Meet our Team
We aim to unlock every child’s innate curiosity and passion, so they can succeed in middle school, high school, college and beyond.
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 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!
Want to join the team redefining middle school?
Imagine teaching where you get to know every student. Where creativity matters more than test scores. Where AI enhances teaching instead of replacing it. We’re building the middle school you’ve always wanted to teach in.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.
What Parents Ask The Most
You’ve got questions; we’re here to help.
Is Flourish accredited?
We are approved as a Class 1 independent school by the state of Arizona, and have our preliminary accreditation through Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSA), one of the country’s leading accreditors of independent schools. We expect to finalize MSA accreditation this Fall.
I know Flourish is a private school. What is the tuition?
Tuition at Flourish is $12,500 per year, with scholarships decided by each school. Families can apply Arizona ESA funds toward tuition, and we’ll help you through the process.
How large is the school, and what grades does it serve?
Flourish is intentionally designed as a small school and serves approximately 60 students in grades K–8 per school.
What are the school hours?
Flourish’s school day is 8:15–3:15pm
Is there Before Care & Aftercare?
Before and after care is available at all of our sites.
Is there a dress code or uniform?
There is no uniform, and students are permitted to express themselves however they wish through their choice of outfits. We do have a small set of restrictions in our Parent Handbook, which are focused primarily on minimizing distraction.
What curricula does Flourish use?
Flourish combines two things: One on One Learning, where every student masters academics at their own pace with AI and one-on-one time with a teacher, and SuperPowers, the human, character, cognitive, and vocational skills students build through biographies, case studies, novels, and projects. We don’t use textbooks, worksheets, or packets.
What role does technology play?
The modern classroom should be infused with technology, but minimize screen time. Flourish measures SuperPowers by recording classroom conversations with parent consent, throwing away the audio, and keeping transcripts. Our AI model scores students daily on SuperPowers with a 5 level rubric in each skill. But none of that involves students on computers, it all happens in the background, the way we believe AI will have the most impact on the classroom.
Will there be a daily recess or sports? What about enrichments?
Despite our small school model, we think it is critical to offer enrichments and organized physical activity that meets students’ interests. With that, we will be partnering with coaches, artists, & other community members to offer Clubs three days a week. Clubs will reflect student interests and curiosities, and will rotate every 9 weeks to remain fresh. Clubs could include focus areas like pickleball, 3v3 soccer, guitar, stained glass artistry, calligraphy, and cooking, to give a few examples. We will also be partnering with local sports leagues to give students an option for organized sports with their friends, including soccer, volleyball, basketball, and lacrosse.
How is Flourish similar to Montessori?
Flourish and Montessori both compress academics into a fraction of the day so the rest can go to something bigger. Montessori does it with self-paced materials, Flourish with about an hour of One on One Learning. What fills the freed time is the real curriculum: practical life and independence at Montessori, 24 SuperPowers at Flourish. Both call the adult a guide, not a lecturer. The structures are similar too. Both run small, 60 students per Flourish site, and both sit outside the district system by design. And both measure what tests miss through sustained observation: Montessori by teacher record, Flourish by nightly AI scoring of SuperPowers on a five-level rubric.