Inner-city school is run by the students and has a 98% graduation rate

After St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, in Newark, NJ, had to close its doors during the racial tensions of the 1960's, one of its former students decided he could reopen it with a new mission.

Using the one book he could truly rely on, the Boy Scout Handbook, he envisioned a place where the students could be leaders and learn from each other, by example.  He reopened the school in 1972 and hasn't looked back.

Edwin Leahy is his name and St. Benedict's has flourished since its revival.  Student groups organize the school schedules and most of the operations.  They watch out for each other, even going so far as to heading out to look for each other if someone doesn't show up to school.

They work together, in groups, to compete for the highest grades and push each other to do better.  Leahy lets them make their own mistakes because he believes it is a "better learning experience."

Indeed, with a 98% graduation rate and 85% of the students earning a college degree, the level of togetherness and dedication that is learned at St. Benedict's is nearly unmatched.  These students come from hard, if not broken, homes and turn their lives around to become something we should all strive for.