Our Mission is to Make Learning Joyful for Students
At Flourish, students gain the superpowers to succeed in middle school, high school, college and beyond.
What makes us different:
• Microschool: every teacher knows every student well
• Experiential learning: real-world projects enable deeper inquiry and problem-solving
• Inspiring teachers: who support students’ growth
Experiential Learning at Flourish
Learning by Doing
for deeper comprehension & mastery
Guided & Self-Directed
fosters greater accountability
21
st
Century
collaboration, planning, mathematics, writing, producing, presenting, and more
Some Recent Flourish Pursuits:
Flourish teaches ‘superpower’ skills for student success in the 21st century.
We partner with Valor Collegiate Academies and are pursuing Compass training
Superpower skills - not fact-cramming or ‘teaching to the test’ –
are what students need to thrive in high school, college and beyond.
Dana Dillard-Jackson
Lead Teacher
Dana Dillard-Jackson is a Lead Teacher at Flourish Schools. She brings many years of experience from the classroom and school leadership, having served in both teaching and administrator roles. Before joining Flourish, Dana spent 20 years at Smithson Craighead Academy, a K–5 charter school in Madison, Tennessee.
She began her career there as a classroom teacher before becoming assistant principal and later principal, leading a faculty of 44 and serving 320 students. Prior to her work at Smithson Craighead Academy, Dana taught in Orleans Parish Schools, and UNO Charter Schools.
Dana holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from Southern University New Orleans and an M.Ed. from Tennessee State University. She has completed 14 hours of certification at the Tennessee Academy for School Leaders and holds an ILL-P Professional preK–12 Administrator certification.
Among her many professional strengths, Dana is proudest of her “superpower” — the ability to make meaningful connections with families and the community.
Selena Ayala
Operations Specialist
Selena Ayala is Operations Specialist at Flourish School. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she is the “glue” that ensures each school-day offers students and families an amazing experience. She loves working with students of all ages and their families.
Before joining Flourish, Selena was in Operations and was a front-office Receptionist for Republic High School. She managed attendance, front-office staff, event planning, and was the first-line liaison between the school and parents.
Prior to Republic, Selena was the front office Manager at KIPP Antioch Elementary School, responsible for welcoming students, overseeing attendance, covering recess and managing school supplies inventories.
Selena has many superpowers, but Flourish most appreciates her real-time multi-tasking and problem-solving!
John Danner
CEO of Flourish Schools
John Danner is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flourish Schools. He has a storied career as a pioneer and thought leader in education innovation. Before Flourish, John built several education technology companies including Project Read and SparkSpace, which provide reading and writing instruction using AI for elementary and middle schools. Before that, John co-founded and was CEO of Rocketship Public Schools, the first blended elementary school network in the country (2007).
Today, Rocket ship operates 25 schools in 5 states serving 12,000 students per year, with many of its schools ranking at the academic top in their states, despite serving an average of 84% free and reduced meal students. Before Rocket ship, John was a public school teacher in Metro Nashville Public Schools (Donelson Elementary and Glengarry Elementary). John began his career as a tech entrepreneur: he founded and was CEO of NetGravity, the world’s first Internet advertising company.John holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and an M. Ed. From Vanderbilt University.
John’s superpower is adaptability (although he prefers the term, scrappy).
Adam Nadeau
CAO of Flourish Schools
Adam Nadeau is co-founder and Chief Administrative Officer at Flourish Schools. His entire career has been focused on delivering innovation into K-12 classrooms. Adam started asa founding teacher at KIPP Academy Nashville. He then joined Rocketship as a Humanities teacher and went on to open multiple Rocketship campuses and regions as principal, including Rocketship Nashville. Adam then became the VP of Achievement & Personalized Learning for the entire Rocketship school network.
With experience in building school models from early childhood through high school, Adam is eager to continue to explore how schools employ emerging tools to prepare children for life in the 21st century. Adam holds a B.A. from Middle bury College, and an M.Ed. and M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University. Adam’s superpower is problem solving.
