Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Southwest Leadership Academy (SLA) is to foster the next generation of community leaders by providing a unique and innovative educational program that offers rigorous academics and leadership development to provide hope, excitement, and changed life outcomes to elementary and middle school students in Southwest Philadelphia.

Through highly trained and motivated teachers, our students will receive a standards-based, research-proven curriculum focusing on core subjects that will create a strong foundation for life-long learning. All students will be inspired to achieve and their progress will be closely monitored with various forms of assessment at each level.

SLA intends to educate and encourage our students by showing them their innate importance and possibility through leadership and character development, service-learning, civic engagement, moral skill building, and career education. Additionally, our single-sex instructional model ensures that each child is able to disengage from traditional social pressures and focus on personal and academic development.

VISION STATEMENT

Recognizing that the future of our community is dependent upon the development of our youth, the vision of SLA is to build leaders one child at a time by changing their definition of reality. These young leaders will become the vehicle to complete community rejuvenation. SLA will bestow upon our students the leadership skills and academic proficiencies needed to lead themselves out of their current reality and positively impact Southwest Philadelphia, thereby beginning the permanent transformation of the community.

PHILOSOPHY

SLA believes that:

• Every child is a nascent leader waiting to be fostered.
• Every child is capable of high academic achievement.
• Every child can positively impact and contribute to the school and community.
• A collaborative learning environment with teachers, parents, and school staff is integral to every child’s education.  
• Inclusiveness and an appreciation for both our own and other cultures strengthen the learning process
• Every child needs a positive and hopeful definition of reality in order to succeed.