Mission Statement

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 We passionately create and consume art that is culturally relevant, challenging to the status quo, and uplifting to our community. The arts are a positive outlet for our emotions, a practical medium for skills development, and a powerful instrument for telling our stories. We believe creativity is in every human, and when nurtured towards truth and justice, can be a force for the wellbeing of a community. We leverage the arts to empower each other to build sustainable, creative lives, thus making St. Louis the vibrant and equitable region it can be.  

We know that the school to prison pipeline is a reality for our scholars and that academic institutions are often places of oppression and bigotry. We know that succeeding in the classroom is crucial to succeeding in life. We are constantly refining our pedagogy in order to equip our scholars to be highly literate, independent thinkers who love learning and are academically strong. We work with our scholars to ensure they earn their high school diploma, develop a love for learning and philosophy of education, and never succumb to intellectual colonization. We believe in and work exclusively towards high quality, free, public education as a national priority.  

  We believe that progress means every human being understands their God-given image and value, realizes and utilizes the power and abilities within, and obtains the resources to live truly free. Advancing and growing goes beyond arts and academics and requires us all to humble ourselves towards spiritual transformation and health. We faithfully do life with our scholars with the knowledge that they can be agents of positive change in our society. We believe that we are all united by one Creator and are therefore called to radical, compassionate service and growth. We are an interfaith community, fully welcoming and inclusive, and do not attempt to convert staff or scholars to our foundational Christian beliefs.