100% OF SUCCESS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO ATTEND 4-YEAR COLLEGES FOR SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Jess Siegel, 516.458.1331
[email protected]

Taylor Fleming, 631.662.4841
[email protected]

100% OF SUCCESS ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES TO ATTEND 4-YEAR COLLEGES FOR SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

51% headed to selective institutions or selective programs
98.8% with acceptance offers meeting full financial need

New York, NY, June 6, 2024 — At a time when Black and Hispanic college enrollment has declined to historic lows, and socioeconomic gaps have darkened the futures of so many children, Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts’ graduating class has defied the odds. Yesterday, in a joyful Commencement ceremony at Madison Square Garden, the 168 graduates, their families, and hundreds of educators — many of whom had taught them over their 13-year journey — celebrated their record-breaking achievements.

For the seventh consecutive year, 100% of Success Academy’s graduating class have been accepted to a four-year college or university, with 51% of them headed to selective institutions or selective institutional programs, including Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and Tufts University. Importantly for their economic reality, 98.8% of the class received at least one acceptance offer that met their full financial need — 68% are from low-income families and 91% are Black or Hispanic. More than half of the class are the first in their families to attend college.

“We at Success are focused on scholar preparedness,” said Eva Moskowitz, Founder and CEO of Success Academy. “We know that the class of 2028 will be tested and challenged, but we also know that they are ready. I can’t wait to see all that they will accomplish.”

Commencement speaker and Principal of Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Manhattan Rachel Keane, addressed the class, “Throughout your journey at Success Academy, you’ve never stopped following your curiosity. You traveled across the country to compete in debate elimination rounds, prestigious chess tournaments, soccer and track competitions, and festivals of visual and performing arts.”

Most of the graduating seniors entered Success Academy in 2011 as kindergarteners and first graders at one of the nine Success Academy schools in Harlem, Bronx, and Brooklyn that were open at the time. Today, Success operates over 55 schools, enrolling 20,000 students.

The Class of 2028 — so named because that is the year they expect to graduate from college —
has pursued their ambitions with exceptional zeal, and Success Academy has supported them along every step of their 13-year journey. This class saw some of the highest levels of academic achievement of any Success Academy graduating class, including:

• The most AP distinctions
• The highest percentage on the Dean’s list
• The best average GPA in their first semester

    
To close equity gaps and provide a truly world-class arts education, Success Academy partners with a broad range of institutions to create opportunities beyond the curriculum. This year’s graduates went above and beyond:

• 4 qualified to participate in Success Academy’s dual-enrollment programs with Columbia and Hunter, taking courses in Calculus I, Calculus II, Introduction to Computer Science and Entrepreneurship.
• 51 scholars participated in one of the 35 – 45 summer college programs that SA provides— opportunities that are provided at no cost to students, and which are beyond the means of most families whose children attend SA.

   
“Encouraged by your families, teachers, and peers, you stretched outside of your comfort zone with astounding results – your mantra is the class that gets it done,” said Keane. “Now you’re ready to make your own mark at the institutions that will be so lucky to have you.”

The Class of 2028 also distinguished themselves in their co-curricular activities, including chess and debate. Chess Team Captain Ann Goldey (Cornell) won the Girls Under 18 National Championships in Chicago in 2023 and finished in 2nd place at Grade Nationals in 12th grade, together with teammates Christopher Baez (Rochester Institute of Technology) and Jessica Hyatt (University of Massachusetts-Boston). Hyatt also traveled to Montesilvano, Italy to play in the World Youth Chess Championships. Joseph Leiva (Case Western), Joanne Opoku (Amherst), and Aminata Bathily (Dartmouth) earned Policy Debate bids to the Tournament of Champions by competing at tournaments including the Harvard and New York City Invitationals. Zackhery Facey (Harvard) qualified to compete in Policy Debate at the NSDA National Tournament in June.

Fast facts about the Class of 2028:

• Demographics
  • 68% receive free or reduced price lunch
  • 58% are Black
  • 33% are Hispanic
  • 5% are white
  • 2% are multiracial
• This class included Success Academy’s first graduates to attend Amherst College, Claremont Mckenna College, Clark University, Clarkson University, Covenant College, Florida International University, Hamilton College, University of Massachusetts-Boston, University of Miami, and Wellesley College.
• The graduates are attending 65 colleges in 15 states, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Hampshire, Virginia, Illinois, Louisiana, and Wisconsin.

    
The Class of 2028 College Commitments:
Amherst College
Babson College
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Claremont Mckenna College
Clark University
Clarkson University
College of the Holy Cross
Columbia University
Cornell University
Covenant College
CUNY Baruch College
CUNY Brooklyn College
CUNY City College
CUNY College of Staten Island
CUNY Hunter College
CUNY John Jay College
CUNY Lehman College
CUNY Medgar Evers College
CUNY New York City College of Technology
CUNY York College
Dartmouth College
Emory University
Florida International University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Mount Holyoke College
New York University
Northwestern University
Pace University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rochester Institute of Technology
Skidmore College
SUNY Binghamton University
SUNY Brockport
SUNY Cortland
SUNY Fredonia
SUNY Oneonta
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
SUNY Stony Brook University
SUNY University at Albany
SUNY University at Buffalo
Syracuse University
Temple University
Trinity College
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Massachusetts – Boston
University of Miami
University of Mount Saint Vincent
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Verto Program at Syracuse University
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University

About Success Academy
Since its founding in 2006, Success Academy has created the highest-performing public school district in New York state, and a national model of access to excellence for children across all demographics. We enroll over 20,000 children in our 55 plus elementary, middle, and high schools. The majority of Success Academy scholars are from low-income households in disadvantaged neighborhoods, admitted through a random public lottery. Our distinctive K-12 approach, designed as a holistic thirteen-year educational trajectory, leads to student outcomes that outpace even those in affluent suburban schools. To date, 100% of SA’s graduates have been accepted to college, many to highly selective institutions. Most are the first in their families to have the opportunity for higher education. We regularly share our groundbreaking curriculum and methods with educators and school leaders across the country. By scaling excellence and reigniting the civic mission of education, Success Academy is leading a movement to reinvent public education. All children can thrive and achieve in school, in college, and in life — Success Academy students and teachers prove it every day.

# # #