EastSide Charter in conjunct with our Foundation plan to construct a community facing, state of the art, STEM HUB on its property in the Riverside area of NE Wilmington, Delaware. A $13.5MM project, including renovations to the Foundation’s existing facilities, the new facility will be named the Chemours STEM HUB at EastSide in recognition of the $4MM grant that has been made to the Foundation by the Chemours Company. This initiative is fully aligned with The WRK Group’s holistic community revitalization efforts as the STEM building will offer educational opportunities for advancement while being a state-of-the-art facility servicing the students of the community during the school day.  

 

The donation from Chemours is a massive blessing, but is only a fraction of the cost of our ambitious new facility. As a charter school in Delaware we do not receive any funding to help support major capital projects. We are forced to fundraise or find ways to spread our operational funds to cover these costs. This is where we need your support to help make our dream facility a reality. 

 

This space will be completely retrofitted to house our APEX (Middle School Honors) and STEM programs, while also doubling as a community center during after-school, weekends, and in the summer. It will be the premier center for parents and students in the city to learn about STEM, receive training and interact with businesses for internships and job opportunities.  This will continue ESCLCF and ESCS’s long tradition of offering opportunities and serving the families in our communities.

 

EastSide Charter School, a 25 year old K-8 public charter school currently with about 480 students, is the primary occupant of the Foundation’s existing facilities. EastSide Charter’s middle school will occupy the STEM HUB during the school day and it will be open to the entire community during non-school hours thanks in part to a partnership with the Wilmington Public Library which will staff the facility during non-school hours, including weekends. The construction of the STEM HUB will permit EastSide Charter to expand its enrollment to about 550 students.

            

The STEM HUB will promote employment by offering educational opportunities for advancement. In a state with an impressive amount of career opportunities in STEM we do not have community spaces to prepare our citizens for these opportunities.  Our new STEM center will allow adults in Wilmington the opportunity to gain job skills and interview with STEM focused businesses. The STEM center will allow students the chance to receive world class instruction from titans in the STEM field and gain skills that can change their lives for the better. The STEM center will be where community, businesses, educators, and community members can come together to transform our state.

EastSide is committed to continuing to improve our offerings to our community and with your support we can take big steps towards this dream. The EastSide family thanks you for considering to support us in this effort. 

Our students will become strong leaders in their communities, living choice filled lives.