, we have the opportunity and resources to serve the entire family with our model as a community-based school.
The school is being led by Dr. Tesha Robinson, who will be supported by our Friendly Temple Education committee and community partners as we prepare to open Friendly Academy.
Dr. Tesha Robinson is a former social worker, assistant principal and principal in Illinois and Missouri with over 14 years of school level experience. Dr. Robinson will report to a community board of volunteer directors that includes Bishop Jones.
Friendly Academy has a school building located in North St. Louis City.
Friendly Academy will be a public charter school and will receive local, state, and federal funding based on its enrollment, similar to other public schools. In addition, thanks to the diligent efforts of Dr. Tesha Robinson and our team, we have successfully secured a $2 million CSP-SE grant to support the school initiative.
Dr. Tesha Robinson is an Innovative Schools Fellow with the Opportunity Trust. Through this fellowship, we have received funding for school design and launch support and gained access to a network of high-performing school leaders locally and nationally.
Few schools in our community meet the needs of children and families, which is leading our families to move away in search of better and safer options.
Research* shows that one of the most successful ways to improve in schools is to design and open new innovative schools, and recent examples in St. Louis, such as Collegiate Academy opened by SLPS and Atlas Public Charter School, show that families are seeking quality options.
We believe our families in North St. Louis deserve access to new and innovative school options that so many families in other parts of the city are receiving and that they will enroll when offered such an opportunity.
We have built partnerships to secure funding for the startup costs of opening Friendly Academy. One funding partner is The Opportunity Trust , a St. Louis based nonprofit organization focused on ensuring every child growing up in our region has access to a quality public school.
The organization provides funding as well as technical assistance to educators and parents to improve and innovate in public schools, in addition to providing research, data, and policy support to elected officials. Bishop Jones is a member of the organization’s Board of Directors.
