CRCS News
One of the most significant issues that charters
schools have faced is the
budgetary challenges as a result of significant hold back
funds from the
state. As part of our reality, the pressure was on CRCS
to grow and all the while maintaining conservative spending guidelines.
This
was very
challenging because as we grew in students, we needed to continue
to
support our program with 
specialist and highly qualified educators.
We are
proud to say that since 2009 CRCS has become financially stable organization
and we have grown in students from 115 in 2009 to 150 in 2012. We have also increased
our staff from 15 total staff to 31 teachers, specialist, support staff, and
contracted services.
Renovation News
Another significant piece of our recent success
has been a 2 million dollar renovation to CRCs. We went from some 10,000 square feet in 2009
to over 17,000 square feet in 2011. All of our systems were upgraded, Including the heating, cooling, duct work, paint, window, doors, technology
and network, and he 
school is in immaculate condition and
our staff, students, and community have a luxurious place to call our
community.
About Us
The proposal for a charter school in the
Cedar-Riverside neighborhood grew from the recent history of neighborhood
development. A large scale housing development project in much
of the neighborhood brought a large population of families with young
children to the neighborhood, beginning in 1986. As many of the
units in this development were scheduled for Section Eight Housing, the
number of children remained large in the immediate future. Approximately half
the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood resides in the Riverside Plaza
Housing Project and the large number of Section Eight units guaranteed a
continued population of children.
The dramatic increase in housing for families with
children was followed by community activity to provide services for the
children. In 1989, the West Bank Community Development Corporation (CDC)
developed a network of day-care houses, using community resources in
housing opportunities to respond to the needs of the families. Local
service agencies, the Currie Center and the People's Center, had also
increased their programming for children.
Parents and school teachers in the community began
discussing the need for a local school in the winter of 1991. In May of
1991, the West Bank CDC, continued its history of supporting family
services, agreed to act as the fiscal agent for the proposed school. With CDC
backing, a series of community meetings had been held to access the
needs of neighborhood families in regards to a school, and had to plan a
proposal.
