Phoenix IDA Awards $10,000 to Teleos Preparatory Academy

Community Investment Fund Awards Education Grant to Phoenix-Based Charter School

PHOENIX (January 26, 2012) – The Phoenix Industrial Development Authority (Phoenix IDA) announced this week a grant award totaling $10,000 to Teleos Preparatory Academy, a Phoenix-based charter school in the Great Hearts Academies network. Awarded under the Phoenix IDA Community Investment Fund, the grant will serve to support Teleos’ Closing the Achievement Gap program, an intensive model founded on education equality.

As one of the top ranked schools in all of Laveen, South Phoenix and Central Phoenix, Teleos was founded in 2009 as the sixth member of the Great Hearts Academies' network of schools. The Closing the Achievement Gap program is projected to total over $140,000 this academic school year, with the recent Phoenix IDA grant contributing to the per-student funding model.

“Plowing proceeds back into the Phoenix community is a great initiative by the Phoenix IDA, and we are grateful for the positive impact this grant will have on the students at Teleos,” said Jeff Van Brunt, Chief Development Officer of Great Hearts Academies.

The Phoenix IDA accepted applications from August 17, 2011 through September 14, 2011. Applicants were reviewed and evaluated by an independent committee, which scored and recommended awards and recipients to the Phoenix IDA Board of Directors.

“The education grantees receiving funding under the Phoenix IDA all serve low-income populations that have exceeded in the area of academic performance, and Teleos Preparatory is one of the schools that has met those exceptional challenges,” said Juan Salgado, Phoenix IDA Executive Director.

Established in 2011 to assist the funding of nonprofit organizations in Phoenix, the Community Investment Fund is supported by bond issuance fees received from out-of-state projects. Charitable nonprofit 501c3 organizations that provide economic development or educational services in Phoenix were welcomed to submit a proposal to support an economic development and/or educational project that had already secured other funding support. A total of seven Phoenix nonprofit organizations were selected to receive CIF awards totaling $80,000.

For more information and for a complete list of grantees, please visit the Phoenix IDA website at www.phoenixida.com/programs.

About the Phoenix Industrial Development Authority

The Phoenix IDA’s mission encompasses providing bond financing for educational facilities and community and economic development projects, including manufacturing and affordable housing. Over the past three years, the Phoenix IDA has issued more than $204 million in bonds for various projects, with over $190 million of that amount issued in the last two years. One of the Phoenix IDA’s short term goals is to continue increasing its presence locally and nationally to further benefit the residents of the City of Phoenix and the State of Arizona.

About Teleos Preparatory Academy

Teleos is ranked as one of the top schools in all of Laveen, South Phoenix, and Central Phoenix – its 2011 AIMS results indicate that its scores are higher than any school in the Roosevelt School District. Teleos serves 245 students in grades 1-8, reflecting the surrounding community with 90% minority students and over 50% of those students being Title 1.