Founded in 2011, Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE), is a 501c3 non-profit membership organization that works to connect, convene and catalyze collective action on behalf of Philadelphia’s public charter schools, and the families they serve.
Today, PCE serves as the central voice and umbrella advocacy organization, including policy development, advocacy initiatives and public-private sector engagement, and serves as the focal point for resources and collaborative knowledge sharing for Philadelphia’s public brick-and-mortar charter school ecosystem.
PCE is dedicated to ensuring every Philadelphia public school student has the access and opportunity to attend a high-quality school of their choice, be it traditional district or public charter school.
Who We Are
Our Membership Community
The 2023-2024 PCE Membership Community is an alliance of 80 actively engaged brick-and-mortar charter schools in Philadelphia, who collectively educate nearly 65,000 public school students across our City.
95% of Philadelphia’s public brick-and-mortar charter sector are PCE members
97% of all Philadelphia public charter students attend PCE Member Schools
23,662 Philadelphia students are on at least 1 PCE Member Schools’ waitlist according to Apply Philly Charter
PCE Member Student Demographics
61% Black/African American
17% Latino
14% White
3% Asian
5% Multi Racial/Other
68% of the students served by PCE Members Live in Poverty
What We Do
Our Approach
We utilize PCE’s central position to support charter school leaders via a collective impact model adapted from the documented best practices by the Philadelphia STEM Ecosystem defined approach to community change called, Collective Impact that prioritizes collaboration and empathy in order to effectively maximize resources and services for community constituents, partners and programs. The Collective Impact framework contains five core conditions that together produce true alignment and lead to powerful results: the development of a common agenda; using shared measurement to understand progress; building on mutually reinforcing activities; engaging in continuous communications, and providing a backbone to move the work forward.
Our Work Areas
Actively Engaged & Informed Sector-Wide Membership Community
PCE expands collaborative engagement and trust-building by bringing together a spectrum of different voices to combat a specific problem, creating a shared sense of ownership and ultimately maximizing our collective resources in order to generate solutions. Through sector-wide engagement, PCE is ensuring no charter school leader operates in isolation, and without access to an informed and active support community.
Bi-Partisan Public Policy & Coalition Building
PCE serves as the nexus for solution oriented bi-partisan charter school policy, legislation and coalition building in Pennsylvania. Achieving our policy and legislative goals requires targeted relationship building at both the state and local levels to strengthen ties with key allies, build common ground and cultivate leaders.
Grassroots Advocacy & City-Wide Public-Private Sector Engagement
PCE serves as the central voice, city-wide community gateway, and sector-wide advocate to accelerate the flow of knowledge, information and opportunities between Member school communities and the region’s top public/private institutions, subject matter experts, and cutting edge resources. PCE proactively seeks out and initiates strategic opportunities to advocate on behalf of, and champion the sector to ensure charters receive equal and equitable access to critical resources and opportunity.
Where We Stand
Our Purpose
Philadelphia Charters for Excellence (PCE) serves as the central advocate for public policy and legislation that directly or indirectly affect Pennsylvania charter schools, a nexus for public-private community partnerships, and a focal point for resources and collaborative knowledge sharing, for Philadelphia’s public brick and mortar charter school sector ecosystem.
Our Mission
PCE connects, convenes, and catalyzes collective action to ensure all families have equal access to Philadelphia's public brick-and-mortar charter schools.
Our Vision
Every Philadelphia family has equal access to a high quality public charter school.