Thea Bowman Leadership Academy first opened as a K-6 charter school on August 18, 2003.[1] With each passing year, Bowman Academy added an additional grade level. As of the 2009–2010 academic year, the school had expanded its program to accommodate all thirteen grade levels, from kindergarten through 12th grade. Students who entered the program as 6th graders in August 2003 comprised the school's first class of graduating high school seniors in June 2010.