Denise Cowger

Altus Academy

Altus Academy is located on Chicago's west side in the North Lawndale / East Garfield Park area. The mission of Altus Academy is to develop students with the strength of character and academic preparation to succeed in college preparatory high schools, college, and beyond. Altus is a private, independent, not-for-profit, elementary school that provides a high-quality college preparatory education for our students. We aim to serve students from historical minority groups, low-income households, first-generation college graduate households and challenging neighborhoods and communities. In order to help our students and families overcome the significant barriers they encounter to meeting their college educational and professional aspirations, we do not charge tuition. We raise all of our funds from private donors who resonate with our mission. The vision of Altus Academy is to create a culture of character based on the development of virtue and fundamental moral values, that will transform the student, the family, and the community. This is accomplished by promoting the integral human development of each individual member of our learning community, fostering academic, moral, intellectual, physical, and spiritual excellence in a project based learning environment. Graduates of Altus Academy will respect and bear witness to objective truth, transcend life's challenges, and grow to serve God and others. Altus Academy inaugurated its first class of sixteen students on August 7, 2013. Our graduates are attending some of the best college prep high schools in Chicago and 100% our 2016 first graduating class are now freshman at top tier colleges and universities.