Giving Tuesday – Cicero Prep

The Lindsay family has consciously chosen that “Great Hearts is our passion, Great Hearts is our calling, and Great hearts is our community.”

Megan Lindsay, and her family have been with Great Hearts, since 2011, when the first K-5 academy, Archway Veritas, was opened. Now as the Dean of Academics, and Drama teacher at Cicero Prep, with three girls that have graduated from Cicero Prep, and one who will graduate from Veritas Prep in 2025, Megan says that ‘We have consciously chosen as a family, that Great Hearts is our passion, Great Hearts is our calling, Great Hearts is our community’. 

In 2011, Megan and her husband, Walter, were homeschooling her girls, but had a friend who was currently teaching at Veritas Prep, the original Great Hearts Academy. It was becoming apparent that homeschooling was not the best fit for their family, but the Lindsays wanted more for their girls than what the district schools could provide; both in terms of academics and moral foundation. 

They found out that Archway Veritas, would be opening, and ‘jumped on it prety quickly’. Initially, they were enthusiastic about the opportunity for their two middle children, but had concerns about whether this newly formed charter school would be able to accommodate their oldest daughter Margaret (Maggie), who is blind. 

Eventually, they were convinced that the opportunity outweighed potential drawbacks, and were intrigued by the opportunity to help develop and collaborate with the Exceptional Student Services program at the new charter school. Ipads became available when Maggie was in 4th grade, and the Lindsay’s purchased one immediately. They were happily surprised at how a school whose philosophy was based on no electronics in the classroom, in order to reduce pop culture and encourage reading and writing via traditional methods, readily embraced the use of electronics to meet Maggie’s need for access to texts in larger font size and audio books. Great Hearts partnered with the Lindsay family, and met regularly with the Foundation for Blind Children, to adjust accommodations as needed, and help the other students understand Maggie’s needs, as they were integrated into the classroom. 

Mrs Lindsay states, that per the Foundation for Blind Children, the accommodations and support that Maggie received were FAR advanced from what would have been available within a district school setting. This enabled Maggie to progress through the standard course work, and graduate with no need for curriculum changes. The Lindsay’s were very pleased that Maggie was included in the Great Hearts philosophy that all students can rise to the challenge of a rigorous curriculum, and that expectations were not reduced in order to make it easier for the faculty or Maggie. 

In 2019, the Lindsay girls had learned about the opportunity to transfer to Cicero Prep, one of the newer Great Hearts Academies. Cicero had the reputation of very strong, loving culture, oriented toward friendship. The girls wanted to take advantage of the new academy that would be providing the same educational opportunity, for the purpose of developing relationships that enable us to be happy as human beings, and that the work is part of that, but cannot be the only part’. 

The following year, Megan joined the girls, as the new Cicero Prep Drama teacher. Leading the 11th & 12th grade classes through their annual dramatic productions and developing both the Middle and High School extracurricular drama programs. 

The Lindsay’s now have only one student left in High School, with the older three in college. Megan proudly speaks of all three in private colleges, thriving beyond expectations. ‘Their love for education and people is so deeply connected to our family’s investment in Great Hearts’. 

The Lindsay’s are now searching for the next season of their life within Great Hearts. Megan Lindsay continues as the High School Drama teacher, but is transitioning into Administration as the Cicero Prep Dean of Academics. She believes that her educational journey with her own four girls, consistently advocating for their best interests within the Great Hearts program, gives her a unique perspective when working with faculty and families to uphold the rigorous academic standards while meeting individual student needs. 

Her husband serves by providing tech theatre and robotics as extracurricular opportunities and has served on several Leadership Commitees. And at least one daughter, Eva, a 2021 graduate of Cicero Prep, intends to return to the academy to teach in order to ‘give the same love that she received.’ Eva is thrilled to be able to sit in on working Cicero classes during college breaks, observing and learning from her former teachers. 

The Lindsay family has every intention to continue their journey within Great Hearts. The question they are currently asking themselves is, ‘Where can we best serve or support?’ Wherever their journey takes them, will certainly make a positive impact on the community. 

This Giving Tuesday, we applaud Megan Lindsay, and the entire Lindsay Family for all they give to Cicero Prep every day! Will you join us in our efforts to give back and raise $15,000 today to support CiceroPrep? By joining the movement, you are ensuring our classrooms continue to provide a tuition-free private school caliber education in a public-school setting. Click here to Donate to Cicero Preparatory Community Investment. #GivingTuesday