New School Year, New Management, And New Cash For A Philly Charter School
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The new school year started Wednesday morning with a big infusion of cash at Mastery Charter's Frederick Douglass school.
Teachers greeted students on day 1 at the Frederick Douglass Charter School at 22nd and Norris in North Philadelphia.
Mastery Charter Schools has taken over operations of the school, after the School Reform Commission voted in May to oust the previous operator, Scholar Academies.
Mastery runs 13 other schools in Philadelphia, and 5 in Camden. With the first day comes word that the non-profit Philadelphia School Partnership is granting $1.5 million to Mastery to aid the Douglass turnaround.
Upper School principal, Constance Horton says that money will be used for more, and better-trained, teachers.
"More actual people, it translates into better facilities," Horton says. "It translates into our ability to provide support for students who have special needs at a higher level."
The first day for Philadelphia School District students is September 8th.
