40 Acres & a Summer School
An 8-Week Paid Summer Experience for Black and Brown High School Students.
Knowledge. Direction. Integrity.
Rising 9th through 12th grade · 7:45 AM – 3:00 PM · Breakfast & Lunch Included · $20/hr · Students can earn up to $5,300*
*Stipend amounts represent our program model and fundraising target. Final pay rates and bonuses will be confirmed with enrolled families. 40 Acres & a Summer School is a nonprofit program actively securing funding to make this possible.
About the Program
What is 40 Acres & A Summer School?
40 Acres & A Summer School was founded in 2026 in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania by Steven Poe with one purpose — to give Black and Brown young people something that can never be taken from them.
The promise made after emancipation was 40 acres and a mule. A foundation. A start. That promise was broken. But the spirit behind it — the belief that our children deserve land, ownership, tools, and a future — never died.
This program was built on that spirit.
Through Black history, mental health and healing, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership, and civic power, we help high school students leave stronger than they came — with more self-awareness, more direction, and a deeper understanding of what they carry inside them.
This is more than a summer program. This is where young people from underserved Black and Brown communities learn the truth about their history, get the space to heal, build real-life money skills, and begin to see themselves as the leaders, builders, and legacy makers they already are.
Our Mission
Our Mission
The mission of 40 Acres & A Summer School is to transform the way Black and Brown high school students see themselves, their history, and their future.
This program is designed to help each student understand that they come from fighters, inventors, builders, teachers, and pioneers — and that same greatness lives in them.
Curriculum
What Students Will Learn
Every week is built around one of eight core pillars — drawn from the missions of America's greatest HBCUs — and brought to students a decade before college ever asks them to figure it out alone.
Identity & Self-Knowledge
Know who you are before the world tells you
Black History: The Full Picture
Ancient civilizations, Black Wall Street, the hidden figures who changed the world
Mental Health & Healing
A safe space to talk about what you are carrying and learn how to heal
Leadership
Public speaking, decision-making, and leading with integrity
Entrepreneurship
Business fundamentals and the legacy of Black-owned enterprise
Financial Literacy & Banking
Budgeting, saving, credit, and generational wealth
Civic Power & Know Your Rights
How government works, your rights, and how to organize for change
Character, Integrity & Community Service
The no-quit mindset of every pioneer who came before
Why It Matters
Why This Program Matters
Too many of our students are taught how to react to struggle before they are ever taught who they truly are. Too many are carrying untreated trauma — grief, stress, and PTSD from systems and circumstances that were never designed to protect them.
This program interrupts that pattern. We give students truth, structure, healing, and a better vision of themselves while they are still young enough to build on it for life.
We also pay every enrolled student $20 per hour for up to 30 hours per week — because their time has value. Because learning has value. Because they have value.
When students graduate, they leave with knowledge, direction, integrity, and money in their pocket that they earned themselves.
Details
Program at a Glance
- 8-week paid summer program for rising 9th–12th graders
- $20/hr for up to 30 hours per week — up to $600/week gross
- $500 completion bonus for finishing all 8 weeks in good standing
- Up to $5,300 total for the full summer
- Breakfast and lunch provided every day
- 7:45 AM – 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday
- PFCU bank account opening in Week 2 — first paycheck, first deposit
- Built around 8 core pillars including mental health, Black history, financial literacy, and civic power
- Grounded in the missions of America's HBCUs — started in high school, built to last
Families & Community
Built for Students, Families, and Community
This program is built with the belief that students grow stronger when families and communities are part of the process. The goal is not only to support the student — it is to create relief, opportunity, and long-term change for the households and neighborhoods they come from.
Every student who qualifies deserves a seat.
