Clinton Wants To See All-Boys Public Schools In High-Crime Areas 'Spread Across America'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivered the keynote address Friday at an annual fundraising breakfast for the Eagle Academy Foundation, which helps educate inner city young men.
Speaking at the non-campaign event in midtown Manhattan, Clinton said she wants a network of all-boys public schools in high-crime areas to "spread across America.''
Clinton said she supports the expansion of Eagle Academies, which help thwart the "school-to-prison pipeline'' for many boys of color. She says many boys in inner city neighborhoods are left "feeling their futures are inevitable,'' which is "a rebuke to the American dream.''
Clinton is credited with helping the first Eagle Academy open in 2004 while she was a New York senator.
"It was a really smart, innovative idea and we joined forces to create the first all-male public school in New York for African American and Latino young men," Clinton said, adding the schools are a place where "young men could support and inspire one another."
Now, six Eagle Academies provide extended school days and mentorship opportunities for 2,500 students in New York and New Jersey. Last year, 88 percent of their high school seniors graduated.
"You have succeeded despite setbacks and obstacles, you're here today because of your own talent and hard work," Clinton said. "Your success was not given to you, you earned it."
Clinton will be attending a series of fundraisers around the city, including one in Queens Friday evening, before she returns to the campaign trail Saturday.
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