This has been another year of big wins for our students and our organization, and we are so glad that you have been a part of the amazing things happening on Esperanza’s campus every day that change individual’s lives and transform our communities.
This year, the School Reform Commission voted to allow Esperanza to open an elementary school in the fall of 2017, closing the gap in our pipeline from Kindergarten to college. The first group of 8th graders from our middle school to transition to our high school successfully completed 9th grade. Likewise, we are proud to announce Esperanza Academy Charter High School’s 13th graduating class!
In the video above, you met Rafael. It’s easy to see what an intelligent young man he is, but did you know that he is also an artist? Or that he’s a community advocate and president of the National Honor Society? Or that he is a recent immigrant from Colombia who managed to learn an entirely new language while becoming his school’s valedictorian? (You can read more about Rafael’s journey with Esperanza Academy in his testimony for the hearing for the Esperanza Elementary charter, here.) We feel so fortunate to be a part of the stories of so many brilliant young people who come through our schools with their own sets of struggles and triumphs and emerge victoriously over adversity.
Our students are resilient and our teachers and staff work diligently not only to educate but also to enrich the lives of every student who walks through those doors. Time and again, we have seen examples of the incredible things our students can do. They are not limited by the implications of their zip code nor by what they see on the nightly news whenever Hunting Park is mentioned. They are not stereotypes nor are they statistics. They are bright and intelligent young adults who continually exemplify #HispanicExcellence.