H.M. Queen Rania visits The Young Womens Leadership School of East Harlem, which serves students from minority and low-income families. It is a pioneer in all-girl public education, and a model of success.
Located in one of New York Citys most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, the school defies the worst characteristics of schools in poor American communities low enrolment, high drop-out rates and general underachievement. In fact, the Leadership School has been ranked in the top 4 per cent of New York City high schools. Even more impressive, every graduate of the school for the past nine years has been accepted into college.
To recognize the school and to mark the appointment of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan as the Honorary Global Chair of the United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI) H.M. Queen Rania and UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman visited the students yesterday.
After a tour that included an eighth-grade science class and an 11th-grade choral recital, H.M. Queen Rania and Veneman addressed about 100 of the students. They encouraged the girls to appreciate their education and to help promote universal access to schooling for their global peers.
Providing quality education to girls is a sound investment that helps build a brighter future for their communities and their countries, said Veneman.
To read the full story, visit the Unicef website.
