I AM Academy

Lindsay Cherry is the co-founder of I AM Academy along with her husband Henry. Lindsay grew up in Zeeland and attended Zeeland Public Schools. Henry grew up in Holland and attended Holland Public schools. Lindsay remembers always asking advice of the single black employee in ZPS. People will gravitate toward leaders that are like themselves.

While Lindsay was teaching at West Ottawa Harbor Light Middle School, she noticed that there still were very few role models for people of color. "Just showing up as a leader provides guidance." When children see role models that look like themselves, they start to see possibilities.

While Lindsay was teaching in West Ottawa and Henry in Holland, they noticed that the advanced classes were not representative of the composition of the student body. At one point in West Ottawa Public Schools there were 7% black students, but none in advanced classes. So, Lindsay and other teachers started recommending students of color for advanced classes.

The Cherrys became convinced that there was more that could be done in addition to their individual efforts as educators. So, I AM Academy was started in 2020. The main goals of I AM are:

Represent students to the community.
Exposure of students to education and careers with which they might not be familiar.
Support students in their educational journey.

Every year there is a different theme. This year's theme is "I AM the Dream". Some of the activities which I AM sponsors throughout the year include.

MLK Day assembly
Juneteenth Celebration
This year they partnered with Rotary on the Leaders for the 21st Century conference.
STEM camps throughout the summer.
Sponsor students to attend the Hope College science camps.
College trips to HBCUs as well as other educational institutions.
In cooperation with a Holland area dentist, they started an accredited dental assistant program.