Walton Family Foundation's $250M to help charter schools in Little Rock, 16 other cities

DREAM Charter School in Harlem. The school's executive director, Richard Berlin, said in a Walton Family Foundation news release that he worked with seven different city agencies and raised money from more than 500 individuals and institutions and 12 lenders to build the school.
DREAM Charter School in Harlem. The school's executive director, Richard Berlin, said in a Walton Family Foundation news release that he worked with seven different city agencies and raised money from more than 500 individuals and institutions and 12 lenders to build the school.

Arkansas' capital city is among 17 in the U.S. that will benefit from a $250 million initiative from the Walton Family Foundation to establish and expand K-12 public charter schools, officials said Tuesday.

In addition to Little Rock, other cities as part of the "first-of-its-kind nonprofit effort" include Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, New York City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Washington, D.C., according to a news release.

“Before opening their doors, charter schools must find suitable and affordable spaces where teachers can teach and children can learn,” said Marc Sternberg, director of the foundation’s K-12 education program. “In many cities, this is the biggest barrier to creating high-quality educational options for children and families.”

The foundation estimated that by 2027, at least 250,000 students across the country will benefit from the initiative through charter school assistance in high-need urban areas.

That assistance includes low-interest loans to nonprofit lenders as well as a network of real estate experts, lenders, financiers and technical assistance providers for utilization in finding and funding charter schools.

To manage the building equity initiative, the Walton Family Foundation said it is partnering with Civic Builders, a New York-based nonprofit charter school developer.

The Bentonville-based foundation, which has a K-12 education office in Denver, has given $116 million in grants since 2003 to help charter schools, according to the news release.

Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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