Record scholarship amount goes to University Academy graduates

University Academy graduates broke the charter school’s $3 million scholarship record this year in a big way.

The 38 seniors, who graduated Friday from the charter sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, collectively received $6 million in scholarships. That doubled the amount last year’s 37 graduates received.

If divided equally, that would amount to about $157,895 in scholarship dollars for each graduate.

On top of that, school superintendent Tony Kline said every graduate was admitted to at least two colleges, and more than half were accepted to at least one school ranked in the top 150 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

“We also got our first Ivy League student,” Kline said.

Senior Jazmyne Smith is the first student in University Academy’s 15-year history to be accepted to an Ivy League college or university. She will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

This year, Newsweek magazine listed University Academy as a Top Breaking the Odds School, which recognizes high-achieving high-poverty schools nationwide.

University Academy is at 6801 Holmes Road.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Record scholarship amount goes to University Academy graduates."