When the weather’s nice enough, students at Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy’s Prep Campus in Washington’s Columbia Heights neighborhood walk single-file up Kenyon Avenue through a narrow alleyway into the Bruce Monroe Community Park — a public park — for recess.
… The school recently embarked on a $2.2 million dollar campaign to build a gym over the parking lot next to the school, funded by philanthropists, government grants, and charitable foundations, tentatively scheduled to finish by the end of the calendar year. In one of the first examples of a public charter school using crowdfunding, Cesar Chavez staff hoped to supplement traditional funding with small contributions from large groups of individuals, to raise an additional $30,000.
… Crowdfunding is a phenomenon relatively new to the education world, crowdfunding analyst Chris Camillo said, and the few school systems using the method are still developing the social media savvy required for a successful campaign.
Read more at The Washington Post