For The Urban Assembly, 2011 marks a very special anniversary. Ten years ago, in June 2001, the very first Urban Assembly class graduated from the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice. Since then, nearly 3,000 young men and women have graduated from our high schools and 70% have gone to college. While we are proud of this number, we are working tirelessly every single day to ensure that it becomes 100%.

In the 10 years since that first graduating class, we have opened 20 more small, theme-driven schools, all with the same mission: to make certain that all of our students are prepared for success in college and beyond. We continue to grow, innovate and prove that with the right support all students can fulfill their potential.

Our schools provide each of our students with the tools they need to succeed: rigorous instruction, intensive college planning and meaningful enrichment activities. To ensure our students have the skills to compete in a 21st-century economy, we also opened two Career and Technical Education (CTE) high schools.  We will open our third in the fall.

This has been a long journey full of challenges and triumphs. The graduation ceremonies across our network of schools are the culmination of years of hard work by our inspiring students and their families and the dedicated professional educators who worked long hours, were not afraid to try new approaches and always believed all students can be successful.

High school graduation is not the end of the road: it is just the beginning. The young scholars collecting their diplomas this June will continue a lifetime of learning and continue to pursue their dreams. On behalf of the entire Urban Assembly family, I salute the Class of 2011 and we will continue to support them in their future endeavors.

Richard Kahan

Founder and CEO