Catalyst News

At Catalyst Academy, every scholar, family, teacher, and staff member will be embraced, respected, and supported. Everyone belongs here. We are a community and we love this community.  Further, every member of our Catalyst Academy staff is committed to growth and equity inclusion. We are focused on opening doors of opportunity and preparing our scholars for college, career and life. This is also who we are as a community. We love our community.  Here’s a glimpse at two of our founding staffers:  Brian Smith Founder & CEO Brian Smith is the Founder & CEO of Catalyst Academy. Brian started [...]

We are all growing. At Catalyst, we are big believers in growth every day. In fact, we focus on growth in multiple ways:  Grow is one of our core values. (along with Belong and Achieve) Every Catalyst Academy scholar, teacher, and staff member is committed to growing every day in alignment with our mission. We are big believers in growth mindsets.  We aim to close opportunity gaps and expand achievement and access -- for every one of our scholars. This includes preparing our students for careers in the growth sectors of our economy. What do we consider ‘growth sectors’? [...]

Catalyst Academy opened in 2020 during the pandemic - the first new K-8 charter school in Pittsburgh in six years! We are located in the newly renovated historic Lemington school building. We prepare our scholars to define —and achieve – their dreams. Here’s our top 10 reasons why we are  worth considering for your young scholar: 1) At Catalyst, we instill growth mindsets (one of our core values is GROW!) and unlock an awareness of opportunities -- for every one of our scholars -- in college, career, and life. 2) We opened for Kindergarten and 1st grade in 2020, [...]

We’re Catalyst Academy. We will open as a K-1 school in the fall of 2020, and then grow a grade each year to eventually serve kindergarten through 8th grade. As a public charter school, Catalyst Academy is a tuition-free, open-enrollment school for any student, including students with special needs and English-language learners, in the city of Pittsburgh and other area communities. Our core values are incorporated into everything we do -- Belong. Grow. Achieve. Belong -- All community scholars, families, teachers, and staff will be embraced, respected, and supported. Grow -- Every Catalyst Academy scholar, teacher, and staff member [...]