Amy Rich
Founder & Executive Director
Dear Friends of Millie's Place,
Welcome to the beginning of something truly special — and thank you for being part of it.
This school started with a simple, stubborn belief: every child deserves a place where they're truly seen, understood, and given the chance to thrive. That belief took root watching my daughter, Millie, navigate a system that wasn't built with her in mind. It carried me from an idea to this moment.
Our mission is straightforward: to provide inclusive, personalized education that supports the whole child — academically, socially, emotionally, and physically — while giving families and educators the research-based tools they need to help every learner thrive. Our vision reaches further than our walls: a world where all children have access to education tailored to their individual strengths and needs, and where every child grows up with a genuine sense of belonging.
After 15 years in Dallas ISD — as a teacher, instructional coach, and school leader — and through a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant focused on personalized learning, I saw great education from both sides of the door, and I saw its limits. The system was built for the middle. Everyone else was expected to adapt. I built Millie's Place to flip that: the school adapts to the child.
Because of donors like you, that belief is no longer just an idea. Millie's Place is a real, living community where mastery-based learning meets integrated support from our partners at Lumira Pediatrics. Here, families can feel confident that their child is safe, welcomed, and loved for exactly who they are and what they bring to the table — while being held to the same standard of growth as any other child.
As we grow toward our full campus, here's what I hope you'll help me build: a place where every kind of learner — however they move, communicate, or process the world — sits at the same table, works on the same projects, and celebrates the same wins. I believe children don't just tolerate each other's differences in a truly inclusive classroom — they learn from them. That's not a compromise on excellence; it's what excellence actually looks like.
Thank you for believing in this vision, and for investing in the people I love most. We are just getting started, and I cannot wait for you to see what your generosity is making possible.
Whether you gave your first gift this year or you've supported this vision since it was just a plan on paper, you made this possible. We don't take that lightly, and neither do the students who get to learn every day in a place built specifically for them.
We'll keep you updated with news from the classroom throughout the year. In the meantime, if you'd like to see it for yourself, we'd love to have you visit.
Amy Rich
Founder & Executive Director, Millie's Place Academy