Hailing in high demand from Atlanta, The Veritas Schools is coming to Washington in an immersive educational opportunity that promises to reshape classroom culture, bridge the opportunity gap, and propel the next generation of problem-solvers on a global scale.
The announcement comes ahead of a June 14 virtual information session, where D.C. families can learn about the nationally acclaimed debate school donning scholastic excellence and a drive to shape a better world through enhanced opportunities for gifted underserved youth.
“If we want to truly create economic mobility, if we truly want America to continue to be one of the most innovative countries in the world, our collective advancement is contingent upon our ability to train the next generation of ideators, the next generation of innovators, the next generation of change makers,” said institution founder Brandon Fleming.
At Veritas, that looks like Saturdays in a classroom where, principally, “scholarship meets culture,” while the curriculum informs a deeper analysis of pressing worldly issues that demand solutions.
The pre-collegiate Saturday school strives to bridge the divide in higher education with a focus on practical communication, critical thinking and cultural competence, forging paths to leadership through professional development, global exposure and its revered flagship program, Veritas Debate Institute.
Amid preparations to launch a national expansion, set to kick off in D.C., spring 2026, the leading institute returns to the roots that soiled its fruition in the Virginia-born founder at a young age, with economic mobility and community betterment at the forefront.
“When students step into our environment and they are able to engage and learn in a culture that is designed for their growth, we see that they thrive and their performance accelerates at an exponential pace, and that’s what I didn’t have growing up,” Fleming told The Informer. “We are all commissioned to be the change that we wish to see…and so I’m excited to bring to the DMV area the solution that I’ve created for Atlanta.”
Bringing Atlanta Solutions to the DMV
A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Fleming told The Informer he’s spent most of his career building the type of program that he felt was needed when he was younger, noting his story from drug-dealing dropout to award-winning Harvard educator as more than one of resilience, but the testament of a scholar whose needs weren’t met through public school systems.
“It’s very possible for the right seed to be planted in the wrong soil, and it will never bear fruit. That’s what happens with so many of our children in the school system,” Fleming said, “it has nothing to do with their actual potential.”
Thus, in 2017, The Veritas Schools emerged as a conduit of growth for under-resourced students, leading academic curricula that focuses on social sciences, philosophy and debate prep to help scholars compete in the college admissions process and scale a broad impact, even beyond the Saturday school.
“If you take 150 students and you set them on a path to high earning careers and prestigious colleges and impactful positions, you are, in fact, changing the trajectory of a large group of students, families and communities who are underserved but don’t have to be,” said Tameka Thomas, head of schools.
Thomas touted D.C. as a pivotal area to expand on a mission of surging economic mobility and “the power structures that come with it,” noting the vibrant scene of politics, public speaking and debate, and critical thinking that illuminates the city, and in turn, would benefit local applicants.
While sharing her own educational upbringing, Thomas highlighted that, despite being different from Fleming’s, common flaws of the education system can hinder any scholar looking to thrive, a reality The Veritas Schools aims to reroute.
“I can’t help but ask myself, how much better, how much more could I have benefited from someone who was not just focused on the student who was struggling severely…but someone who focused on the student who’s extremely smart, who has all of the ability in the world, but just needs the actual opportunity,” Thomas told The Informer. “We want to make sure that every single scholar that wants to think critically, to dream big, to expand what they’re capable of doing beyond the limits that people have placed on them, that they have the opportunity to do that.”
One aspect forwarding this mission is the Veritas Debate Institute, donning seven cohorts that have consistently emerged as champions against hundreds of students from over 25 countries in Harvard’s international residential debate program.
Thomas underscored that the debate school is far more than the competition and winning titles, but a multifaceted approach that can propel leaders in multiple areas of life, from research and diplomacy, to critical thinking and problem solving.
For 2019 alumnus Xavier Shankle, honing these skills in conjunction with an environment where the outside world “feeds the classroom” has already served a pivotal impact, both academically and occupationally.
“From a theoretical perspective, and then on a more tactical level, you really are prepared professionally to really go out into the world and change it,” Shankle told The Informer.
Advancing the Next Class of Problem-Solvers
As one of the forthcoming lead instructors of the D.C. location, Veritas alumni Natalie Martin shared some of the principles she’s looking forward to instilling in her own students next year.
“For me, I had never been loved by an instructor prior to being taught [at Veritas]. Going into a classroom where you know that your instructor loves you and wants the best for you completely changes your mindset,” she told The Informer. “That is something that I think should come before anything.”
Martin and Shankle lauded The Veritas Schools as a place where culture, identity and humanistic teaching inform instruction, further challenging students in a notion of healthy discourse and higher order thinking about how to shape and enact change beyond the walls of the campus.
Both Georgians share an interest in education and justice that only piqued in the hands of the faculty. Shankle notably touts a growth in maturity and effective communication as a result of critical classroom discussions surrounding areas like educational inequity, food deserts, and Black home ownership, as just a few examples.
“Those are real discussions that we had at 18, 19, years old,” he explained. “One of the things that Mr. Fleming always says is that, our generation, we’re not up next, we’re up now. No matter what age you are, you should be thinking about the problems facing the world.”
Moving forward, Shankle said he strives to carry his “Veritas principles” with him in every room he finds himself in, particularly noting its support throughout his matriculation at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as his work as a current first-year at Harvard Law School.
Similarly, Martin has leveraged the classroom philosophy of “not missing moments” as a junior at George Washington University, adding hopes to see future applicants do the same.
At the June 14 informational meeting, participants can expect to learn about: the institution’s success – such as matriculating more Ivy League students per capita than most private schools in America; the application process; and its immersive programming, including the global component where students embark on learning journeys abroad to further develop as global citizens and leaders.
Additionally, the session will include insight from Veritas alumni, parents, and faculty to build momentum in time for the spring 2026 enrollment, which will include the inaugural Veritas Preparatory Program for grades 5-8.
For the D.C., scholars on the cusp of applications, Thomas touts a warm welcome to the life-long movement of culture, excellence and academia that is The Veritas Schools.
“Watching these students move through the world in a completely different, powerful, impactful, confident and secure way. That is something that you just cannot put a price on, you can’t overlook and you can’t underestimate the impact that it has at large,” Thomas told The Informer. “I venture to say that we are not a program, we’re a movement, and I invite people to be a part of that movement and family.”
To register for the June 14 informational meeting, visit http://www.theveritasschools.org/dmv.