
Mrs. Katy McKinney
B.A., Business Administration, Principia College
Education, Chapman University
Mrs. Katy McKinney is the Founder and President of Lafayette Academy and serves as the visionary for the school. Mrs. McKinney has been passionate about education and teaching ever since she was a child. However, in 2011 she and her husband rediscovered their love of history, specifically American history, when they attended a lecture given about our founding fathers. It was then that they realized how much of their American and world history they were never taught. They committed themselves to learning as much as they could about our history and vowed their children would have a different experience.
To that end, McKinney founded and became the Head of School for what was then called Classical Academy de Lafayette (CAL) in December 2016. Her goal: to offer an exceptional classical education— focused on great books, the western tradition, and the timeless principles that founded this country— not only for her three children but for as many children and adults as would be interested. In May of 2023, her role shifted to Founder and President as a new Head of School was hired to support her and the continued growth of the school.
Mrs. McKinney is passionate about all things “education” and has found herself in some form of teaching over the last 20 years. Having taught elementary and middle education in San Diego, CA, Albuquerque, NM and St. Louis, MO, she is an experienced leader, educator and businesswoman with degrees in Elementary Education and in Business Administration. She has also founded and directed a pre-school, developed curriculum for elementary schools, and home schooled her own children. Before they were parents, she and her husband were the owners/brokers in a successful real estate investment and management start-up.
Mrs. McKinney lives in Foristell, Missouri, with her husband, Justin, and three children, who all attend Lafayette Academy. In their free time, she and her family enjoy learning more about their American and world history and then traveling to see it for themselves. They’ve visited places like Trenton, NJ, Gettysburg, PA, and Rome, Italy to name a few. When home, Mrs. McKinney, her husband and their three children love to spend time together shooting trap, fishing in their lake, reading books, watching quality movies, playing cards, and playing with their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Locke (named after John Locke).