ANNOUNCEMENT from The Lincoln Academy:
The Lincoln Academy Board of Directors has officially approved moving forward with campus expansion, following action taken at its February 4, 2026 meeting. The decision moves TLA beyond feasibility work and into the next phase of design and implementation, shaped by months of planning and community engagement focused on meeting growing demand and broadening educational opportunities.
Read the full announcement in our TLA Newsroom.
Expansion FAQ
We have an active waitlist of roughly 200 families and ongoing demand from Beloit residents for high-quality, school options. The expansion would allow The Lincoln Academy to serve more Beloit children, reduce waiting times, and expand programming in career pathways.
There is a range of work required to clear the way for a final expansion decision including negotiations with the Hendricks Family Foundation and Hendricks Commercial Properties for the donation of land, city regulatory approvals, and feasibility assessments related to the final design of the site and the building expansion. The goal is to finalize that work and allow for a final approval by the Governing Board in early 2026.
We have seen the positive impacts of a single K12 school and our feasibility work is focused on designing an expansion that allows us to maintain the K12 model with all scholars in a single facility. Our education model and our three pillars will remain the same though our goal is to expand the available career pathways.
The exact number of seats and grade distribution will be finalized during the design and municipal review process and shared publicly.
We anticipate most new seats will be filled by Beloit residents, consistent with current enrollment patterns. Admissions will follow state charter school law and our published enrollment policy. State charter law allows any Wisconsin resident to enroll.
As a public charter school, TLA receives a per pupil payment directly from the state. The payment amount is included in state law. As a charter school, TLA is unable to levy local taxes and does not receive property taxes. Private donors provide the resources needed to fund operations beyond state aid. Private donors will also fund any costs associated with an expansion.
We are in the process of conducting a traffic study. Both traffic and parking considerations will be considered as a part of the city approval process.
Safety is a core priority. Plans will meet or exceed all building and fire codes. We will include secure access points, supervision plans for scholar arrival/dismissal, and emergency evacuation procedures.
We will only use photos or quotes of scholars with explicit parent/guardian permission. We will never publish a child’s photo with personally identifying details without consent. All media requests will follow FERPA and our photo-release policies.
Continuity of special education services is essential. We will maintain certified special education staff and IEP (Individualized Education Program) processes and coordinate with families and, where applicable, the resident district to ensure uninterrupted services.
We will recruit staff locally and regionally and will post all openings publicly. Our hiring and screening processes will follow existing procedures.
We will maintain an expansion landing page on our website that will include the following information as it becomes available: 1) Frequently Asked Questions, 2) Implementation timelines and decision-making status, and 3) Design plans or renderings.
We will have regular conversations with the Parent Leadership Council regarding the project. We also intend to host a community meeting to allow other local citizens to ask questions and provide feedback. The date of that session will be noticed and advertised on our website.
As scholars move from one school option to another, whether through open enrollment or enrollment at a school like TLA, resident districts need to adjust to changing enrollment numbers. In Wisconsin, funding follows the scholar so enrollment changes also impact district budgets.
Submit questions via email to info@tlabeloit.com. If you prefer a phone call or in-person meeting, please be sure to share your contact information when you email.