EnCompass Academy

Still taking this one in.

Our ribbon cutting was packed with so many people who have been part of the EnCompass Academy story that we couldn’t even fit everyone in the photo. What a gift.

We started this school in the middle of a pandemic with a vision, a lot of determination, and a team willing to do hard things. To now be standing in this beautiful new space surrounded by families, friends, founders, donors, community members, and our friends at First & Calvary was incredibly humbling.

So grateful to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce for helping us celebrate this milestone, and even more grateful for every person who helped us get here.

At EnCompass Academy, we prioritize creating experts.

This week, our teachers have spent the majority of their time learning, practicing, reflecting and growing together, with much of that training led by our own administrative team.

And this is only some of it. This week alone we completed 40 hours of training!

Science of Reading
Trust Based Relational Intervention
Crisis Prevention Intervention
Medication training
Math instruction
Enneagram
The 6 Types of Working Genius
The EA Way
And more

We invest heavily in training because our students deserve highly skilled adults who understand both how children learn and how relationships, regulation and connection impact that learning.

But expertise is more than knowing strategies.

We believe self-awareness may be one of the most important skills an educator can develop. Knowing yourself, understanding your strengths, recognizing your impact and staying curious about how you show up for others are all part of The EA Way.

We are incredibly proud of this team, their passion for learning and the work they continue to put into becoming experts for the students and families they serve.

We also ask for your patience and understanding as we have been booked solid with moving and training. We are working to get back with everyone as soon as possible and appreciate your patience as we navigate this busy season.

Highly trained. Always learning. Always growing. That is The EA Way.

Tomorrow is the day!

Join us Tuesday, August 25 at 4:00 p.m. as we celebrate EnCompass Academy’s new home with our Chamber Ribbon Cutting and Open House at 820 E. Cherry St.

Everyone is welcome-families, friends, community partners, donors, local businesses, supporters, and anyone who wants to come celebrate with us. Several of our community partners will also be there sharing more about their nonprofits and the work they are doing in our community.

We are expecting a large crowd, so we recommend arriving a little early to give yourself time to park and get settled. Parking is available in the church’s main lot and in the east-side lot off John Q. Hammons Parkway, past the white gates.

The ribbon cutting happens right at 4:00, and you don’t want to miss it.

We can’t wait to celebrate this next chapter with our community.

Encompass Academy is kicking off the 2026–27 school year in a new home at First & Calvary. Join us August 25 for an Open House and Ribbon Cutting and learn how we’re connecting with new neighbors across education, business, and community.

EnCompass Academy will celebrate the beginning of the 2026–27 school year and its new home at First & Calvary with an Open House and Ribbon Cutting on Tuesday, August 25, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. at 820 E. Cherry Street. Guests are invited to tour the new space, meet members of the EnCompass Academy team, and learn more about the students, families, and community we serve.

A new year. A new home. The same mission. At EnCompass Academy, our work has always extended beyond the students in our classrooms. As a private school with a public purpose, we are committed to strengthening our community by increasing understanding of how to effectively support learners with a wide range of strengths, backgrounds, and abilities, including students who are gifted, neurodivergent, have learning disabilities, or have experienced adversity.

Our move also brings new neighbors and more ways to learn, serve, and connect. EnCompass Academy already works with Missouri State University through service learning and other opportunities, and we are excited to deepen those relationships while continuing to build connections with OTC, Drury University, Evangel University, area public and private schools, businesses, and other future professionals. College students and faculty are especially encouraged to attend the Open House and learn more about opportunities to observe, serve, and learn alongside our team.

We are equally excited to get to know our new community neighbors and businesses. EnCompass Academy provides personalized professional learning in trauma informed practices and disability support, with practical strategies that can help businesses, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations better support the children, families, employees, customers, and community members they serve.

For the Wayfinders, this move is about more than a new building. It gives us new opportunities to connect what happens inside our classrooms with the larger community around us, and we are excited to see what grows from those relationships.

We hope our new neighbors, families, students, community partners, and supporters will join us on August 25 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. and help us kick off this next chapter.

Learn more at encompass.academy, follow EnCompass Academy on Facebook and Linked In, email [email protected], or call/text 417.597.3590.

There are no pictures from this week.

Not because it was not worth remembering, but because every hand was busy serving.

We are in complete awe of our EnCompass family. Parents, students, board members, friends of EnCompass, donors, past interns, parents and family members of staff, volunteers, and our own staff who chose to stay and help long after 4:00, even though they did not have to.

Together, we moved more than 37 carloads, along with three trailer loads this week and two additional trailer loads in the weeks prior. Some people cleaned. Some organized. Some built shelves. Some packed, hauled, lifted, unpacked, solved problems, brought food, and encouraged us when we were running out of energy.

We also left the majority of our furniture for the new tenants at our previous location, hoping it might be a blessing as they work to build a school of their own. We know firsthand how difficult it is to build something from the ground up.

Somehow, it all worked together with a synchronicity we could not have planned if we tried.

We are tired, but our hearts are incredibly full.

We often get asked what makes EnCompass Academy so special. It is our community. It is our EA families, students, staff, board members, donors, founders, and friends who choose to walk alongside one another. We show up, serve without recognition, and build something bigger than ourselves. That is what it means to be a Wayfinder, and we are so proud of our Wayfinder family.

To every person who carried a box, cleaned a room, built a shelf, packed a vehicle, pulled a trailer, provided a meal, gave up an evening, or simply encouraged us along the way, thank you.

There may be no pictures from this week, but we have something even better:

A community that showed up.

Proud to be a Wayfinder.

With Love and Appreciation,

Nacy and Kelsey & the EA Team

Photo Credit:

We are still looking for help for THIS Friday! We appreciate anyone who is willing to help.

We can also use help throughout the week if you’d like to help take loads over this week, please contact our office.

EnCompass Moving Days EnCompass Academy Moving Days - We Need Your Help! As we prepare for our exciting move to our new home at First and Calvary, we could use some extra hands! We have several opportunities to help, ranging from heavy lifting to classroom setup. Please be mindful of the location and type of task when se...

A little late, but too much fun not to share!

Last Friday, our Wayfinders enjoyed one of our favorite summer traditions: Water Day! While I spent most of the day supervising the inflatable (which meant I didn’t get to make many rounds for photos), it was wonderful to see students laughing, cheering each other on, and making memories together.

At EnCompass Academy, we believe some of the best learning happens through connection, play, and simply enjoying childhood. We love giving our Wayfinders opportunities to get outside, build friendships, and celebrate summer together.

Thank you to our amazing staff for making days like this possible. Here’s to soaking up every bit of summer before another exciting school year begins!

We wanted to give families a quick enrollment and waitlist update as we prepare for the 2026–2027 school year.

Our current waitlist is now over 170 families, but availability looks different by classroom. Some programs have immediate openings, some have limited spots, and some are still being worked through as classroom space and staffing are finalized.

Kimberly, our Family and Student Support Specialist, and one of EnCompass Academy’s founders, has been personally connecting with waitlist families as openings become available. We have heard from so many families about how meaningful those conversations have been. Kimberly brings a rare mix of clarity, compassion, and steadiness to this process. She listens well, makes space for hard stories, and helps families feel informed and cared for, even when the answer is not immediate.

Some families have already been scheduled for tours or observations, while others may not hear from us for a while as she continues working through the list thoughtfully.

Families already on the waitlist do not need to reapply. Thank you for your patience and trust as we work to make sure each student is considered for the right classroom, support level, and fit.

This is one of the hardest conversations we have at EnCompass Academy.

Every week, families call us because they are desperately searching for a different educational environment for their child. Many have exhausted every option and finally feel hopeful after learning about EnCompass.

Then we have to talk about finances.

Many of these families are not yet eligible for sustainable funding programs such as MO Scholars. With time, guidance, and the right circumstances, many may qualify in a future school year. But children cannot put their education on hold while families work toward eligibility.

Children cannot get that time back.

That’s why we’ve created The Wayfinder Bridge Fund.

This fund helps bridge the gap for families who have found the right educational environment for their child but need help getting started today while they work toward long term funding solutions.

One statistic that stopped us in our tracks was this: nearly 1 in 4 of our current families have shared that a parent was able to return to work after their child enrolled at EnCompass. When a child has access to the right educational environment, the impact extends far beyond the classroom. Families regain stability. Parents can return to work. Children begin to thrive.

If you’d like to help a child start now instead of waiting another year, we’d be incredibly grateful for your support.

Donate here: https://givebutter.com/the-wayfinder-bridge-fund-cd2qxk

💙 A quick Givebutter tip: Givebutter automatically adds an optional tip to support their platform. You can adjust or remove this tip before completing your donation if you prefer your entire gift to go to EnCompass Academy.

If you would rather donate by check, you can mail your gift to:

EnCompass Academy
2733 E. Battlefield Rd., Box 600
Springfield, MO 65804

Please note “Wayfinder Bridge Fund” in the memo if you’d like your gift designated to this campaign, or “General Donation” if you’d like us to use it where it is needed most.

Thank you for believing that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive in the right environment. Together, we can help Wayfinders start now.

The Wayfinder Bridge Fund By Encompass Academy