The Pathways to Excellence program is funded by an anonymous $5 million dollar donation, according to the school.
"The Pathways to Excellence Scholarship Fund will enhance CFA’s desire to foster diversity and enrich the educational experience for all its students. With a specific focus on families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, with an emphasis on enrolling and supporting students of color, this scholarship program aims to create an opportunity for gifted and talented young individuals to access a world-class education they might otherwise not be able to afford," according to the school.
Ed Ellison, the head of Cape Fear Academy, said the scholarship initiative “underscores our belief that diversity strengthens our entire community by cultivating a richness of ideas, a broadening of perspectives, and a respect for others."
Cape Fear Academy is a private school, located in southern New Hanover County. It has been called a “segregation academy,” as it was opened in the late 1960s, as the region’s public schools were being forced by the federal government to desegregate. It didn't graduate its first Black student until the mid-1980s — but has since worked to put its segregationist past behind it.