Taylor Munro, M.Ed., B.S. & Lacey Fickes, B.S.

Taylor Munro and Lacey Fickes’ vision to help students in Fort Bend County become thinkers, doers, and life-long learners by unlocking their potential has defined them as Leading Women. They are co-founders of PEAK Academy, a student-centered school, delivering excellence in education through hands-on, project-based, and differentiated learning, whose acronym stands for Passion, Excellence, Autonomy, and Knowledge.

“Children learn best when we develop and challenge their strengths and identify and nurture their weaknesses,” said Taylor. “PEAK Academy is a place where students are held to high, yet different standards, allowing us to recognize them as individual learners.”

Taylor and Lacey, both formerly in public education, began researching “micro-schools,” intentionally small, mixed-age, individualized learning communities that foster the potential in each individual student, rather than expecting all students to learn the same things, the same way, at the same time.

“Mixed-age learning groups are free from rigid grade-level assumptions,” explained Lacey, “ensuring that students reach their full potential. They grow at their own pace by collaborating and cooperating, rather than comparing and competing. Age guidelines are approximate, fluid, and flexible, and students work on concepts based on readiness and mastery.”

PEAK has grown from one student and two teachers on its first day to 28 students and three teachers in year two. Enrollment is expected to reach 40 students this fall, requiring the addition of a fourth teacher.