June 7, 2013 (Sacramento):  Eight Mark Hopkins Elementary School students will be surprised today (Friday, June 7) with certificates from Morgan State University in Baltimore “guaranteeing” admission if they finish high school in good standing.

The presentation will be made today at 1 p.m. during the school’s Legacy Day, meant to honor the school’s dedication to serving the community over the years. Mark Hopkins is one of seven under-enrolled elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District that will close next fall. Students will attend Rosa Parks K-8 School located next door.

Principal Tiffany Smith-Simmons says she contacted the U-CAN organization, which holds recruitment fairs for historically black colleges and universities, to arrange the certificates for the students. The children were selected because they voluntarily participated in an academic enrichment program on Saturdays and because of their achievement on school tests.

“This is how Mark Hopkins is leaving a true legacy,” Smith-Simmons, a graduate of Howard University, says.

WHAT:                 Mark Hopkins Legacy Day
WHEN:                 1 p.m. TODAY, Friday, June 7
WHERE:               Mark Hopkins Elementary School
                                2221 Matson Drive
                                Sacramento, CA 95822