Summit Academy Charter School is located in the New York neighborhood of Red Hook, where many families live below the poverty line and only 4% of people have a college degree. One of the school's goals is to send all of their students on to college, and in 2016, they managed a 93% success rate. For 2017, they were pushing for the full 100%!
A couple weeks ago, Ellen invited the school's founder Natasha Campbell and principal Cheryl Lundy Swift onto her stage to tell the story of the school, surprising them with $25,000, donated in partnership with Walmart.
The educators were overjoyed and agreed to come back on the show later with some of their students.
When they returned this week, they brought the entire graduating class of 2017 with them, letting them tell their stories and hopes for a college education.
"I’m not going to be a disappointment. I’m going to be somebody," one of the students told Ellen.
"A lot of us are really fortunate," Ellen said, "and we take for granted how easy our life is." Then she announced that every single one of the 41 students would be receiving a four-year scholarship to any State University of New York.
She had once again partnered with Walmart, this time for a gift worth $1.6 million. There were so many joyful tears and hugs!
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