Our graduating 8th grade Lions were celebrated this week by the families, staff, volunteers, community partners, and friends who have walked alongside them during their time here at AJC. We are especially proud to recognize this year's award recipients, pictured below. Thank you to everyone who joined us in uplifting our students and surrounding them with the love and support that will carry them into the next chapter!

Janiyah P.

Top of The Class & PRIDE Award

Zaynae B.

Most Likely To Be Principal One Day

Love B.

Anna Julia Cooper Award for Citizenship

Markaya James, Assistant Director of Graduate Support, alongside rising 9th graders, Mercy, Dyasia, and Zyanae.

Founded in 2009 by Mike Maruca, Anna Julia Cooper School has grown from 25 students in a house to a thriving community serving 215 children across two campuses—a reflection of his vision, dedication, and belief in the students and families of Richmond's East End.

As he retires, we celebrate our leader whose impact is felt in every corner of our community. Students will remember his humor, his high expectations, and most of all, his deep love and care for them. As one student put it, he is the reason they can “laugh, sing, dance, and be together while also getting an education.” There is too much to fully capture in words, but one thing is clear: Mike Maruca’s legacy will continue to shape this school for years to come.

Congratulations, Mike, and we wish you all the best in your retirement!

An emotional moment as Mr. Keiper, also in his final year at AJC, honors Mike Maruca.

Mike with teachers Mereal Hughes, and Brian Keiper—three founding AJC staff, all celebrating their final year together.

A surprise staff performance of “Three Little Birds,” led by Victoria Wean and Daniel Martin and dedicated to Mike Maruca.

Mike shares a warm goodbye hug with a parent, reflecting the deep connections he built across the community.

Staff paid tribute by dressing in the classic Mr. Maruca style -- imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

We’re on the move! This week, our incredible staff and volunteers came together to lift, load, wheel, and do whatever it took to move into our beautiful new Lower School building. A special shout-out to Estes Express Lines for generously donating a tractor-trailer to help streamline our move. While “many hands make light work,” this work was anything but light! It was made possible by an army of helpers working together for two straight days to make it happen. 

The new Lower School will welcome students for the first time on July 6 for summer school, including new second and third grade classes who are joining the AJC family.

Wondering about the old Lower School? AJC purchased our former Lower School building from the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) at a significantly reduced price. We are partnering with an organization to bring a preschool program to the space, beginning as early as this fall.

Congratulations to all of our 4th Annual Greatest Writing Contest Ever award recipients, including Brooklyn Watt, who received this year's Most Promising Writer Award for her poem, 'In My Broken Heart." 

Thank you to our judges—Talar Fenner and Anthony Bullock (AJC Alumni), Penn Ward (Librarian and Media Specialist at Orchard House School), and Rosa Castellano (Co-Founder of RVA Poetry Fest and Richmond Poet Laureate)—for sharing their time and expertise with our student writers.

We are also grateful to Susan Barstow and Elizabeth Johnson for their encouragement and dedication in making both the Greatest Writing Contest Ever and Writing Wednesdays such valuable parts of our school community.

This year’s high school graduates demonstrated resilience, determination, and a commitment to their goals. Our alumni continue to prove what can be achieved through hard work and a strong support system. With dedicated guidance from our Graduate Support team and valued partners at UPRVA, the Class of 2022 AJC alumni are taking the next steps in their educational journeys and will attend:

Old Dominion University

Electrician Apprentice School

Longwood University

Virginia State University

James Madison University

Christopher Newport University

Hampton University

Virginia Tech (Full Ride)

Hollins University (Full Ride)

Virginia Commonwealth University

Randolph Macon University

Norfolk State

US Air Force 

Pictured right: Our partners at UPRVA alongside Tae'Veon (JMU) & NyKeila (CNU)

Photo credit: UPRVA