Graham D. Frey has made a lifelong commitment to helping young people to grow and succeed.  Graham is the Chief Architect at Primer. We empower educators to launch schools in their communities. Our schools are designed to deliver exceptional academic outcomes and be affordable for everyday American families. As Chief Architect, Graham is responsible for the design and implementation of the academic program as well as the operation of schools. 

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Graham founded Hallcraft School Studio. Hallcraft is committed to building high-quality non-standard schools that reimagine what education could be. 

For six years, Graham was CEO of Alpha, an innovative network of K-12 schools based in Austin, Texas. Alpha has three promises: students will love school, learn faster and acquire life skills. Alpha provides each child with an individualized learning pathway that enables students to learn faster. 

Over the past two decades, Graham has supported such influential education companies and institutions as LearnCapital, Stride(K12), Kaplan, University of Miami, IMG Academy, and others, both domestically and abroad in China and India. Graham founded several learning companies, including   Tiny Schools, delivering quality, affordable, private education and Moontower Education, providing consulting services to schools, education technology companies, investors, and foundations.

Before his consulting work, Graham served for four years as the Head of School at Verde Valley School, an International Baccalaureate Diploma boarding and day school in Sedona, Arizona. At Verde Valley School, Graham implemented a new financial plan, an overhaul of the academic program (called IB + Dirt), restructured student acquisition, built an effective governance model, and led three major campus renovations. 

Prior to Verde Valley School, Graham held positions as Head of School at Crested Butte Academy, Chancellor for Kaplan Virtual Education, and Director of the Young Scholars Program at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. He got his start in education as a member of the faculty at University School in Cleveland, Ohio, teaching English, history, and mathematics.

Graham is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University. He lives in Austin, Texas where he especially enjoys fly-fishing and grabbing tacos with his two boys, Colter and Sawyer. 

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If you are a school leader, education entrepreneur, or investor in need of a playbook to start, scale, or fix an education program, please reach out for a chat. If you are a parent or student, I also take on a small number of high school families for college counseling services each year and would be happy to explore that experience with you.

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