Loan Portfolio

Location: Bronx, New York
Enrollment: 643
Loan Amount:  $7.0 million
School Savings: $3.1 Million
School Site:  www.publicprep.org
Ratings Direct: Public Preparatory Charter School Academies
Obligor Summary: Public Preparatory Charter School Academies Obligor Summary

Founded in 2005, Public Preparatory Charter Schools Academies currently operates three schools spanning grades from PK-8, with a fourth scheduled to open in 2020. Public Prep’s mission statement is to “start early with the end of college completion in mind. We create a warm and joyful culture of rigor in which scholars build strong character by adopting the core values of community, merit, responsibility, and scholarship.” Located in the Bronx, Public Prep’s Boys Prep Campus provides an exceptional single-sex education option for its families, almost all of whom come from low-income backgrounds and identify as non-white. Public Prep students have consistently exceeded host district, New York City, and state-wide proficiency rates, closing the achievement gap between themselves and their wealthier peers.

EFF provided a $7.0 million loan to refinance existing debt used for facility renovations. The school secured a 30-year, fixed-rate loan that will produce over $3.1 million in savings compared to alternative financing options.

“Public Prep is grateful for the opportunity to partner with EFF on the loan refinancing for THE Boys Prep in the South Bronx. Every dollar realized in positive cash flow through lower interest rates means more dollars spent directly on programs for our scholars. The mission aligned work of EFF in the Charter Sector allows us to move closer to our mission of ensuring our scholars are on a path to and through college.”
-Michele Cerwin, Chief Operating Officer, Public Preparatory Network