Founder Markus Baskerville is launching a community-driven movement designed to expand educational opportunities for students and families while creating an unconventional, supportive new environment for teachers in East Fort Worth, Texas.
Nationwide — A new education movement is being launched in East Fort Worth with the development of Innovations Leadership Academy (ILA) and the Million Strong Initiative, a community-driven effort focused on creating greater educational opportunities for students, families, and teachers. Founded by educator and school leader Markus Baskerville, Innovations Leadership Academy is a nonprofit private school planned to open in August 2027. The movement is designed to particularly expand opportunities for Black and Brown families, underserved communities, and educators seeking a truly supportive yet different kind of educational environment.
The effort is based on the belief that meaningful educational change requires more than creating another school but starting an actual movement. It requires bringing families, educators, businesses, community organizations, and supporters together around a shared vision for children to increase in academic achievement and actual teacher support to accomplish that mission. Innovations Leadership Academy is being developed around the belief that students should have access to schools where they are known individually, academically challenged, supported by their teachers, and provided opportunities extending beyond traditional classroom instructional practices.
It is planned as a K–8 nonprofit private school, beginning with elementary grades K-4 during its initial year. The school plans to maintain classes of no more than 14 students per teacher, providing educators with greater opportunities to understand individual student needs, monitor academic progress, and provide targeted instruction and intervention the correct way. The academic program is expected to combine strong foundations in literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies with a technology-rich learning environment and a blended-learning and station-rotation instructional model. Students are also expected to have access to STEM, robotics, technology, entrepreneurship, art, physical education, music and a music production studio/classroom, along with enrichment activities, educational field trips, guest speakers, community programs and learning experiences outside of the traditional classroom.
At the center of the emerging movement are three groups: students, families and teachers. For students, Innovations Leadership Academy is being designed to offer smaller learning environments, individual attention, academic support and opportunities to explore their talents through technology, entrepreneurship, STEM, robotics, music, arts and enrichment programs. For families, the school seeks to create an additional educational option in East Fort Worth while helping families understand resources that could make private education more accessible. ILA also plans to help qualifying Texas families understand programs such as the Texas Education Freedom Accounts, which may provide eligible families with state-supported funds that can be used toward approved private-school tuition and other qualifying educational expenses. For teachers, Innovations Leadership Academy is being designed to create an environment where educators can spend more time teaching, developing relationships with students and families, collaborating with colleagues and responding to individual student needs.
“Families should not have to choose between wanting something different for their children and being able to afford that opportunity,” Baskerville said. “Teachers also deserve environments where they have the time, support and resources to truly teach. This movement is about bringing those needs together and building something that serves students, families and educators.”
The Million Strong Initiative
Helping drive the movement is the Million Strong Initiative, a fundraising campaign being developed to mobilize individuals, businesses, corporations, foundations and community organizations around the creation of Innovations Leadership Academy. The initiative has established an ambitious long-term fundraising goal of $15 million. Its premise is simple: major educational change does not have to begin with a small number of large donors. It can also happen when large numbers of people decide that creating better opportunities for children is worth supporting.
The initiative is intended to give individuals an opportunity to become part of that movement at virtually any level of giving while also creating opportunities for significant corporate, foundation and philanthropic partnerships. Funds raised through the initiative are intended to support and facilitate families receiving free tuition and free school uniforms, school facilities, renovations, classroom furniture, instructional resources, technology, STEM and robotics equipment, the music production studio and updated classrooms, staffing, professional development, student programming, and other startup needs required to develop and operate Innovations Leadership Academy.
The Million Strong Initiative is separate from programs designed to help individual families pay private-school tuition. While programs such as Texas Education Freedom Accounts may help qualifying families access approved educational opportunities, the Million Strong Initiative is focused on helping build the school, programs, technology, infrastructure, and educational environment those students and families will experience.
Baskerville believes East Fort Worth can become the starting point for a broader movement demonstrating what can happen when communities intentionally build new educational opportunities around the needs of children and educators. “This is not simply about opening one school,” he says. “It is about starting a movement for students who need opportunities, families who want choices, and teachers who want environments where they have the autonomy so they can do their best work. That movement can start right here in East Fort Worth, Texas.”
Innovations Leadership Academy is currently developing partnerships, building community awareness, raising startup funding and preparing for its planned August 2027 opening in East Fort Worth, Texas. Individuals, businesses, corporations, foundations, educators and community organizations are being invited to learn about Innovations Leadership Academy and become part of the Million Strong Initiative.
About the Innovations Leadership Academy
Innovations Leadership Academy is a nonprofit private K–8 school planned for East Fort Worth, Texas. The school is being developed around small class sizes, strong academic foundations, technology-rich instruction, STEM, robotics, entrepreneurship, art, physical education, music, a music production studio/classroom, enrichment opportunities, and whole-child development. ILA plans to open in August 2027. Learn more at https://link.me/innovationsleadershipacademy
About the Million Strong Initiative
The Million Strong Initiative is a community fundraising movement supporting the development and launch of Innovations Leadership Academy. The initiative seeks to unite a million or more individuals, families, educators, businesses, corporations, foundations, and community organizations around expanding educational opportunities for children and supporting the development of the facilities, technology, staffing, programs and resources required to launch the school. Learn more at https://givebutter.com/fund-new-resources-for-our-community-lswvgs
For press inquiries, contact info@innovationsschools.org