Kevin's Blog

I've known Zion Hughes (pictured above with her parents) since she entered our school (of choice) as a kindergartner. This past May, she completed her high school career with us AFTER earning a full associate degree from Ivy Tech Community College and AFTER completing nearly a full bachelor's degree at Indiana University Northwest. Soon, Zion will be a special education teacher for us.

Over 1,700 athletes have broken the 4-minute mile. Twelve Americans have walked on the moon. Tom Brady has seven Super Bowl rings. All rare feats.

Guess how many high school students have earned a full bachelor's degree BEFORE graduating from high school? Four! And, all four are from a GEO Academy in Gary, Indiana.

More than 60% of our network's 2025 graduates earned more than a high school diploma during their careers in GEO's Indiana and Louisiana high schools--at no additional cost to them, nor the taxpayer.

GEO has set the standard for the rest of the state on what students can complete in high school and the incredible capability of young people," Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech Community College (and former Lieutenant Governor of Indiana) told the NW Indiana Times during our scholar celebration last week in Gary, Indiana.

After perfecting our model for the past 20 years, we are excited to announce this week our "Debt Free College Degree Guarantee" to all students attending a GEO Academy.

For years, we have helped students understand they are capable of earning a college degree. Our model goes beyond the talk of college and actually places students in real college classes on college campuses, too. As a result, we've seen a growing number of students earning associate degrees (110 so far) and now, a growing number of students earning bachelor's degrees (four so far) while in our high schools.

This has been an exciting week. On Tuesday, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted unanimously to approve our application to help the state turnaround failing schools. State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley reported to BESE members that GEO met all 110 standards in the state's rigorous application--100%.

I woke up today to see one of our alums featured on the front page of the Northwest Indiana Times (pictured above) and then to see two more of our alums featured on page 3 of the Times. Why were they featured? They made Black history!

GEO's 21st Century Academy in Gary is proud of the role we played to help these superstars make national history by earning full bachelor's degrees BEFORE graduating from our high school.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, only 19% of students at public 4-year institutions graduate within the “normal” 4-year window. The percentage jumps to 62% graduating within 6 years.

With that in mind, I'd like to introduce you to sisters Quintasia and Quinniece. Quintasia graduated from our Baton Rouge high school in 2023. Quinniece graduated from our high school in 2024.

Twenty years ago, GEO Academies opened the doors to 21st Century Charter School in Gary, Indiana. The city's leadership was worried about the city's chronic high school dropout rate of 50% and asked GEO for help. Today, we regulary post the best graduation rates in the city, averaging 90% or better over the past 10 years.