Building a Firm Foundation: The Samueli Academy

Santa Ana’s Samueli Academy, one of the most extraordinary academic programs in the country, honored WHA by selecting us to be a part of their new “Youth Connected Residence”. 

The idea for Samueli Academy started almost 20 years ago with local philanthropists Susan Samueli and Sandi Jackson, two board members of Orangewood Foundation, which is a leading provider of services to current and former foster youth in Orange County. Concerned about the low high school graduation rates among teens in Orange County, especially foster care teens (46% of foster youth do not graduate and teens living in poverty are 25% less likely to graduate than middle income peers), they decided to explore new educational opportunities and research best practices around the country. They rallied like-minded individuals and organizations from philanthropy, business, education, and child advocacy sectors to join their efforts. The result of this collaboration is an academy designed to give students the kind of care, attention, and education they need to succeed in life.

Foster youth often experience family chaos and upheavals, some as many as 22 times before their eighteenth birthday, often requiring a change of school.  This trauma can make where to sleep for the night the overriding concern.  To address this specific concern, a new project was conceived.

The Youth Connected Residence may be the first-of-a-kind in student housing on a public school campus.  In collaboration with Orangewood and Lennar, WHA designed a three-story building that blends in with the other academic buildings on campus and is centered on a large soccer field. Six “apartments” house about 48 students, each providing five bedrooms (some double occupancy), a great room and kitchen, 3.5 baths, and a laundry room.  Each pair of apartments share a staff room.  Most students live here Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, returning to their caregivers on weekends who provide educational and emotional support while ensuring consistent family connections.  The program will also teach independent living skills, build comradery, and develop focus to stay on-task in the classroom.

The Samueli Academy has plenty to be proud of as a public charter school with no tuition fees. The FIREWOLVES have achieved an extraordinary student Advanced Placement (AP) participation rate of 56% and a 98% graduation rate!  With 800 students this year, the student body is comprised of 91% minority enrollment and 63% economically disadvantaged enrollment.  Math and reading scores far exceed state and district levels and the program is expanding to serve grades 7-12.

Creating a stable foundation is the basis for breaking the cycle of generational poverty and abuse.  In these troubled times, let’s applaud the FIREWOLVES’ success and the Orangewood Foundation for making a huge difference.