Ciara stressed the importance of education to 900 high school students at East High School in Memphis, Tenn., during the Get Schooled National Challenge and Tour on Thursday (Oct. 7). The multi-city trek engages students in an effort to help improve high school graduation rates and ultimately raise college completion rates.

“They can take away your house, they can take away your money, they can take away your clothes, they can take away all those fun materialistic things, but if you have knowledge, you can always get that back,” shared CiCi, who wore a pheasant-print T-shirt, sparkly pinstripe pants, and bejeweled heels. “Knowledge is the foundation to everything.”

She also surprised students with a brief impromptu performance of her ladies remix to Chris Brown’s “Deuces.” Watch her drop knowledge and sing below.