NEW YORK -- Congressman Charles Rangel on Monday delivered the keynote address before 39 graduating seniors and their families at the Choir Academy of Harlem.

"I am proud of the graduating class of 2011," Rangel said. "These students have overcome a lot over the last several years to get to this point. I look forward to the great accomplishments that surely await them."

The Choir Academy of Harlem, founded in September, 1993 by the late Dr. Walter J. Turnbull, Director and creator of The Boys Choir of Harlem (BCH), has operated under threats of closure ever since it was designated as "failing" by the Department of Education in 2009. The Academy successfully scored high enough to avoid closure. This year, 70 percent of the graduating class is going on to college.

The school provides students with a strong music program, built on music theory and vocal development. In 2008, two new majors were added to the school program, instrumental music and dance. The school also established a middle school Prep Choir and expanded the High School Performance Choir. Students who attend Choir Academy of Harlem are required to participate at community events, school assemblies, formal engagements and public sporting events.

"Politicians have decided which schools succeed and which don't," Congressman Rangel told the graduating class. "Access to quality education is the greatest gift our nation has to offer to future generations. It is a moral, civil, and human right that all children, no matter what race, gender or economic background have the same chances to learn and succeed."