We join the Renton community in celebrating the launch of Impact | Black River Elementary for the 2023-24 school year. Impact | Black River Elementary is a charter public school, and like all public schools in Washington, it is free, non-sectarian, and accessible to all. Impact | Black River is currently enrolling Kindergarten through 2nd grades for the 2023-24 school year.
Impact | Black River will be the fourth school in Impact’s network of charter public schools founded and grown in Washington. It will add a new grade each year until it is serving students up through the fifth grade. From its onset, the school has been focused on forging a deep partnership with the local community. Following extensive community engagement and surveys, a clear need was voiced by families for a high-quality education opportunity for their students. At Impact | Black River, students and families will experience three pillars of socioemotional learning, project-based curriculum, and individualized instruction in the school’s commitment to all students deserving unique opportunities.
“We are excited to serve the Renton community and offer a place where students may see themselves in their teachers and in their work,” said founding principal Egypt Charles.
“The name of our new school was chosen to honor the Indigenous people who came before us so that we may always remember their land and waters that connect all of us: teachers, students, families and community. On behalf of all of us at Impact | Black River, we cannot wait to open our doors for class this year to our new young scholars.”
Charter public schools have a track record of successfully serving students that may not have found opportunities in traditional public schools.
- 1 in 3 students in charter public schools are Black/African-American compared to 1 in 20 at traditional public schools in Washington.
- 62 percent of charter public school students identify as members of the Global Majority, or Black, Indigenous or people of color, compared to 50 percent of students statewide in Washington.
Global Majority teachers make up three-times more of the teaching staff in charter public schools than in traditional public schools, a data point that aligns with Impact’s approach. As shared in the Renton Reporter, “Impact Public Schools put a priority on hiring a diverse workforce of educators with nearly 60 percent of their teachers being from the BIPOC community.”
The community is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 17 at Impact | Black River. Community speakers and school leaders will host the event, which will include food and activities for kids, as well as a tour of the brand-new building for families. The school’s address is: 16950 116th Ave SE, Renton, WA.
Want to learn more about enrolling your student at Impact | Black River? Please visit the school’s enrollment website HERE.