New York, NY –
September 3, 2010: The Eagle Academy
Foundation, which runs all-boys public
schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, will
open a $50 million state of the art school in
the Bronx at the start of the new school year on
September 8, 2010 at 8:00am.
Governor David Paterson, Chancellor Joel
Klein, Russell Simmons, a supporter of
the school, Allan Houston,
members of the U.S. Congress and other elected
officials will be present at the opening to
celebrate the launch of the new school.
Two thousand or more are expected to attend the
opening, which will close off several streets in
the area. Those attending will include students,
parents, community leaders from the Bronx,
school officials and local residents.
In 2004, One Hundred Black Men, Inc.
and The Eagle Academy Foundation opened the
first Eagle Academy for Young Men at a temporary
facility in the Bronx, starting the movement to
help save our sons with the help of the City of
New York, the Department of Education, former
New York Senator Hilary Clinton
and other elected officials. Now six years
later, the new permanent school will serve as a
home and epicenter to the national movement to
save our young men of color.
“The Eagle movement was founded by One Hundred
Black Men, Inc. and the launch of the new school
is a culmination of the movement to save our
sons,” said David C. Banks, President of
the Eagle Academy Foundation. “We look
forward to continuing this national movement and
our model of success in the new building.”
The new $50 million, 78,500 square foot,
state of the art facility features:
- Wireless Internet connectivity throughout
- Apple computers in every classroom
- A music room with a sound booth recording
studio and a floating floor
- A Senate room for debate
- A full sized, regulation basketball court
and volleyball court in the gym, and a
wall-to-ceiling partition to divide the room
- An impressive, modern weight room
- An art room with a vaulted ceiling, a 20 x
10 ft window to allow natural light throughout
the day, pottery wheels and a kiln
- Outside terrace
- Central air and
heating
The Eagle Academy schools educate and mentor
young men, assisting them in becoming future
leaders committed to excellence in character,
scholastic achievement and community service.
One Hundred Black Men, Inc. and The Eagle
Academy Foundation are committed to making the
Eagle Academy a national model for other
initiatives that promote educational excellence
by instituting comprehensive after school
programs, a lengthened school day, a mandatory
Saturday institute, a mentorship program that
guarantees a mentor for every student, a summer
bridge program, greater demands on parental
involvement, peer to peer support systems, a
comprehensive teacher development institute,
strong principal leadership, and other tools.
Efforts are tied to an acute understanding of
the unique needs of young men, who are
unfamiliar with the requirements of a college
preparatory, educational experience.
The Eagle Academy for Young Men is
located at 4143 Third Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457.
About the Eagle Academy Foundation
The Eagle Academy Foundation funds the Eagle
Academy for Young Men. The Foundation is
committed to the development of a network of
all-male, college-preparatory public schools
from grades 6 through12 that educate and develop
young men into future leaders, who are committed
to excellence in character, scholastic
achievement and community service. The
Foundation is focused on creating Eagle
Academies in challenged, urban communities with
excessively high rates of incarceration. Current
Eagle schools are located in the South Bronx and
Ocean-Hill Brownsville in Brooklyn and the third
school is scheduled to open in September in
Southeast, Queens.
One Hundred Black Men, Inc. is
the founding partner of the Eagle Academy for
Young Men. One Hundred Black Men, Inc.
continues to work in partnership with the Eagle
Academy Foundation. OHBMI supports mentoring
programs at the schools and provide scholarships
for Eagle students.