Voices College-bound Language Academies, which includes a Morgan Hill school among its three sites, was approved for a $2.7 million federal grant, according to an Oct. 3 press release.
The U.S. Department of Education named Voices as one of 17 charter public school organizations in the nation to be awarded a Charter Schools Program Grant.
“Receiving this grant is a testimony to the rigor, quality and success of Voices’ cutting edge model and program,” Voices founder Frances Teso said. “We see the impact of our schools on the communities we serve and we see lives changing every day, but it is gratifying to have this caliber of evaluator recognizing Voices’ strengths.”
Voices received a score of 99.3 percent in its evaluation for the grant, which was the highest score among the 17 other granted charter management organizations, according to the press release.
California District 30 State Assemblymember Anna Caballero will present Voices with a certificate to honor their achievement Oct. 10 at the grand opening event for Voices-Morgan Hill at the school’s new campus at 610 Jarvis Drive.
Open since 2007 with its flagship school in the Franklin-McKinley School District, Voices “has devoted itself to serving socioeconomically disadvantaged and underserved communities.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Charter Schools Program provides funds to create promising new public charter schools, to replicate high-quality public charter schools and to disseminate information about effective practices within charter schools. Federal funds are also available to help charter schools find suitable facilities; reward high-quality charter schools that form exemplary collaborations with traditional public schools; and invest in other national initiatives that support charter schools.
Approximately $52 million in CSP Grants for Replication and Expansion of High-Quality Charter Schools were awarded to 17 nonprofit charter management organizations (CMOs), which demonstrated success in improving student achievement. Grant funds may be used to expand enrollment by substantially increasing the number of available seats at a school, or by opening new charter school campuses.
