Today West Virginia Academy was awarded a competitive federal grant of up to $1.59 million by the WV Professional Charter School Board (PCSB). The grant will be disbursed over a three-year period starting this fall and so the impact of the funding will be immediate. The grant was written by WVA's executive director Heidi Treu in coordination with its Governing Board and CFO Suji Kwon. The grant will fund WVA's new dual enrollment program for high school, expanded transportation options, and classroom and extra-curricular resources for WVA's Falling Water campus expansion.
The first year of funding will primarily support a new dual-enrollment program in partnership with West Virginia University's Early College Program. 10th and 11th grade scholars will receive individualized mentorship at WVA and enroll on campus at West Virginia University in up to two freshman classes each semester. Students who participate in this new dual enrollment program can earn up to fifty college credits at WVU prior to highschool graduation. Transportation for students who need it will be provided to and from WVA for classes taken during school hours. This program will provide exceptional preparation for college-bound students who will earn transferrable college credit as if they were freshman students at WVU while completing their requirements for high school graduation. In subsequent years the dual enrollment program will expand to 12th grade with some limited options for honors 9th grade students.
The grant will also provide startup funding for expanding transportation, including funding two new school buses and two vans. These additions will allow the academy to keep up with increasing demand for transportation to and from school each day as well as support WVA's innovative experiential learning and field trip programs. Scholars at WVA typically go on two to three times more field trips per year than students at non-charter public schools.
Lastly, the grant will provide several classroom resources for the falling water campus near cheat lake. The academy completed the purchase of the land for that campus earlier this summer and is moving forward with plans for that campus. The grant will fund desks and computers for digital arts, security systems, athletics program resources, as well as mountain bikes for WVA's new competitive mountain biking teams.
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