BUILDING HOPE ANNOUNCES IMPACT GRANT SEMI-FINALISTS

40 Charter Schools Honored for Excellence in Four Categories: Community Engagement, Educational Innovation, Student Empowerment, and Model Charter School

Winners Will Be Announced at the Fourth Annual Building Hope IMPACT Summit Awards Gala on May 7, 2025, in Miami; $160,000 in Grants to be Awarded

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Building Hope, the non-profit leader in charter school facilities, financing, and services, today announced the 40 semi-finalists for the 2025 Building Hope IMPACT Awards. Ten semi-finalists have been selected in each of four award categories: Community Engagement, Educational Innovation, Student Empowerment, and the prestigious S. Joseph Bruno Model Charter Award. Three final winners in each category will be announced at the Building Hope IMPACT Summit, taking place May 6-7 in Miami. Building Hope will present a total of $40,000 in grants per category, awarding one $20,000 grant to the top winner and two $10,000 grants to the runners-up.

"At Building Hope, we believe in the transformative power of education to change lives and uplift communities," said Building Hope President and CEO Bill Hansen. These 40 charter schools demonstrate innovation, leadership, and a tireless dedication to creating quality education opportunities for students. We are proud to recognize and support them as they continue to inspire our next generation of leaders."

Now in its fourth year, the Building Hope IMPACT Awards Program recognizes schools for their profound impact on the communities, families, and students they serve. The 10 semi-finalists in each award category were chosen from nearly 200 applications received from 41 states and the District of Columbia. Each application was evaluated by judges based on measurable impact, innovative educational approaches, and the strength of their engagement with students and their communities.

The Top 10 2025 IMPACT Award Semi-Finalists by Category

S. Joseph Bruno Model Charter Award

1. Chesapeake Math and IT Academy North High School, Laurel, Maryland
2. Columbus Preparatory Academy, Columbus, Ohio
3. East Mountain High School, Sandia Park, New Mexico
4. Maya Angelou Schools, Washington, D.C.
5. Sallie B. Howard School of Arts & Science, Wilson, North Carolina
6. South Florida Autism Charter School, Hialeah, Florida
7. SouthTech Schools, Boynton Beach, Florida
8. Toledo School for the Arts, Toledo, Ohio
9. University High School, Fresno, California
10. Yinghua Academy, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Community Engagement Award

1. Austin Achieve High School, Austin, Texas
2. Bultum Academy, Columbia Heights, Minnesota
3. Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, Chattanooga, Tennessee
4. Island Montessori Charter School, Wilmington, North Carolina
5. Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School, Baltimore City, Maryland
6. Marco Island Charter Middle School, Marco Island, Florida
7. Middleburg Community Charter School, Middleburg, Virginia
8. DreamHouse 'Ewa Beach, Kapolei, Hawaii
9. Phoenix International School of the Arts (PISOTA), La Plata, Maryland
10. Suncoast School for Innovative Studies, Sarasota, Florida

Educational Innovation Award

1. Autism Model Community School, Toledo, Ohio
2. Baxter Academy, Portland, Maine
3. Beta Academy, Houston, Texas
4. District of Columbia International School, Washington, D.C.
5. Le Monde International School, Norman, Oklahoma
6. Mālama Honua Public Charter School, Waimanalo, Hawaii
7. New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
8. Reaching All Minds STEM Academy, Durham, North Carolina
9. The Academy of Arts & Knowledge, Fort Collins, Colorado
10. The Birches Academy of Academics & Art, Salem, New Hampshire

Student Empowerment Award

1. Avalon School, St. Paul, Minnesota
2. CICS Longwood High School, Chicago, Illinois
3. Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, Missouri
4. Laura Jeffrey Academy, St. Paul, Minnesota
5. Liberty STEAM Charter School, Sumter, South Carolina
6. Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
7. Polaris Charter Academy, Chicago, Illinois
8. Technology Leadership High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico
9. The Greene School, West Greenwich, Rhode Island
10. YouthBuild McLean County, Normal, Illinois

For the next round of the grant selection process, the 40 semi-finalists will be narrowed down to a smaller pool of twenty finalists, which will be announced in February. A separate Selection Committee will interview the finalists and select the three winners in each category, which will be announced in March. Leaders from the winning schools will receive an expense-paid trip to the Building Hope IMPACT Summit in Miami in May. Each winner will present a 10-minute IMPACT talk in-person as the final round to determine the award amount. Awards will be presented at a gala on the final evening of the Summit.

IMPACT-winning school leaders are welcomed into the esteemed IMPACT Leadership Circle, where they join previous IMPACT grant recipients to collaborate, grow professionally, and share key learnings. Designed to elevate best practices and foster continuous improvement and innovation, leaders meet for in-person school tours, Communities of Practices, and in online development committees to advance the goal of creating transformative educational opportunities for more students nationwide.

"Educational Innovation, Community Engagement, and Student Empowerment are the building blocks to every great school, and the Building Hope IMPACT Summit & Awards is a place for charter leaders to connect, collaborate, and celebrate," said Building Hope's Chief Impact Officer and Chair of the IMPACT Selection Committee Sherilyn Moore. "Our winners and alumni curate and facilitate summit content, so participants leave with a toolkit of tried, true, and tested educational practices to level-up their own game. Each of our IMPACT schools are the pebble in the pond of educational impact that is redefining what's possible in education."

In the last three years, Building Hope has awarded $440,000 to 33 charter schools and $40,000 to eight school volunteer leaders. For more information about the IMPACT Awards or to register for the 2025 IMPACT Summit, please visit www.buildinghope.org/impact/awards.

About Building Hope
Building Hope is a national nonprofit that empowers advancements in education through our work with charter schools providing unparalleled facility financing, real estate development, and operational services. We believe a facility should never be the barrier preventing a child from attending a great school. During our 21-year history, Building Hope has supported over $1 billion in the development of school facilities. For more information, visit www.buildinghope.org.

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SOURCE Building Hope