Academy for Discovery at Lakewood

Academy for Discovery at Lakewood (ADL) is a city-wide 3rd through 8th grade school with an academic focus on Project Based Learning (grades 3 through 5) and the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) (grades 6 through 8). The program challenges students through rigorous coursework, while teaching them skills to be successful in learning and life. The school opened September 1, 2015 with 675 students. Students are selected through an application and lottery based system. The first year the school opened, students were accepted in all grades 3 through 8. Now, the entry points into the school are in 3rd and 6th grade only. Applications are released in November and the process is finalized through a lottery selection in early April. The school has reached the final planned capped enrollment of 750 students during the 2019-2020 school year. Former Principal Mr. Tommy Smigiel was hired in July 2014 to serve as a planning principal while the school remained closed during that school year. Mr. Smigiel worked with future parents, community members, business leaders, Old Dominion University faculty, and school leaders to form a School Planning and Management Team (SPMT) to make recommendation on the program as well as write the mission and philosophy of the school.