Just take a look at the number of students from Eastern University Academy Charter School in Philadelphia who go on to graduate and attend college, and you can’t help but be impressed.
The school, which opened its doors in 2009, touts an early college focus, meaning that most of its students take college classes long before they officially enroll. That strategy has worked.
In 2013, every enrolled student graduated and received a college acceptance. The same was true in 2014. Last year, the numbers slipped a bit, but were still strong. Of the 50 students who graduated that year, 47 were accepted to college—seven to historically Black colleges and universities; 12 to states schools; 22 to private institutions and 6 to community colleges.
“We promote a college culture,” says Omar Barlow, the principal and chief executive officer of the school which educates about 300 students in grades 7 to 12. “By middle school, our students get the idea that that ‘I can really go to college.’”
Since 2012, students at Eastern have enrolled in more than 150 college courses, mostly at the Community College of Philadelphia or Eastern University.
As an open admissions school that services a mostly Black and Brown demographic—many of whom faced learning obstacles early on—these numbers would make any administrator overjoyed. This is particularly true when one considers that many of the students who entered Barlow’s school in the 7th grade were reading at third-, fourth- and fifth-grade levels.
Still, the Philadelphia School District’s Charter School office has recommended that Eastern—which provides a holistic, college-integrated learning community dedicated to the education of each students in the context of his/her unique interests—be shut down.
