Russell Wilson and Ciara just announced that their school, the Why Not You Academy, is complete and will officially launch in the state of Washington this fall.
The power couple, along with Wilson’s charity organization, Why Not You Foundation, first announced their philanthropic endeavor last October. Since Wilson’s rookie year in Seattle in 2012, he has visited children suffering from cancer every Tuesday and established the Why Not You Foundation in 2014 to empower kids through educational opportunities and food sharing programs.
Wilson and Ciara posted pictures of the school on Instagram along with a few students who’ll be attending the school.
“WHY NOT YOU ACADEMY is here! We dreamed & talked about opening a school together the first day we met! We are blessed to say it’s officially here. To be able to help kids dreams come true is such a blessing. @ciara @wnyacademy #WhyNotYou,” the Seattle Seahawks quarterback posted online.
The Why Not You Academy is a new high school partnership between authorized charter public school leaders Garth Reeves and Scott Canfield and the Why Not You Foundation. The charter public school, which will be tuition-free, will operate in full accordance with the Washington state charter school law.
“We’ve always held the belief that life’s successes start with a good education, but recognize that access isn’t always created equally for all. The Why Not You Foundation was created with the concept of empowering youth to lead with a why not you attitude and that’s why it was important for our foundation to partner with Scott, Garth, and Cascade Public Schools to help open doors for kids from less fortunate backgrounds,” Ciara and Russell wrote on the school’s website.
“This school is a longtime dream of ours and it was important for us to find a way to combine traditional classroom learning with community and mentorship-based activities, in order to prepare kids for the real world. Why Not You is based on the idea that it can start with one and our hope is that this school will be the first of many,” the couple added.
You can find out more information about the school at www.wnyacademy.org. Check out a few photos of the soft launch of the school with The Wilsons on the following page.
