Academy Helping Low-Income Black Students Earn College Degrees Early To Open 4 Cleveland Schools

The academy offers free education for students in K-12 and no-cost college classes for its high schoolers.

Faced with systemic barriers like financial obstacles and discrimination, it is uncommon for low-income students to obtain college degrees ahead of high school graduation. Yet that rare feat has been achieved by Black students—two each from Indiana University and Purdue University—who earned bachelor’s degrees while attending the 21st Century Charter School in Gary, Indiana. 21st Century Charter School is the flagship institution of GEO Academies, the operator of non-traditional public charter schools. It provides free education for students in K-12 and no-cost college classes for high schoolers enrolled in the academy.

“The only four in the country to do this,” Kevin Teasley, president and founder of GEO Academies and its foundation owner, says of the students. BLACK ENTERPRISE was told that GEO is a nonprofit offering a college-emergent program that no other public high school nationally provides. Some 99% of GEO students are Black from low-income homes. The concept is helping create a pipeline from poverty.

GEO currently has eight schools with 4,500 students in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as Gary and Indianapolis, both in Indiana. Students attend colleges and universities in person while enrolled in high school. They, too, can get free books, transportation, meals, and tutoring if needed. Incidentally, GEO stands for Greater Education Opportunities.

Now, Teasley is expanding into Cleveland, aiming to open four schools in Ohio’s largest city.

GEO recently won an $8.2M grant to do that. The first academy is expected to open in August 2027, initially as a K-5 school before evolving into a K-8 school. The second school will open in 2029, following a similar pattern to the first school. A high school is scheduled to open in 2031. The fourth school, a K-8 academy, is set to open in 2033.

“We will be speaking to community organizations, leaders from civic organizations, neighborhood leaders, and other leaders in education and philanthropy, to build awareness of our schools and find the most ideal locations.”

Using partnerships with accredited universities, Teasley says GEO students earn college credits. “The universities have already invested in buildings, teachers, and labs. I don’t have to buy all that, allowing me to put more money toward students learning what they want.”

Like public schools, GEO gets funding from the state and federal government. Yet it operates differently than conventional schools by providing Black students free secondary and higher education by investing its dollars into each student instead of schools.

To boot, Teasley says GEO offers trade school classes in welding, electrical, and other skills, assuring students are prepared for college and the workforce. He says over 100 students have earned associate’s degrees at their high school graduation.

Career-wise, Teasley says the model has helped many Black students gain enduring success since GEO started in 1998.

Take Jeremiah Tate, a 2012 graduate from the Indianapolis GEO school. His path included working for Intel. Today, he is a senior design engineer at Microsoft. “He helped develop Copilot,” Teasley says. “He’s also on my board now.”

Another is Jamal Abdulrasheed, another 2012 graduate, who obtained a law degree and is now director of legal affairs at GEO, Teasley says.

Yet there are challenges. Teasley says, including securing start-up capital to open more schools and convincing parents that their children can achieve more than what tradition expects.

The model has been well-received by Black parents. Most GEO students are from homes void of college degrees and even high school diplomas. “They can’t afford college, and we remove that barrier,” Teasley says. “Parents are enrolling their children in our schools because they know about our college promise.”

A white administrator, Teasley, has a team of diverse educators on staff. “I intentionally seek Black educators and leaders,” he says. “Our students need to see themselves in our leadership and classroom settings.”

Check out more details and enrollment information here.