Storm Damage Threatens Public Charter School!

On Christmas Eve 2022, Rockwood Preparatory Academy (RPA) sustained major facility damage as a result of power outages followed by below-freezing temperatures. The storm caused extensive flooding in most of our classrooms and the entire heating system (boilers) that serve the school's two main buildings were destroyed.

RPA, a public charter school, serves the diverse Rockwood Community in East Multnomah County, Oregon. Reflecting this diversity, RPA's student body is 80% non-white with nearly 60% identifying as Hispanic. Poverty is also a huge factor in our community. 100% of RPA students qualify for free meals. RPA is operated by KNOVA Learning Oregon, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

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RPAs mission is to provide excellence and justice in education by ensuring that ALL students (K-5) can demonstrate rock-solid reading, arithmetic, spelling, and writing skills. We provide a model of public elementary school that dispels the myth that racial background and economic status are determinant factors in a child's ability to reach high levels of academic achievement.

And it is working! RPA students reach state standards in reading and math at a rate 3-4 times greater than the average of ALL schools in the surrounding community!

Students and teachers will not be able to return to their classrooms until all restoration work is completed and heat is restored. We anticipate that taking several months.

Makeshift classrooms are being erected in the gymnasium and every available space is being retrofitted to allow for classes to continue for the school's 350 students on January 9th. While "workable" this is an extreme hardship for teachers and threatens the academic progress of our students.

We do have some insurance coverage, but replacing the boiler systems and restoring classrooms will significantly exceed that coverage.

We are seeking $350,000 in donations to complete this work and get our students back into classrooms.

Thank you for taking the time to consider donating to our cause.

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