Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy

What Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy does

Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA) is a public charter school located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee, operating as the first single-gender public charter school in Tennessee. Founded by community advocates Sue Anne Wells and Maxine Bailey through the Young Women's Leadership Academy Foundation (YWLAF), CGLA opened in July 2009 with an inaugural cohort of 75 students and has since grown to serve girls in grades 6 through 12. The school is overseen by the Hamilton County Board of Education and governed by a community-led Governance Board.

The school's core product is a college-preparatory STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) curriculum that operates on an extended learning time model: 187 instructional days per year versus 180 for the surrounding district, with daily hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., yielding more than 200 additional instructional hours annually. The technology stack is intentionally modest and consumer-grade, centered on a 1:1 Chromebook laptop program, PowerSchool for student information management, and a proprietary performance-based assessment system that rates students as 'highly proficient,' 'proficient,' 'basic proficiency,' or 'not yet proficient' instead of using traditional letter grades. Student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, faculty complete at least 120 hours of professional development annually, and the integrated remediation model embeds tutoring into both class time and after-school programming. CGLA is SACS CASI accredited (the only public charter in Hamilton County with this status) and was among the first 15 Tennessee schools to receive the state's STEM designation in 2018.

CGLA's revenue model is a hybrid public-plus-private structure. As a public charter school, it receives per-pupil funding from the Hamilton County Department of Education plus federal Title I dollars; tuition is not charged. Because public allocations do not cover facility, transportation, or specialized program costs, the school layers on private fundraising through corporate sponsorships (TVA, Unum, EPB, BlueCross BlueShield, SunTrust, Hutton and others), an active Annual Fund, scholarship campaigns, and the YWLAF foundation arm. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer within Hamilton County: prospective families attend Tuesday/Thursday tours, joint preview days with peer charter schools, and priority enrollment from November 15 to December 15, with admission on a first-come, first-served basis (lottery if oversubscribed). Student services extend beyond academics to athletics (basketball, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, track and field, tennis, softball), counseling and college/career advising, mentoring, a food pantry, and summer camps.

Name

Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy

Legal name

Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy

Website

https://cglaonline.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy is a public charter school in Chattanooga, Tennessee serving girls in grades 6-12 through a single-gender, college-preparatory STEAM curriculum with an extended 187-day academic year, 15:1 student-teacher ratio, and a 1:1 Chromebook program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Charter School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter Career & Technical Education (CTE) Schools (EDAJACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Leadership, Character Education & Values Development (EDAMAIAG)

Keywords

• Charter school education
• STEAM curriculum
• College preparatory programs
• Single-gender education
• K-12 public school

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Charter School Funding: CGLA operates as a public charter school receiving public funds from the Hamilton County Department of Education. As a Title I school, it also receives federal funding. The school must also raise private funds to cover expenses such as building and transportation costs, as well as special programs and equipment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA) is a single-gender public charter school serving girls in grades 6-12 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It delivers a college preparatory STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) curriculum with an extended learning time model of 187 instructional days per year, an 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. schedule, a 15:1 student-teacher ratio, and a 1:1 Chromebook program. The school also provides tutoring, athletics, counseling, college and career services, and a range of student supports and clubs.

Product overview

CGLA is an educational institution offering a single-gender (all-girls) public charter school program for grades 6-12 with a college-preparatory STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) curriculum. The school provides an integrated educational program that includes extended learning time (187 instructional days, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), laptop/Chromebook provision for each student, tutoring services, athletics programs (basketball, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, track & field, tennis, softball), counseling and college/career services, clubs and organizations, a mentoring program, and food pantry services. The institution operates as a Title I school and is the first single-gender public charter school in Tennessee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• First graduating class in May 2013 with many students becoming first in their families to graduate high school and attend college
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTVA serves as Partner in Education, Robotics Sponsor, Campus Volunteer Projects provider, and Academic Project Partner. TVA supports CGLA's robotics program and provides volunteer support for campus projects.
• UnumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnum provides Educational Technology sponsorship and Corporate Mentoring. The partnership supports technology access and professional mentoring for students.
• EPBcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPB serves as Corporate Mentoring Partner and Event Sponsor, providing mentorship opportunities and financial support for school events.
• SunTrust BankscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunTrust provides Corporate Mentoring and Youth Bank Partner services, offering financial literacy and banking mentorship to students.
• YMCA of Greater ChattanoogacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMCA serves as Breakfast & Lunch Vendor, After Snack Provider, and provides Mobile Fit and Wellness Programs and Camp services supporting student nutrition and wellness.
• HuttoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHutton provides Corporate Mentoring, serves as Gymnasium Sponsor, and funds the Backpack for Success program supporting student success.
• HatponicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHatponics provides Academic Project Partnership, offering hands-on learning opportunities related to aquaponics and sustainable agriculture.
• Shaw IndustriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerShaw Industries serves as Corporate Mentoring Partner, providing industry mentorship and career exploration opportunities.
• Trust for Public LandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrust for Public Land provides Academic Project Partnership, supporting environmental and outdoor learning expeditions.
• Tennessee AquariumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTennessee Aquarium serves as Academic Project Partner, providing educational programs related to marine biology and environmental science.
• GreenspacesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreenspaces provides Academic Project Partnership, supporting sustainability and environmental education initiatives.
• FSG BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSG Bank supports Faculty Professional Development, helping fund teacher training and educational programs.
• BlueCross BlueShield of TennesseecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlueCross BlueShield provides Wellness Program Partnership and Corporate Mentoring, supporting student health and career development.
• First Tennessee FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Tennessee Foundation serves as Odyssey Sponsor, funding the school's annual expeditionary learning program.
• American WaterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmerican Water serves as Corporate Mentoring Partner, providing industry mentorship in utilities and environmental services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Uncommon Schools: Multi-state charter network with rigorous college-prep culture and extended instructional time; similar tuition-free charter model, but coed and broader demographic focus than CGLA.
• Achievement First: Multi-state charter network focused on closing achievement gaps for underserved students with extended school day and college-prep culture; similar operational structure to CGLA at greater scale.
• Success Academy Charter Schools: Urban charter network with strong academic outcomes and rigorous scholar culture serving similar demographics; coed and larger scale but comparable public-charter operating model.
• KIPP Schools: Large national charter network serving similar underserved populations with a college-prep mission; broader scale and coed, but operates comparable extended-day, tuition-free charter schooling.

Direct peers

• BASIS Charter Schools: Public charter school network with a STEAM-heavy, college-prep curriculum and extended-time schedules that consistently top state rankings — directly comparable to CGLA's STEAM + extended-day model.
• Girls Preparatory School (GPS Chattanooga): Local Chattanooga independent girls' school with college-prep mission; directly comparable in gender model and geography, though tuition-based rather than public charter.
• Young Women's Leadership Schools (YWLS): Network of single-gender public schools for girls in underserved urban communities, focused on college preparatory education and STEM — directly aligned with CGLA's mission, gender model, and college-completion focus.

Regional players

• Harpeth Hall School: Nashville-based independent girls' school with similar college-prep, leadership development, and STEAM emphases; regional Tennessee peer that shares the single-gender academic model.
• Hutchison School: Memphis-based independent girls' school with rigorous college-prep curriculum and STEM emphasis; regional Tennessee comparable in mission and student demographic focus.

Others

• National Coalition of Girls' Schools (NCGS): Industry association representing girls' schools; not a direct competitor but ecosystem participant shaping advocacy, research, and best-practice exchange relevant to CGLA's single-gender model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyHY4ufI2nIp0_bBJIWDBmA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chattanooga-girls-leadership-academy

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy