Dream Center Academy Christian School

by Dawn Anderson | Courtesy Photos

Unity and partnerships are the driving forces behind Dream Center Academy Christian School, a “One-StopOne-Shop, Home-Away-from-Home Empowerment Zone” in the Chickasaw neighborhood. Dream Center Academy Christian School and New Day Ministries founder Tod Moore and valued partners and sponsors hosted a capital campaign event on July 19, 2022, at MercedesBenz of Louisville. The 2022 “A Night of Inspiration” Gala Fundraising Dinner is Saturday, August 20. Moore says, “Invested partners are coming together to make things happen because they believe in the vision of Dream Center Academy Christian School.” Tod Moore was born the youngest of three boys raised in the former Cotter Homes housing project, now the site of the Park DuValle neighborhood. His parents sold drugs to make ends meet, and his father was in and out of prison for most of Tod’s life. Despite being one of four Western High School seniors named “Most Likely to Succeed” in the 1979 yearbook followed by a stable, well-paying job with UPS, it wasn't enough to keep Tod from “the generational curse” of drug dealing. In May 1993, Tod was sentenced to 25 years to life for his part in an August 1991 gang-related incident resulting in the deaths of three men. He turned to Christianity on September 28, 1992, and began his ministry behind bars. Tod assisted with prison chapel services, led Bible studies and prayer meetings, and mentored and tutored his fellow inmates.

On June 7, 2012, Tod envisioned a “Dream Center” to serve youth in blighted West End neighborhoods, planting the seed for Dream Center Academy Christian School. After serving 26½ years in prison, he was released on January 2, 2018. Tod received an official pardon from then-Governor Matt Bevin on December 7, 2019. Finally, New Day Ministries’ outreach was able to expand with community empowerment and youth engagement. New Day Ministries L.O.V.E. (Love Overcomes Violence and its Effects) WALKS focus on Louisville neighborhoods impacted by poverty, unemployment, youth violence, gang activity, and low academic performance. The L.O.V.E. WALKS provide “opportunities to speak with residents, listen to their issues, assess community needs, identify potential community revitalization projects, and meet the young people affected by these issues.“ Through L.O.V.E. WALKS, CampChange, and the L.I.F.E. (Love Inspiring Future Excellence™) Summer and After-School

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enrichment programs, West End residents learn about Dream Center Academy Christian School. According to Moore, it is intentional. “We are infiltrating communities with the love of Christ.”

New Day Ministries and Dream Center Academy Christian School are based on a 4-L approach to building relationships: Listen to Learn to Love to Lead, inspired by the Holy Spirit during Tod’s time in prison. With Christian love and a family atmosphere, the private school has been in operation since January 3, 2022, and follows the JCPS calendar. DCACS started with ten students, half unable to read and write. By the first open house on February 18, the children could not only read and write but presented “TED Talks” to the forty-seven guests in attendance. Dream Center Academy Christian School is located at New Covenant Baptist Church at 1190 South 40th Street, the first of nine satellites planned across West End neighborhoods. New Day Ministries acquired a van (with a vision for seven more) for their Safe Transportation Portal, providing students safe, reliable transportation to DCACS. The school has a 5-1 student-teacher ratio and has so far enrolled 25 students for the 2022-2023 school year. Teachers who buy into the DCACS vision are encouraged to express their interest through the online form found at ndky.org/serve. Dream Center Academy Christian School is launching its STEAM magnet program in partnership with the University of Louisville Speed School of Engineering. Parents have a $300 per child buy-in each year to ensure they remain invested in their children’s education. Tuition is $5000 for elementary students, $6000 for middle school, and $7000 for high school. That is where fundraisers such as the upcoming Gala Fundraising Dinner come in. “A Night of Inspiration,” the fundraising gala and silent auction benefiting New Day Ministries and Dream Center Academy Christian School, takes place at Ice House on Saturday, August 20. Guests will enjoy a cocktail hour, dinner, live music, and Inspiring Guest Speaker, Darnell SuperChef Ferguson. While in prison in 2015, Tod Moore read an article about SuperChef in The Southeast Outlook and prayed for an opportunity to work with him. Moore wrote a letter from prison that burned in the SuperChefs restaurant fire before Ferguson could read it. The two men finally met in 2018, and Ferguson filmed an endorsement for a capital campaign video. “He is the perfect fit to speak about the importance of private Christian education and how it is changing lives,” says Moore. “Gala attendees will see how we empower God’s Children to soar to new heights. The kids will show all they’ve learned to do and how Christ has taken them from where they were to where they are. The possibilities are endless for these kids.”

For more information, visit ndky.org/dreamcenteracademychristianschool and ndky.org/gala2022. Contact Tod Moore at tod.moore@ndky.org for gala ticket availability.