The Challenge.

Neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, where most of Eagle Academy's students reside, struggle with a poverty rate three times higher than the rest of Washington, D.C. In Ward 8, nearly sixty percent of pre-school children live below the poverty line.

Contributing to the high poverty levels is the prevalence of single-parent households and teen parenting. Parents often work multiple jobs to make ends meet, leaving children unsupervised. And higher levels of parental stress raise the risk of negative outcomes among children.

Ward 8 children have the lowest standardized test scores in reading and math in the nation's capital, underscoring a substantial achievement gap among children in our community compared to the rest of the District and the nation.

What's more, less than seventy percent of students graduate in four years from District high schools, and it's no secret that students who drop out of high school are more likely to live in poverty.

The trauma of poverty is cyclical. To stop the cycle, we must break it earlier. That's where the Cassandra S. Pinkney Foundation comes in.

59%

Pre-school children living below the poverty level in Ward 8

75%

Eagle Academy students that have been identified as needing some form of mental or behavioral health services

1800+

Students and families served by our programs