Valor Collegiate Academies
Michael Elko has a strong background in education and school administration. Michael began their career as a Language Arts Teacher at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools in 2010. Michael then joined Teach for America, first as a Corps Member and later as a Corps Member Advisor. In 2012, they started working at Liberty Collegiate Academy, initially as a Literacy Coordinator and later as a Special Projects Coordinator. Michael then moved to RePublic High School, where they held various roles including Director of Extracurricular Activities and Enrichment, Dean of Academic and Athletic Operations, and Assistant Principal. Since 2016, they have been serving as the Director of Operations - Flagship at Valor Collegiate Academies.
Michael Elko attended the University of South Carolina from 2006 to 2010, where they obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Experimental Psychology and Political Science. In 2010, they went on to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where they obtained an NC Teacher License in 2011. In 2008, Michael Elko briefly attended Georgetown University, studying Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management.
Valor Collegiate Academies
Valor Collegiate Academies is the first diverse-by-design, public college preparatory charter school in Nashville, TN to serve a holistically diverse background of students. Founded with the mission to empower our diverse community to live inspired, purposeful lives, Valor currently serves 1,900 students across three schools in grades 5-12. At the core of our model is Compass, a nationally-recognized model for comprehensive human development and social-emotional learning. Ranked in the top 5% of Tennessee schools for growth and achievement since opening in 2014, we are proving that schools don’t have to compromise academic results for comprehensive human development.