Nerd Academy

Nerd Academy will begin the 2026–2027 school year during the first week of September.

While we generally try to align our calendar with ECISD, this later start will give us the time needed to prepare our new building and complete the required inspections, approvals and Certificate of Occupancy process with the City of Odessa. We want to make sure our new space is ready and that every requirement has been properly addressed before welcoming students into the building.

Although our school year will begin later than ECISD’s, the September start will not prevent us from completing our curriculum or reduce the instructional time our students receive. Nerd Academy does not set aside classroom time for STAAR preparation, and we do not close for ECISD professional development days. Our academic day begins promptly at 8:00 a.m., and students attend school five days a week. This allows us to preserve focused classroom time throughout the year and meet our academic goals despite the later start.

We are also considering whether a September through May calendar may be a better long-term fit for Nerd Academy. Before making that change permanent, we will review this year’s calendar, instructional needs and feedback from our families.

We will share the confirmed first day of school and the updated 2026–2027 academic calendar as soon as the building timeline and city approvals are finalized.

We’re excited to welcome Mrs. Lydia A Flores to Nerd Academy as our new Pre-K and Kindergarten teacher!

Mrs. Flores joins us after teaching at Adinvita, where she earned a reputation as a caring and talented educator. We know that firsthand because she previously taught our daughter, Effie.

As both parents and school owners, we had the opportunity to see the patience, dedication and genuine care Mrs. Flores brings to her classroom. When the opportunity came to invite her to join Nerd Academy, we knew she would be a wonderful fit for our students and families.

Please help us give Mrs. Flores a warm welcome to Nerd Academy!

When parents are researching private schools, one suggestion they sometimes hear is, "Ask about accreditation." That's good advice but it's important to understand the accreditation process for private schools.

Brand-new independent private schools generally open their doors without full accreditation. Accreditation is something you work towards and it's a process that takes several years to complete. It requires a school to build an operational history, document its policies and procedures, demonstrate student outcomes, and undergo an extensive review before full accreditation can be granted.

Any existing secular private school had to go through a similar process, but rest assured that on day one, they opened their doors without being an accredited institution.

Nerd Academy is entering its third school year. We started collecting the documentation and data needed for accreditation last year, and we're actively working through the process.

Accreditation is important, especially as students reach high school, where transcripts, credits, and transferring between schools become a much bigger part of the conversation.

We're an elementary school, not a high school. Our job is to build strong readers, confident learners, and the academic foundation students will build on for years to come.

If you're choosing an elementary school for your child, accreditation shouldn't be the only question you ask.

Ask how the school teaches reading. Ask how they support students who are behind, and how they challenge students who are ahead. Ask how they handle bullying. Ask how they communicate with parents when something goes wrong. Ask what kind of culture your child will be walking into every morning.

And yes, ask practical questions too. Does the school expect parents to spend the year fundraising, or can they spend that time simply being parents?

Those are the things your child experiences every single day.

At Nerd Academy, our priorities have always been clear: literacy, a safe and respectful learning environment, transparent communication with families, and helping every student make measurable progress.

We're working toward accreditation because we believe it's important. But every day, our focus is on something even more immediate: helping children learn, grow, and love coming to school.

Accreditation is a milestone. Student growth is the mission we've been focused on since day one.

Private school should not come with fundraising quotas, mandatory sales, or penalties for falling short.

At Nerd Academy, parents are not assigned fundraising goals or required volunteer hours. We believe families should be able to focus on their children, not on becoming unpaid members of the development team.

Our board leads fundraising efforts because that responsibility belongs with the school, not on the backs of parents already paying tuition.

No fundraising quotas. Ever.

The fundraiser is officially on!

Join us for Irma Ruiz’s Teachers Gone Bad, a night of comedy benefiting Nerd Academy as we prepare for our upcoming school year.

🎟️ General Admission: $30
⭐ VIP Business Sponsor: $2,500
🏆 Presenting Sponsor: $7,500

Come laugh with us, support local students, and help us turn a new building into the school our kids deserve.

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/teachers-gone-bad

Adult comedy event. Recommended for guests 21 and older.