Sydney McLeod kept up her studies at Success Academy Charter Schools despite extensive absences to treat her sickle cell anemia. Her hard work paid off: She is heading to Stony Brook University on Long Island in the fall. Her Success Academy classmate Aida Bathily competes on a national debate circuit and is weighing several college offers. And another senior, Moctar Fall, who spent two years of his childhood in a homeless shelter, got a full scholarship to study engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Source: Wall Street Journal March 22, 2018 09:22 UTC