ogo okoye-johnson

State Board of Education Approves Eagle Collegiate Academy Charter School

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ECA LogoThe State Board of Education during its July 8, 2020 meeting approved the establishment of Eagle Collegiate Academy Charter School.

Eagle Collegiate Academy’s “ECA” founding team is very excited that ECA will answer the need of children and their families in the communities of Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley, San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas for a public college and career preparatory International Baccalaureate (IB) World school that approaches teaching and learning holistically from the Primary Years Program (PYP), to the Middle Years Program (MYP) and to the Diploma Program (DP).  Our faculty and board are elated that our four-year passionate endeavor to bring the unique benefits of these programs to our community has been rewarded.  ECA’s selection of Spanish and Korean in its World Languages program is especially well aligned to the interests and desires of our community.  Eagle Collegiate Academy will open with Pre-K to 3rd grade in the Fall of 2021.

Eagle Collegiate Academy will empower students to become self-confident, egalitarian and authentic global citizens prepared for 21st century careers and responsibilities.  ECA encourages each student to develop talents and interests as an independent-minded person among a diverse body of students, parents and faculty who together embark on a continuous lifelong learning process.  Students will participate in a rigorous, college preparatory program that is characterized by low student-teacher ratios, an extended day for academic enrichment, frequent assessments to monitor student progress, and a series of intensive interventions that are focused on quickly accelerating the learning of scholars who are performing far below grade level.  ECA will use data-driven differentiated personalized instruction and innovative curriculum to ensure that students experience the discipline and excitement of academics, the pride of developing personal character and integrity, the creative opportunities provided by the arts and extracurricular activities, the rigor and pleasure of athletics, and an awareness of, respect for and involvement with the community in which they live which allows them to graduate college and career ready with a deep understanding of the relationships among disciplines.

For Further information on ECA founding team, board members, philosophy and programs, please contact Dr. Ogo Okoye-Johnson, founder and CEO and/or at: www.eaglecollegiateacademy.org; https://twitter.com/EagleCollegiate; https://www.facebook.com/eaglecollegiateacademy/; https://www.instagram.com/eaglecollegiate/

About California Public Charter Schools: a public charter school is a publicly funded, public school open to any student in the state of California. California’s legislature approved provision for the creation of public charter schools in order to accelerate and increase the drive for competition, excellence, and continuous improvement in the state’s free, public educational system.

Congrats Class of 2020!

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Grad-2020

A hearty congratulations to the class of 2020 at all levels of education!   You made it against the odds!

President Barack Obama’s virtual commencement addresses on May 16, 2020 during the “Show Me Your Walk H.B.C.U. Edition” for the historically black colleges and universities graduates and the “Graduate Together” event for graduating high school students captured the unique essence of graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Obama told the HBCU graduates:

But these aren’t normal times. You’re being asked to find your way in the world in the middle of a devastating pandemic and terrible recession. The timing is not ideal. And let’s be honest – a disease like this just spotlights the underlying inequalities and extra burdens that black communities have historically had to deal with in this country. We see it in the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our communities, just as we see it when a black man goes for a jog, and some folks feel like they can stop and question and shoot him if he doesn’t submit to their questioning.

 

Injustice like this isn’t new. What is new is that so much of your generation has woken up to the fact that the status quo needs fixing; that the old ways of doing things don’t work; that it doesn’t matter how much money you make if everyone around you is hungry and sick; and that our society and democracy only works when we think not just about ourselves, but about each other.

 

Then President Obama gave the following 3 pieces of advice to the graduating high school students:

First, don’t be afraid. America’s gone through tough times before – slavery and civil war, famine and disease, the Great Depression and 9/11. And each time we came out stronger, usually because a new generation, young people like you, learned from past mistakes and figured out how to make things better.

 

Second, do what you think is right. Doing what feels good, what’s convenient, what’s easy – that’s how little kids think. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs, still think that way – which is why things are so screwed up. I hope that instead, you decide to ground yourself in values that last, like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others. You won’t get it right every time, you’ll make mistakes like we all do. But if you listen to the truth that’s inside yourself, even when it’s hard, even when its inconvenient, people will notice. They’ll gravitate towards you. And you’ll be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

 

And finally, build a community. No one does big things by themselves. Right now, when people are scared, it’s easy to be cynical and say let me just look out for myself, or my family, or people who look or think or pray like me. But if we’re going to get through these difficult times; if we’re going to create a world where everybody has the opportunity to find a job, and afford college; if we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, then we’re going to have to do it together. So be alive to one another’s struggles. Stand up for one another’s rights. Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us – sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed – and set the world on a different path.

 

You can find both President Obama’s entire speeches at this link.

Black History Celebration is Ongoing!

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Obama-BH Speech 2
Black History celebration is ongoing because Black history is made daily in all works of life and in ordinary day to day living!

“But progress in this nation happens only because seemingly ordinary people find the courage to stand up for what is right. Not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard. Not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s challenging.

We don’t set aside this month each year to isolate or segregate or put under a glass case black history. We set it aside to illuminate those threads — those living threads that African Americans have woven into the tight tapestry of this nation — to make it stronger, and more beautiful, and more just, and more free.

President Barack Obama

Obama-BH Speech 1

 

California’s $53 Million Lawsuit Settlement to Improve Reading

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Children of the Promise Prep Academy

Children of Promise Preparatory Academy, a charter school in the Inglewood Unified School District is one of the schools that filed the lawsuit.

On Thursday February 20, 2020, in the Los Angeles Superior Court, 75 elementary public traditional and charter schools won a $53 million lawsuit settlement against the State of California for violating the students’ civil rights. The Ella T. vs. the State of California, lawsuit filed by students and their teachers two years ago claimed that the state denied the students their constitutional right to an equal access to a quality education because the students did not meet state standards in reading.

The lawsuit was filed by Public Counsel, a pro bono public interest law firm and the law firm of Morrison & Foerster. “We shouldn’t have to be filing lawsuits to establish a right to read. Achieving literacy for all children is one of the single most urgent issues in California, “This settlement is a milestone in that struggle,” said attorney Mark Rosenbaum from the Public Counsel law firm.

Read more here and here!