As families and staff head off to relax and celebrate the holidays, I want to share some thrilling news from the high school. Over the past week, our founding senior class heard back from many of their early action and decision applications. I’m proud to report that 14 of the 17 seniors have already earned an admissions offer, with 23 acceptances overall! Below are scholars who got into their top-choice colleges:
- Elyjah Pellew – Boston College
- Moctar Fall – MIT
- Kelvin Jennings – Tulane
- Noumoutche Fanny – Skidmore College
- Mame Seck – Barnard College
- Suneil Jeter – Emory University
- Michel Sidemion – Tufts University
This is a huge milestone for our entire network. Since SA Harlem 1 opened in 2006, the scholars, parents, and faculty of Team Success have worked tirelessly to prepare our scholars for college. From alma-mater classrooms to fight songs at community circle, college access has been a driving force in our design and a defining element of our culture.
I’ve worked closely with our seniors over the past three years. Watching them get into their top-choice schools, I was filled with a kind of joy that is hard to capture in words. But while celebrating these individual victories, I thought, too, about the meaning of their accomplishments for our broader network. As a former fourth grade teacher and middle school principal, I know firsthand how much hard work — and how many dedicated people — contribute to a single scholar’s educational trajectory. Every read aloud, number story, field study, pep rally, chess match, and bulletin board play their part. I was sitting next to Mame when she got into Barnard, but hundreds of our SA family members helped her to reach that moment. Eva herself was her SFA teacher in first grade!
I have never felt more humbled, nor more grateful to be part of Success Academies. When it comes to college, we have much hard work left to do (remember, the ultimate goal is college graduation in four years…and we will soon have 1,500 seniors every year!). But certainly, our first round of college acceptances is a moment to celebrate. And we should celebrate that moment as one network, one team. Whatever your role, wherever your school, you have contributed in some way to this landmark achievement.
Here’s the video of Mame, enjoy and share — and stay tuned for more!
I look forward to sharing more exciting college results in the new year!
