CHARTWELL RECEIVES $200,000 GRANT FROM AT&T PEBBLE BEACH CHARITIES

N E W S   R E L E A S E

“The future of building new schools is to build them as if it really mattered – because it does,” said Douglas Atkins, Chartwell’s Executive Director.    “We are very honored with this major support from the AT&T Pebble Beach Charities and we thank them for believing so strongly in Chartwell, in our students, and in reclaiming children’s potential.”

Since 1983, Chartwell School has educated students with dyslexia and related  language disabilities in a way that provides them with the learning skills and self-esteem necessary to return successfully to mainstream education.  Chartwell is the only school if its kind in the tri-county areas of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz with a curriculum designed to teach children with specific language based learning disabilities.  Instruction at Chartwell is research based and emphasizes an explicit, systematic, phonetically-based and multi-sensory approach.   Chartwell currently enrolls 95 students, ages 6-14.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Charities has supported Chartwell School in the past, most recently with a 2003 grant that allowed the school to add a portable classroom unit.  Called “the bungalow,” the unit was a strategic move in preparation for expanding enrollment at the new campus.  Two classrooms and two small faculty offices allowed 12 more students to attend – the first time Chartwell had been able to cut down its waiting list in three years.

    The school has reached full capacity at its current site.  It has long sought a permanent home and has acquired 29 acres of land overlooking Monterey Bay at the former Ft. Ord.  Working with architectural firm EHDD of San Francisco, who also designed the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the new Monterey Peninsula College Library, and many other well-known buildings, Chartwell has prepared plans for a new campus that will allow it to expand enrollment to 160 students and add programs for younger and older learners.  The school will be especially beneficial for children, featuring healthy materials, careful attention to ventilation and acoustics, radiant floor heating, and ample natural daylight, which has been shown to increase learning by 20% and more. 

            Chartwell School also offers community programs, including a summer school, workshops on various aspects of learning for parents, professionals, and community members in Seaside, Salinas, and Santa Cruz,  an early intervention demonstration project for K-2 students with Pacific Grove Unified School District, a learning partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County, a teacher training partnership with California State University Monterey Bay, and Learning Assistance Advisor services.  Chartwell’s  board and staff engage in active fundraising for a strong financial aid program, and the School will award $251,000 in financial aid for 2004-2005.

            For more information about Chartwell School, please contact Douglas Atkins at 831-394-3468.  Websites relevant to this story include www.chartwell.org, www.montereypeninsulafoundation.org, and www.ehdd.com.  For more on high performance schools see the Collaborative for High Performance Schools at www.chps.net and for more on sustainable design and green buildings, see www.usgbc.org.

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