Maranathan Academy

The Maranathan Family Learning Center & Academy is a non-profit academic program for critically at-risk youth and adults. It was founded in September 1991 by Donna Dukes with support from her mother, veteran educator Jacquelyn Dukes. The program was named for the "Maranathan Christian Circle", a Bible study group led by Jacquelyn Dukes.

It is the only school in the Birmingham area that works exclusively with critically at-risk youth and the only one that enrolls students expelled for weapons-related or violent offenses.

The program began in the Dukes' family home in Kingston, and was initially funded specifically to offer educational programs to expelled students and youth, from grades 6–12, in the juvenile court system. It has since expanded to serve victims of severe bullying, sexual assault, LGBTQ discrimination and others suffering from traumatic experiences or insecure environments. Maranathan Academy also provides adult learning programs. Nearly all of the program's students live in poverty and in single-parent households. The mission of the program is to save the lives of critically at-risk youth, and to equip its students to excel.

In 2015 Maranathan Academy moved into the Ninevah Baptist Church education building. By 2018 the program had graduated over 300 students.

Maranathan was selected by the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District to participate in its "Campus of Hope" initiative, a HUD Envision Center demonstration site, helping residents in public housing projects to complete their high school diplomas.

Maranathan is currently housed as Southside Baptist Church at 1016 19th Street South. The academy suspended in-person teaching during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic and Dukes organized a food distribution program for students and their families.

References

• Walsh, Maggie Hall (May 11, 1994) "Cast Bucket to Aid Youths – Kingston Learning." The Birmingham News
• Normington, Mick (July 4, 1997) "Unsung Heroes." The Birmingham News
• Walsh, Maggie Hall (August 16, 2000) "Just a chat…with Donna Dukes." The Birmingham News
• Seale, Kathy (June 11, 2006) "At-risk students overcome odds to win diplomas." The Birmingham News
• Talley, Je'Don Holloway (April 30, 2020) "Maranathan Academy Continues To Nourish Its Critically At-Risk Students." The Birmingham Times

External links

• Maranathan Academy website