Global Connection Academy to Welcome
Dawn Fleming-Kendall as Dean

Dawn Fleming-Kendall, her husband Darrell, and their four children, Austin (6), Brantley (5), Carter Rose (3), and Ellis (1).

February 8, 2024

Global Connection Academy is welcoming Berkshire School District Director of Pupil Services Dawn Fleming-Kendall for the 2024-2025 school year. 

Fleming-Kendall comes to GCA from Berkshire Local School District, where she has served as district’s Pupil Services Director for over a decade. A baccalaureate graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, she received her Master’s in Education from Western Michigan University. Her career in education spans more than 18 years. 

Global Connection Academy board chair and CEO Lucie Liang said Fleming-Kendall’s lifelong career in education along with experience working with students with a variety of needs and abilities made the choice obvious. 

“At GCA, we are committed to helping our students reach their full potential,” said Liang. “I am confident that Dawn will provide GCA with the direction and leadership needed to guide our students to become the shining stars they truly are.”

Kendall-Fleming and her husband, Darrell, have four children (one of whom is special needs), are adoptive/foster parents, run a non-profit farm store and education/employment center, and own a cattle farm called Broken Yoke Ranch in Thompson. One of their sons, Brantley, is a kindergartener at GCA.

“I am excited to take on the role of dean for GCA because it offers a unique opportunity to create innovative and disruptive educational changes to our students and community,” she said. 

Global Connection Academy’s curriculum emphasizes experiential learning, which pushes the boundaries of traditional education past the limitations of textbooks and worksheets. Students take part in hands-on activities like construction, gardening, cooking, and even business planning as part of their day-to-day activities, so they’re not just learning about doing things– they are learning how to do things firsthand. 

Global Connection Academy, which is located on a sprawling 36-acre campus in the former Ledgemont School building on Burrows Road in Thompson, opened for its first school year this past September.

The ODE-accredited private school will offer grades kindergarten through sixth for the 2024-2025 school year, with an additional grade level being added annually through 2031. For more information, visit GlobalConnectionAcademy.org or call (440) 296-2786.