Urban Preparatory Academy
Wichita, Kansas
Serving low income and working class families whose children would not have the opportunity to attend any school outside of the public schools.
Winner of 2022 STOP Award for Permissionless Education
About
Urban Preparatory Academy is a private, tuition-based, K-8 school that serves all students regardless of the family’s socioeconomic status or their past performance. Pastor Wade Moore came from a background of extreme poverty and adversity to become a leader in the US Army and Boeing Corporation. After purchasing a closed school building in an underserved community, his vision for serving students became a reality in 2014. Ninety percent of the student population – all Title 1 – come from the lowest performing schools in Kansas. They are academically challenged and on their way to special education in the public schools when Urban Prep puts a STOP to that track.
Their Story
The only African American private school in the state of Kansas prepares and empowers its students with a strong foundation and 21st century skills.
Wade Moore Jr.
Founder & Dean
I feel like each and every one of these children belong to me. I have a personal responsibility in making sure that they are whole in their education journeys and that they feel protected and secure.
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Why they stand out
Urban Preparatory Academy is the first private school in the Sunflower State serving black students. The Academy’s one-on-one approach to learning makes it one of a kind. And it’s no wonder the Academy has a robust waiting list. Students have access to a wide range of learning opportunities, combined with performing arts, as well as an athletic program that stresses school-wide participation and teaches the values of sportsmanship and fair play. Their curriculum combines the rigor of classroom education integrated with an online experience designed for a contemporary society. Students learn about character, ethics, empathy and self-esteem implicitly by studying and interacting with community businesses and leaders. Moore boasts that the students recite the pledge of allegiance every morning, because he thinks America is the best country on earth–and wants his students to know that too.
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How they STOP for education
Transformational, customized, personalized approach to education provides individual assessment of each student to develop an individual learning plan to get students on grade level and beyond.
Prepare and empower their children with the necessary skill sets to function in a rapidly changing world.
Instrumental in the passage of Kansas’s tax credit scholarship program, Urban Preparatory Academy ensures every family has access to scholarships to ensure a great education and, along with its expansion plans, is on its way to sustainability.
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Winning their award
Urban Preparatory Academy plans to scale to 12th grade and open a second campus. The Academy’s founder will focus his advocacy on improving the state’s public charter school law and to expand the tax credit scholarship program. The Academy currently serves 135 students but with the Yass Prize, it is “UP” to the challenge of serving at least 500 more students in Kansas City and in Arkansas.
