Best-Selling Author Terry McMillan to Honor Community Preparatory School’s 25th Anniversary

Feb. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- PROVIDENCE,  RI – Community Preparatory School, an independent school serving Greater Providence area students in grades three through eight, announces acclaimed author, Terry McMillan, as keynote speaker during the school’s 25th anniversary event on April 27 at Mill’s Tavern restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island.  

McMillan will visit Community Prep students during the school day Wednesday, April 27, sharing the challenges she faced as an African American woman, single mother and writer. A special anniversary celebration will follow at Mill’s Tavern from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
McMillan was inspired to write at a young age while shelving books at the public library in Michigan. She achieved national attention in 1992 for Waiting to Exhale, which spent more than 38 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. The film, directed by Forest Whitaker, received seven Grammy Awards and an MTV Movie Award. In 1998, How Stella Got Her Groove Back was made into a movie. Other books by McMillan include Disappearing Acts, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, The Interruption of Everything and It’s OK if You’re Clueless. McMillan recently completed her latest novel, Getting To Happy, which revisits the characters from Waiting to Exhale 15 years later. Twentieth Century Fox has purchased the movie rights to Getting to Happy and the book will be released this fall by Viking.
Community Prep’s Head of School, Dan Corley, says he looks forward to McMillan’s visit. “We are honored to have McMillan share her story. She serves as an inspiration to Community Prep, where a truly diverse group of students come together to learn, share, achieve and thrive, knowing they will go on to some of the best high schools and colleges in the country,” he said.

With nearly 90 percent of Community Prep students receiving substantial financial aid, the school represents a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and creates a diverse and rigorous learning environment for children in the Greater Providence area. Tickets to the fundraiser at Mill’s Tavern start at $150. For ticket information, call (401) 521-9697 or visit www.communityprep.org.

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About Community Preparatory School:
Community Preparatory School was founded in 1984 by Dan Corley and Bob Hahn to give children in the Greater Providence area a chance for a better education. With 90 percent of students receiving substantial financial aid, Community Prep represents a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and creates a uniquely diverse and rigorous learning environment for children in grades 3 through 8. More than 92 percent of Community Prep graduates are accepted to college-preparatory high school programs and 82 percent continue onto college. Visit www.communityprep.org for more information.