History of the African Dream Academy: 2012 - the present
In April 2012, ADA leased a one-story building on RIA Highway, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, approximately one-half hour south of central Monrovia in Paynesville. Our Founder, Reverend Enders, with ADA School staff and a legion of volunteers transformed the building into a newly painted and gated two-story facility in order to open the School on September 10, 2012, to 144 eager students in classes from Nursery to Fourth Grade. Rev. Enders hired Mrs. Weata Korfeh from the American School of Monrovia, Liberia to become ADA’s first Academic Director. Under her leadership, a curriculum was established incorporating the national curriculum prescribed by the Liberian Ministry of Education and elements of the curriculum of the state of Georgia in the United States as well as the Zoo Phonics Curriculum. She established the culture of the School including Morning Prayers and character education as well as traditions like Cultural Day, Beach Day, and intramural competitions. In 2014, Mrs. Alice Reeves became the second academic director. With a Master’s Degree in Education and experience in the United States as well as Liberia, Mrs. Reeves continues to ably lead and guide the school through its various transitions. From 2012-19, other buildings were constructed to accommodate additional students in Grades 5-10, as a new grade was added each consecutive year to ADA.
After the June graduation in 2019, ADA purchased a near-by property, which would become the School’s new campus, a home that it owns and can safely invest in for the future. Incredibly, in the following four months, Executive Director Samuel Enders and his general contractor designed and built new classrooms, a school library, a computer lab, a science lab, and administrative offices on the new property. On October 28, 2019, classes from Nursery through a new Eleventh Grade, which had been added, welcomed 629 returning students and a staff of 75 to its new campus. Among many other improvements, the School is now equipped with running water, a paved courtyard, and a teachers’ center, which contribute significantly to the well-being and morale of both ADA students and staff. Unfortunately, five months later on March 17, 2020, all Liberian schools were forced to close by mandate of the government in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Thanks to a quick and effective response to the pandemic, however, Liberia was able to begin reopening schools gradually in September 2020. The 2020-21 school year marked ADA’s first year with a 12th Grade class.
In January 2021, a second property, located within 20 minutes of ADA’s main campus, and which had been recently purchased and converted to a new upper school for ADA, opened its doors to students in Seventh–Twelfth Grades. A huge milestone took place a little over a year later on March 12, 2022, when ADA graduated its first high school class consisting of sixteen 12th Graders, who passed their national examinations and entered universities in the fall of 2022. The second graduating class had 36 students and the third, 144 students. ADA graduates who can afford the university fees are working towards their bachelor’s degrees in various fields. Others are earning money to attend university when they have saved enough. The African Dream Academy Technical Institute (ADA-TI), ADA’s vocational school, had its fifth graduation, graduating 350 women and men in seven unique disciplines. Mothers and fathers who have been out of school for years are now empowered to help their families financially as they were trained in skills needed in the national job market.
Current enrollment of ADA now stands at 1,500 students, supported by a staff of 149, that includes teachers, administrators, and support staff.
