Widener University earns $1M grant from PECO, Exelon for charter school

Widener University received a $1 million dollar grant last week from PECO and the Exelon Foundation to fund expanded STEM education programming at the Widener Partnership Charter School.

PECO offered $750,000 and the Exelon Foundation gifted $250,000 to be put toward the university’s charter school based in Chester, PA, according to a press release.

Widener launched the school in 2006 in order to improve educational opportunities for seventh and eighth grade students in the area.

The STEM programming involves both afterschool and Saturday supplemental education, as well as a community education program designed to involve parents and caregivers in students’ academic interests. The grant will continue to support this programming and help Widener make STEM-related workshops available to parents, according to a release.

In addition to the monetary grant, PECO employees will also get personally involved with the Chester students by participating in Widener’s afterschool mentoring program.

“These students already believe that they can be world changers, and with the knowledge and resources of such a strong corporate partner like PECO, their dreams and aspirations of becoming scientists, doctors, engineers and community leaders are that much closer to reality,” Widener University President James T. Harris III said in a release.