Renovation and new construction for Briya and Bridges Public Charter Schools with space for a FQHC health clinic: Renovation of the Mamie D. Lee Center in Washington DC was completed in 2017 to house two charter schools. The project created 678 high-quality charter seats: 250 for Briya Public Charter School, which serves adult students; 428 for Bridges Public Charter School, which serves PK3 through 5th Grade. Civic Builders provided $13.5M in New Markets Tax Credit allocation to help complete the project.
Briya Public Charter School (BPCS) serves adult students and provides daycare to their children, in an approach called “two-generation” learning. The school received national recognition in 2015 when the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics named BPCS “a Bright Spot in Hispanic Education.” BPCS sublets a portion of its space to Mary’s Center, a federally-qualified health center, which serves the wellness needs of 15,000 unique clients annually in its medically underserved neighborhood. Bridges Public Charter School (Bridges) serves students aged Pre-K3 through 5th grade. Their inclusive and family-centered approach to education helps students and families to set learning goals for both school and home and provides intervention and services to students with special needs. Their new space is complete with designated spaces for art, therapy, and English language learning.