Newsletter: Philadelphia Schools Take Steps Forward, Toward a Brighter Future
Dear Partners,
Over the past school year we saw great progress across our core investment areas—in schools, the teacher workforce, and policy conditions.
In particular, our 16 school-based investments that impact nearly 17,000 students—in the areas of school capacity building, school startup, and school growth grants—have made remarkable strides, expanding their reach and touching countless young lives with their quality educational programs. Below, we highlight a few standout examples.
- School Capacity Building Grants: All K-2 Students at McMichael Elementary School Make Advancements in Reading
- School Startups Grants: KIPP Octavius Catto Serves Over 100 More Students in Renovated New Facility
- School Growth Grants: Esperanza Academy Charter School in Kensington on Track to Add up to 600 Students in a Brand New Building
We hope you will continue to partner with us next school year to build on the momentum we’ve created together. We believe this momentum will lead to significant breakthroughs for students and serve as proof points for what Philadelphia schools can achieve in the future.
Thank you for joining us on this journey!
Elevate 215
July 2024
All K-2 Students at McMichael Elementary School Make Advancements in Reading
This past year, thanks to a grant from Elevate 215, the School District of Philadelphia’s Morton McMichael Elementary School partnered with Joyful Readers to provide full-time AmeriCorps tutors to help struggling K-2 students advance their reading skills. Every student who participated experienced tremendous growth. As a result, no Kindergarten students scored in the intensive intervention category—the lowest performance level—on the Spring STAR assessment.
“Morton McMichael’s progress is proof of the academic acceleration that is possible if we create the conditions for schools to implement promising practices,” shared Stacy Holland, Executive Director of Elevate 215. “We funded the school to identify where they could make the biggest impact with their students, and in one year, their students achieved gains that could be a game changer in their education journeys. However, just because it worked this year, we know that is not enough. We will continue to support these schools to build on this momentum to create sustainable programs and practices that grow in the years to come.”
Research has shown important interventions like McMichael has implemented can lead to long-term academic advancements.
KIPP Octavius Catto Serves Over 100 More Students in Renovated New Facility
In the 2023-24 school year, KIPP Octavius Catto served 301 students in grades K-2, a significant increase from the 200 students enrolled when the school first opened in 2022. Thanks to a grant provided by Elevate 215 in 2021 to support start-up costs, Catto continues to make progress toward its goal of serving 500 students in grades K-4. On the campus of the former Provident Life Insurance Building in West Philadelphia, KIPP is an anchor tenant along with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in this innovative community redevelopment project.
“The opening of KIPP Catto has provided many families in the city of Philadelphia with the opportunity to find a school that meets the academic and social-emotional needs of their children,” said Dr. Amanda Hill-Hennie, Principal of KIPP Catto. “We nearly doubled the number of K-2 students reading on grade-level from the beginning of the year to the end of the year in accordance with our DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment data. With the inclusion of a play block period in our schedule and a partnership with the Please Touch museum, our students get the unique experience of building their social-emotional skills and infusing joy into their school day. This research-based approach helps increase student engagement and cognitive development.”
During the summer, Catto will be supporting their rising kindergartners with their first ever preparation summer program designed to support students transition into kindergarten with a focus on culturally responsive teaching competencies.
Esperanza Academy Charter School in Kensington on Track to Add up to 600 Students in a Brand New Building
Esperanza has been serving the Hunting Park community in Kensington for more than two decades, and currently has over 1,600 students in grades K-2 and 5-12. In November 2023, funded in part by a school growth grant from Elevate 215, Esperanza Academy Charter School (EACS) broke ground on a new elementary building for grades K-5, which is projected to open in for the 2025-26 school year.
Located much closer to the main Esperanza campus than the current building being used, the 73,000 square foot modern facility will house up to 800 students across 30 classrooms with attached grade-level support and intervention spaces, a state-of-the-art cafeteria and gymnasium, a music room, and a playground. After completing this expansion project, EACS will become the second-largest single charter school in Philadelphia, serving over 2,200 students in grades K-12.
“We started with small but excellent beginnings, and are excited to continue seeing our students learn and thrive in a beautiful, new building,” shared Jeana Davis, the Director of Instruction at the Elementary School. “We believe the elementary grades are a time for exploration, cultivating curiosity, and creating foundational learning that will carry our students to success far into the future. This expansion will provide our students with a cohesive K-12 learning experience, and we can’t wait to see the new opportunities it will hold.”