At This Brooklyn High School, 100% of Grads Are Going to College on Scholarship

On Friday, Ember Charter Schools held its inaugural high school commencement ceremony at one of the school's facilities in Bed-Stuy, with a keynote speech from Brooklyn Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Breon Peace.

Walking the stage in gold academic robes and stoles proudly bearing the pan-African colors were 20 graduating students — all of whom have been accepted to college on full and partial academic scholarships. All of the graduates are students of color, and nearly all will be the first of their direct family to attend college. 

"For us, this represents a proof point," Ember Charter Schools founder Rafiq Kalam Id-Din II said of his students' success. "Look at what's possible when you invest longitudinally, and you focus on a trauma-informed approach and you don't chase test scores. When, instead, you focus on the development of human beings. When you do that, great things are possible."

Congressman Jeffries, who is a longtime supporter of the school, even wrote a reference letter for one of the graduating students applying to the Air Force Academy, Brother Rafiq said. At the ceremony, the congressman congratulated the graduates as "future leaders" and commended the "top-notch education" they had received.

Brother Rafiq started Bed-Stuy's Ember Charter Schools in 2011. The school's focus is on helping Black and Brown children break the chains of generational poverty through a holistic education model that takes a trauma-informed approach, promoting healing and recovery.

In August 2020, Ember opened its high school. The high school operates out of a co-working space in DUMBO, where students are referred to as entrepreneurs and the school curriculum includes daily mindfulness practice, family social work services and HBCU college tours. Entrance is by lottery, due to demand (Ember currently has 200 applications for the next cohort). The school is public, so it's completely free on admission.

Brother Rafiq is also one of the teachers in the school, and handily lists each college his graduates have been accepted to off the top of his head: North Carolina A&T, Clark Atlanta, Temple, UMass Amherst and more. About 30% of the graduates are going to HBCUs, he said. Each student has his or her own story, and Brother Rafiq knows all of them well. 

"About 80% of the class has been with us for more than eight years, which meant they spent elementary school, middle school and high school with us. And so, for me, many of them represent the deepest investment that Ember has been able to make them." 

Khemra-Akhi Mothudi, 17, started at Ember in 2020 and is now headed to Air Force Academy Prep to study aeronautical and aerospace engineering before joining the military. Mothudi lost his mother at a young age and was raised by a single father in Clinton Hill. He told BK Reader that not only did Ember help him work towards getting into the Academy —including facilitating a recommendation from a congressman — the staff was also there to help when his grades dropped. A long talk with teachers from the school helped him tackle his issues with self-doubt and perfectionism, and get back on track to his goal, he said.

Emanuel Roberts, 19, said he was struggling with behavioral issues when he came to Ember as a 5th grader who had been held back. The support of the school helped him to start achieving, and now, he's headed to study computer engineering, he said. Graduate Isaiah Walker said Brother Rafiq was one of the first people he called when he was assaulted with a knife. "I believe he has my back no matter what," he said.

Elizabeth Regalado, 16, is the first of anyone in her extended family to attend college, where she hopes to become a lawyer and tackle the "unjust" criminal justice system. She said her family was "surprised, shocked and amazed" at her success. "I'm very, very proud of myself and my family as well."

Regalado said the school was unique with its focus on mental health. During the pandemic, staff noticed when her mental health started suffering. "They could just tell when you're not yourself or when you're going through something. So they provided me therapy sessions every week, once a week or twice a week." 

One day, Ember hopes to have a mental health professional in every classroom, Brother Rafiq said. The school is currently advocating for more funding, and for further recognition of trauma in funding models. Brother Rafiq said the mental health challenges of the pandemic and the racial awakening that came with George Floyd's death reinforced for him that the school's focus on anti-racism and healing was "the right thing." 

"I think once people get a chance to see what we think is one of the best kept secrets in Brooklyn — a school that focuses on self-efficacy, self-esteem and cultural knowledge and understanding at the intersection of entrepreneurship... I think we will have even more demand," he said.

In the future, Brother Rafiq is focused on his next goal of opening the first public boarding school in New York City, right here in Bed-Stuy. "What happens if we can actually wrap them in this experience and the Ember way 24 hours a day, seven days a week?" he asked. "That's our big vision that we are trying to move forward."