PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The start of classes marks the beginning of a time of transition at an independent school in Philadelphia with a focused mission.

An assembly this morning at the Academy In Manayunk (“AIM”) included the school’s first seniors escorting its next class of first graders in welcome.

Head of School Dick Baroody says this is especially significant given AIM’s unique student body.

“They have great difficulty reading and sometimes writing,” he explains, “and when they come to us they oftentimes come out of a situation when they’ve been unable to do much at all along those lines.  And by the time they are seniors they are taking a course at Cabrini College.  So these kids, over time, are college bound.”

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( Credit: John Ostapkovich)

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AIM began in 2006 with 27 students, and now boasts 155.

A companion ceremony at the end of the school year will take place elsewhere, once AIM’s new facility in Conshohocken is open.

Reported by John Ostapkovich, KYW Newsradio 1060