An Independent School • Grades 5-12
Leading LEEP
 

Image: T.J. Vassar ’68 with LEEP students, circa 1990s.

Lakeside launched LEEP (Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program) in the summer of 1965. Inspired by a similar program on the East Coast, LEEP focuses on building academic confidence and preparing students for middle or high school through classes, sports, field trips, and team-building activities, aiming to foster intellectual risks and social connection. 

LEEP was a living multicultural laboratory. I wanted LEEP students to see that academic learning could be fun and if not fun at least not drudgery. I wanted them all to see how good it was to participate in a community where they knew the community rules and they could see that the rules were applied to everyone without exception. I wanted LEEP students to see that their social and academic behavior could be top notch. And I wanted all of the students to see that students were not defined by what they looked like, but by what they did. I wanted LEEP students to leave LEEP with higher expectations for school. I wanted LEEP families to be dissatisfied with mediocrity. — June 2, 2010, T.J. Vassar ’68 autobiography

Image: LEEP directors, L to R: Jon Bayley, Dwight Gibb, Latasia Lanier ’90, T.J. Vassar ’68, Dale Bauer. Photo: Paul Dudley, 2009

Image: T.J. Vassar ’68 getting his head shaved by students, 2002 LEEP graduation. “T.J. had committed to shaving his head on stage at the summer graduation if every student passed the program.” — Latasia Lanier ’90.

Image: LEEP students with T.J. Vassar ’68 masks, c. 2000s.

 

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