Village Leadership Academy

Tomorrow belongs to the children who are prepared today.

Enroll today

Discover a partner in the future of your child. Enroll your scholar for the 2024–2025 school year today!

We are committed to empowering compassionate global leaders.

Village Leadership Academy (VLA) is an independent kindergarten through 8th grade social justice institution located in Chicago, IL. VLA offers a fresh new approach to teaching and learning that includes high academic standards, exposure to world history and geography, appreciation for cultural differences, the development of critical thinking and perspective taking skills, and socially just decision making. We are cultivating tomorrow’s global leaders by providing students with education and opportunities that prepare them to lead today.

We are proud to announce the acquisition of the revered Hales Franciscan campus, an iconic institution located at 4930 S. Cottage Grove Avenue in the heart of Chicago’s historic Bronzeville community. ITAV received a total of $12M in capital from IFF and the Chicago Community Loan Fund to acquire the 9.1-acre campus and complete renovations to the 100,000-square-foot building located on the site. The project–the first of five phases of construction planned for the campus– will make it possible for ITAV to consolidate several of its programs into one location.

The first phase will allow ITAV to bring its kindergarten through 8th-grade social justice elementary school, Village Leadership Academy, to Bronzeville, preparing to serve 300 students in fall 2024. After the next two phases of renovations are completed to the campus, ITAV will create 150 new early childhood education slots and 220 seats for high school students– completing a strategic goal to offer a birth to career pathway.

Stay updated on our progress!


Student during a demonstration on the Chicago CTA

Social Justice Curriculum

The VLA social justice curriculum encourages a critical examination of social and political structures through an exploration of world histories that centers culture and systems of global interaction and exchange to strengthen understanding of contemporary society.    Learn More

World scholars students looking at a mountain on a trip to Guatemala

World Scholars Program

For VLA students, the world becomes a classroom through the World Scholars Program (WSP). WSP is a culturally immersive experience that expands and deepens students’ education foundation through the critical examination and exploration of the social, cultural, political, and economic histories of an international community of focus.   Learn More

GrassRoots Campaigns

VLA students are expected to positively transform their communities. GrassRoots Campaigns (GRCs) are an essential component of the social justice curriculum at Village Leadership Academy where every student participates in a comprehensive yearlong service-learning project designed to address a social, political, and/or economic issue impacting their communities.    Learn More

PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE

Vision & Mission

Gradelink Portal

Tuition

Prospective Student Form

Meet our leadership team

M. Ekundayo Harris

VLA Principal

Oyafunmi Konibaje

VLA Vice Principal

News & Blog

THE PANDEMIC HAS AWAKENED A SENSE OF ATTUNEMENT WITHIN ME  REGARDING THE EDUCATION SERVICES MY CHILDREN ARE RECEIVING AND HOW THOSE SERVICES ARE IMPACTING  MY KIDS. THAT SAID, I FEEL EASE AND CONTENTMENT WHEN I DROP OFF MY KIDS IN THE MORNING, AND  GRACE WHEN THEY GET IN THE CAR AND PROVIDE ME WITH THE DAILY UPDATE. VLA PROVIDES A HOLISTIC  APPROACH, GROUNDED IN INTENTIONALITY AND LOVE.

ON THE WAY HOME FROM THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AT VLA, WHEN MY HUSBAND ASKED JOCELYN HOW WAS HER DAY, SHE EXCLAIMED, “IT WAS AMAZING!”  HER TRANSITION FROM THE ONLY SCHOOL SHE HAS EVER KNOWN TO VLA HAS BEEN SEAMLESS. SHE LOVES HER TEACHERS AND HER NEW FRIENDS. 

ITAV’s teachers are truly a third parent in raising our kids and an essential part of our family! We not only lean on them for childcare, we turn to them for emotional support as parents, laughs after a stressful day at work, and honest feedback about what our kids need that we might be missing.

Ruth Shannon
Parent of a Student
Village Leadership Academy
Talina Parker
Parent of Student
Village Leadership Academy
Jessica & Robert
Clinical Psychologist, CPS Teacher
ITAV Parents

Enroll today

Discover a partner in the future of your child. Enroll your scholar for the 2024–2025 school year today!

it takes a village