Kenisha Skaggs

As an Augusta native, Kenisha Skaggs has seen the value of an excellent education and how it leads to a sustainable future through her own school experience. Frustrated with the low expectations and lack of differentiated instruction available for special needs students, she created her own project-based learning pedagogy. To provide academic excellence to 1st-12th neurodivergent students, Kenisha founded and serves as  CEO of a micro-school called Soar Academy Augusta in 2012. Over a decade later, her academy has reached hundreds of students, obtained tuition funding from the Georgia Department of Education, and raised tax credit funds for student tuition. In addition to being a 2022 Yass Prize Award Finalist, she has received numerous other grants to expand her school program.