During his years at Amistad Academy Middle, Breyon has relished competing on the soccer and lacrosse teams. He has also excelled in math and science, not only in the middle school’s classrooms, but also on the campus of Roger Williams University. The school’s summer program, which allowed Breyon to live on the college campus for three weeks, was one of his favorite middle school experiences. He plans to spend six weeks at Lafayette College this summer as he prepares for a future that includes a college degree and a career in science or engineering.

When Breyon came to Amistad Academy as a fifth grader, his brother Shykwon—now a freshman at AF Amistad High—told him it would be a lot of hard work. Breyon finds the work challenging, but said it is easy to pay attention in class because his classmates don’t cause disruptions, as they had in other schools he had attended. He also feels safe at Amistad Academy; he hasn’t seen the bullying he encountered elsewhere, and he has been able to gain confidence in a safe environment. Breyon likes coming to school because of the lively teachers and fun lessons.

Favorite aspect of Achievement First: “I love science because it gets your mind working and you can conduct experiments. I also love the field trips; we studied at Nature’s Classroom, visited a museum in Boston and stayed at a college in Washington, D.C. It was fun to see what it is like to be a college student.”

Proudest moment at Achievement First: “I was really proud of my group’s work at the ‘Town Meeting’ last year. We studied Greek and Roman mythology, wrote a play using what we learned, and performed it in front of the entire school.”