Center Stage| Kia Gary of Knowledge Works Learning Academy

Q. What inspired you to start Knowledge Works Learning Academy, and how does your vision  influence the mission and activities of the organization? 

A. In 2005 I received the greatest blessing of my life, my son and only child Aiyinde was born during my  sophomore year of college. I had to make immediate and radical changes in my life to finish school. As a  single Mom, one of the major concerns was childcare. From the cost to the quality as well as extended  hours, daycares were limited. I was majoring in early childhood education and decided to build a  business plan for extended hours and a state-of-the-art daycare center that would prioritize single  mom’s, emphasize excellence in learning, and assist children with disabilities – as I too struggled with a  learning disability due to a birth injury. 

Overall, our vision is Creating – Understanding – Building – Equipping (C.U.B.E.) Kids for the future: spiritually, academically, mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. Pablo Picasso is notably the most well-known arbiter of cubism, an art form that takes landscapes, objects and people; and transforms them into geometric shapes. 

At KWLA we recognize no two children are alike – they all have different shapes. As cubism as an art form shifted the genre away from the single viewpoint, KWLA Kids are not engaged from a myopic lens making our mission to provide a “safe and healthy individual and community-centered educational hub” easier to accomplish. 

Q. Can you share a specific moment or experience that solidified your decision to launch Knowledge Works Learning Academy? 

A. Working as a teacher in the public school system was an absolute privilege and a joy. And teaching is both my calling and my ministry, but I was limited within that structure. KWLA allows me the opportunity to actually minister – not only to the kids but to families. It was clear to me that children are products of their family and their community, and I needed to be positioned to minister to families and the community. 

Q. Can you share some of your background and experiences that led you to establish an academy with such unique operating hours, focusing on early education? 

A. My educational experiences are as unique as they are diverse. I like to think of my academic experience as a smorgasbord as I am a product of private education, home school, boarding school, and I taught in public schools for a combined 12 years. (Russell County School System and Fort Benning).

I have seen education from almost all angles and have an appreciation for every effort made to keep America’s kids on the forefront in Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Agriculture, and Music, which is our novel acronym and program model for S.T.R.E.A.A.M., a nod to the Chattahoochee River that flows between Georgia and Alabama. Thus, our tagline: Flowing in the S.T. R. E. A. A. M. 

When I sat down to develop the KWLA model, I pulled from my mother who is a lifetime educator and counselor who is a treasure trove of knowledge after serving over 40 years in public schools. My sister who is a nonprofit consultant and professor in higher education; and my son who was moving through his formative years as I was finishing college and graduate school. I wanted KWLA to be part and parcel of what was working in education and to also find solutions for what was not working. The one concern that was continual was the hours of operation. I knew KWLA had to offer extended hours to accommodate people who work late shifts and we needed to be available when emergencies occurred without warning.

One case in particular a mother with two children under the age of 7 was expecting and went into labor without anyone to care for her younger children and KWLA stepped in to provide gap care. We also are positioned to provide a safety net for families in transition due to divorce, neglect, or abuse.  

Q. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in running an academy that operates from 5 a.m. to midnight? 

A. Like most small businesses, corporations and global conglomerates, staffing is one of the Achilles’ heels in most organizations. I’ve learned people may share your zeal for children but not necessarily a full understanding of the vision and mission. As a nonprofit we are mission-driven and people-centered first, foremost and always. That is a constant at KWLA.

Most daycares are for profit. KWLA is structured as a nonprofit private school which has challenges as well as benefits. On average, the good days outweigh the challenging days, because I wake up on a mission, move through the day on a mission, and rest at night knowing I completed the mission…for that day!  

We are also a private institution that acknowledges, emphasizes and operates under Christian values. As a result, we are locked out of major funding – even local funding sources like the United Way that are typically open to nonprofits that operate to uplift and educate children in the Chattahoochee Valley and the community. Therefore, we are compelled to be creative and search for funding beyond the region that will allow organizations operating outside the proverbial box to compete for funding. 

Q. How have you overcome these obstacles? 

A. We are selective in our hiring process and our Board of Directors must also weigh in on the resume and character of personnel. Therefore, we offer salaries that are above the average daycare rate of pay for our employees. We have flexible shifts and respect family time and personal time which we believe are critical for mental health and general health and wellness. 

We have been fortunate to receive grant funding, state funding, and of course private paying parents.  We also have a small but consistent base of private donors. Like most nonprofits, certainly, more funding would be ideal, but we’ve learned to be good stewards of what we have, hopeful that our product – KWLA KIDS – will showcase our ability to manage young scholars and exercise fiduciary responsibility.  

Q. What are your future goals for Knowledge Works Learning Academy? 

Expansion is high on the list of future goals. Every quarter we access class sizes and estimate how the ebb and flow of enrollment will impact our future plans. Timing, as you know, is everything and fortunately for us, working mom’s and dad’s need reliable daycares services.  

Q. What impact has Knowledge Works Learning Academy had on the community? 

A. Our first KWLA program was on site at the Phenix City Housing Authority at L.P. Stough Apartments. We started as an after-school program committed to stabilizing families academically through a homework hub and summer program. Our students ranged in age from preschool to high school.

During the first three years of development, we had the opportunity to partner with Feeding the Valley, Home Depot, and other nonprofit organizations to provide services for some of the most vulnerable kids in the community. We exposed the kids to arts museums, STEM camps in Auburn, and established the first community garden in the L.P. Stough community.

Next, we relocated to a church in Phenix City and officially expanded our services from after school to include daycare. Most recently we moved to a facility of our own at 903 S. Railroad St. in Phenix City, close to one of the beautiful and historic neighborhoods. We are centrally located on a main vein. We are known in the community as change agents as we offer the only extended hours daycare facility in Russell County and we also service residents in Muscogee County. 

Q. How can the community and potential volunteers get involved and support your mission at Knowledge Works Learning Academy? 

A. Send us your kids! We love seeing the impact of intensive reading programs in small group settings. We love seeing little eyes light up when math problems are correct; and we love seeing families mature and stabilize financially because single moms can work knowing we are caring for their children spiritually, academically, mentally, physically, emotionally and socially.

Q. What makes KWLA different from other learning academies in the Tri-City area? 

A. KWLA is an acronym for Knowledge Works Learning Academy. It is also an acronym for my name Kai  Wa’Diya Learning Academy. I think the difference is my DNA. KWLA was branded with my experience in mind, growing up as a child with a learning disability, struggling as a single mom, toiling through college and juggling work and raising a young son. The village that assisted me as I matriculate is the same model village that Kai built at KWLA.