Nerd Academy's Roadmap to Success
Is it possible to conceive, create and launch a private school from scratch in less than 12 months? This is the story of how two parents did just that (with the moral backing and support of two addtional families who came along for the ride).A Nerdy Idea Has Hatched
Our girls were attending a private school where the admin refused to acknowledge and address a cyberbullying problem that was progressively getting worse. We opted to leave the school and enroll our girls in a different private school. We quickly found out that most private schools had a two year wait list or a lottery system. We started homeschooling and decided the best course of action was to open a private school that focused on teaching kids about the industry that drives our local economy and teach them about the city they are growing up in. The idea for Nerd Academy was born and we began doing research.
November 2023A Nerdy Idea Has Hatched
PetroSTEAM, CitySTEAM and More...
We began developing a STEAM program that was hyperfocused on oil and gas and urban development, something unheard of in STEM education. Most STEM or STEAM programs focus on robotics, programming and general topics. While we love STEAM, we wanted to make it relevant to West Texas so we continued our research and began developing the PetroSTEAM and CitySTEAM curriculum.
December 2023PetroSTEAM, CitySTEAM and More...
The NERD Educational Model: A Blueprint for Innovation
As we continued researching educational models we discovered that what we wanted to implement at Nerd Academy didn't exist, at least not in a cohesive manner. The N.E.R.D. Educational Model was born. We didn't just adopt existing educational models at Nerd Academy—we created our own. The NERD Educational Model—Next-Gen Education Through Real-World Design— is a unique synthesis of traditional education, cutting-edge technology, and industry-specific focus areas. It emphasizes real-world applications, ensuring that students not only learn concepts but understand how to apply them in practical, meaningful ways.
January 2024The NERD Educational Model: A Blueprint for Innovation
Refining the Bigger Picture
While we loved developing PetroSTEAM and CitySTEAM, we needed to establish a curriculum that would use TEKS Standards as metrics for what our kids needed to master at the foundational level. We decided to place a huge emphasis on literacy to help our kids develop strong reading, writing and math skills. This foundation would be crucial if we wanted our NERD Educational Model to succeed. From everything we researched, we knew that this is where the public school system was failing so we had to get this right.
February 2024Refining the Bigger Picture
Crafting Our Mission
Nerd Academy's mission is to empower the next generation to understand their world, engage with it passionately, and lead with integrity and curiosity. This mission is reflected in every aspect of our school’s curriculum, which is designed to go beyond traditional educational methods by integrating a specialized focus on the energy sector and urban development into a comprehensive STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education.
March 2024Crafting Our Mission
Nerd Academy, Inc + Non-Profit Status Application
We officially filed to register Nerd Academy, Inc., as a non-profit with the State of Texas on April 4, 2024. The IRS estimates a preparation time of well over 100 hours for a novice to prepare Form 1023. This was a great opportunity to put our Prompt Engineering skills to the test. Could our background and experience with AI help us complete the application in less than 100 hours? To our surprise we were able to fill out the form and submit it to the IRS in less than 10 hours. We received our tax-exempt status less than 6 months later.
April 2024Nerd Academy, Inc + Non-Profit Status Application
On the Hunt for a Building
The hunt for a physical location for the school began in February, but we began feeling the pressure around May. This is when we realized we only had a few summer months to find a location and set it up to look like a school. This is when we began having doubts about opening in time for the 2024-2025 school year. Officials at City Hall weren't much help when it came to details like fire suppression system installation criteria. We felt we were flying blind trying to find a suitable building.
May 2024On the Hunt for a Building
Established a Strong Foundation for Operations
Facility Partnership: We partnered with the Odessa Family YMCA to operate out of their fully equipped Learning Center, allowing us to begin operations seamlessly in a supportive and well-prepared environment. Our move-in date was set for October 1, 2024, in the meantime we had to find a temporary location if we wanted to launch Nerd Academy in September.
August 2024Established a Strong Foundation for Operations
The Ector County Library
Through a combination of homeschooling efforts and meetings at the Ector County Library we began meeting regularly with our first five students. The rules didn't allow us to rent any of the meeting rooms at the library but we got creative and used different parts of the library to begin assessing our students and giving them team-building activities. The kids adapted well to our non-traditional back-to-school approach.
September 2024The Ector County Library
IRS Determination Letter Arrives
The timing of the next sequence of events was nothing less than perfect. We were allowed to move into the YMCA's learning center on the same day our IRS Determination Letter arrived. We were officially a school and a tax-exempt organization. We also secured two passionate and qualified teachers who aligned with our mission of fostering curiosity, creativity, and student growth. The school year was off to a great start.
October 2024