Where Curiosity and Ingenuity Thrive
Cultivating academic excellence, identity, and creativity
Our Founders:
Pastor Geremy Dixon
Pastor Geremy has served as an associate and now Lead Pastor for over 20 years at Center of Hope LA in Inglewood, CA. Known for his approachable demeanor, and common sense approach to Kingdom living he has the unique ability to connect with individuals from all walks…
Dr. Stefanie Baker
Dr. Stefanie C. Baker has over two decades of experience in educational leadership, strategic planning, and student-centered program development. She brings a proven ability to lead diverse teams, drive equitable outcomes, and build systems that elevate student success…
Our Foundation
Our Mission
We are a premier TK–8, Christ-centered, learning community dedicated to cultivating lifelong learners and visionary leaders.
Our Vision
We empower students through a holistic education that combines academic excellence with entrepreneurial skills.
Our Values
We cultivate a culture of care and collective excellence
We value the unique frames of reference of each community member.
We actively mine for strengths and use strengths as leverage for growth.
We believe that mistakes are part of learning, and meet mistakes with grace, curiosity and redirection.
Our Growing Team
Dr. Stefanie Baker
HOPE ACADEMY Scholars are empowered to explore
-Dr. Stefanie Baker
Executive Director of Schools
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Principal
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TK Lead Teacher
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Kindergarten Lead Teacher
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Assistant Teacher
Office Administrator
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Our Programs & Services
About Our Instructional Program
Powered by The Pedagogy of Confidence™, we center academic excellence while nurturing identity, voice, and agency. Our students thrive in a rigorous, culturally sustaining environment that blends traditional disciplines with entrepreneurial training. At HOPE education elicits student engagement in analyzing societal trends and future forecasting while equipping scholars to innovate, lead, and transform their communities and the world.
About Our 2026/27 Services
HOPE ACADEMY will open in Fall 2026 with one Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and one Kindergarten class. We will add one grade level each year until 8th grade. Our growth model is designed to ensure steady growth supported by adequate resources, staff, and facilities to maintain the quality and stability of our program.
Welcoming Scholars who will be 4 years old on or before September 1st of the school year.
Welcoming Scholars who will be 5 years old on or before September 1st of the school year.
Before School (7:00am to 8:30am) After School (3:00pm to 6:00pm)
Powered by the Pedagogy of Confidence™
Powered by the Pedagogy of Confidence™
The fearless expectation and support for all students to demonstrate high intellectual performance, through the High Operational Practices of The Pedagogy of Confidence™.
Dr. Yvette Jackson
HOPE ACADEMY
Senior Scholar
Yvette Jackson, winner of the 2019 GlobalMindEd Inclusive Leader Award, is the author of her seminal work, The Pedagogy of Confidence™: Inspiring High Intellectual Performance in Urban Schools, which received the 2012 ForeWord Reviews’ Silver Book Award. Yvette Jackson is internationally recognized for her drive to provide and promote pedagogy that supports and celebrates educators in fulfilling their commitment as “gifted” teachers and administrator leaders to elicit innate potential and engagement from ALL their students. As a mentee of the renowned cognitive scientist, Dr. Reuven Feuerstein, she has applied his guidance, and that of neuroscience, to her research in gifted education, equity consciousness, and mindfulness to develop the assets-focused High Operational Practices™ that engage high intellectual performances from all students to inspire and cultivate their strengths for learning, self-determination, and personal achievement.
Meet the Rest of Our HA Senior Scholars
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Augusta Mann
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Dr.Nicole Joseph Russel
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Aija Simmons
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Dr. LaGarrett King
Our History of Community Engagement
The legacy of HOPE ACADEMY is woven deeply into the fabric of the Los Angeles community. In 1972, Dr.Benjamin F. Reid, Pastor of First Church of God, established First Church of God Christian School with the intent to provide “academic excellence for minority children in an unashamed Christian environment.”. For more than 30 years, this house of faith provided educational services and support to students and families in the Inglewood and surrounding communities.
In 2000, Bishop Dr. Gregory L. Dixon, resolved that the church’s name should embody its purpose, and changed the name from First Church of God to “Center of Hope”. In 2012, after the untimely death of Dr. Gregory L. Dixon, his son, Pastor Geremy L. Dixon was elected Lead Pastor of Center of Hope. Armed with a determination to continue the 30-plus year legacy of academic excellence, Pastor Geremy boldly set out to offer a high-quality, Christ-centered, culturally sustaining, educational experience for the children of Inglewood and beyond.
HA Announcements
COH Virtual Well Podcast,
COMING SOON
Listen as HOPE ACADEMY Co-Founders discuss the vision and forecast for HA
Raising Funds for HA Scholars
Every dollar donated to HOPE ACADEMY goes to supporting our efforts to hire highly qualified staff, build a beautiful learning facility, and provide strategic resources to guide HA Scholars to the frontier of their brilliance.
Friends of HOPE ACADEMY Have the Juice!”
We are grateful to have the support of franchise owner, Icilda Stanford, who opened the doors of her Robeks Juice store at 120th St. and Crenshaw Blvd. for our first formal HA fundraiser. The COH membership, family and friends came out in great numbers to enjoy some delicious treats and raise some much needed funds for our HA Scholars!
Did You Know?
Scholar and activist bell hooks' philosophy centers on the intersection of race, gender, and class to critique systems of power and oppression, while also advocating for a radical, transformative power of love as a political and personal force for change. Her work, which includes concepts like "engaged pedagogy," emphasizes that liberation requires a collective and inclusive approach, rooted in a vision of love and mutual care.
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