Loan Portfolio

Location: Los Angeles, California
Enrollment: 1,962
Loan Amount: $30.8 million
School Savings: $10.4 million
School Site: www.equitasacademy.org
Ratings Direct: Equitas Academy
Obligor Summary: Equitas Academy Obligor Summary

Founded in 2009, Equitas Academy Charter School serves 1,962 students in grades TK-8 in the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Equitas’s mission is to provide a “structured, achievement-based community that prepares students to graduate from four-year colleges and universities.” The school strives to meet this mission with the use of a multifaceted approach that has an emphasis on aligned, college prep curriculum; character development; data-driven focus; people development; and parent partnerships. Equitas’s dedicated faculty and staff have excelled at serving the Pico Union community and the school’s students, 35% of whom are English Language Learners, consistently outperform their peers across the district and state.

EFF provided a $30.8 million loan which will be used to acquire and renovate a new facility that will house two elementary schools. The 30-year fixed-rate loan will produce over $10.4 million in savings compared to alternative financing options.

EFF is a valuable partner in our efforts to ensure that every scholar is on the path to successfully graduate from a four year university. The dollars we saved through this financing will go back into the classroom to provide rigorous and joyful educational experience for our scholars while creating facilities that are worthy of the community that we serve. EFF was able to think outside the box as this effort was complicated by the impact of COVID-19 on the process. Their team continually sought creative solutions to the challenges.
-Maggie Ford, Chief Operating Officer, Equitas Academy Charter School