If Urban Prep can...so can we....

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http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-16/news/ct-met-all-accepted-to-college-0217-20110216_1_urban-prep-academy-charter-school-acceptance-letters

Urban Prep Charter School in Chicago has done it for a second consecutive year!  If they can, we can too! Sure they get to pick who attends their school every year and we don't BUT should that matter?  We can educate all of our students and move towards a 100% graduation rate from high school and have ALL of our senior class attend college, trade school, or enter the military.  Why not!  When we begin to seriously invest in ALL of our students...not just say that we are...but really and truly do it...we will begin to move towards these type of results.  The school will graduate 104 African American males this year...very sharply dressed, I might add.  They have been accepted to 103 different institution of higher learning.  

"On Wednesday, Urban Prep Academy for Young Men celebrated its repeat with a tie-exchanging ritual in which the final three seniors to receive acceptance letters exchanged their red uniform ties for red-and-gold ones as the other seniors did before them."

We must adopt the "by any means necessary" mentality.  That means not rushing out of the door at 3:00pm because that's the end of your work day.  You may have to tutor on the weekends, after school and before school.  Think back to when you were in school.  I'm sure someone reached out their hand to you just as someone did for me.  We have been passed the torch and bear that same exact responsibility.  After all, that is why we entered the field of education, isn't it?  It wasn't for the money and I think we can all agree on that!  Urban Prep has grasped the mentality of going above and beyond...

"Skeptics last year had questioned whether grads would actually attend college and be able to succeed in higher ed programs. One of the school's missions is to ensure students earn that bachelor's degree, so King and his staff have helped secure money for plane tickets, driven students to college campuses, held workshops for alumni in the summer and winter, and checked up on them. Of the 107 seniors in 2010—the school's first graduating class—101 enrolled in college, King said. Three went into the military and another three joined the work force."

If this doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will!  There are positive African American males all over the world!  This is just a small story....