Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition
"Our Children, Our School, Our Future"
MJACS Receives $50,000 Charter School Planning Grant

Compared with many other states, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has
been quite successful in obtaining federal and state start-up funds and distributing these
funds to schools quickly. This includes a collection of funds for planning grants to aid
the development of charter applications.

The first of these grants in which MJACS qualified for was the Pennsylvania Charter School
Planning Grant. Planning Grant applications are evaluated by a team of professionals from
current and former charter schools, school districts, and department staff. Grants are awarded
based upon multiple reviews of applications to identify the most high-quality, innovative and
unique charter schools in high-need communities across Pennsylvania.

MJACS is pleased to announce we are the recipient of one of these $50,000 Planning Grants!
Although we were not at a point of the charter process to qualify for the planning and
implementation grants for the 2008-2009 year, we received the second highest application
score from the Pennsylvania Department of Education this year! This grant will help with
community awareness costs, curriculum development costs, etc.

In addition, just this week, MJACS applied to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for a
$300,000 Charter Implementation Grant. Implementation grants are intended to assist with the
implementation of a charter school’s program.

Just as with the Planning Grant, our Implementation Grant Application will once again be
evaluated and reviewed. As soon as we know the status of our Implementation Grant Application,
we will be sure to pass on the information to you! The monies from both the Planning Grant as
well as the Implementation Grant will help ensure that MJACS starts off on the
right foot with all the equipment and material needed to make our Charter School
the best it can be—just as we’ve promised!