Fund Raising at Casa Esperanza

Casa Esperanza raises funds independently of what it receives from the State of North Carolina to defray the costs for programs not funded by the state or for extensions to the curricula affecting the Casa community in addition to the students.

The Charter

In 2002, a group of dedicated individuals acted upon their vision of making quality Montessori education available in a public school setting. These individuals had a firm belief in the teaching methods of Maria Montessori and a strong desire to serve the growing need for bilingual education in North Carolina. This was the basis for the Charter grant that Casa Esperanza received from the State of North Carolina to begin our school community.

The Building Penalty

Experience shows, however, that it is not possible to operate the school in keeping with that vision on the funding we receive from Federal, State and County sources. This is primarily because of what is commonly referred to as the “building penalty” for Charter Schools. Although we receive per-pupil funding similarly to a Wake County School, we do not receive a building to house the school. This means that almost 20% of our entire operating budget goes to paying the rent on our school building. Money spent on rent is money not spent on music and art programs, teacher training or classroom supplies (it takes almost $20,000 to equip a single classroom with Montessori materials). All of these activities require significant funding to maintain their current programming level for the 2005-2006 school year. Recruitment and retention of high-quality Montessori teachers is of paramount importance for the success of Casa Esperanza.

Fund Raising At Casa Esperanza

Casa Esperanza supports a number of avenues to augment the budget. Some of these include:

Annual Fund Donations

There are a number of ways you can donate monetarily to Casa Esperanza Montessori Charter School. One of the easiest and quickest is through our on-line donation button on the right. Your monetary donations to Casa Esperanza are tax-deductible according to all relavant tax laws.

Other Ways to Donate:

Casa always welcomes donations from concerned and caring individuals, families, or businesses. For information on ways to donate funds to Casa Esperanza, please visit our donations page.

Raffle:

Casa holds an annual raffle in the Spring of each school year; the drawing is held at our Fiesta de la Familias.