April 23, 2026
The school wants to instill confidence in its all-girl students to become leaders in society.
Identity Preparatory Academy wants young girls in Nebraska to be themselves as the private school prepares to open.
Identity Prep has already made history as the first state-approved Black-founded school in Nebraska. As it prepares to transform academic opportunities in North Omaha, it does so with a steadfast mission to empower girls.
According to KETV, the school’s purpose was developed with the families and daughters it aims to educate. Understanding their concerns and wishes surrounding education, the “Dreams of our Daughters” became pivotal to this unique learning approach.
“We invited the families and their daughters to come in. We called it the Dreams of Our Daughters. They talked about what kind of education that would be nourishing for them would look like,” explained DerNecia Phillips, founder and chief executive of Identity Preparatory Academy.
“And then we built it out.”
The families in its pilot programming shared their ideas for activities they’d want offered and the culture they wish to create at the “liberated learning community,” as described on its website. However, academic achievement remains a priority, building a school where students’ voices and strengths are integral to the program.
“We want high-quality education and academic excellence at the forefront. The way we’re getting there, and the track we’re laying, is that it needs to be culturally fortified. Our girls need to see people that look like them and leadership that looks like them,” Phillips added.
As for its single-gender enrollment, Philips noted that research supports her claim that an all-girls education better serves female pupils. According to The Guardian, analysis by the FFT Datalab confirmed all-girls students in England do better in exams as opposed to those in mixed-gender institutions, even for boys in single-gender schools as well.
Other studies, such as one published by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, found similar results. Their investigation also found that students who graduated from all-girls institutions had higher rates of academic engagement and confidence. Now, Philips wants to bring this learning model to North Omaha.
Alongside its technical approach, the school also embraces cultural belonging, as evidenced by its use of the Sankofa symbol. From the Twi language of Ghana, the symbol means “to go back and get.” Now, Identity Prep has taken this meaning to represent bringing past educational values to the future.
Ingrained in the neighborhood, community members have stepped up to serve as educators at this trailblazing school. With its vision centered on affirming and nurturing young girls to become future leaders, Identity Prep has high hopes once classes are in session. Once the new school year begins, educators will work to ensure their learning space fosters confidence, creativity, and academic achievement.
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