Our History and Philosophy
The Achievement Academy of Durham was incorporated in December 2004. The Board of Directors formed in February of 2005 and the organization gained non-profit status in June 2005.
The organization grew out of many years experience in successfully helping high-risk, impoverished teens earn their GEDs. Before founding the Achievement Academy, our director, Sandee Washington, previously directed the GED and alternative secondary education programs for: Durham Public Schools, the Center for Employment Training sites in both Raleigh and Durham, and the Durham Literacy Center.
Although successful in helping students earn their GEDs, our director noticed that her graduates continued to live in poverty. Today’s economy demands postsecondary education for self-sustaining employment with benefits. Even with the financial support (a Pell Grant) to pay for post-secondary education, most GED graduates nationwide lack the additional emotional, social, and academic support necessary for success at the post-secondary level. Instead, they usually take their hard-won GED diploma and join the heartbreaking ranks of the working poor. A lack of postsecondary training results in an inability to rise above a poverty-level income, and removes hope of employment with health insurance and other benefits, which affects not only these workers, but also their children.
After finding that no local agency would formally accommodate a GED through postsecondary program, Sandee Washington and others established The Achievement Academy. Our agency was created in order to assist Durham youth in passing their GED and graduating with a postsecondary degree or recognized certification, enabling them to move out of poverty.
