Original Research by School Decision on Alliance Community Schools Inc. Dba Dayton Leadership Acade
Dayton Leadership Academies is a charter school district serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Montgomery County, Ohio. The enrollment is small, with students distributed fairly evenly across the lower grades and a smaller cohort in eighth grade. The student body is predominantly Black, with a tiny representation of other groups.
State assessment data was not available, so the school's academic proficiency cannot be compared to countywide measures. The school does not report a graduation rate, which is expected given that it serves only through eighth grade. On chronic absenteeism, the school sits below the midpoint among Montgomery County's districts, meaning absenteeism is higher than the county median. Per-pupil spending is in the lower range compared to other county districts.
The school's educational approach centers on Franklin Covey's "The Leader in Me" program, which embeds the Seven Habits framework into daily school culture and academics. This is not a temporary initiative but a multi-year strategic plan that shapes how students experience learning and leadership at the school. For families drawn to social-emotional learning and student agency as core rather than supplementary, this is a defining feature.
The academic program uses blended learning with i-Ready, RazKids, and Reflex Math integrated alongside Common Core and Ohio standards-aligned instruction. Students engage in discussion, write about their learning, and cite evidence. The blended tools provide diagnostics and adaptive practice, and families can access some of these platforms at home for additional support. This is a structured, data-informed curriculum model that parents considering the school should understand as foundational to how teaching happens.
Mental health and behavioral support are available on-site through a partnership with Thrive Therapeutics. For families whose children need school-based mental health services, this partnership represents a committed wraparound resource rather than a referral-only system.
The school does not report free or reduced-price lunch counts or special education enrollment rates, so the scope of economic need and special services cannot be assessed from the available data. A parent may want to reach out to the school directly about these details if they are relevant to their child's needs. Similarly, English learner enrollment is not reported.
This is a small, single-school charter with a distinctive pedagogical and cultural identity centered on student leadership. The chronic absenteeism rate is a soft spot worth discussing with the school. Families choosing this school are typically drawn to its explicit character and habits emphasis and its structured blended-learning model, rather than to comprehensive advanced offerings or multiple school options within a larger system.
See more original research from School Decision →