HBCU Showcase Kicks off Black History Month

On Sunday, February 5, SCH Academy kicked off its first of many Black History Month events with over 100 middle school and high school students, parents, alumni, and other community members in attendance for its 2023 HBCU Showcase, sponsored by SCH's BSU & Diversity Parent Resource Network. 

The audience heard from a panel of SCH alumni, faculty, and parents who currently attend or have attended a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), including Hampton University, Howard University, Morgan State University, Spelman College, Tuskegee University, and Xavier University. SCH BSU members Aubrey Carter ’23, Tatyana Hall ’23, and Sela Perryman ’24 interviewed panelists with questions such as, “Why was it important for you to attend an HBCU?” and “What does diversity look like on an HBCU campus?” 
 
SCH Head of School Delvin Dinkins welcomed the audience for this meaningful event and relayed some of the benefits of attending an HBCU. “HBCUs have, on average, a higher graduation rate than comparable non-HBCUs (38 percent versus 32 percent) with similar proportions of Black students enrolled,” he said. 

SCH Pre-K boys teacher Terrance Hart opened the event alongside members of the Morgan State alumni choir, adding to the flare of the afternoon. After the panel discussion, attendees mingled with over 15 college representatives who had set up informational tables, showcasing their university pride. The room bustled with families excited to speak with college representatives, alumni, and SCHers who have taken (or will be taking) this important leap to college and beyond. 

“The number of HBCU applications submitted by SCH students has increased from 10 applications to 70 applications in just 7 years. Since 2016, HBCU applicant submissions have increased by 70 percent,” said Brian Walter, director of College Counseling at SCH. “With the HBCU common application, national applications are up 40 percent. At SCH, if you identify as Black, it is becoming more and more popular to submit an application to an HBCU or two.” Interested in learning more about SCH’s college process? Please contact (or visit) our college counseling page to learn more.

See more photos from the event, here.