A Year Early: Innovative Career Academy's Class of 2026 Makes History

Innovative Career Academy celebrated its Class of 2026 on May 21 at Second Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, and the milestone was one the school had never reached before: 21 of the 32 graduates were juniors, finishing high school a full year early.

ICA is a credit-recovery and dropout-prevention school, and for many of its students graduation once felt out of reach. Several arrived behind on credits and made up years of coursework in a single year. Five graduates are the first in their families to finish high school, and five are the first headed to college. The class earned 19 industry-recognized credentials in customer service and sales, and its graduates are moving on to college, careers, the trades, and military service.

For graduate A'raya Norton, who is entering military service, the difference was the people. "The people who supported me and the people who helped me mentally ground myself," she said. "That's what made it special."

Principal Tina Smith put the school's mission plainly. "For the student, we are a saving grace," she said. "If they were elsewhere, in a larger school, they may not have made it to the point of graduation."

Congratulations to ICA's Class of 2026!