Lugo-McGinness Academy

Lugo-McGinness Academy is a small, non-traditional academy that serves Charlottesville City Schools students in grades 8-12. Students may self-select or be referred for admission to the program.

Lugo-McGinness Wins One of 11 State-Wide Innovation Grants!

Congratulations to Dr. Jill Dahl and Ms. Carly Dirghangi at Lugo-McGinness Academy for winning a $42,850 innovation planning grant. The aim is to center historically marginalized students’ voices and perspectives in shaping culturally relevant curriculum, creating student-driven research projects, and developing entrepreneurial pathways. A small group of LMA and Walker students will participate in the pilot. This work will be supported by partnerships with groups such as UVA’s Youth Participatory Action Lab, the Uhuru Foundation, and the Mastery Transcript Consortium.

More about Lugo-McGinness

Students attending the academy are offered personalized learning through blended and face-to-face instruction, small class size, field trips, Student Leadership Council, recreational basketball, a library, a gym, and a small garden. Lugo-McGinness Academy operates with four pillars:

Be Courageous
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be a Community Member

Along with curricular offerings and an academic program, the academy provides a supportive, trauma-responsive environment to meet students’ social and emotional needs.

Mission

Lugo-McGinness Academy engages young adults to build a vision for their future through supportive relationships and meaningful mastery-based learning experiences.

Vision

Young adults own their learning to ignite personal and community transformation.

Goal

Lugo-McGinness’ main goal is to commit to continuously evolving to ensure students feel welcome and respected within a culturally responsive learning environment and healing-centered engagement.

Students Served

Students enrolled at Lugo-McGinness Academy may be referred by:

Charlottesville High School or Buford Middle School administration
Charlottesville City Schools’ Chief Academic Officer
Parent or self-referral
Charlottesville City School Board

Services Offered

Academic services offered:

Individualized programs of course work
Credit recovery
Graduation acceleration
Work experience/ vocational training
Comprehensive counseling
High school diplomas

Student support services offered:

Behavior Intervention Specialist
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Student success coaching offered by National Counseling Group
Regular field trips to locations such as Wildrock

Need immediate help?

If you need to reach someone immediately for crisis support for your child and it is after-school hours or you do not get an immediate response from school staff, please call one of the numbers below.

Community Based Crisis Supports:

Region Ten Emergency Services (24 hr): 434-972-1800
National Suicide Hotline (24 hr): 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Region 1 Mobile Crisis Line (M-F 12-7:30pm): 1-800-970-5897
Ready Kids (24 hour hotline): 434-972-7233
Crisis Hotline for Teens (24 hr): Text HOME to 741741
LGBTQ+ Youth Support Line/Side by Side: 1-888-644-4390 (Ages 14-20)
Immediate crisis: call 911 or go to the hospital

Program History

After a long history of alternative education, Charlottesville City Schools moved the program to a new, renovated facility in 2014. At that time, the program was renamed Lugo-McGinness Academy in honor of Alicia Lugo and Rebecca F. McGinness, two longtime Charlottesville educators, community leaders, and child advocates. Alicia Lugo attended Charlottesville schools during segregation and then graduated from Hampton University. She returned to Charlottesville, where she taught and then served eleven years on the Charlottesville City School Board, including five years as board chair. Also a Charlottesville native, Rebecca Fuller McGinness attended Hampton and taught at the now-closed, then-segregated Jefferson School for more than forty years. Both women set a high standard of excellence which the faculty and staff of Lugo-McGinness strive to achieve.

Program Administrator:

Dr. Jill Dahl
341 11th St. NW
Charlottesville, VA 22903
(434) 245-2406
DahlJ1@charlottesvilleschools.org