How much privilege do you need? That was my first thought when news broke about the college admissions cheating and bribery scandal. The news was a painful reminder to me that the odds are stacked against you if you are poor or, even worse, a poor person of color in America.

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 […]

If you do the math, factoring in what the WNYC data showed about attrition for elementary, middle, and high school grades, a hypothetical group of 72 first-graders at a typical district school serving kids through Grade 12 would be expected to have about 11 students remaining by the time they were ready to graduate. Compare that to the Success total: 23 students remaining, 16 of them graduating seniors.

On Thursday, June 7, our very first class of high school seniors graduated at the stunning Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, 100% of them college-bound, many with full scholarships.

This week, our trailblazing high school seniors were featured in the first of a two-part Wall Street Journal article examining our high school model (which you can learn more about by taking the high school virtual tour!).

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!

A group of middle schoolers might not be the obvious choice to turn to for advice on time management, cultivating a strong work ethic, and investing in your passions — but you’d be remiss to skip over our scholars. They might be young, but my 5th – 8th graders are incredibly hard-working, intelligent, and invested […]

Many people understand that you need strong scores to get into elite colleges, but they don’t realize how much our education system is flawed — that it often stacks the odds against minority students. So the top score isn’t always what’s the most important. Together, my class and I achieved an average score that was far above the rest of the country’s. It wasn’t just me who took part in this achievement — it was all of us.

One of our scholars was selected as one of just 80 participants (out of 2,400 applicants) for the prestigious Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) program at MIT. High School of the Liberal Arts Principal Andy Malone shares two emails from the scholar recounting this truly special experience.

Current and former Merrill Lynch interns offer inside looks at their experience, while another Success Academy student shares what he learned interning with 300 Entertainment.

On Saturday, April 29th, Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts hosted its inaugural College Admissions Case Studies Program. Danielle Jakob created this event for our founding scholars and their families — now in 10th and 11th grades — which placed them in an admissions officer’s seat for the day.

Through the work of our Manager of Pre-College Programs and our College Access and Persistence Team, our scholars have already secured spots in 35 different summer programs, across the U.S. and abroad.

Last week, over 150 students gathered in a Success Academy auditorium to learn about college life from successful African American professionals.

Ever since I was five years old, I have loved the idea of working in the medical field — it’s been my dream.

When I arrived at Summer Arts Institute in July, I was nervous and excited. But again the nerves went away — from the minute I stepped through the door, we sang non-stop every day.

This summer, I had a life-changing experience at the Future Latino Leaders Law Camp at American University in Washington, D.C.

This summer, Success Academy high school scholars explored the Canadian wilderness, created digital animation from scratch, practiced medicine, and studied psychology, law, and art at prestigious schools and programs across the United States. As one of five college access and persistence counselors at the high school, I helped many of these bright young men and women navigate the application process to elite summer programs and submit their first high-stakes applications.

In case you missed it… we’ve rounded up some Success Academy November highlights!