Is a specialized high school the best option? Should I stay or go, is what many kids are asking themselves. In the case of Idalis Antonia Soto and Cana Iinuma, two SA scholars who were accepted to Brooklyn Tech last year, the answer was to stay. They’re now in the spring of their freshman year at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts, and agreed to share how they came to their decisions and what they’re enjoying so far about this first year at SA HSLA.

Rooms buzzing with energy; blue and orange backs hunched over chessboards; the murmur and occasional shout of unsolicited advice; cheering and a little good-humored trash talk from scholars looking on as their peers scrimmage between tournament games; coaches doling out words of encouragement, guidance — and occasional remonstrance; and child after child heading off to […]

SA Union Square is buzzing as performers run through a tech rehearsal for the annual Performing Arts Festival. The festival has been in the works since the fall, with schools from across the network refining dance, chorus, band, theater, and poetry pieces in hopes that they will be included in the evening’s program. All in all, 363 scholars from 16 schools were selected to perform in the event on February 20 — a sold-out success.

Every school at SA has its own psychologist, who works closely with scholars to help them thrive. Traci at SA Harlem 4, and Alexandra Franklin at SA Bronx 2 Middle School, are two such experts who make it their mission to provide dedicated support for our scholars. Here, they come together to discuss what healthy stress management looks like and offer suggestions for supporting scholars at home.

Every February Success Academy enjoys visits from some very important “guests.” Michelle Obama, Malcolm X, Hank Aaron, Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, and Morgan Freeman are just a few of the legends who can be spotted in our classrooms during Black History Month.

Three of SA HSLA’s most promising debaters flew to Emory University in Atlanta recently to compete in the Barkley Forum. Extremely selective, the Barkley Forum admits only two or three competitors from schools with strong speech and debate programs each year. This year, juniors Tajaih Robinson and Bintou Cisse, as well as sophomore Silma Bathily, made their way down South to test their prowess against the nation’s top debaters.

When Tyreen Sims decided to change careers from psychologist to teacher, she hadn’t expected to work across the street from where she grew up — with a principal she’s known since elementary school. This is the happy accident that unfolded at Success Academy Harlem 2, where Tyreen started as a lead science teacher in 2015. She took us inside her school to show us exactly what makes it feel like home.

Success Academy debaters and athletes competed in some major tournaments this January, marking several significant milestones for our programs. We’re excited to share the news about these incredible accomplishments!

It seems like just yesterday that we waved the founding class of SA graduates off to college, but they’ve already completed their first semester of freshman year! Recently, several of our graduates returned to SA High School of the Liberal Arts for an inaugural reunion. Members of the Class of 2022 shared pizza, cookies, and […]

We asked eighth graders from across our middle schools to tell us about what they loved in middle school. Not surprisingly, many recounted how much they loved their electives and team experiences. We’re excited to share with you the reflections of three eighth graders, from Success Academy Harlem North Central, SA Harlem West, and SA […]

Last year, Success Academy doubled down on our commitment to play with the introduction of “Choice Time” in Kindergarten. Now, five days a week for hour-long periods, our youngest scholars head to the Blocks Room, or stay in their classrooms and choose among stations dedicated to sensory materials (clay, play dough), building materials (Legos, Tinkertoys), dramatic play, art, reading, creative writing, and board games.

It might be possible to find a museum or exhibit in New York City that allows you to investigate original scientific research, test out Rube Goldberg machines, or observe historical reenactments all on one visit. It might be possible — but you are more likely to find this kind of learning adventure at your nearest Success Academy middle school.

The Greater NY Scholastic Chess Championships, held each year in downtown Brooklyn, is one of the most competitive scholastic chess tournaments in the country. Our scholars did amazingly well as teams and individuals, with five individual wins in the top three, and seven team wins in the top three!

If there’s one thing we love even as much as reading at Success Academy, it’s helping our scholars find and develop their writing voices. From elementary school onwards, our scholars practice writing every single day. Once they’ve learned to convey strong and precise ideas with clarity, purpose, and structure, they have a lifelong tool for […]

A select group of Success Academy scholars headed south this past weekend to compete in the 2018 National K-12 Grade Chess Championships. This event, held in Orlando, Florida, is set apart from other national tournaments in that scholars compete in teams and divisions based on their grade in school rather than on their chess ranking. Scholars from SA Upper West (3rd grade), SA Union Square (4th grade), SA Hudson Yards (5th, 6th, 7th grades), SA Bed Stuy 1 Middle School (8th grade), and the SA High School of the Liberal Arts (11th grade) gave it their all during seven intense games, and they returned laden with trophies!

Even though Keagan Whitehurst-Nicks is still learning and growing — after all, he’s only in fourth grade — there are a few things that he’s absolutely certain about. The first is that he will one day host his own talk show, titled Keeping up with Keagan. Secondly, his favorite subjects are theater and math. Third, […]

As our scholars, staff, and families enjoy the holiday season and winter break, we want to express our gratitude for everyone who is working together to build magical schools for our kids. You’ve created a community that wants for all children what we would want for our own; in fact, there are almost 60 of you who are so committed to our schools that you are both employees and Success Academy parents!

Natasha Storonsky Becker and Katelyn Klipfel are not teachers, but play an essential role in helping Success Academy scholars learn and grow. As school psychologists, at SA Washington Heights and SA High School of the Liberal Arts, respectively, they work directly with scholars, teachers, school leadership, and families to foster not just scholars’ academic growth, but their social and emotional development as well. Recently, we spoke with Natasha and Katelyn to get a sense of the essential work they and other school psychologists across the SA network do, day in and day out.

It was 2017 — Eni’s first year of teaching at Success Academy. After graduating from Harvard University, she joined Success in July, and from that moment on, it had felt like she was on the world’s craziest roller coaster. There were ups and downs, highs and lows, and it all happened at breakneck speed.

Imagine yourself on a stage — you’re 11 years old and about to perform — but instead of tap dancing or singing, you’re here to calculate. You’re presented with a question: Find a number, n, so that when you multiply n by itself, you get the product 0.000081. There are only thirty seconds allotted to […]

Every fall at Success Academy, our school communities become extremely excited for several not-to-be-missed events. One, of course, is the annual Halloween Parade. Another is far less commonly found in schools these days: a good old-fashioned Spelling Bee. We love our Bees because they foster determination and confidence in scholars — plus they’re fun!

When Success Academy 10th graders Ebrahim Jaiteh and Kiera Toussaint first arrived at the Loomis Chaffee boarding school campus, they were slightly shocked by the sound of silence — and the number of trees. The setting, so unlike the noisy bustling streets of where they grew up, would be the first of many differences that […]

The arrangement of a Success Academy classroom requires thoughtfulness, strategy, and — most importantly — creative joy. With every change, no matter how small, the teachers of SA Fort Greene were enacting a vision of the learning environment they wanted their scholars to experience.

Brittany Giovinazzi, SA Operations Chief of Staff, knows all about the logistics behind the learning at SA schools. She’s been working in operations at Success since 2012, starting out as an Operations Manager at SA Harlem 3. This is Brittany’s seventh summer of school renovations, so we caught up with her to learn more about the management behind the magic.