Dr. Shelta J. Richardson

Academic Growth in Slidell, Louisiana

Dr. Shelta J. Richardson, CEO of The Academy of Early Learning, has worked in the field of education for over 25 years in various settings, from corporate childcare to faith-based settings. Her college career also made an impact on her work with the Academy. She went to college to be a Band director and came out as a childcare director. “This is important because my love of the arts transferred into the very mission of the Academy. Towards my senior year in college, I fell in love with the business side of childcare. I watched directors fail miserably with their schools and so desperately want ed to help them,” explains Shelta. “My boss at the time allowed me to write a labor thesis for my MBA program that allowed me to test-drive different strategies to make schools successful. It was during this time that I developed a business model that simply succeeds. It is the very business model I used for the Academy.”