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Miami Grad Kelly Bolanos: ‘It wasn’t some regular school; it was like this second chance’
Kelly Bolanos is on a roll. A high school diploma in hand, college credits to her name and, soon, a career that feeds her passion for nurturing young children. Bolanos, though, will be the first to te...
Success by the Numbers — Using Data to Engage Young Learners
Alison Hansen has always had a way with numbers. But the Bethel Acceleration Academy content coach doesn’t just teach students how to master their math. She also uses numbers to have “data-driven conv...
Immigrant Students Find Learning Home at MCAA
As she travels around Martin County, Jeannette Navarro regularly encounters young people who remind her of her childhood self — recently arrived immigrants from Latin America who are striving to learn...
New Grads Celebrate the Dream No Longer Deferred
For many, if not all, the 25 young women and men who graduated on January 21, a high school diploma once seemed a dream beyond their reach. But with perseverance, grit and support from the educators a...
‘Just Follow Your Dream’ — Samantha Mendoza Perseveres to become 1000th Graduate
During Samantha Mendoza’s junior year in high school, she dropped out. And in years that followed, her life changed in big ways — particularly when her son, Jael, was born a year and a half ago. At ag...
Dr. Sunny Booker: Finding an Alternative Path for Young Learners
For Dr. Sunny Booker, providing a non-traditional option for students who’ve faced struggles in their lives is more than a job — it’s her life mission. Booker, who leads alternative education in St. L...
Newspaper Spotlights Bethel Grad’s Triumph Over Adversity
Bree Thom grew up in a household riven by drug addiction, but she decided she wanted something better. Her search led her to Bethel Acceleration Academy, where she found a learning community that help...
Accelerated Grads Get a Head-Start on Their Hopes
A healthy number of students come to Miami-Dade Acceleration Academy in hopes of accelerating their studies. Chloe Marmol, who aspires to work in the hospitality industry, is on track to become anothe...
Vietnamese Newcomer Seizes his American Dream
Thien Nguyen recently became one of the latest graduates from CCAA’s East Campus. His story begins with his mother immigrating with her family from Vietnam a year and a half ago to participate in the ...
Just in Time To Claim His Future
It doesn’t matter when or where you earned your high school diploma, what road you took, how old you are or what year you were supposed to graduate. That’s the mindset of Brandon Sueing, who just grad...
ABC News Features Sarasota Acceleration Academy Grads
Renée Gilmore of ABC News recently featured Sarasota Acceleration Academy grads Bill Lewis and Chris Tillman on her Empowering Voices program. Bill and Chris talked about how SAA staff members helped ...
Racial Trauma is Real, and We Have the Power to Heal
Bethel Acceleration Academy Career & Life Coach Jennifer Hyppolite asks: How can we channel these emotions to become agents of change? We all have gifts within us that can impact the social justic...
