UUNIK ACADEMY

Dedicated to the transformation of African American Youth

Our MISSION

Our mission is to implement principles that will transform youth into respectful and responsible adults. We will create an environment conducive to developing life skills, a strong sense of leadership and community amongst UUNIK participants.

Transformation Begins With Education And Results In A Strong Sense Of Community

In Tennessee, it is a very sad fact that 80% of African American children between grades 3rd - 8th are not proficient in reading and math. Moreover, there is a definite link between illiteracy and incarceration; 70% of those incarcerated are in fact illiterate.

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That’s why at UUNIK, we begin with a strong foundation in education, preparing our young people to succeed from their current grade, all the way to college. We do this while instilling in them traditional Kwanzaa principles to help build tomorrow’s black leaders and make an investment in the future of our community.

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Through our STEAM education, ACT prep courses, cultural and philosophical teaching, we have been able to produce the most consistently high-performance numbers on ACT tests and academic growth for African American prep courses in our area.

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We even help students and their parents learn about scholarships for black students in an empowering way. Our goal is to make college a possibility for every young person who comes into contact with us.

testimonials

"This is truly a unique program that Knoxville has been blessed with. Our son had such a great first week! Every day he came home sharing what was learned at the academy with so much enthusiasm!"

Nikki Kitchen,

Parent

2020 STEAMI Summer Institute 

"I think that it's a great ideal for our young people to know.

Who else is going to teach our children but us in the community. Great job!"

Sheretta Dickey, Parent

UUNIK Academy

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