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Todd Dickson

Founder and CEO at Valor Collegiate Academies

Todd Dickson is the founder and CEO of Valor Collegiate Academies, a network of high-performing charter schools in Nashville, Tennessee.13 He founded Valor in 2013 and opened the first middle school in 2014.6 Under his leadership, Valor has become the top-performing academic charter network in Tennessee.13

Background and Education

Todd holds:

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Denver
  • Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University
  • Master's degree in Education from Stanford University12

He was also an All-American lacrosse player and team captain during his college years.13

Career Highlights

  1. Before education, Todd successfully built a residential real estate company in Colorado from 1995-2000.35

  2. Transitioned to education in 2000, spending 12 years at Summit Public Schools in California3:

    • Taught physics
    • Served as principal of Summit Prep, which was named one of the "Top 10 Transformational Schools" in the country by Newsweek under his leadership13
  3. Founded Valor Collegiate Academies in 2013:

    • Developed a nationally recognized comprehensive human development approach called Compass13
    • Valor serves a diverse student population, with over 70% identifying as BIPOC and 60% qualifying for Free and Reduced Lunch4

Personal Life

Todd enjoys spending time with his wife and their three children, who attend Valor schools. His hobbies include guitar/singing, yoga, Crossfit, and watching Colorado sports.13

Highlights

Feb 17 · linkedin

Hey network! We are hiring for a new Chief Academic Officer at Valor. This is a really exciting role - please share if you know anyone who might be interested! Blurb below:

We’re hiring our next Chief Academic Officer to build upon the strong foundation of academic excellence our scholars have achieved since opening our doors in 2014, ranking in the top 5% of Tennessee schools for growth and achievement. Valor Collegiate Academies is the first free, public college preparatory charter school in Nashville to serve a diverse background of students - serving 1,700 students across three schools, 60% of whom qualified for free or reduced lunch, 60% of whom identify as students of color and 14% of whom are designated as English Language Learners.

A hallmark of Valor is the broadening of the vision for education by placing human development at the center. Valor has created a human development model, Compass, and built our school model around it to ensure that all members of the community are engaging in deep, comprehensive development work.

http://bit.ly/2MwqGun or email Jonathan Howard at [email protected].

Related Questions

What inspired Todd Dickson to transition from real estate to education?
How does Valor Collegiate Academies' Compass approach differ from other educational models?
What challenges did Todd Dickson face when establishing Valor Collegiate Academies?
How has Todd Dickson's background in electrical engineering influenced his approach to education?
What are the key elements of Valor's Walk-Through Tool?
Todd Dickson
Todd Dickson, photo 1
Todd Dickson, photo 2
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Location

Nashville, Tennessee, United States