Elevate 215

School and Talent Grants Elevate 215 makes grants to school operators to support the start-up, expansion, or the capacity building of public, public charter, and parochial schools located in Philadelphia. Grant funding supports the expenses of startup, growth and/or improvement activities over the course of single or multiple years. The Organization screens prospective applications by conducting extensive due diligence on the applicants before approving grants, including examination of school models, quantitative data on academic outcomes, analysis of student attendance, attrition, graduation and matriculation data, financial analysis, review of strategic growth plans, assessment of organizational leadership capacity, interviews with school leaders, and school site visits. The Organization grants funds related to talent development initiatives, which are focused on strengthening the recruitment, retention and skill development of school leaders and teachers. In 2023, Elevate 215 supported 22 organizations. Community Resources Elevate 215 maintains two web-based platforms to educate families about school options that are available throughout Philadelphia. Greatphillyschools.org is a web-based information system that provides detailed descriptions of 400+ K-12 public (district and charter), parochial, and private schools throughout Philadelphia. The site also provides resource articles that address various topics related to navigating the education system. Topics include but are not limited to frequently asked questions on school applications processed specifically by sector, scholarships, how to interact with a student's teacher, and other relevant information. In 2023, over 200,000 families accessed the website. In addition, Great Philly Schools hosted an annual K-12 Fair in October, where over 7,500 students and families participated and gathered information about school options in Philadelphia. The second technology platform is Applyphillycharter.org. Elevate 215 operates the Apply Philly (www.applyphillycharter.org) platform, an online student enrollment system that manages the application and acceptance process for 71% of the public charter school campuses citywide. In 2023, over 29,000 families submitted 130,000 applications to select a K-12 public charter school. Policy and Advocacy To ensure that the conditions exist in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania to support the growth and improvement of quality schools, the Organization educates and advocates for evolved education-related policies and makes grants to support such advocacy. The Organization's advocacy is always nonpartisan; it does not support or advocate on behalf of candidates for elected office or education legislation.

Elevate 215 operates the Apply Philly Charter (www.applyphillycharter.org) platform, an online student enrollment system that manages the application and acceptance process for 71% of the public charter school campuses citywide. In 2023, over 29,000 families submitted 130,000 applications to select a K-12 public charter school.