SOAR Facilities Grant
SOAR Facilities grants are available through a competitive process to eligible charter LEAs. This purpose of this funding program is to provide high-quality public charter schools with funds to renovate former DCPS (or other District-owned) facilities that are leased from the District or to renovate facilities that are owned by charter schools. Grant-funded projects must 1) increase the total number of seats available at a high-quality charter school, or 2) increase the quality of existing seats at a high-quality charter school. The chart below shows the newly awarded SOAR Act Facilities grantees and a brief description of the projects the grant funds will support.
| SOAR Facilities Grantees | Amount | Project Description |
|---|---|---|
| E.L. Haynes Public Charter School | $126,343.00 | Building renovations, including a mechanical system upgrade. |
| Eagle Academy Public Charter SchoolEarly Childhood Public Charter School | $750,000.00 | Construction of new LEED Gold campus in Ward 8. |
| Ingenuity Preparatory Public Charter School | $750,000.00 | Renovations to former DCPS site in Ward 7 to open a second campus. |
| Perry Street Preparatory Public Charter School | $750,000.00 | Renovation of preschool and pre-k bathrooms. |
| Thurgood Marshall Public Charter School | $264,462.00 | Replacement of windows, installation of elevator, and modification of playground. |
| Two Rivers Public Charter School | $750,000.00 | Preconstruction work to renovate the ground floor in order to create eight new classrooms. |
SOAR Non-Profit Third-Party/Charter Support Organization Grants
The SOAR Third-Party grants are available through a competitive process to eligible non-profit organizations with a demonstrated history of success working with DC charter schools on projects that are designed to: 1) have a direct and rapid (within two years) impact on the academic achievement and outcomes for public charter school students across multiple school LEAs; or 2) designed to impact student outcomes at multiple charter LEAs indirectly by enhancing the organizational capacity of charter LEAs to operate as fiscally and operationally sound nonprofit organizations and schools. The chart below shows the newly awarded SOAR Third-Party grantees:
| SOAR Third-Party Grantees | Amount |
|---|---|
| Commonlit Inc. | $273,616.06 |
| EdFuel | $204,952.08 |
| Education Pioneers | $205,603.16 |
| Empower K12 | $273,143.80 |
| Flamboyan Foundation | $171,806.11 |
| Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS) | $205,603.16 |
| One World Education | $264,738.74 |
| PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education) | $205,603.16 |
| School Leader Lab | $194,933.73 |
See below for project summaries from the grantees.
Commonlit Inc. will support DC Preparatory, DC International, DC Bilingual, and Washington Leadership Academy public charter schools for the goal of improving student achievement in reading and writing through the development of standards-aligned digital curriculum, formative assessments, real-time analytics tools, and professional development.
EdFuel will lead a 1-year interactive Talent Development Learning Cohort (TDLC) with Achievement Preparatory, DC Bilingual, Eagle Academy, and Ingenuity Preparatory public charter schools focused on strengthening all aspects of leadership and talent development. They disseminate best practices by publishing open source tools and hosting a Talent Summit for all charter leaders.
Education Pioneers will recruit and connect summer Fellows with Friendship, Maya Angelou, SEED, Kingsman Academy, Washington Leadership Academy, Lee Montessori, Digital Pioneers, North Star College Preparatory Academy for Boys, and National Collegiate Preparatory public charter schools to build organizational and operational capacity. They will also provide leadership development for Visiting Fellows to acquire knowledge and best practices that support retention and growth.
Empower K12 will implement The Boldly Data-Driven Schools Project with Capital City, Center City, and Eagle Academy public charter schools in order to create tailored plans that will improve each LEA's "data-driven capacity" to the point of utilizing frequently updated student data to drive rapid academic gains.
Flamboyan Foundation will partner with Excel Academy, Bridges, DC Scholars, and KIPP DC to provide The Family Engagement Partnership (FEP) initiative; an intensive, school-wide intervention designed to support student success by transforming how educators and families actively partner.
Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS) will provide sector-wide training on data use and school quality, host the DC Data Summit and monthly workshops, support schools serving ELL students, offer management training for new leaders, expand a new school review process, and place data interns in schools, including Center City and DC Bilingual public charter schools.
One World Education will implement the One World Prime Program with Monument Academy, Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science, Achievement Preparatory, Cesar Chavez, IDEA, Richard Wright, and Washington Leadership public charter schools; offering teachers intensive professional development and coaching to ensure students achieve statistically significant gains in research and writing skills.
PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education) will provide a three-pronged approach to shifting school cultures at Ingenuity Preparatory and KIPP DC public charter schools to support parents' engagement and advocacy in schools, and create platforms for parents to share their voices in education policy.
School Leader Lab will train 16 instructional leaders from eight LEAs to improve results for schools and students. The two year cohort model focuses on equity and context, instructional leadership, and adaptive leadership through coaching, peer consultancies, deliberate practice, professional development and assessments.