Brooklyn nonprofit "I Will Graduate" works to boost high school graduation rates
NEW YORK - More than 13,000 students from across the city are expected to fill the seats of Barclays Center on Oct. 24 for "I Will Graduate" day, an educational rally encouraging students to get focused, and stay focused, on school.
"This is the biggest celebration of education that New York has ever seen," says Tonya Lewis Taylor, executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit I Will Graduate.
Akwasi Agyeman is what the program would call a success story. He got involved in high school. Now as an adult, he's back, hired after college as their new program and projects manager.
"I Will Graduate was very instrumental in providing me tailored guidance that would help me achieve my specific dreams," he said.
Leaders at the program say his story is exactly the kind of results they want to see.
"You know when you're making a difference when someone who came through the program says 'I want to help you take this and make it greater,'" Taylor said.
Their outreach includes social-emotional learning, test and homework prep, tutoring, music and art programs, professional workshops, college tours - the list goes on.
They're also active in the community. Every week, Councilmember Chi Osse hosts "Wellness Wednesdays" at Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the nonprofit sets up shop as part of their community engagement efforts.
For Agyeman, being part of the team is a full-circle moment.
"You don't necessarily have to wait until you've accumulated a certain amount of financial capital before you give back to your community when you can just work in your community every day," he said.
Since their founding in 2008, the program has worked with more than 300 schools. Their all-day rally in October is expected to have a star-studded lineup, to be announced soon.
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