WATCH: 'Ellen' Surprises Brooklyn High School With College Scholarship For Entire Senior Class

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN — The senior class of Summit Academy Charter School in Red Hook, Brooklyn, was stunned on Thursday's "Ellen," when Ellen DeGeneres surprised them with a four-year college scholarship to any State University of New York School.

DeGeneres, with an assist from Walmart, will donate $1.6 million to cover college tuition costs for the 41-member senior class. She made the announcement on her eponymous show Thursday afternoon. (For more Red Hook news, click here to sign up for Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts.)

The students were in studio for what they thought was a feature story on their school and its top two educators — founder Natasha Campbell and principal Cheryl Swfit.

Instead, with all of the seniors on stage in matching T-shirts, DeGeneres announced the scholarship as the kids screamed, cried and jumped for joy.

Scroll down to the bottom of this article for video of the announcement.

The students were in studio for what they thought was a follow-up to a segment last week on their school and the work it does putting kids on a track to college.

Last week on "Ellen," Campbell and Swift told DeGeneres that only 4 percent of adults in their community have college degrees and that 97 percent of the previous senior class is enrolled in college. At the end of that show, DeGeneres surprised them with a $25,000 check.

That gift, apparently, was just the beginning.

On the return appearance Thursday, Campbell and Swift shared what the $25,000 check meant to the school. Some of the seniors told their personal stories and shared their dreams of going to college.

At the end of the show, with Campbell, Swift and the students on stage, DeGeneres made the big reveal.

"Our mission is for them to go to college," Swift said. "Now they don't have any obstacles."

You can watch video of the announcement — plus highlights from their earlier appearance on the show — below. The giveaway comes at about the 8-minute mark:

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