Namaste Charter School

Namaste Charter School has been serving K-8 students from McKinley Park, Back of the Yards and Brighton Park for 18 years. While COVID-19 hit those communities particularly hard, Namaste has remained open and offered a “Safe Haven” program for working families as well as hosted Summer Learning Academies to provide struggling families with stability. Ninety-one percent of students are Hispanic, and parents and families of enrolled students are offered English acquisition workshops and Dual Language literacy activities throughout the year. Students become fully bilingual and biliterate in English and Spanish by Fifth grade.

With $50,000 provided by the STOP Award Rescue funds, Namaste will take in 50 traditional public school students, meeting their academic needs from Day 1 and offering the stability their families need.