Education l Community Relations
Education
An important part of our comprehensive neighborhood redevelopment strategy is ensuring that all our residents have access to the education they need to succeed in life.
As an early advocate and leader in the charter school movement in Philadelphia, OARC opened the West Oak Lane Charter in September 1998 for grades K thru 5. Over a decade later, the school has expanded to the 8th grade and recently moved into a newly completed building that connects to the existing structure.
West Oak Lane Charter School
The West Oak Lane Charter School challenges students with a demanding curriculum, a longer school day and a longer school year. Class size is small, (no more than 26 per class) and is supported by an innovative and research proven curriculum, emphasizing hands-on-learning. OARC works closely with WOLCS administration to ensure that the school operates in close cooperation with the families and the community that it is intended to benefit.
We are proud of our students and pleased that all graduates are accepted by and attend academically advanced Public, Private and Charter High Schools.
Hope Charter School
Dates of operation: Opened in September 2002
Description: OARC owns the property at 2116 E. Haines Street, previously the Penn Emblem Manufacturing Company, that at one time housed a 68,500 square foot job training facility. Today, following major renovations, the facility houses the HOPE Charter School, the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Technology, (PCAT) and Ombudsman:
HOPE Charter School is a school managed by the Juvenile Justice Center (JJC) since 2002 for approximately 400 at-risk high school students. OARC worked closely with JJC in developing a curriculum that would serve to prepare students for the workforce.
PCAT
Philadelphia Center for Arts and Technology, (PCAT) is a high-tech, state-of-the-art learning space, where youth receive academic instruction and personalized attention from caring adults, explore career pathways, and ready themselves for skilled positions in the high-growth fields of the arts, science, technology, and emerging "green" trades. PCAT is also a resource for students with more complex educational, social, or family issues; staff connects such individuals with appropriate supports in the community.
By design, PCAT programs expose students to areas of study and career opportunities seldom available to inner city populations. To accomplish this, PCAT relies on many regional organizations, businesses, and universities to provide world-class programming aligned with youth's interests and linked to post-secondary opportunities.
Ombudsman provides an alternative middle and high school program for students who learn better in a non-traditional classroom setting and want an alternate route to high school graduation.
Vision and Mission:
We believe all students have value, can learn and can develop their inherent talents to become contributing members of society.
Our mission is to provide personalized, evidence-based educational services for non-traditional learners in collaboration with families and public school districts.
NIA Center
Description: The NIA Center, named for the fifth principle of Kwaanza that means purpose, was a turnkey project developed by the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition on behalf of OARC. The 14,000 square foot building was occupied on the first and second level by a Comprehensive Day Care Center and a Head Start Program run by the School District of Philadelphia until the 2011 school year. The programs ensured that children in the community were provided with a strong foundation in preparation for learning in the K-12 school environment. This space is currently being renovated and will be the home of a privately owned day care center. We look forward to once again providing a space where children are educated and nurtured in the thriving community that we serve.
Partners: Rowan Development, Inc.