THE EAGLE ACADEMY FOUNDATION INC
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Mission Statement
The Eagle Academy Foundation challenges systemic barriers, thereby empowering young men of color to achieve their desired educational, career, and life outcomes. We deliver strategic direct-impact work and advance institutional change toward equity.
About This Cause
The Eagle Academy Foundation (EAF) has exhibited a long history in the deliberate implementation of evidenced-based academic and enrichment programs uniquely designed to improve outcomes for boys of color residing in New York City communities disproportionately overwhelmed with crime, poverty, and low levels of educational attainment. In 2002, a small group from the One Hundred Black Men of New York united together to address systemic shortfalls in education that were funneling vulnerable young men of color into the prison pipeline. At the time, a Columbia University study revealed that 72% of the entire New York State population came from only seven neighborhoods in New York City. In response to this alarming statistic, The Eagle Academy Foundation (EAF) was established to shift the life trajectories of young men of color away from misfortune and towards positive life outcomes. Our mission has been to establish and support the network of all-male, grades 6 through 12, college-preparatory schools which are intentionally located in challenged, under-resourced, urban communities. Eagle Academies educate and mentor young men into future leaders committed to excellence in character, scholastic achievement, and community service, and we promote these principles nationally. There is an Eagle Academy located in each borough of New York City, and one in Newark, NJ. Of our currently enrolled students, 93% of our young men identify as Black and Latino, over 30% have a special needs designation, up to 40% enter the Academies performing below grade level, and 80% qualify for free or reduced lunch based on family household income. Relevant characteristics from the recent traumatic effects of COVID-19 include, nearly 2,000 of our families have accepted financial assistance from EAF to address financial hardships (including food insecurity, utility payment, and rent), and over 250 students currently live in temporary housing. Moreover, the young men we support come from communities that were some of the most impacted by COVID in the nation. In response to these and other challenges, EAF’s whole school model utilizes approaches that are rooted in leveraging the resources of the entire network and applying a holistic, asset-based perspective to our programming. Part of what makes EAF’s value proposition unique is our network-wide praxis that ultimately extends our services to young men of color beyond the Academies. Led by its visionary President and CEO, Donald M. Ruff, Jr., EAF easily and regularly collaborates with likeminded strategic partners and community-based organizations to provide services, opportunities, and a wide array of benefits that aren’t only shared among the six Academies, but across the city and nation.