Imago Dei Neighborhood School

2026/27 school prep underway at Imago Dei! Can't wait to see our students in two weeks 🙂💜

Imago Dei has a few open seats in our second sections of Kindergarten and 2nd grade ... check out our website at www.imagodeirichmond.org to learn more!

Offering students a Christ-centered, liberal arts education in diverse community.

Excited to welcome a new Board member!

J.K. Lynch is a native of Richmond, Virginia. A proud graduate of Richmond Public Schools, Lynch went on to the University of Maryland, College Park, to study Computer Science. After a moment of epiphany during freshman orientation, J.K. realized that his true passion was educating kids. J.K. transferred to Old Dominion University in 2000 and returned to the Richmond area in 2004 to begin teaching Social Studies.

Over the next 20 years, Lynch earned honors such as Teacher of the Year for his school, the Angelique Clark Servant Leader Award, and sitting on a committee that was a pilot group for teaching African American History across the Commonwealth of Virginia. After earning that honor, he was tapped to be a contributing author for the textbook series Movement.

In 2024, Lynch decided to leave the field of public education and has been exploring new professional and personal opportunities using the wealth of skills that he acquired as a classroom teacher, Department Leader, Safety Chair, PR Representative, Building Liaison, and International Baccalaureate Coordinator. As an old friend said to Lynch “you’re just getting started [in life]”.
In 2025, Lynch published his first solo work, You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Stories of a Tired Former Teacher, which highlighted anecdotes from his 20 year career. Writing that book has provided Lynch with opportunities to speak about the field of Education on various podcasts and other platforms.

Filled with a lot more stories to share with the world, Lynch wrote You Still Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Those Last Seven Years in 2026. Feeling a call to still educate though he has left the classroom, J.K. Lynch tried his hand at two children’s books- Who Do You See?: A Children’s Book of Notable Latin Americans and Who Do You See?: A Children’s Book of Notable African Americans, set to be released in late 2026.

Present day, Lynch seeks opportunities to still impart into the next generation, whether it is directly as a mentor in the Young Men of Distinction Program, operating out of Motivation Church or an advocate for marginalized students on podcasts such as the PopTalk podcast.

In his spare time, Lynch loves traveling, spending time (and eating) with family and friends, reading and watching good suspense films. When he gets the chance, Lynch likes to experience nerd experiences such as cultural festivals or museums in different areas of the U.S. and nations he’s been blessed to visit.

We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Cheyanne Woodard to the middle school teaching team! Ms. Woodard holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with a concentration in Public History and has over four years of experience teaching Language Arts at the middle school level. "Teaching literature has allowed me to combine my love for reading and history while strengthening students’ analytical thinking and literacy skills. Through intentional instruction, I have worked to cultivate both critical engagement and a genuine
love for reading."

In addition to classroom experience, Ms. Woodard served as an Education Outreach Specialist at the American Civil War Museum, "delivering interpretive programs to diverse audiences and facilitating thoughtful conversations on complex historical topics."

We look forward to learning from Ms. Woodard's expertise in history, literature, writing, and speaking, being inspired by her passion for justice, and modeling to our middle school students a deep love for God and neighbor.

So grateful to volunteers from Church of Richmond for their labor of love prepping Imago Dei Neighborhood School spaces and furniture for our upcoming school year.

This church is living into their mission so beautifully! "We are broken people loved by God, continually restored by Christ, and sent out to worship God, serve Richmond, and work for its renewal."

Thrilled to announce the provision of an incredible part-time music teaching team for students in 2nd - 8th grade at Imago Dei Neighborhood School, Richmond's beloved Brooke & Marcellus Wright!

Alumni of the Urban Doxology Songwriting Internship, a program hosted by Arrabon in collaboration with East End Fellowship, the Wrights come to Imago Dei committed to cultivating a faithful, contextual worshiping culture within multiethnic community.

Brooke holds a BA in Music with a concentration in piano. She also holds a Masters in Worship Studies from the Webber Institute of Worship Studies, in addition to over ten years of worship leading experience in a wide variety of contexts and styles including classical/traditional, contemporary, gospel and multiethnic worship spaces. Before her career as a worship leader (currently at Third Church), Brooke started her working life as a teaching assistant at the Faison Center where she worked in early intervention.

Marcellus holds a BA in English from the UVA, with coursework in the School of Education and in the music department. He has seven years of teaching experience, including three years teaching music at Guardian Christian Academy and two years teaching percussion at Rise Academy. Marcellus also has over ten years of professional musician experience in secular and sacred spaces, including serving as the Music Director at East End Fellowship for three years. He currently serves as Associate Director of Student Ministry at Third Church.

Check it out!

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