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Miami-Dade Grads Celebrate with Cheers, Tears and Big Dreams
“Here’s to new beginnings!” declared Precious Lemorin as she and nearly 100 other graduates of Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies were celebrated at the first in-person commencement ceremony held in mo...
Nadi Sambrana: ‘As Long as They Do Their Work, I’ll Be There’
When Nadi Sambrana talks to young people about the importance of working toward their high school diplomas, she doesn’t deliver a lecture and ask them to accept it. She urges them to do their own rese...
At New Escambia Academy, Building ‘A Generation of Future Leaders’
Maria Jacobs knows what it’s like to have adults who recognize how hard it is to be a teenager — and who are eager to help them earn a high school diploma and map a successful path to adulthood. She l...
Juvan Lester: Putting Mistakes in the Past, College in the Future
But for St. Lucie Acceleration Academies, Juvan Lester says, the grave mistake he made as a young teenager — a mistake that gave him a criminal record — might have defined and darkened his future path...
‘Education Comes First. It Opens So Many Doors’
Naxieli Serret hopes that her example of determination will make her a good example for her baby boy, Samuel. “Education comes first. It opens so many doors. It opens up your mind,” says the St. Luci...
Martin County Grads Reach for the Stars
June saw an exuberant group of Martin County Acceleration Academies graduates grab their diplomas and march toward their brighter futures. Having overcome many hurdles along the way, the grads used th...
At Lowcountry Luau, Students Learn ‘The Sky’s the Limit’
The Lowcountry Luau proved to be more than a coming out party for a new high school option in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. It was also a place where students, educators and community ...
Denisha Palmer: ‘This was the only place that was able to help me’
Math doesn’t come easily but, as Denisha Palmer can tell you, neither does life. The young woman had almost completed high school when her daughter was born and she was thrown off track.. Two years la...
Academies in Action: What Graduation Day Means
Each month, we take a moment to learn from the educational leaders who are bringing the Acceleration Academies mission to life, day in and day out, by asking them to answer a simple prompt. This month...
Miami Grad Malik Frye: ‘It Just Made Me Better’
Unlike most of his classmates at Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies, Malik Frye had not spent time in a traditional school, sitting at a desk in a crowded classroom, changing classes with the bell, wai...
St. Lucie Grads Celebrate Their Tenacity and Brighter Futures
The 31 young men and women who were celebrated during the June commencement ceremony of St. Lucie Acceleration Academies had overcome struggles — ranging from poverty to anxiety to overwhelming work a...
Sarasota Grads Celebrate Their Grit and Hopes
Victoria Santiago gazed out at her fellow graduates in the Sarasota Acceleration Academies Class of 2021 and reminded them of the quality that had brought each one of them to Commencement Day. “Do you...
