With determination in the classroom and constant support from his mom, Meeting Street Elementary – Burns fifth-grader Brandon Estrada Posadas has earned a full scholarship to Porter-Gaud School, one of the top private schools in the Lowcountry.
“Our goal is to put students on a strong path forward so they can pursue incredible opportunities and achieve their dreams, and that includes supporting families with school choice so they can access an excellent education,” said Meg Fischer, program director for alumni services.
Brandon’s accomplishment marks the first time a Burns student has been accepted to a top private school on a full scholarship. He is one of more than 60 students at Meeting Street Schools who were accepted into selective schools, including 10 students who received full scholarships to private schools. This year, Meeting Street Schools students earned more than $1.9 million in scholarships to middle and high schools.
Porter-Gaud has a competitive, multi-step admissions process; about three students apply for every available seat. Meg introduced Brandon to the admissions team at Porter-Gaud as a potential good fit.
Paige Baran, assistant director of admission at Porter-Gaud, said Porter-Gaud takes a holistic approach in evaluating prospective students.
“Sometimes it’s a unique thing that the student has that maybe we haven’t seen from other students, but it’s an overall hard working, kind student who is up for the challenge here,” Paige said. “Our school was pretty excited to have a hard working student like him (Brandon).”
Brandon started attending Burns at age four in pre-kindergarten speaking only Spanish; his mother, Breyssy Posadas Campos, is from Honduras. He learned how to speak English while at Burns.
Brandon’s Mom has played a huge role in his academic success by being a strong partner with the school, Meg said. His Mom encourages him to read at home, doesn’t allow him to have screen time during the week and ensures he does his homework each night.
She said she prioritizes his learning because she emigrated to the United States so her children could have opportunities that she never had.
“I left one life behind to come and make my son shine with his life,” his Mom said through a translator.
She is confident the effort she has invested in Brandon will pay off in his future success.
“Porter-Gaud is a wonderful opportunity for him, for his future,” his Mom said. “I will be there, motivating him to be better every day because I know he is capable. He is a bright boy.”
Breyssy is grateful for the teachers and staff at Burns who supported her son. When Brandon applied to Porter-Gaud School, Brandon’s fifth-grade teacher Joanna Schwartz wrote him a letter of recommendation, which she said was easy to do.
“He is one of my students who almost always has homework completed by Tuesday when it’s due Friday, and he is thorough,” Joanna said. “He takes his education seriously.”
Brandon plans to take advantage of the foreign languages offered by Porter-Gaud and is excited to enroll in French next year.
He also has a strong interest in science, and he wants to become a surgeon or a scientist one day. His mom said he is self-motivated and reads books about science in his free time.
“There’s so many words to describe him, but mainly he’s a very incredible kid in every aspect,” his Mom said.
