Free Game Academy is hosting its inaugural "Level Up" event Saturday to recognize 100 students while testing a model for equitable academic support across two states.
The daylong gathering runs from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club in Chamblee, bringing together fourth through eighth graders from Atlanta and Jackson, Mississippi. One hundred nominated students will participate in activity zones covering financial literacy, digital skills, professional development and self-expression.
"We're thinking about this differently," said Natasha Reed, a coach at Free Game Academy. "This event is to galvanize and celebrate education, but it's also about acknowledging that the communities we serve—especially rural students—don't have equitable access to the same resources and opportunities as their peers in denser areas."
Free Game Academy operates on a model treating tutoring, mentorship and exam preparation as public goods rather than privatized services. The organization has secured partnerships with Huntington Bank, Target, Coca-Cola and The Robinson Legacy Foundation to distribute costs while keeping direct services free to students.
Reed emphasized the event's inclusion of caregivers and educators alongside students. "A lot of times when you talk about students, people forget about the parents, and the parents are a big part of their village, as are the educators," she said. "We try to empower all the way around."
The geographic split between Atlanta and Jackson tests whether a single intervention model can address structurally different problems. Atlanta faces within-district inequity where school funding formulas produce stark differences between neighborhoods. Jackson confronts a shrinking tax base and chronic underfunding affecting the entire district.
Scheduled at the tail end of the academic year, the event functions as both celebration and transition ritual. For fourth through eighth graders, grade advancement often marks movement between distinct school buildings. By ritualizing that moment, Free Game Academy treats promotion as a developmental milestone worthy of community recognition.
The evening component at Big Play Entertainment Center reinforces a message that academic progress connects to leisure, play and joy alongside skill-building. Twenty complimentary passes are being distributed through social media.
What remains unclear is how Free Game Academy measures whether the event produces durable outcomes. The organization's ongoing tutoring and mentorship work will matter more than the single celebration. Still, events create moments of visibility and signal institutional commitment, providing students with concrete evidence that their progress matters to adults beyond their families.
