Philanthropist Robert F. Smith, who has donated millions to HBCUs, is now opening a high school for Black students in his hometown of Denver, Colorado, aiming to expand opportunities in the field of science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
According to CBS 4, the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy is founded on the pillars of Blackness, inclusion and interdisciplinary focus. These principles are designed to help students embrace their history, individuality and cultural experiences.
“When I think about what it took to create the STEAM academy, it occurs to me it wasn’t actually about starting a school. It was about building a village,” Smith said in a video statement.
HBCU graduate Shakira Abney-Wisdom, who now serves as the principal of STEAM Academy, said she wants students to experience the same sense of community that she felt at Florida A&M University.
“From the time I was in pre-K through graduate school I went to predominantly white institutions," Abney-Wisdom said. "Just stepping on the campus at A&M, it felt like I belonged, just seeing students who looked like me, professors who looked like me. It’s something that’s difficult to articulate if you haven’t experienced it, but it’s just that sense of community and family.”
The STEAM Academy expects to start enrolling students in January and begin classes in August 2021, sharing a campus with a small high school that helps students catch up on missed credits. According to The Colorado Sun, the school will start with ninth-graders and add new grades in the coming years.
“We are living through an extraordinary time,” Smith said. “It’s the first age in human history where ideas are the most precious commodity, and intellectual capital can be traded across the globe in an instant. For the students who attend the STEAM Academy, this means the only limitation in your lives will be your own capacity to dream, to work hard, and to build.”
About 13% of Denver’s 92,000 students are Black, according to The Sun. The new institution hopes to change the trend for many of the students who have been struggling with test scores and graduation rates.
“The demographics of people who make up the majority of the STEM professions are not people of color," Abney-Wisdom said. "HBCUs are the number one producers of Black professionals in STEM fields. The hope is that the access piece would give students the opportunity to test out and see if they want to be an engineer, or researcher or scientist.”
A group known as Warriors for High Quality Schools, led by Black parents and coaches, came up with the idea for STEAM Academy after seeing a disturbing report about how Black teachers and students are treated. The report revealed that Black students in the district are more likely to be suspended and less likely to take advanced classes, Chalkbeat Colorado reported.
“We get excited about the places where we belong," Abney-Wisdom said. "When we feel that we matter in space and what we bring is valuable, we show up as our full selves. That’s the piece for me that’s so important. It shows up in engagement and course performance.”
The STEAM Academy, which is one of three new schools that will open in Denver next fall, is the only one that will be run by the Denver Public Schools district. The two other new schools are independent charter schools.
"For a kid from Northeast Denver this is pretty special," Smith said. "For the son of two lifelong educators, I can't think of no greater honor than to have a school named after me."
As Blavity previously reported, the billionaire made another significant contribution in October when he donated $50 million to the Student Freedom Initiative, a nonprofit organization that strives to uplift students attending HBCUs. The Denver native also donated $34 million to Morehouse College Class of 2019, allowing graduates to begin their careers without worrying about debt.
