Foundation Grants
Community Vital Signs
About Us
When Christa Hayes' kids shut down their public schools in 2020, the Montana math professor started hearing from parents seeking help for their children's schoolwork and wanting to find a way for them to meet in person while working through their remote public school curriculum.
So Hayes, who had been a mathematics professor at Montana State University for more than a decade, resigned her job and founded Peak Academy in 2021 as a nonprofit private school.
"My life is so much happier and richer now," Hayes tells Education Week, which visited Peak Academy earlier this week.
Peak Academy is a microschool, or small school that's typically less expensive and more individualized than a traditional private school.
It's currently home to 16 middle school students who spend their days learning academics, doing projects, and enjoying frequent field study with two full-time teachers, in addition to Hayes and other part-time instructors from the community.
Many of Peak Academy's students attend the nearby Bozeman Field School, one of the area's first schools to focus on project-based, outside experiential learning along with high-quality academic instruction.
"When we came here, I knew we weren't going to go to public school, and there were no outdoor, nature-based, academic-focused, academic
Read the Entire Article
Selected Foundation News
A customized collection of news from foundations from around the Web.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology calls it the "holy grail" of cancer treatment: the use of genetic testing to personalize care. But integrating such testing results into an electronic...more
Patients in the Portland, Ore., area will soon have a new health system to choose from. Oregon Health & Science University and Legacy Health have agreed to a merger that will create OHSU Health,...more
"There is no better way to offer experiential learning than to immerse students in an environment that challenges their thinking and enhances their nursing skills." That's the vision of Thomas...more
Nursing students at the University of Texas at San Antonio are getting a taste of what it's like to work in a real-life hospitaland they're not happy about it. The school's Center for Simulation...more
Two Canadian hospitals are teaming up with the University of Waterloo to try to "transform the health-care system locally," in the words of a press release. Grand River Hospital, St. Mary's...more
"These prestigious awards celebrate the efforts of Pennsylvania high school students to register their eligible classmates to vote and to hopefully launch them on a lifelong habit of voting,"...more
"Not only do these students get the opportunity to learn in an arts intensive environment and establish new friendships with like-minded young artistsbut they also return home to inspire those...more
Tom Swaninger is the superintendent of Arizona's Sedona-Creek School District, a post he's held since 2009. Jill Swaninger is an English teacher in the district and his wife, Jill Sharer, is also...more
"A career in television, film, digital media, and game design isn't simply about having excellent technical skills. It also requires entrepreneurial, reliability, and follow-through," says the...more
"We wanted an environment where our children could excel academically and build physical competence and confidence during the summer," Christa and Sunday Eniojukan say of the summer camp they...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Philanthropy as Key Enabler to Work on ‘Wicked Problems’
Australia’s Melbourne City Mission Chief Executive Officer Ric Holland writes how philanthropy can act as an enabler on many levels.