Baton Rouge, LA. (April 25, 2019) –   When the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement recently announced their current grant awards, several Charter Management Organizations (CMOs) with ties to the Baton Rouge area were among the 15 selected for funding. According to USDOE, the Charter School Program (CSP) CMO Grants are intended to support charter schools that serve early childhood, elementary school, or secondary school students by providing funds to eligible applicants for the replication and expansion of high-quality charter schools.

KIPP, IDEA Public Schools, InspireNOLA, and Collegiate Academies are CMOs currently operating, authorized, or seeking authorization to operate schools in Baton Rouge. The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will vote on May 9 and 13 on authorization for 10 charter applications currently under review by the system’s independent evaluator, BASIS and KIPP are among these applicants.

With the CSP Grants, KIPP, the largest nonprofit charter network in the country, will receive $86 million over five years to create 52 new schools. IDEA, a Texas-based charter network, will receive $116 million over five years to support growth in Louisiana, Texas and Florida. Collegiate Academies stands to receive nearly $5 million, and Inspire NOLA’s expansions will be funded at just under $13 million.

All of these operators have been supported in their efforts to serve Baton Rouge families by New Schools for Baton Rouge. NSBR CEO Chris Meyer explained, “We have a critical need to expand high-quality options for students in Baton Rouge. These schools have proven track records of success, and we are pleased to see them receive the validation and funding necessary to continue to expand their impact to help more students and families.”

“All families in Baton Rouge deserve access to more and better options for their students. ” Meyer said.

About New Schools for Baton Rouge

New Schools for Baton Rouge is a community partnership bringing together talent and resources to deliver excellent schools to students and families in Baton Rouge. Founded by community leaders in 2012, NSBR’s mission is to ensure excellent schools for every child in our city. NSBR invests in programs and initiatives that support the success of schools to expand and sustain excellence.