November 7, 2025
Spelman and NEON intention to increase school readiness and consciousness for college kids who’re traditionally under-represented in increased training.
Spelman School is increasing its attain past its Atlanta campus. In partnership with the Nationwide Schooling Alternative Community (NEON), the HBCU is providing college-credit programs to excessive schoolers who would possibly in any other case by no means step into a university lecture corridor.
Beforehand often called the Nationwide Schooling Fairness Lab, the NEON initiative brings credit-bearing programs to Title I colleges.
The Schooling of Black Ladies, taught by Andrea Lewis, Ph.D., was the primary course supplied in 2023. After a profitable run, this system now contains one other course, African Diaspora and the World, which started Fall 2025, taught by Chatee’ Omísade Richardson, Ph.D. Starting at 50 college students, the programs now serve as much as 300, in keeping with a press launch from Spelman School.
“The expansion has been excellent,” stated Lewis. “To have the ability to supply a college-level course to highschool college students in underserved communities has been transformational. Spelman has all the time been community-oriented, however this has taken our mission to the subsequent degree. It speaks on to highschool college students’ continued curiosity in HBCUs and up to date nationwide developments in growing admission charges at HBCUs.”
Laura Moore, NEON’s chief increased training officer, burdened the necessity for academic fairness.
“With 60 p.c of NEON students figuring out as feminine and 93 p.c self-reporting as college students of colour, we’re honored to not solely carry rigorous programs however ones which have confirmed deeply impactful for our students,” Moore stated.
Up to now, the initiative has reached 767 college students from 47 excessive colleges throughout 19 cities. Since 2019, NEON’s mannequin has linked faculties like Harvard, Stanford, and Spelman to greater than 25,000 college students throughout 30 states.
By opening its curriculum to high-school college students and reinforcing mentorship-based fashions, Spelman and NEON intention to increase school readiness and consciousness for college kids who’re traditionally under-represented in increased training.
Spelman is driving a excessive within the second half of 2025. Because the establishment continues to speculate in the neighborhood others are investing into the HBCU. Only recently, Mackenzie Scott, philanthropist and former spouse of Jeff Bezos, gifted the varsity with a $38 million donation. The HBCU thanked Scott for her beneficiant donation, hailing the windfall as a possibility for “enhancing the coed expertise, modernizing know-how, and increasing monetary alternative.”
RELATED CONTENT: Design Necessities Pledges $250K To Spelman School To Help Future Feminine Chemists And Innovators
