St. Martin de Porres Academy
"We have had the pleasure of working with Holt, Wexler & Farnam since the inception of our school in 2005. Of particular import to us has been the immediacy of their ability to respond to our needs. Last year we were faced with an unexpected grant proposal that was vital to our school operations and the HWF staff worked tirelessly, supportively, and professionally to collaborate with us and complete the voluminous, detailed proposal on time. Their staff works as a team and the knowledge and experience that that provides for our Academy is invaluable."
- Jay Bowes, President, St. Martin de Porres Academy
St. Martin De Porres Academy (SMDP) is a Catholic middle school dedicated to providing a faith-based, tuition-free education for children from low-income families. On June 1, 2007, SMDP received notification that the School Readiness contract for the school it was preparing to take over would not be renewed on July 1 based upon pre-existing programmatic issues. SMDP immediately enlisted HWF to help redesign its School Readiness program and prepare a winning proposal to the State Department of Education.
Within one week, HWF set an abbreviated project work plan; organized a meeting with staff from the new school to gather data related to curriculum design and program structure, and identified curriculum and program design alterations needed to meet School Readiness Council quality standards. HWF then worked around the clock to complete the grant application by the June 15th deadline. SMDP received a $280,000 School Readiness grant that provides 36 full-day, year-round School Readiness slots to preschool-aged children.