May 2021
Soccer Clinic and Book Signing with Soccer star, activist and author Joanna Lohman!
NEXUS SCHOOL LOUDOUN!
INMED Partnerships for Children and INMED USA are partnering with The Paxton Trust to build Nexus School Loudoun, a nonprofit private learning environment on Paxton Campus in Leesburg, VA.
Nexus School Loudoun will be a catalyst for a more equitable, effective, and resilient learning environment to inspire and equip low-income and immigrant youth in grades 6-12 to become engaged national and global thought leaders and entrepreneurial problem solvers.
In partnership with Lumiar®, Nexus School Loudoun brings transformational education (currently only available to the wealthy) to immigrant, low-income and special-needs youth in an accredited learning environment in which they tackle poverty, injustice, inequality and climate change hands-on while forging their own college or career path.
Nexus School Loudoun is designed to create significant positive impact in Loudoun County—and beyond. With Loudoun as the model, our plan for future phases of this transformational education approach is to expand nationally and internationally through INMED’s global networks.
WHY in Loudoun?
Teens who live in Loudoun’s pockets of poverty have a high school dropout rate nearly 10 times higher than the countywide average. Many must work to help support their families, often along with their parents in high-risk, low-income jobs. Others simply don’t have the parental support they need to position
themselves for post-secondary education or meaningful career exploration.
WHY on the Paxton Campus?
Located in the heart of Leesburg, VA, Paxton Campus is ideally situated to serve at-risk youth in the surrounding community. The need is well documented.
While LCPS serves 21% of kids considered economically disadvantaged (eligible for free/reduced lunch), Smart’s Mill Middle School(the Paxton community middle school) has an economically disadvantaged student population of 33%. Likewise, while18% of the overall LCPS student population is Hispanic, Smart’s Mill’s student body is nearly a third (29.7%) Hispanic.
Similarly, Tuscarora High School’s student population is 31.6% economically disadvantaged and 30.1% Hispanic—far higher than the County average.
A majority of these youth are under-served by LCPS and deserve a learning experience in their own community that accommodates their challenges and aspirations.
Located on the same campus as the Arc of Loudoun, the Nexus School can also provide extracurricular vocational opportunities for
youth with disabilities who are served by the Arc.
Read all the updated information here:
INMED has an impressive history of aquaponics and adaptive agriculture education around the world, especially in South Africa, the Caribbean and Peru. The Nexus School Loudoun will partner with our INMED affiliates in these countries to offer exciting opportunities for international collaboration for our Loudoun students. All INMED projects include environmental protection and preservation as a core objective. As a good neighbor, we will continue that commitment at Paxton by preserving the existing trees and vegetation boundaries to the fullest extent possible by incorporating permaculture principles.
Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is sustainable agriculture that helps preserve nature, protect plants, and foster ecosystems for plants, animals, and humans. Additional landscaping that promotes pollination and development of ecosystems—such as butterfly gardens, bird watching areas, sensory gardens and plantings of a variety of indigenous trees, shrubs, vines—to foster campus ecosystems will be deeply welcoming for both the wild world and people, offering food and other natural products for self-reliance, as well as beauty and inspiration.
INMED is a nonprofit international humanitarian development organization that has been building pathways for vulnerable children and families to achieve well-being and self-reliance in Loudoun County since 1994. Its Opportunity Center in Sterling is building strong families, resilient children, and opportunities for economic independence, regardless of socio-economic status, disabilities, or special needs.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Smith, Director of US Programs, at:
jsmith@inmed.org.
More about Nexus School Loudoun and Aquaponics
The Trust uses its property in Leesburg to host fun and free events for local kids in need (when there is not a pandemic):
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The Spring Fling
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Fun on the Fourth
These annual events bring the young people of our community and their families to the campus to celebrate kids, family and community.
