New Atlanta School Gets Financial Jolt From National Bank
Bank of America announced Friday it will gift $1 million to the Grove Park Foundation to help the new Woodson Park Academy.
Courtesy of Zachary Toth
A planned Atlanta school received a big boost Friday. The Atlanta Public Schools has partnered with the Grove Park Foundation to build a new K-8 school on the west side. Bank of America announced it will donate $1 million toward the foundation for the development of the new Woodson Park Academy.
The plan includes a brand new school building, but Grove Park Foundation Executive Director Debra Edelson said the investment will go beyond that.
“KIPP [Knowledge is Power Program] is coming in as a contract partner for this school and [will] bring the level of education that these kids deserve and haven’t had in an awfully long time,” Edelson said.
The academy will remain a traditional public school. It won’t convert to a charter. It’s the first time KIPP has made such an agreement.
Bank of America’s Atlanta Market President, Wendy Stewart, said the $1 million dollar gift aligns with the company’s philanthropic goals.
“It falls squarely in what we’re trying to do around addressing issues of economic mobility and helping communities that have not had the right level of investment go from a struggling community to one that’s thriving,” Stewart said. “We know it’s going to take time, but we also feel like it’s absolutely the right decision to make.”
The new academy will open in July 2020. APS and the Grove Park Foundation will jointly finance the $34 million project.
A note of disclosure: The Atlanta Board of Education holds WABE’s broadcast license.
Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to reflect the school will be K-8.
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