It is no secret that the inner-city in America is a source of heartache, despair and exasperation. A few individuals attempt to tackle the problems inherent to the inner-city. Even fewer face the proverbial bull head-on. Vielka McFarlane, Founder and CEO of the Celerity Educational Group, is one such individual. Ms. McFarlane, an iconoclast to the core, has decided to invade and benevolently transform the inner-city of Los Angeles into a beacon of hope and a model for development. Her target – children and the neighborhoods they live in.

Ms. McFarlane, in a classically understated manner, describes herself as “nothing more than a project manager.” But if you chip away at the humble demeanor, you discover that the project she is referring to is effectively educating inner-city youth. It is a gargantuan project that previous educators and politicians have walked away from. But Ms. McFarlane’s winter cool exterior belies no tension or even doubt that she will accomplish her goal.

Ms. McFarlane was born and raised in Panama City, Panama. She speaks highly of her parents who worked three jobs each in order to send her and her two siblings to a private school. Ms. McFarlane attributes much of her success to her early education despite the crushing poverty. She was primarily raised by her grandmother since her parents worked about twenty hours each day. She recalls living in a one bedroom apartment with her grandmother and twenty-one other children. But mostly she recalls the force of her grandmother’s character. The female strength and compassion that her grandmother exuded was as mentally formative for Ms. McFarlane as her education.

It was clear to her parents and Ms. McFarlane that education meant choices and opportunities. However, Ms. McFarlane also inherently understood the importance of role models. The only role model for an independent female was a secretary. Ms. McFarlane enrolled in the vocational track at her school. Her goal as a teenager was to become a secretary. Ms. McFarlane still whimsically refers to her ability to type 105 words per minute. However, she discovered upon graduating a larger world of role models. Ms. McFarlane discovered that independent women could have many careers. She promptly enrolled in college in Panama and took International Relations as her course of study. She also studied French, Portuguese, Italian and German.

With a large extended family to support, Ms. McFarlane realized that opportunities had to be sought outside of Panama. She left for the United States in 1982 at a time when corporate takeovers and American military might dominated our culture. She arrived in Los Angeles knowing no English and instantly recognizing the entrenched racial divisiveness in the city. However, Ms. McFarlane was never one to flinch at challenges. She simply absorbed the aggressiveness percolating throughout our culture and decided to hurdle the racial challenges by immediately enrolling in an adult literacy program.

Ms. McFarlane’s first job was at a flower mill factory in South Los Angeles. During this time her English skills solidified. She enrolled in LA Trade Tech at night and studied philosophy with a focus on logic. She considered philosophy a gateway to English fluency. She considered logic foundational for higher learning.

When Ms. McFarlane took her second job at a sheet metal factory she realized that she was going to have to crawl and inch her way to success. Her next job was at a beverage company.  Ms. McFarlane was not on the factory line but was a benefits coordinator. She had managed to gain respect and trust and with exceptional English language skills at her disposal she was able to demonstrate her razor sharp intelligence. She then enrolled at Cal State Los Angeles and studied economics. It was at this time that Ms. McFarlane decided to focus her skills on education.

She began teaching bilingual classes in Los Angeles Unified in 1991. Teaching was far from just a job. It was a passion. She became fully engrossed in each of her student’s lives. She began a chess club for her students and even started a tennis club for the inner-city youth. When one thinks of tennis, images of Brentwood come to mind and not South Central Los Angeles. But Ms. McFarlane is about choices. Basketball was the only option so she gave her students a choice.

Ms. McFarlane later became a bilingual coordinator at Main Street Elementary. Having achieved her teaching credential while concurrently teaching she set her sights on school administration as she realized that the best way to affect change in education is to be part of the decision making process. Ms. McFarlane achieved her administrative credential and became an assistant principal and later a principal at Overland Elementary.

Celerity Nascent now enrolls almost 500 students from grades K-7. In September the school will add eighth grade to complete the junior high. The students at Celerity Nascent, in the spirit of choice, are offered karate, yoga, dance and art classes. Celerity Nascent is also in the process of building its technology infrastructure to support its roving computer labs and streamline its administrative oversight.

Having impressed numerous fellow administrators, Ms. McFarlane was extended an offer to work at the Charter Schools Office of Los Angeles Unified School District. Ms. McFarlane saw the offer as an opportunity to effect change for a greater number of students. However, she soon realized that the best way to improve education was to take a grassroots approach. She decided to open a charter school in the inner-city. However, that decision was not without its challenges. Money was an issue. But Ms. McFarlane resolved that issue by mortgaging her house. Facilities were also an issue. But Ms. McFarlane managed to finagle a warehouse in Jefferson Park.

Ms. McFarlane proved the maxim: if you build it they will come. Celerity Nascent, the first school of Celerity Educational Group, opened with 390 students. It was the largest non-conversion charter school opening in the history of charter schools in the United States. But it was not simply the existence of a new school in South Los Angeles that drew in students and parents. It was the attraction to Ms. McFarlane’s vision for their educational path and the spirit of familial community that she brought to the table.

Celerity Educational Group is poised to open two new schools in South Los Angeles in September. The sound business model of Celerity Nascent will be replicated at the new schools. There will be a seamless integration of academics, enrichment, and community spirit and, above all, educational choice.

Ms. McFarlane is, indeed, an impeccable project manager. But it is her devotion to transforming educational choices for inner-city youth and effecting positive change in the communities of South Los Angeles that is most impressive. Her breadth of knowledge regarding education, business and community development is also equally impressive. However, what is most profound is that she has become a role model not only for females but African-Americans in general. Given her accomplishments and the example she has set there is no doubt that her students will succeed as dramatically as she has.