Lab Atlanta's focus on community-focused education resonates well with the work that we do at the college level. We look for curious minds that care about inclusive, diverse communities. It seems to me that Lab Atlanta is well positioned to produce students who care deeply about the world around them. Empathy and engagement is critical. The world needs more stewards.
—Greg Moyer, Associate Director of Admissions, Dickinson College
What is Lab Atlanta?
Lab Atlanta is a Midtown-based semester school for 10th graders offering an honors-level academic curriculum and immersive, city-based design and innovation experience. Students apply to attend and, if accepted and enrolled, leave their home school for one semester to join other curious and engaged students from the city’s public and independent schools. Students earn core academic credits in a diverse and inclusive environment that builds civic leadership, design, and innovation skills. Students may be jointly enrolled at their home school in order to return at the end of the academic day and participate in extracurricular activities, including athletics.
Lab Atlanta is sponsored by The Lovett School and supported by the generous contributions of individuals, families, and leading local and national foundations.
What Is a semester school?
Semester Schools offer unique opportunities to their students to reflect on themselves as learners and community members. By complementing students' academic experiences at their sending schools, they offer significant personal and curricular enrichment unavailable at more conventional high schools.
Why spend a semester at Lab Atlanta?
Lab Atlanta offers a learning experience that satisfies the requirements of a 10th grade academic semester through a transformational, transdisciplinary model focused on immersing students in the city and making their learning "whole." Students will develop civically-engaged, design-minded leadership skills and discover how they might help create a bright future for themselves and their city.
I have fallen in love with Atlanta and I want to stay involved with Lab Atlanta because I think it has such an important mission…I have grown as a person because of this. I have learned so much about the city…You have done an amazing job of making the students feel at home and helping us grow.
—Avery Culp, Student, Lab Atlanta 2017 Founding Class
Mission
We develop civically engaged, design minded leaders focused on building a vibrant, sustainable future for themselves and the city of Atlanta.
Goals & Outcomes
- Our students approach the world with empathy, bringing a humancentered lens to defining a problem, creating solutions, and promoting change in their community and the world.
- Our students value multiple perspectives in order to understand themselves and others better.
- Our students learn the importance of leadership and becoming actively engaged citizens in order to leave a positive, enduring legacy for the future.
- Our students grow as scholars and lifelong learners, developing their ability to reflect on their own thinking and learning.
We sent our daughter to Lab Atlanta during the second semester of her 10th-grade year. She transitioned from a traditional learning environment associated with lectures and mastery of knowledge through drill and practice to a student-centered learning environment that encouraged ingenuity, curiosity, and innovation. Our daughter blossomed into a thoughtful learner who became civically engaged and focused on building a vibrant, sustainable future. Our experience at Lab Atlanta was simply amazing!
—Aquaria R. Smith, Parent, Lab Atlanta 2017 Founding Class
Frequently Asked Questions
!!What is Lab Atlanta?
Lab Atlanta is a school: an innovative semester-long, honors-level academic program for high school sophomores from greater Atlanta, sponsored by The Lovett School. It brings together a diverse group of 20-24 public and independent school students into an intimate learning community each semester.
By diving deeply into Atlanta’s pressing challenges and opportunities, Lab Atlanta students learn through practical experience to develop the skills and habits of leaders and innovators. Lab Atlanta enables its students to build a systemic understanding of themselves, each other, their home city, and the world.
!!Who should apply to attend?
Intellectually curious, civically engaged, academically gifted and motivated students are best suited for Lab Atlanta. They collaborate with faculty and peers to design their learning experience throughout the semester. The curriculum features a pervasive focus on innovation and creative problem-solving, informed by the Design Thinking approach of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.
!!What is the curriculum?
• Honors English 10
• Honors World History
• Visual Arts (Photography and Photojournalism)
• Honors Sociology (Humanities elective) or Engineering Applications (Science elective) Honors Mathematics is differentiated and personalized for individual students via online courses, using a blended learning model, complemented by a Lab Atlanta STEM specialist. World Language courses are designed in collaboration with the student's home school.
!!Who is the faculty?
Lab Atlanta’s core faculty is a diverse group of talented, accomplished educators. An extensive network of leaders, advisors and collaborators from across the city, the nation, and the world is also committed to supporting Lab Atlanta’s students and faculty. They come from the fields of healthcare, business, public policy and government, education, social entrepreneurship, technology, transportation, religion, and the arts. Collaborating with these experts will afford Lab Atlanta students unrivaled opportunities to apprentice with exceptional mentors.
!!Where is Lab Atlanta?
A strategic location in Midtown will provide Lab Atlanta’s home base, housing Lab Atlanta’s daily operations; immersive learning expeditions throughout the metro area will complement this central location.
!!Who can apply? How?
Lab Atlanta is open to any 10th grade student in metropolitan Atlanta. Lab Atlanta applicants may attend public or independent schools, or be home-schooled. The application is available on this Lab Atlanta website. The admissions process is competitive, so students are encouraged to apply early in the application cycle. In addition to the written application, an interview with the Lab Atlanta admissions committee is required.
!!What does it cost to attend?
Tuition for Lab Atlanta is $12,500. Financial aid is available for students with demonstrated need. Significant funding for Lab Atlanta comes from a $250,000 Leadership Challenge Grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation and substantial leadership gifts from individuals and foundations across the city.
!!What is the schedule?
The school day starts at 8:00AM and ends at 3:00PM, Monday through Friday. Students are encouraged to use public transportation to and from our Midtown Atlanta campus.
Students may choose between a fall or a spring semester for qualified 10th graders.
!!Who do I contact if I have questions?
For more information about Lab Atlanta, please contact Laura Deisley, Founder and Executive Director of Lab Atlanta (laura.deisley@lovett.org).