Our Mission
“Giving meaning to the lives of our children in the present while preparing them to become active citizens in a democratic society” –Grace Lee Boggs
The Folk Arts – Cultural Treasures Charter School will provide children with an exemplary education that utilizes traditional arts and cultures found within their own and neighboring communities as the catalyst for critical inquiry and community engagement.
The Folk Arts – Cultural Treasures Charter School will provide children with an education which has high academic standards, is truly community based, incorporates and respects the lives of students and their families, engages students in understanding their own cultures and communities, and engages students in understanding their role as active participants in working for a just society. The Folk Arts – Cultural Treasurers Charter School (FACTS) will be a kindergarten through eighth grade elementary school and will serve students of diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds from the City of Philadelphia.
Who We Are
View or Download: Who We Are (PDF)
The Folk Arts–Cultural Treasures Charter School comes out of a history of struggle:
- for equity and justice for Asian-American students and immigrant and refugee students of all races in the public schools;
- for public investment and public space in the under-served Chinatown community;
- for public schooling that engages children as active participants in working for a just society.
After a decade and a half of public school advocacy and organizing, Asian-Americans United decided to start a school that would address the particular needs of Asian-American immigrant and refugee students, with an emphasis on the Chinatown community, and create the kinds of changes we had been advocating.
School Pledge
- We care for one another & learn together.
- There is no limit to what we can learn.
- Our families & our elders know important things & we take time to learn from them.
- We learn to help ourselves & our community.
- We learn to be strong & act with courage.
- All people have a right to use their own languages & honor their own cultures.
- Creative expression is part of our lives & part of our school.
- We work to build a fair & peaceful world.
- The earth is our home & we must take care of it.