The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools (PCPCS) chose City Charter High School as one of three brick-and-mortar public charter school subgrantees to receive as much as $1.5 million each of federal funding during the inaugural year of Pennsylvania’s Charter School Program (PACSP) Grant program. City High will use the grant funds to develop more technology course offerings, strengthen community outreach efforts and expand social and emotional learning (SEL) opportunities.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded its Expanding Opportunities Through Quality Charter School Program Grant (commonly known as the CSP Grant) to PCPCS to support the development, expansion, and replication of high-quality public brick-and-mortar charter schools in Pennsylvania. The grant award will total $30 million over five years (2021-25). The funding was awarded to PCPCS to expand public charter school options in Pennsylvania.

“We are honored to have been awarded this PACSP Grant, which will support City High's work in doing what we do best: cultivating our students' individual talents, needs, skills, and potential for even more of our region's students to become lifelong learners and agents of change in their communities,” said Dr. Dara Ware Allen, CEO of City Charter High School.  

An external peer review panel reviews each PACSP grant proposal. To ensure a diverse collection of impartial reviewers, the team consists of five primary members and two alternate members, including a successful charter school founder, an expert in charter school business management and finance, and a representative from a Pennsylvania institution of higher education.

Along with City High, the other awardees were Midland Innovation + Technology Charter School, Beaver County, and Bear Creek Community Charter School, Luzerne County.

"We are thrilled to make this announcement for many reasons, but especially as we kick off National Charter Schools Week in Pennsylvania," said Brandie Karpew, co-director of PACSP. "This week is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of public charter schools, nationwide and in Pennsylvania, and the impact that charter schools have had on thousands of students. It is only fitting that we announce, this week, the expansion of Pennsylvania’s public charter school movement through the PACSP Grant.”

For more information, visit: PA Coalition of Public Charter Schools