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Dear Friends,
As we gear up for the fall, it is exciting to reflect on growth and academic gains made by both PUC Achieve Charter School and Vertus Charter High School. It is my pleasure to share news and highlights with you.
- PUC Achieve Charter School and Vertus Charter High School have completed their second year of operation and both are showing success in closing the academic achievement gap between city students and their suburban peers.
- Both schools have moved into magnificent new spaces sufficient to provide academics, sports and enrichment activities for 800 students between them.
- We have ambitious plans to serve an additional 1,000 children on a PUC Achieve Campus, creating neighborhood schools from pre-K through 12th grade and anchoring a revival of the Hudson Avenue corridor from the inner loop to Clifford Avenue
- Our work over the past 4 years, along with that of other charter school operators and advocates, has stimulated a growing recognition in Rochester that providing more good school choices can lead to all of Rochester's children having the opportunity for high academic achievement and successful careers.
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Leadership, Approach, and Success featured in the RBJ
 Arkee Allen, principal at PUC Achieve Charter School, and Perry White, co-founder of Vertus Charter High School, shared their schools' approaches in the 2016 Rochester Business Journal Report Card story: City Students' Options Increase with Charters.
In the article, Allen shared how deeply motivating it can be for a child to know where s/he stands academically and how PUC Achieve students know exactly what grade level they are at in math and English. "It challenges them to do the best they can," said Allen.
White shared Vertus' model and how charters are fulfilling a need for Rochester families. "We can be more flexible and more creative in understanding and meeting the needs of students than larger districts, and parents really recognize and appreciate that," he said.
PUC Achieve and Vertus were recruited by E3 Rochester to offer high performing quality public choices for City of Rochester students. Both schools have seen their students make significant academic gains in the last two years. Read full article, City Students' Options Increase with Charters.
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PUC Achieve Expansion Nearing Completion
 PUC Achieve is getting ready to begin the fall school year with a new addition to its Mark St. location. PUC Achieve will serve about 290 fifth, sixth and seventh graders this year, on its way to enrollment of 416 scholars in grades 5 - 8 two years from now. When students begin school after Labor Day, they will be greeted by the opening of a 30,000 sq. ft. addition that includes music and art classrooms and a two-story gymnasium.
The expansion creates the instructional space needed to house the incoming seventh and eighth grade students and will also provide additional parking and outdoor play areas.
PUC Achieve's long-term plan is to create a full pre-K - 12 campus for 1,300 students, anchoring a revitalization of the Hudson Avenue corridor.
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Sixth Grade Moving Up Ceremony
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Sixth graders at PUC Achieve celebrated the end of the school year with a Moving Up Ceremony. This celebration recognized the sixth grade class-the first class to enroll at PUC-and their academic accomplishments as they move into seventh grade. Teachers and parents congratulated the students on their accomplishments and look forward to the continued success by PUC Achieve scholars.
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President Lincoln Visits PUC Achieve
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PUC Achieve hosted a free one-man portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln by renowned artist and scholar, Gene Griessman, Ph.D. Griessman inspired the crowd, asking questions and sharing the life of one of America's most beloved presidents.
The event was made possible by Two Point Capital Management as a gift to the school and community. Many prospective students attended the performance and stayed afterward to meet President Lincoln and tour the school. PUC Achieve enrolled 12 students on this day!
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Vertus Moves to New Building, Doubles Enrollment
In July, Vertus moved from Austin St. to 21 Humboldt St, just in time for the school's summer quarter. Vertus held a Grand Opening for the public to tour its new facility and meet students, teachers and administrators. The building is a former Harris Corp. facility of approximately 48,000 sq. ft. that was custom-designed for Vertus' innovative use. The new space includes a regulation-size gymnasium, Maker Lab, art room, science laboratory, computer learning labs, and classrooms for small group work and seminars.
In this new location, Vertus has the room to expand from its current 130 students to 266 students in 2016-17 and the 384 students at full enrollment in 2017-18.
Several reporters came out to tour the new building. Check out their stories: Rochester Business Journal, Channel 8, and Channel 13.
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A Hands-on Education
Vertus' hands-on approach to education includes enrichment programs that prepare young men for both college and career. This year, enrichment offerings included the chance to participate in technical courses as well as drama offerings, like Slam Poetry. At the end of the school year, Time Warner Cable News visited a Technical Performance Systems class where Vertus students were learning about motorcycles. This hands-on experience teaches young men practical technical skills related to automotive and engineering projects that will prepare them for a dual credit class in precision machining and tooling at Monroe Community College in the fall. Students used problem solving, math skills, fine motor and social skills as part of the course work.
Watch TWC Hands-on Learning at Vertus Charter School Helps Students Transition to College.
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Vertus Students Experience Personal and Academic Growth
 Channel 13's Norma Holland interviewed Vertus student Immanuel Mackie, along with Perry White, co-founder, and Cory Johnson, student recruitment coordinator, former preceptor and lead dean to learn more about the Vertus model.
Check out the segment from Many Voices, Many Visions.
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E3 Rochester - Educational Excellence for Every Child
As the newly appointed Executive Director of E3 Rochester, I am eager and grateful for the opportunity to work with each of you toward achieving our goal to recruit and launch proven high-performing charter schools for 6,000 additional seats for the children in the City of Rochester. In the past two months I have met with dozens of community, education and business leaders, and am encouraged by the collaborative spirit and dedication to improving educational outcomes for the children in the city of Rochester.
This newsletter provides you with some of the highlights of the continued success and growth of PUC Achieve Charter School and Vertus Charter School, whose students are making stunning progress academically, socially and emotionally. We encourage you to contact us at (585) 647-5162 to schedule a tour this fall to see firsthand the positive impact these schools are making on the children they serve.
We also ask for your support. Serving additional students necessitated moves for both schools into expanded space. As the schools continue to serve more students, funding support is needed to prepare classrooms, support academic programs, and continue efforts to bring both schools to full enrollment. Please consider a gift to support our efforts to ensure every child has the opportunity to attend a great school and receive a quality education.
We're looking forward to another successful school year!
Sincerely,
Jim Brush
Executive Director
Joe Klein, Co-Founder and Board Chairman
Bryan Hickman, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman
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E3 Rochester's United Way Donor Designation #3308.
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