(Source BlackNews.com):
NATIONWIDE — Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (BELA) Charter School, an all-girls high school in Brooklyn, New York, is celebrating its first graduating class in the school’s history. Even more, all of the graduates have been accepted into college!
Launched in 2017, the school has since aimed to help overcome the educational inequalities encountered by Black and Brown youth by empowering “each young woman to be the best version of herself.” And its first batch of graduates proved exactly that.
BELA’s class of 2021, which consists of 90% Black and more than 75% first-generation college students, brags of a 100% college acceptance rate. The students applied to over 150 different colleges and universities and received almost $1 million in merit-based scholarships.
Meanwhile, the school recently held a “college shower” for their senior class. All of 50 students were each given college gear, which includes duffle bags, dorm supplies, and a pair of wireless headphones.
“Today, you are rewriting history and contributing to the legacy of District 16 and Bedford-Stuyvesant,” BELA co-founder and head of school Nicia Fullwood said to the graduating students, according to Patch.
“We’ve always said that you all were destined for greatness, that you’d change the world in ways we could never imagine. Despite your non-traditional senior year, today, we celebrate all of you,” she continued.
Learn more about the academy at www.belahs.org
