''Lifeline'' Loan Program Adds over 2,100 New Seats for Students at California Charter Schools; Partnership between Charter, Business Communities Alleviates Major Obstacle to Success of Growing Charters.

LOS ANGELES -- Twenty two high-quality charter schools in California were able to take 2,132 students off waiting lists and allow them to enroll into classrooms this school year due to a cash flow loan fund created by the California Charter Schools Association (the Association). The Association developed this "lifeline" funding program through a partnership with Prudential Social Investments, The Low Income Investment Fund, NCB Development Corporation and Knowledge Industries, LLC, which went to growing charter schools that largely serve disadvantaged urban communities.

The cash flow loan fund, entitled the Charter School Growth Loan Program, was created to solve one of the major obstacles facing charter schools -- the lack of timely public funding to support schools as they grow. Growing charter schools typically face a four to six month lag period from the time a new student starts school to when the school receives state funding to support that pupil. The financial partners supporting the program have taken a bold move towards solving this serious issue by loaning high-performing, growing charter schools a lifeline of financial support at a time when it is most needed.

"Charter schools have proven themselves to be credit worthy, and the banking industry has made a strong commitment to supporting the expansion of this movement," said Caprice Young, President and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. "This successful program has been a lifeline for under-served communities by allowing over 2,100 mostly low-income students to come off waiting lists to attend a high-quality public charter school."

"This program was a lifeline for the more than 80 new students who were able to enroll in the View Park Prep charter high school this past school year. This coming year, the program will allow us to enroll an additional 335 students," said Michael Piscal, founder of the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), which operates the three high-performing View Park Prep charter schools in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, in the heart of the African American community. Currently, View Park Prep has a waiting list of over 5,000 students. "On behalf of the more than 300 families who are joining View Park Prep this fall, I would like to extend our gratitude to the financial community for making it possible for these new students to receive a high-quality, free and public education."

The $5.5 million Charter School Growth Loan Program is the first of its kind in the California charter school movement and has this month successfully closed the books on its first year. One hundred percent of the interest and principal has been repaid in full and on time by participating charter schools and affiliates.

The Association projects that the Charter School Growth Loan Program will more than double in size in this upcoming school year to $13 million in order to fund more spaces for over 4,000 students at 31 charter schools.

The charter schools participating in the program represent some of the state's highest performing charter schools serving students in low-income, urban neighborhoods. Those schools include Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Inglewood; Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School, Los Angeles; Lighthouse Community Charter School, Oakland; University Preparatory Charter Academy, Oakland; and View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School, Los Angeles.

About the California Charter Schools Association

The California Charter Schools Association is the membership and professional organization serving over 500 public charter schools serving approximately 180,000 charter school students in the State of California. The Association's mission is to increase student achievement by strengthening and expanding public charter schools throughout California.