Life coach Maya Cotton invited a group of graduation candidates to take a break from their studies and join her in a circle. Outside, the city of Odessa and the oilfields of West Texas spread out far below the 6th floor conference room.

Melisa Chupp has eight children ranging in age from 7 to 17, all adopted through the foster care system. Each comes with a history of turmoil in their home lives, and Chupp is determined to give them the opposite — at school as well as in their new family.

For Velliesa Castellano, the traditional in-person and online school opportunities just didn’t work. Only when she found her way to Bethel Acceleration Academies and its blend of the two approaches did she hit her stride.

When Rufus Wallace was at a traditional public school, he struggled to maintain focus. And with so many other students, it was hard for his teachers to provide the kind of one-on-one help he craved.

Cassius Murray is a quick study — so quick that they can lose ground when asked to move at the same pace as most of their classmates. “I almost ended up failing 8th grade math because I knew all the stuff and lost focus.”

The new director of Escambia County Acceleration Academies is a career educator. But that doesn’t mean he’s always been keen on education.

Before Aleizha Keliikuli-Kuhia (they/them) and their family moved to Las Vegas from Hawaii in January, they lacked the motivation to show up for class, do homework and lay the groundwork for their future.

Each month, we take a moment to learn from the educational leaders who bring the Acceleration Academies mission to life, day in and day out. This month, we asked our academy leaders to respond to this prompt: What was a highlight of the last three months at your academy?Here is what they had to...