DeKalb Brilliance Academy won the Moving Mountains Award during the Georgia Charter School Association’s 23rd annual conference on Wednesday, March 11.
Over the past three years, the school has delivered dramatic gains in early literacy, math proficiency, and overall academic outcomes while serving a high-need student population. What began as a focus on accelerated growth has evolved into sustained proficiency across subjects.
When the school opened in 2022, 78 percent of incoming second graders were reading at a pre-K level. Rather than lowering expectations, leaders redesigned instruction to accelerate learning. In the first year alone, 64.9 percent of students grew three or more reading levels. That momentum continued, with NWEA MAP math proficiency rising from 39 percent in Year 1 to 65 percent in Year 3, and ELA proficiency increasing from 30 percent to 58 percent. In addition, 100 percent of student groups met state improvement targets in the Closing the Gaps measure, reflecting meaningful progress across subgroups rather than isolated gains.
Despite serving one of the highest-need populations in the area, including high rates of poverty and students with disabilities, DeKalb Brilliance Academy now outperforms nearby traditional schools by 10 to 15 percentage points in proficiency on the Georgia Milestones Assessments. By Year 3, 75 percent of students were performing at developing or above in math, and 65 percent in ELA.
Three key strategies fueled this success: a two-teacher reading model grounded in the science of reading, early integration of career-connected and project-based learning, and a schoolwide culture of high expectations paired with a deep belief in student potential. Students engage in rigorous academics while building critical thinking skills, presenting their work publicly, and developing confidence as learners and leaders.
At DeKalb Brilliance, “moving mountains” means recognizing that unfinished learning does not reflect a lack of brilliance. The school builds foundational skills rapidly while nurturing the intellectual potential students have always possessed. It does not choose between catching students up and challenging them deeply—both happen together, showing that every student can grow, achieve, and thrive when supported with high expectations.
