Expansion plans for the Wissahickon Charter School are getting a boost from a just-announced William Penn Foundation grant. 

The school was awarded $500,000 toward the cost of constructing its new campus off Washington Lane adjacent to the Awbury Arboretum, said Anuj Gupta of Mt. Airy USA and Mt. Airy Transit Village Inc.

While several charter schools in the Northwest have expansion plans to allow for more enrollment, the Wissahickon Charter plan is significant in that it is a second full campus rather than an upgrade or replacement of an existing one.

The existing campus will remain at 4700 Wissahickon Ave., near Fern Hill Park, where it has been located since its founding in 2002.

The second campus at 815 E. Washington Lane will house classes of kindergarten through 8, nearly doubling the charter's enrollment to more than 900. Gupta said the school had been working with the William Penn Foundation for over a year to secure the grant, which will offset part of the estimated $11 million construction cost.

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