Founder

Meet Dr. Leslie Sparacello

Dr. Leslie Sparacello is an educator, school leader, parent, and charter-school superintendent with more than 36 years of experience in education. She is the founder of Leader Launcher and Leader Launcher Foundation, the nonprofit organization developing Artisan Collegiate Academy.

Her career has spanned nearly every level and type of education. She has served as a classroom teacher, academic dean, elementary and middle school principal, high school principal, district administrator, associate superintendent, superintendent, university instructor, and leadership mentor.

Dr. Sparacello has worked in traditional public schools, public charter schools, private and faith-based schools, community colleges, and universities. Her experience extends from elementary education through graduate-level leadership preparation, giving her a broad understanding of how students learn, how schools operate, and how education must evolve to prepare young people for life beyond graduation.

Much of her career and life has been rooted in San Antonio. She spent 15 years serving the John Jay High School community on the city’s West Side and raised seven children in San Antonio. Her work has consistently focused on expanding opportunity, strengthening schools, and helping students and educators discover pathways to meaningful success.

Dr. Sparacello holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the University of the Incarnate Word, an Education Specialist degree from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, a Master of Education in Secondary Administration, and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Texas Christian University.

The Story Behind Artisan

A Message From the Founder

I have spent my career working with students who are intelligent, capable, creative, and full of potential—but who do not always see a meaningful connection between what they are learning and the future they hope to build.

Too often, students complete years of coursework without fully understanding how their education connects to their interests, talents, communities, or possible careers. Some students thrive in that system. Others begin to disengage, not because they lack ability, but because school does not feel relevant or purposeful.

Artisan Collegiate Academy grew from the belief that we can do more—and that today’s students need more.

Students should read complex texts, write thoughtfully, solve challenging problems, and master essential academic content. They should also design, build, create, collaborate, communicate with professionals, explore careers, and apply their learning to authentic work.

Rigorous academics and practical preparation for adulthood should not be competing priorities. Students deserve both.

That is the vision for Artisan.

My Experience as a Parent

My belief in this model comes not only from my work as an educator, but also from raising seven children of my own in San Antonio.

Their journeys have spanned the full range of possibilities available after high school. Some became college graduates. Some chose military service. Some pursued trade and technical schools. Others moved directly into the workforce and built successful lives through experience, responsibility, and hard work.

Their paths were different because they were different.

Each child had unique strengths, interests, needs, and goals. Each required different opportunities, guidance, encouragement, and preparation. Their experiences reinforced what I had already observed as an educator: there is no single pathway that defines success.

A four-year university may be the right next step for one student. A community college, technical program, apprenticeship, military career, industry credential, or immediate entry into the workforce may be right for another.

A school should not choose a student’s future. It should ensure that every student understands the available options, is prepared to pursue them, and does not have opportunities closed because of a lack of knowledge, skills, credentials, experience, or access.

Why This Matters Now

Texas is changing rapidly. The state is expected to add between three and five million residents by its bicentennial in 2036, and approximately 87% of Texans already live within the Texas Triangle connecting Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and the communities between them. This concentration of people, industries, universities, healthcare systems, military institutions, and employers creates enormous opportunity—but only when students are prepared to access it.

By 2036, more than 70% of Texas jobs are projected to require a postsecondary credential. That credential may be a two- or four-year degree, an industry certification, a technical certificate, a professional license, or another recognized form of education and training beyond high school. Yet today, only about one in three Texas high school graduates earns a postsecondary credential within six years of graduation.

Texas workforce projections also indicate that nearly 71% of expected job growth will require some form of education or training beyond high school. Students will need more than academic knowledge alone. They will need adaptable skills, professional experience, technological fluency, strong communication, and the ability to continue learning as industries change.

Preparing students for this future requires more than helping them earn a diploma. It requires giving them early exposure to careers, access to multiple postsecondary pathways, opportunities to earn meaningful credentials, and the experience to make informed decisions about what comes next.

Artisan Collegiate Academy is being created in response to that need.

Why the Name Artisan?

An artisan is someone who develops knowledge and skill through study, practice, discipline, reflection, and experience.

An artisan understands that quality does not happen by accident. Meaningful work requires preparation, precision, patience, problem-solving, and a willingness to improve. An artisan listens to feedback, revises when necessary, uses tools and knowledge with purpose, and takes pride in workmanship.

At Artisan Collegiate Academy, pride in workmanship will apply to every kind of learning and every possible pathway.

It may be reflected in a carefully constructed building, a well-designed machine, a compassionate patient-care plan, a thoughtful research paper, a powerful performance, a successful business proposal, a computer program, or a solution to a community problem.

Students will learn that their work represents their thinking, effort, growth, and character. They will be expected not merely to finish tasks, but to produce work of quality and value—and to stand behind what they create.

Whether a student plans to become an engineer, nurse, entrepreneur, educator, architect, technician, artist, attorney, military leader, skilled craftsperson, or enter a profession that has not yet been imagined, the habits of an artisan remain important:

Knowledge. Skill. Discipline. Creativity. Persistence. Adaptability. Craftsmanship. Pride.

Artisan is more than the name of the school. It represents the kind of learner, worker, creator, and contributor we want every student to become.

Returning to San Antonio

The vision for Artisan is deeply connected to my years of living, working, and raising a family in San Antonio.

I have seen the talent, resilience, ambition, and creativity of students across the city, particularly in communities where access to advanced academics, career-connected learning, internships, postsecondary programs, and professional networks has not always been equitable.

San Antonio is rich with opportunity. The city and surrounding region include colleges and universities, major healthcare systems, military institutions, skilled trades, technical programs, research organizations, small businesses, and growing industries.

Too many students, however, do not gain meaningful access to these opportunities until after high school—if they gain access at all.

Artisan is being designed to connect students to those possibilities earlier and more intentionally. When a strong program or opportunity is available through a local college, university, technical institution, employer, or community partner, we will work to create a pathway for Artisan students to access it.

The goal is not to direct every student toward the same destination. The goal is to ensure that every student has meaningful options, relevant experience, and the preparation to pursue the future that is right for them.

From Leader Development to School Creation

I founded Leader Launcher because I believe strong schools require strong, prepared, and supported leaders.

Throughout my career, I have mentored educators and developed leaders at multiple stages—from aspiring teachers and principals to experienced administrators and superintendents. That work has reinforced an important lesson: meaningful school improvement occurs when leaders are willing to question long-standing assumptions, listen closely to students and families, and build systems around what young people truly need.

Leader Launcher Foundation was created to extend that work by developing educational opportunities with the potential to create lasting impact.

Artisan Collegiate Academy represents the next step in that mission.

The school brings together lessons learned across traditional public education, charter education, private education, career and technical education, higher education, leadership development, and my own experience as a parent.

It is not being designed around a single program or pathway. It is being designed around students—and around the many different futures they may choose to pursue.

A School Built With the End in Mind

Artisan begins with a clear picture of the graduate we want to develop: a young person who can think critically, communicate effectively, create meaningful work, respond to feedback, adapt to change, collaborate with others, and confidently navigate the next step.

Every part of the school model will contribute to that outcome—from rigorous classroom instruction and interdisciplinary projects to college credit, industry credentials, mentorships, internships, apprenticeships, and workplace experiences.

Artisan students will graduate with more than completed courses. They will have demonstrated skills, a body of meaningful work, experience beyond the classroom, and an informed plan for the future.

Founder’s Commitment

“As a parent and educator, I have learned that there is no single correct pathway to a successful life. Every student deserves rigorous learning, meaningful experiences, and the opportunity to discover where their strengths can take them. Artisan Collegiate Academy is being created to ensure students leave school with choices—and with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and experience to pursue them.”

— Dr. Leslie Sparacello, Founder