Ambition for School Success

The classrooms at Ambition Prep Academy are labeled by pennants hanging above the doors, flags bearing the names of Belhaven University, the University of Alabama and other institutions. The signs do not represent game championships, but the goal of each student to follow an educational path that leads to college. With financing from HOPE, a former retail and warehouse space located in a low-wealth community was converted into a school currently serving 150 kindergartners and first-graders, 75 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch. School founder, DeArchie Scott, said the area was chosen because “the most need was here. In this zip code, families do not have an option of where they can send their children. All of the other locations were failing at the time.” As a new school, Scott knew financing would be a challenge. “We had to get people to believe in us and believe in our mission,” he said. “HOPE did.”