Success Academy Concludes First Week of Remote Learning with 97% Attendance

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MARCH 23, 2020***

Contact:
Liz Baker, 646-904-4200
[email protected]

Contact:
Ann Powell, 646-894-6407
[email protected]

Success Academy Harlem 6 first grade scholar, Leslie, reads with her new classmates.

New York, NY — Almost 18,000 Success Academy scholars ended their first week of remote learning with an average attendance rate of 97%. On Thursday, March 19, about 5,000 middle school and high school scholars logged into their virtual classrooms via the BlueJeans video conferencing platform, while 13,000 younger scholars in grades K-4 were counted “present” after twice-daily phone debriefs with their teachers, covering the reading, math, and science assignments of the day.

Parents and teachers proudly shared photos of the first day: kids reading, showing off their handmade schedules and personal work spaces. Many of the younger scholars had dressed in uniform for the day, even though it’s not required for remote learning. Scholars shared videos of themselves reading aloud for their teachers, and one class had a group FaceTime to sing “Happy Birthday” to their classmate.

“Our scholars show us every day in the classroom how much they love learning,” said Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools. “I’m not surprised to see that they are proving their grit and integrity in this new frontier!”

Success Academy announced on Friday, March 13 that on-campus learning at its 45 schools would transition to remote learning beginning on Thursday, March 19. While the network’s Academics team focused on daily course work for grades K through 12, school leadership met remotely with faculty to plan daily routines and best practices. While scholars in grades 4-12 each had school-issued Chromebooks, younger learners had to have coursework that did not require the support of personal digital devices. Ahead of the first day, Moskowitz held a number of “town halls” via BlueJeans to introduce parents to the remote learning framework and answer questions.

Parents’ reactions on social media were overwhelmingly positive:

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ABOUT SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOLS

Founded in 2006, Success Academy Charter Schools are free public K-12 schools open to all children in the state through a random lottery. With 45 schools across Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, Success Academy enrolls 18,000 students, primarily children of color from low-income households in disadvantaged neighborhoods: 74% receive free or reduced-price lunch, 94% are students of color, 16% have disabilities, and 8% are English language learners. Success Academy schools received more than 17,000 applications for about 4,000 open seats for the 2019-20 academic year.

For more information about Success Academy, go to successacademies.org.