What is OLA?
Odyssey Leadership Academy is a coeducational sixth through twelfth grade school located in the vibrant core of downtown Oklahoma City. We are actively reimagining schooling as the process of fostering human and communal flourishing through emancipatory education.
Believing that the pressing issues of our times demand individuals possessing the skills, desire & courage to bring change, we seek to shape leaders ready to tackle the demands of the 21st century...and beyond!
Our students are full of curiosity and bursting with imagination. They pursue their passions and are led by their initiative to put their creative brilliance to work seeing their local and global communities made new.
We’ve always done things differently.
We started Odyssey in 2015 for several reasons, chief among them is that we believe students are capable of doing great things now; that they do not have to wait until they are adults to be difference makers in the world. We wanted to be a place to help students harness Good and unleash it on the world in powerful ways, a place that provides meaning and purpose right up front, a place that invites students to use their creativity and innovation today.
We acknowledge that there is a path for those who want to "do well on tests" and "get good grades"; however, we intentionally charted a different path: a path for those who want to change the world! A path for those who want their voices and their lives to make a difference. A path for those who have a passion to see things made new. A path for those who do not want to wait until they "grow up" to find meaning and purpose in their lives. A path for those who dare to dream big dreams, who want their lives to matter right now!
We believe there should be a path for those who want to put their creativity, their talent, their intellect, and their drive to work today, helping to find solutions to the most pressing problems and imaginative possibilities of our time.
The world does not need our students to be better test takers; what it needs is for them to be better historians, researchers, artists, poets, engineers, advocates, botanists, authors, entrepreneurs, economists, designers, citizens, and neighbors.
For information about joining OLA, or to set up a Shadow Day for your student, click here.
Odyssey by the Numbers
100% of Graduates who apply to college get accepted!
97% of Graduates who apply to college have been accepted to their top college of choice!
$2 million total scholarship offers to date! That is an average of $85,000 in scholarship per college-bound graduate!
Check out the amazing college and universities to which our students are being accepted!
Penn State University George Washington University Colorado School of Mines
New York University UC Santa Cruz Fisk University
St John’s College Chicago School of Art Lewis and Clark College
Colorado College Michigan State University Hendrix College
Regis University DePaul University University of Oklahoma
Brigham Young University College of Charleston Belmont University
University of Arkansas Oklahoma Christian University Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO
University of Colorado Denver Southern Nazarene University Oklahoma State University
Allegheny College University of Colorado Boulder Oklahoma Baptist University
Oral Roberts University University of Central Oklahoma Savanah College of Art and Design
Stetson University. Ohio State University Prairie View A&M
Western Colorado California School of Arts Oregon University
South Alabama Hampshire College Oklahoma City University
Students becoming great leaders
"I believe Odyssey Leadership Academy will play a pivotal role in the development and cultivation of our youth, building young men and women of character and tenacity who will be equipped to face the pressures of society and make a positive impact in the world."
Michael Hirsch, Executive Director of Loveworks Leadership
The Odyssey to Odyssey…
Exploring Our “Why” and Experiencing our “How”
Mentoring Students
We believe that each life is valuable and that each person's story is important. Mentoring is a time and space we create at the beginning of each day to help guide each student well through the journey of life.
Education Rooted in Community
Though we are headquartered at the Cole Community Center, we believe that learning can happen anywhere and everywhere! We create relational partnerships with public spaces (libraries, museums, parks, universities, art galleries, medical facilities, businesses, non-profits, etc.) so that students get a full immersive experience in their community and around the world!
CELEBRATING learning
Student Portfolios
Courses at Odyssey are shaped in unique ways to engage students in deeper learning and understanding of the topics at hand. Instead of exams at the end of each term, we celebrate! Students create works of art, spoken word pieces, dance performances, and unique displays of information or an idea they took away from their course and present these to the larger community of OLA family, friends, and partners.
What Colleges and Professionals are saying about Odyssey:
"The unique educational environment and opportunities afforded students at OLA contribute to their capacity for flourishing in academics, and beyond that, in life, in a number of ways. First, the faculty of Odyssey create and sustain a supportive educational environment, which gives students the confidence to explore, dream, and develop their own ideas. Second, instruction at Odyssey transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. This is incredibly advantageous to students who will be enrolling in colleges and universities that are now promoting interdisciplinary work in both research and teaching. Odyssey students will be accustomed to "thinking outside of the box." Most important, Odyssey nurtures creativity. Students are encouraged to be open-minded, yet intellectually humble. They are encouraged to be rigorous and to persevere in learning, yet to love learning and to be creative in the course of pursuing their dreams."
Dr. Nancy Snow, Director of the ISHF at OU
"I believe in Odyssey because it is time to start taking a serious look at how our children receive their education. Odyssey is not just a step in the right direction, it has a chance to create a new model for the world to see and emulate."
Justin King, Attorney at Law
"One thing that sticks out to me regarding the types of courses and critical thinking that happens at OLA is that these students will be well prepared heading into college. This isn’t to say that students from other schools aren’t well prepared but this school has a feel of college level thinking and course work. They know how to research very well, they know how to write papers they know how to cross over different subject to discover real life solutions to real life problems. In other words, their hard work and skills developed in high school will pay off immensely at the college level. As for Wichita State these students would fit well in our honors college because we aren’t more work but more meaningful work and that is what I see the students of OLA are getting to experience."
Jerome Bennet, Assistant Director of Admissions, Wichita State University
What colleges are saying about OLA
"My visit to OLA is one that stands out very distinctly in my memory. An authentic passion for learning and strong communication skills are the two elements I most actively look for in prospective students, and I found those in abundance at OLA. In all the classrooms I visited and student groups I met, learning, as well as sharing what they were learning with me, was an opportunity, not a task. It was clear to me that academic exploration is something students engage with actively at OLA, and that students are empowered to take on paths that excite them. Students like this, who can engage passionately with learning, instead of seeing it merely as a means to an end, are the kind of students that thrive at Hendrix."
Hannah Hill, Assistant Director of Admissions, Hendrix College
