In a state where educational opportunities for Black and Brown children are too often overlooked, Tiffany Gilmore is doing something radical. She is building.
Not just building classrooms. Not just building a school. Tiffany Gilmore is building a legacy. She is laying the foundation for generations of Black and Brown children to be seen, nurtured, and prepared for leadership in a world that doesn’t always make room for them.
Garvey Allen STEAM Academy is the name. The mission is bigger than any charter school blueprint. Tucked in Moreno Valley, in the heart of California’s Inland Empire, Gilmore is leading the creation of a groundbreaking institution that centers culture, creativity, excellence, and the future of our youth. And she’s doing it as one of the youngest Black women in California to found a charter school. Possibly the youngest in state history. That fact alone deserves recognition, and it underscores just how powerful her vision is.
At just 38 years old, Tiffany Gilmore is not waiting for policy shifts or political permission. She is creating what our community has always needed — a school where Black and Brown children are taught that brilliance lives inside of them, and that success is not an exception but an expectation.
Garvey Allen STEAM Academy is a public charter school serving grades 5 through 8. But this is no ordinary school. It is a fusion of STEM and the arts, where students become coders and choreographers, engineers and poets, scientists who know their history and can speak their truth. This is a space where identity and intellect walk hand in hand. The kind of space that too many of us never got to learn in.
Gilmore’s leadership is bold. She is not simply adapting to broken systems. She is designing something new. Her work is rooted in the belief that our children deserve to be educated in environments that reflect their culture, honor their potential, and prepare them to lead in any room they walk into.
And she is putting it all on the line to make that happen.
Construction for the new Garvey Allen STEAM campus has already begun. This multi-million dollar build is not being led by a national chain or corporate-backed nonprofit. It is being led by a young Black woman with a vision and a community behind her. She recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $500,000 to help finish the build — not because she lacks support, but because she knows this has to be a people-powered effort.
Every dollar raised goes toward smart classrooms, STEM labs, outdoor learning spaces, arts and sports programs, and scholarships for families in need. This is about access. This is about agency. This is about giving our children the kind of learning environment they have always deserved.
Tiffany Gilmore is not doing this for accolades. She is doing it because she believes our children are the future. Because she believes that when we invest in our youth, we invest in our survival. In our joy. In our power.
Too often, Black women do the work without the recognition. But this moment deserves to be celebrated. Tiffany Gilmore is a pioneer. She is a disruptor. She is a force. And what she is building in Moreno Valley is not just a school — it is a love letter to Black and Brown children across California and beyond.
At a time when education systems are under attack, when books are being banned and diversity programs are being dismantled, this young Black woman is pushing forward with a dream rooted in liberation. She is making a way. And she is asking us to walk with her.
We talk often about lifting as we climb. Gilmore is doing exactly that — creating ladders where there used to be walls.
If you have ever wished for better schools for our babies, if you ever wondered what real change looks like, look no further than Garvey Allen STEAM Academy.
To support Tiffany Gilmore’s mission and be part of building this legacy, visit the GoFundMe campaign here:
https://gofund.me/5275a6e7
This is our moment to show up. Not just for her. For the future she is building for all of us.
