Anthony Aybar’s mother made a deal with her oldest son: “You take care of your school — that’s your job,” she said. “And I’ll make sure you have all of the necessities — that’s my job.”

The single mom to five children, who immigrated to New York City from the Dominican Republic in 2000, worked double shifts at McDonald’s to make ends meet for her family — while Anthony focused on school keep up his end of the deal.

This month, Anthony graduated from Democracy Prep High School, a charter school in Harlem, and he’s heading for Harvard, where he hopes to major in mechanical engineering so that he can “create really cool things that help a lot of people.”

At the graduation ceremony, his mother gave him a high five and told him, “We’ve made it.”

Anthony credits his mother, who he calls “the rock of everything” for his success. He also thanks his teachers at Democracy Prep for helping him succeed.

Anthony was struggling at the local public elementary school he attended in Washington Heights in New York City when he decided to enter the lottery to attend the Democracy Prep Charter Middle School.

At first, Anthony had trouble at his new school. He wasn’t used to the rigorous workload or the structured academic environment.

But he said his teachers didn’t give up on him. They worked with him before and after school, on the weekends, and in his classes.

He quickly caught up.

In 11th grade, Anthony took 12th grade math — Advanced Placement Calculus. He says at the start of the year, the teacher had to stop the whole class to help him. By the end, he earned the highest grade in the class.

“Teachers at Democracy Prep go out of their way and make an extra effort,” he said. “Such as creating videos online with corny songs or costumes, so you can understand a concept.”