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BlackPR.com Press Release Email This Article To A Friend Rosa Parks Leadership Academy, First of Eighty-Five Independent Schools For Underserved Communities, Opens in Atlanta Organization Follows HBCU's Example by Establishing HBESS Atlanta, GA (BlackNews.com) - In a day and age where statistics show that the local school systems are failing children, particularly African American children, a leader in the educational arena has risen to the occasion to begin the implementation of eighty-five independent schools, covering a spectrum of 17 states across the nation. Junior Academies, Inc. (JAI) is a not for profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization founded for the purpose of establishing equitable independent schools that develop and initiate educational programs that promote academic excellence for at-risk and economically disadvantaged children who have historically attended poor performing schools. The organization's network of schools will begin with the Rosa Parks Leadership Academy in Lithonia, Georgia, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007. Rosa Parks once said, "The only thing that bothered me was that we waited so long to make this protest..." Melodee Ford, President and Founder of JAI, echos those words of Rosa Parks. "We have waited too long to take the responsibility of educating our children into our own hands," insists Ford. "Parents have been dissatified and denied a choice in where their children receive an equitable education," continues Ford. "Our Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were established to provide the excellent higher education for high school graduates who were not selected by white colleges and universities. We have a responsibility to provide the same excellence in education for our K thru grade 12 children. If we don't do it, who do we really think is going to do it?" questions Ford. "We must establish Historically Black Elementary and Secondary Schools (HBESS)." A wise person once said, "Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome." Ford goes on to say that it is necessary for Junior Academies, Inc to establish independent schools as opposed to charter schools, because charter schools are still public schools under the control, in most states, of the same board that governs the local public schools. Rosa Parks Leadership Academy (RPLA) will lead the way in providing what has been missing from education in the underserved communities, an equitable education. Junior Academies, Inc. is publishing the first Black History textbooks to be used as part of the daily history curriculum for all grades. "The fad of February being the only time to acknowledge the significant contributions we have made to society, and who we are, is over," said Ford. "Children today," says Ford, "both black and white, have no idea of the rich heritage of the African American." Ford realizes that the tuition may be too steep for many families that would benefit from the learning experience at RPLA, however, when she and her sister, Rashida Mendes, decided to purchase the 3 million dollar buildings for the school, they believed that every African American business, church and individual would step in to change history just as those before us did. "We cannot fail our children," says Ford. "We have to demonstrate to them that the investment into their education is far more important than an Xbox360 or Play Station 3." Although African Americans have been historically underserved, RPLA is by no means a school exclusively for African Americans. It is a school for all students regardless of race, creed, gender or nationality. Unlike most independent schools, students are not required to test at the top of their class to be accepted. "Atlanta is truly the place to demonstrate to the rest of America just how well a community can unite and change the path of education for underserved children," says Ford. This is the first of eighty-five independent equitable schools, with the most talented and gifted teachers selected throughout the nation, small classes, single sex education for middle and upper school, an extensive arts program and mandatory sports for all students K-12. Melodee Ford is one of Atlanta's Community Leaders, featured in the 2007 edition of "Who's Who in Black Atlanta," and has received several leadership awards. More information concerning the schools may be obtained by visiting the websites: www.junioracademies.org and www.rosaparksla.com CONTACT: Melodee Ford President/Founder 404-460-7059 (o) 404-822-7035 (c)

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