{{short description|American alternative school}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox school |name = Maya Angelou Academy |location = east of Laurel in |county = Anne Arundel County |state = Maryland |country = U.S. |coordinates = {{coord|39|6|7|N|76|47|15|W|region:US-MD_type:edu|display=inline,title}} |former_name = Oak Hill Academy |type = Alternative school |trust = See Forever Foundation |district = District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services |us_nces_district_id = {{NCES District ID|1100087|district_name=DYRS|access_date=November 21, 2018}} |us_nces_school_id = {{NCES School ID|110008700213|school_name=Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings|access_date=November 21, 2018}} |chairperson_label = Chief Executive Officer |chairperson = Robert Simmons III<ref name=newcp /> |principal = Felecia Hayward-Lawson<ref name=newcp>{{cite web |url=https://www.seeforever.org/new-ceo-and-principals/ |title=New CEO and Principals |date=June 21, 2018 |publisher=See Forever Foundation Maya Angelou Schools |access-date=November 21, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121120240/https://www.seeforever.org/new-ceo-and-principals/ |archive-date=November 21, 2018 }}</ref> |grades = 9–12 |website = {{URL|https://www.seeforever.org/schools/academy/}} |lastupdate = November 21, 2018 }} The '''Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings''', renamed from '''Oak Hill Academy''' in May 2009,<ref>{{cite web|title=See Forever Foundation History |url=http://www.seeforever.org/SF/history.html |work=seeforever.org |publisher=See Forever Foundation |access-date=June 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523121246/http://www.seeforever.org/SF/history.html |archive-date=May 23, 2010 }}</ref> is an alternative school operated by the non-profit See Forever Foundation which manages Maya Angelou Schools. Named after American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, the school is located east of Laurel, Maryland in Anne Arundel County. It is at the New Beginnings Youth Development Center, the District of Columbia's secure facility for youth who are adjudicated as delinquent and committed to its Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS).<ref name=academy />
The See Forever Foundation began management of the academy in June 2007<ref name=academy>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seeforever.org/schools/academy/|title=Academy {{!}} Maya Angelou Schools – See Forever Foundation|website=www.seeforever.org|access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref> upon winning a three-year $12 million contract.<ref>{{cite news |first=Karen |last=Houppert |title=School of Second Chances |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301915.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=W18 |date=April 12, 2009 |access-date=June 24, 2009 |quote=... in 2007 [Domenici and Forman] were awarded a $12 million contract to run the school for the next three years.}}</ref> Founding principal David Domenici is the son of former New Mexico senator Pete Domenici.<ref>{{cite news |first=Karen |last=Houppert |title=School of Second Chances |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301915.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=W18 |date=April 12, 2009 |access-date=June 24, 2009 |quote=Domenici is the son of former New Mexico Republican senator Pete Domenici.}}</ref> Domenici subsequently led the Consortium for Educational Excellence in Secure Settings.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-310273342.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128111856/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-310273342.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 28, 2016 |title=Knewton Launches Adaptive Learning Solution |date=November 29, 2012 |newspaper=Health & Beauty Close-Up |access-date=February 22, 2013 |publisher=Close-Up Media |via=HighBeam Research}}</ref> Maya Angelou visited the school on April 30, 2009,<ref>{{cite web |title=Maya Angelou Visits Md. Students |url=http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/043009_maya_angelou_visits_md_school |date=April 30, 2009 |work=myfoxdc.com |publisher=Fox Television Stations |access-date=7 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Schwind |title=Maya Angelou pays a visit to Oak Hill |work=explorehoward.com |publisher=Laurel Leader |date=May 7, 2009 }}</ref> when it had 90 students, ranging from 14 to 19 years old.<ref>{{cite news |first=Karen |last=Houppert |title=School of Second Chances |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301915.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=W18 |date=April 12, 2009 |access-date=June 24, 2009 |quote=Many of the 90 Oak Hill students, ranging in age from 14 to 19, come in performing way below grade level, and nearly half have been diagnosed with learning disabilities.}}</ref>
While the See Forever Foundation operates other schools under the authority of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, Maya Angelou Academy is not affiliated with the DC PCSB.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/report/2018-04-02%20Maya%2020%20Year%20Review%20Report%20SY17-18%20%281%29_0.pdf#page=5 |page=4 |title=2017–18 Twenty-Year Charter Review Report: Maya Angelou Public Charter School |date=February 26, 2018 |publisher=District of Columbia Public Charter School Board |access-date=November 21, 2018 |quote=The Maya Angelou Academy is not a public charter school nor affiliated with Maya Angelou Public Charter School and is not under the authority of DC PCSB.}}</ref>
Chelsea Clinton profiled the academy in 2012 for a video segment on NBC's ''Rock Center with Brian Williams''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydq6H-57VQg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/ydq6H-57VQg |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=Chelsea Clinton Profiles DYRS' School – Maya Angelou Academy |newspaper=Rock Center with Brian Williams |publisher=DYRSDC |via=YouTube |date=July 19, 2012 |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2014, a report by the Southern Education Foundation highlighted Maya Angelou Academy as a "successful model for teaching in locked facilities"; tests taken before and after students' 9-month incarceration at the school showed an average of 1.3–1.4 years of improvement.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://jjie.org/2014/04/28/models-for-juvenile-justice-schools/ |title=Models for Juvenile Justice Schools |first=Elly |last=Yu |date=April 28, 2014 |website=Juvenile Justice Information Exchange |access-date=August 26, 2018 }}</ref>
In 2016, twice as many students who completed the program at Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings were working or attending school compared to records from 2007.<ref name=academy />
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==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Portal|Maryland|United States|Schools|Law}} *[https://www.seeforever.org/schools/academy/ Maya Angelou Academy website]
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Category:Juvenile detention centers in the United States Category:Schools in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Category:Public high schools in Maryland Category:Alternative schools in the United States Category:Maya Angelou