Rise Academy Founder Rick Baumgartner will host a ‘Purple Celebration’ for Prince and renowned educator Marva Collins at the Lubbock Civic Center from 8 to 12 Friday night. He said he wants to honor them for the indirect impact they had on the founding of the Rise Academy.
Baumgartner said the six degrees of separation started in 1985 when Prince donated $500,000 to Marva Collins Westside Preparatory School. Collins took that money and expanded the school to include a teacher training program. That’s where Baumgartner comes in.
“In the summer of 1987, I was was one of those teacher apprentices who was able to come and train with her, and later become a teacher for several years at Westside Preparatory School in Chicago,” Baumgartner said.
While Baumgartner worked with Collins, he was able to learn how to open and run his own charter school. He did just that in 1999 when he founded the Rise Academy in Northeast Lubbock.
“It was an opportunity of a lifetime to go there and train and to learn her methodology,” Baumgartner said. “How she approached things, how she motivated students and just the very high expectations she had for students.”
Since Collins and Prince died within a year of each other, Baumgartner said his ‘Purple Celebration’ is a way to pay tribute to both of them. He is fronting the celebration himself and that any extra proceeds will be donated to the Rise Academy. Tickets are $10 at the door and it is open to the public.
“You can’t go wrong with the music of Prince,” Baumgartner said. “I’ll also be explaining and honoring Marva Collins as well and talking about her legacy.”
The Rise Academy is a tuition free charter school that sets high expectations and the belief that students can be achievers regardless of their backgrounds.
