Academy for Individual Excellence Principal Talks Education, Student Engagement and Work Ethic
Writer / Shannon Siders
As John Savage walks through the halls of the Academy for Individual Excellence one sunny Tuesday morning, he’s greeted by high fives and beaming smiles from students. Savage, the school’s founder and director, matches the students’ enthusiasm, calling out each child by name and listening intently to their animated chatter.
What started as a single-room preschool in 1984 has blossomed into a school, serving more than 400 students from preschool through high school.
Savage, an Indiana native, had never spent time in Louisville until he ended up in the area for a teaching job after college. Shortly after, he started Quala Care Preschool and chose Jeffersontown as the location, because it was on his way between work and his family’s home in Anderson County.
“I passed through J-Town, and it looked like a nice community,” Savage says. “A big city, a big town, was not what I was looking for. I found a location, started here, and that’s all there is to it.”
The family chose to stay in the Louisville area and expand Quala Care after the school where Savage was teaching closed due to economic difficulties.
“I had already put roots down with the business and was enjoying that, plus I was working with a small church in the country,” Savage says. “We continued to build the preschool, and the following year my son was old enough to start kindergarten, so it began building from there.”
Savage, whose bachelor’s degree is in elementary education, originally agreed to continue expanding the school through the third-grade level, calling it “Back to Basics”, but it kept growing from there. In 1995 the school moved to its present location on Bluebird Lane in Jeffersontown having developed into a PK-12th grade program. It was at that time the name was changed to the Academy for Individual Excellence.
“Along the way, we became known in the community as a school that was designed in such a way that it helped different learners,” says Savage, who shared he has a processing difference when it comes to thinking and learning. “I have an appreciation for people who need to look at something differently, and I also have an appreciation for education and higher education. Putting that together, people began to notice that we worked with kids in a unique way.”
Although the school has developed a reputation for accepting students who are struggling with learning disabilities or other social development issues, Savage is quick to note that Academy’s students are across the board in terms of background and abilities.
“We know people learn in different ways,” Savage says. “So, we try to incorporate in all of our classes a piece that allows us to respect a variety of learning styles.”
The classroom setting and structure is somewhat different than what one typically thinks of when picturing a school, but it’s those differences Savage believes helps children to thrive and grow into productive adults.
Instead of focusing on who is the “best” student or who is on the honor roll (which does not exist at the Academy), the educational programs are based on four key components: work ethic, engagement, accountability and compassion.
“Someone with an IQ of 130 or 75 can be valuable with these four components,” Savage says. “When it comes down to it, in a marriage, family, or workplace, your GPA is usually not as significant as your work ethic, engagement and holding yourself accountable to not blame or be a victim.”
The school’s approach may seem odd at first to those with more traditional views of education, but Savage has curated a staff of educators and administrators who believe in the mission.
“It doesn’t work perfectly, but no system does,” Savage says. “What our graduates are telling us as they come back to visit, are the techniques we set up to magnify the importance of those four components are the tools they’re taking on with them to college and beyond.”
Savage credits much of the school’s success to key long-standing staff members who have helped build a solid foundation. This includes his wife of 39 years, Teresa, who serves as the business manager. He also noted the preschool director, elementary coordinator, a secretary and the high school dean have all worked with him for decades, leading to continuity at every level.
“These people came along beside me, and in appreciation for our mission, they helped this get done,” Savage says. “I could not have done this alone.”
A strong believer in family, Savage refers to all the students as his kids and works to foster a sense of family among the classrooms. His own five biological children graduated from the Academy, and 13 of his grandchildren are at the school now, ranging from preschool to seventh grade. Savage’s oldest daughter, Amanda Williams, followed in her dad’s footsteps as an educator and teaches kindergarten at the school.
One of the most important parts of the Academy set-up for Savage is how it mimics a family structure. After kindergarten, children are put into classrooms with a group they’ll advance with until high school. First and second graders, third and fourth graders, and so on up to the high school level share a classroom and teachers. The sense of belonging and confidence this structure fosters creates an environment where learning can naturally occur.
“I believe children of the same age don’t have near as much to learn from each other as children of different ages,” Savage says.
The school implements these factors while remaining fully accredited through the Kentucky State Board of Education.
Although he is foremost the principal of the school, Savage, who has a master’s in education, also takes on other roles, including teaching psychology, coaching students on social skills and coaching teachers on how to achieve the setting the school strives to emulate. On top of that, he often attends extracurricular events, substitute teachers in classrooms of all levels and strategizes for the future of the school.
Twice a month, Savage hosts prospective parent meetings and interested families are invited to schedule a follow-up to see if the school is a good fit for their child. Applications are accepted year-round, but the school operates off a waiting pool, not a first-come first-served waiting list.
“For our school to do what it intends to do, we need to have a mix of children and abilities in the classroom,” Savage says. “I try to build each class population in such a way as to have a balance of support and opportunity for its diversity.”
Families interested in the Academy can reach the school’s main office at 502-267-6187 or visit aiexcellence.com.
Many of the Academy’s graduates have gone on to colleges and universities, but others choose paths better suited to their abilities and interests.
“Education is important to me,” Savage says. “But I also believe that cannot be considered more important or more valuable than anything a child does post-graduation, as long as they’re developing themselves. I want them to work to their potential.”
As Savage looks toward the future of the Academy, he hopes to leave a legacy behind of a strong, secure program.
“I’m hoping to be here good and strong, at least until I’m 75,” Savage says. “I want this school to be here years and years after I’m gone. J-Town has been a good home to us.”
