Columbus Collegiate Academy (CCA) epitomizes the relentlessness and vision necessary to close achievement gaps in urban education. Started in the basement of a church with 57 students in 2008, CCA evolved into one of the city’s top-performing middle schools. It earned national awards for the gains achieved by students who are overwhelmingly disadvantaged, and grew into a network of schools serving 600 students. I visited CCA in its original location in 2009. Despite its unassuming surroundings, I knew right away this school was different. It was the type of place that inspires you the moment you step through the door. Its hallways echoed with the sound of students engaged in learning. College banners and motivational posters reminded students—and visitors—of why they were there. Teachers buzzed with energy, motivated by a combination of urgency and optimism—all students can and will learn. Its founder and visionary leader, Andrew Boy, spoke deliberately and matter of factly about the success CCA would help each student achieve. He was aware of and sensitive to the challenges facing his students—hunger, trauma, housing instability, and the myriad complications of poverty. But these obstacles would not become excuses upon which to hang blanket statements about children. Boy knew that for the most at-risk students, low expectations victimize them even further—and they deserve better.
Columbus Collegiate Academy – West, a replica of the original CCA, opened in 2012 in Franklinton in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. The school’s relentless focus on academics and high expectations both academically and behaviorally are exemplified through Jahnea’s story. An eighth-grader, she tells about her plans for high school as well as college and beyond—a vision for her own life made possible in no small part because of the expectations CCA leaders and teachers have for her and their willingness to do whatever it takes to help her get there. We hope her story reminds you that this is what’s possible when we invest in and empower high-quality charter schools.
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