On Friday, February 24, Teach For America St. Louis hosted its 5th Lead in The Lou: An Innovation and Impact Happy Hour at Delmar DivINe. This year’s theme, “Innovation, Impact and Opportunity”, left attendees inspired by and informed about the work happening across the educational landscape in St. Louis.

Check out photos and read about the evening’s impactful turnout!

Lead in The Lou 2023: Innovation and Impact

This year, TFA St. Louis hosted its 5th Annual Lead in The Lou: An Innovation and Impact Happy Hour on Friday, February 24th at the Delmar DivINe. Over 80 attendees participated, including local and national alumni, education leaders and community members.

The evening included presentations from local districts and charter schools, universities and nonprofit organizations showcasing the innovative work being done in the St. Louis region. Participating organizations included:

• Atlas Public Schools
• East St. Louis School District 189
• Kairos Academies
• KIPP St. Louis
• Lafayette Preparatory Academy
• The Leadership School
• Momentum Academy
• The Opportunity Trust
• Premier Charter Schools
• The Show Me The World Project
• SKIP Designed
• St. Louis Language Immersion School
• St. Louis Voices Academy of Media Arts
• Teach For America’s Ignite Fellowship Program
• Washington University’s Institute For School Partnership

Before and after the presentations, attendees had the opportunity to network and visit the resource tables of the participating organizations. Following the event, 100% of survey respondents shared that they left more inspired by and invested in the work being done to strive for educational equity in St. Louis. And 100% reported that they would recommend attending Lead in The Lou to others.

“I love the layout of Lead in The Lou and believe that the schools and other programs have much to offer our St. Louis community,” shared Sierra Crayton, a participant of TFA St. Louis’ 2023 Aspiring School Leaders Fellowship. “Each presenter was given an additional opportunity to speak about their school's positive outcomes and impact. This was great practice for area leaders to communicate their vision and the impact their work is making on our students.”

Nilesh Patel, School Leader at Kairos Academies High School and LiTL presenter also said "I appreciate being given the platform/opportunity to present at Lead in The Lou. It felt like a great way to meet other folks in the sector.”