Afya and Green School

Collaboration and partnership are the foundation of The Green School of Baltimore and Afya Public Charter School, two schools with different names and unique academic ideologies.

Kate Primm and Will McKenna, the schools’ respective founders, taught together for several years in Baltimore before their experience convinced them that an integrated, hands-on approach to instruction is the way that children should learn. The Green School is an elementary school with an environmental focus and follows an educational approach that integrates learning from textbooks, problem-solving opportunities and hands-on experiences. “Afya”, a word meaning “health” in Swahili, is the name chosen for the middle school designed to foster the health and wellness of students. The school teaches healthy lifestyle habits and offers healthy meal options as well as traditional sports and other activities such as tae kwon do and yoga.

When the two schools decided to co-locate in a former Catholic school building and convent, TRF financed the acquisition and renovation of the space.  In 2008, TRF provided $4.4 million in financing and a 100% loan-to-value thanks to a guarantee on the loan for five years from the Abell Foundation.

TRF’s financing included New Markets Tax Credit eligible capital from Merrill Lynch and an energy loan. The energy loan supported more than $500,000 in energy measures that were incorporated based on recommendations TRF provided after evaluating the construction plan. The energy measures included high-performance windows, white roof, and high-efficiency boilers and controls. The energy measures will lower long-term facility operating costs and will directly benefit the two charter schools, as the utility savings will translate into additional dollars for programming.

TRF made a second investment in The Green School and Afya this year, financing $1.5 million in improvements to the convent, which was temporarily mothballed after the 2008 acquisition. As a result of this financing, The Green School is operating solely out of the renovated convent while Afya has expanded to both floors of the school building. A guarantee from the Abell Foundation was integral to this transaction as well.

TRF also recently financed the facility for a second school by the founders of Afya.  Tunbridge Public Charter School in Baltimore currently serves 177 students in kindergarten through 3rd grade.  The school is chartered to ultimately grow to serve 396 students in K-8. Tunbridge’s culture and academic program is modeled after Afya, incorporating an individualized academic program with a carefully designed wellness plan that teaches students how to lead healthy lives.