From the Classroom to the Court to Your Career

Dear Uchenna Academy parents, guardians, friends and our community;

The educational program at Uchenna Academy has completed the inspection visit towards full accreditation through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. This designation is now included on the Uchenna Academy graduate profile that accompanies USA University applications and provides an overview of the school programs and performance. Accreditation is earned through a validation process aligned with 12 standards of organizational performance published by the Middle States Association.

We received full accreditation status in March 2024. The MSA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and is known for its comprehensive accreditation process that evaluates schools based on rigorous standards of educational quality.

By holding accreditation from the MSA-CESS, Uchenna Academy demonstrates its commitment to providing an education that meets rigorous international standards. It is worth noting that accreditation by any U.S. regional accrediting agency, including the Middle States Association, is widely recognized and accepted throughout the United States. This recognition ensures that students graduating from Uchenna Academy receive an education that is recognized and valued by educational institutions and employers across different regions in the United States.

In the 2022-2023 school year, our students discussed AI and whether it has the capacity to replace teachers. We invite you to watch the discussion online!

Fun fact: Three of the student-athletes in the video are running for the Valedictorian Award! Which students? Who will be crowned the Valedictorian? Let us know your predictions.

Uchenna Academy offers a certificate to all students who successfully complete the Core French program. Students who complete all 4 credits (Grades 9-12) in Core French qualify for a Certificate of Achievement in French.

Online video: (183) Fiche de travail : Planification d’un débat vidéo (Cameron & James) Partie 1/2 – YouTube

For Immediate Release: 03/14/2023

  

Uchenna Academy to Offer

AP Capstone Diploma Program

 

Diploma program focuses on college-level research, collaboration, and presentation skills crucial for college and career success

Toronto, ON — Uchenna Academy is one of approximately 2,500 schools worldwide, and 8 schools in Toronto, to implement the AP Capstone Diploma^™ program―an innovative program that encourages students to develop skills for college and career success, including critical thinking, research, collaboration, and communication. The program consists of two yearlong courses taken in sequence: AP^® Seminar and AP Research.

Students who score a 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on 4 additional AP Exams of their choosing earn the AP Capstone Diploma. This signifies outstanding academic achievement and attainment of college-level academic and research skills. Students who score a 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research (and not on 4 additional AP Exams) earn the AP Seminar and Research Certificate^™.

Uchenna Academy will start offering AP Seminar in the fall of 2023.

The AP Capstone program will prepare our diverse student population to become skilled collaborators, critical thinkers, and consumers of information. The Capstone courses will give students flexibility to explore the complex topics affecting their lives, and we are excited to see their research.

In AP Seminar, typically taken in 10th or 11th grade, students choose real-world topics and evaluate them from multiple perspectives. Students identify credibility and bias in sources and develop arguments in support of a recommendation.

In the subsequent AP Research course, students design and execute a college-level research project on a topic of personal interest. Students receive firsthand experience in writing a research question, executing an appropriate method, analyzing data, presenting their results, and defending their findings.

Both AP Capstone^™ courses are project based, and students are required to deliver written arguments, collaborate in teams, and deliver professional multimedia presentations as part of their AP Exams.

“The AP Capstone courses enable students to explore real-world issues in great depth through research and collaboration,” said Rushi Sheth, executive director of the AP Capstone Diploma program. He adds, “This provides terrific opportunities for students to write and present their work effectively, both individually and in teams—the very skills professors and employers are demanding.”

In partnership with the higher education community, College Board developed AP Capstone so students can practice and master skills that serve them well in college and career.

“We’re excited more schools are offering the AP Capstone Diploma program,” said Kedra Ishop, vice president for enrollment management at the University of Southern California. “We believe the research, collaboration, and presentation skills taught in the two courses will be valuable to students throughout their academic and professional careers.”

About Uchenna Academy  

Uchenna Academy is an independent school in the heart of Toronto offering grade 7-12 curriculum. Our students and faculty members represent many cultures and contribute unique backgrounds and experiences to our community. As a contemporary school, we strive to bring together the best of tradition and innovation in education. Our dedicated and impressive faculty; hand-selected corporate partners; modern, rigorous curriculum and committed parent partners all contribute to the success of our students. We are proud of what we have accomplished in our first decade of our history, including sending our graduating students to top universities in Ontario and USA. We have also developed strategic corporate collaborations, including Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI) and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). The collaborations allow us to provide meaningful opportunities for learning about cutting edge research, emerging careers and technologies, and real-life experiences in the medical and business sectors.

 

About College Board

College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of over 6,000 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success—including the SAT^®, the Advanced Placement^® Program, and BigFuture^™. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators, and schools. For further information, visit collegeboard.org.

AP Equity and Access Policy

College Board strongly encourages educators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP^® programs by giving all willing and academically prepared students the opportunity to participate in AP. We encourage the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP for students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented. Schools should make every effort to ensure their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population. College Board also believes that all students should have access to academically challenging coursework before they enroll in AP classes, which can prepare them for AP success. It is only through a commitment to equitable preparation and access that true equity and excellence can be achieved.

Media Contact:

Careen McNee, Principal

College Board 212-713-8052 communications@collegeboard.org

For Black History Month 2021, Uchenna Academy along with our partners QSLA and BallMatics, were invited to prepare a video for a virtual BHM event hosted by York University.

Watch the video below to see what Keir Bryan, Director of Basketball Operations, and Dejazmatch James, teacher and course developer, had to say about importance of Black history studies in education.

We are lucky to have coaches and teachers with such great vision, motivation and dedication for our students.

Gerald is our past student, currently completing the Co-op BBA program at Laurier University. He is also busy creating a startup called HustleHawks. It is a mobile app marketplace that provides jobs for college and university students performing tasks for other students, businesses and people in the local community.

The app is currently in its ‘beta’ stage and any of Uchenna Academy current students requiring volunteer hours are invited to work with Gerald and earn their volunteer hours while also helping a successful launch of HustleHawks.

Gerald summarized his review of Uchenna Academy as follows:

I took my drivers ed. and calculus course at Uchenna Academy. I achieved success in both because of the awesome faculty, great learning environment and the creative ways that content is taught. It is the perfect balance between learning all necessary material and achieving academic success without countless hours of homework! They also offer great tutoring services as well.10/10

Gerald’s dad responded to our renovations news by providing direct feedback about his experience with Uchenna Academy:

My son is a graduate of the Uchenna Academy program (2019-2020 school year) and currently a top student in his Laurier co-op BBA program. He greatly benefited from the skills developed at Uchenna. His experience at Uchenna was back in the day when you had only a fraction of the resources that you do today. To prospective students/families: take advantage of this opportunity. It seems like the program is vastly improved… and it was already an amazing program years ago. Your student will definitely develop skills that will benefit them years later… a wise investment in their future.

We wish Gerald all the best in his studies and with HustleHawks. We have no doubt we will be seeing HustleHawks in our app searches soon!

Grade 12 average: 90%+

University of Choice: Ryerson University

Most of our students come to Uchenna Academy through word of mouth. Melissa was a student that came to us after her sister took mathematics at our school.

In this video, Melissa explains how taking mathematics at Uchenna Academy helped her raise her grades from low 70s to high 80s over the course of her senior year. Her accomplishment in mathematics helped her get into one of very few Architectural Science programs in Ontario, at Ryerson University.

Melissa posted a wonderful note about us, one year after her high school graduation:

Uchenna Academy provides a welcoming environment with passionate staff that want to help. I personally received help in high school math for 2 years and took their Calculus and Vectors course during the summer. During this time I was able to enjoy learning and found each lesson easy to understand. I cannot recommend them enough!

We love helping our students succeed.