Smith Leadership Academy featured on Channel 7's Urban Update
Boston, December 28, 2009-Smith Leadership Academy's Head Karmala Sherwood and 8th grade student Erin Douglas joined leaders of the Boston Learning Center (BLC) yesterday for a discussion of urban education on WHDH-TV's Urban Update. Hosted by Byron Barnett, this Channel 7 multi-cultural program explores news events and issues affecting minority communities in the Boston area.
The Academy works closely with the BLC which provides the school with tutoring during school hours as well as after-school. The BLC also works with parents and students through BIFF (Building Inspiration to Fight Failure), a motivational program that helps students succeed in school.
"Erin Douglas is a wonderful ambassador for the Academy," said Sherwood. "She, like many other students, is an example of how hard work and determination will help you achieve academic success."
Located in Dorchester's Fields Corner, the Academy is a charter public middle school which serves many students who in the past have been marginalized by the urban educational system. The majority of the Academy's 200-plus student body is of African-American, Latino or Caribbean-American heritage. This year, the Academy is working with members of its first graduating class, now seniors in high school, to help them gain acceptance into a college of their choice.
