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L to R:
Congressman Charles Rangel, Teacher Emmanuel George, President George W. Bush, Village Academies Chairman Ed Lewis, Village Academies Founder and CEO Deborah Kenny, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
Photo by Jesse Winter.

The President of the United States Honors
Harlem Village Academy

Click here to view a 5-minute video of the President's visit

"One of the children said, 'Why did you come here, Mr. President? Of all the schools in the country, why this school?' And my answer is because the President has an opportunity to herald excellence; I wanted to show the country what it means to achieve excellence. I have come to a school where some may say these children can't possibly exceed high standards, but in fact they are."
The President of the United States
April 24, 2007

"Deborah Kenny, the visionary founder of Harlem Village Academy calls education not only 'an essential human right' but the 'ultimate civil right,' and her work has helped get across in this union town the idea that the movement to establish these kinds of schools and give parents greater choices in the education of their children is part of the same civil rights movement that inspired this country during the second half of the 20th century. Mr. Bush said he chose Harlem Village Academy. because of its reputation for rapidly raising test scores of low performing students. Calling the founder of the school, Deborah Kenny, an educational entrepreneur..."

— THE NEW YORK SUN

"Housed in one of New York City's toughest neighborhoods, seventh graders at Harlem Village Academy charter school earned one of New York State's highest math scores. children who just a few years ago were failing."

— THE CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC

"It is one of the city's true success stories, a place where inner-city students undergo a transformation of the spirit and soul, finding promise amid poverty."

— NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"President Bush praised it as one of the best schools in the nation, and said schools everywhere should follow the example of Harlem Village Academy."

— THE NEW YORK POST

"Mr. Bush was speaking at a charter school. in which the Bloomberg administration takes great pride because of the sharp improvements in its students' test scores."

— THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Never return to the status quo — that was the message from President Bush today who hailed the achievements of the Harlem Village Academy charter school."

— FOX 5 NEWS TV

"Here in Harlem, there is a real success story — Harlem Village Academy. The President wants to highlight this charter school where standards are tough and scores have gone up dramatically."

— EYEWITNESS NEWS CHANNEL 7 TV

"A presidential visit to Harlem today puts the spotlight on a charter school that is being called a resounding success."

— WCBS-2 TV

"The President is on his way — his motorcade through Harlem to what is considered a shining example of educational achievement: the Harlem Village Academy charter school."

— WPIX-11 TV

"The academy is considered one of the city's most successful charter schools, and is ranked among the top schools in the state."

— NY1 TV

Media Resources

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School Materials

Marian Wright Edelman Quote