For her gold award, Katie is working with Urban Promise Academy, Camden. Camden is most notable for earning a place each year on the list of most dangerous cities in the U.S. Camden has also been marked as the most dangerous U.S. city per capita three times within the last decade: in 2004, again in 2005, and then in 2009. The graduation rate in Camden is approximately 47%. The state average is approximately 90%, which is an incredible disparity when one considers that Camden’s 47% is averaged into the state’s 90%. The dropout rate in Camden is approximately 22% higher than the state average. Yet, in 2010 UPA graduated 100% of its senior class, with 70% currently attending four-year universities. UrbanPromise has created a safe and supportive environment for students to shed the intrusive coating of the environment that has been imposed upon them and become children again: children who are offered the opportunity to learn (most importantly, to learn), to have fun learning, to have the experience of learning (!) through experiential and expeditionary adventures, and to play.