Patterson Park Public Charter School opened in 2005 as a K-4 elementary school located in the building left vacant when St. Elizabeth’s Catholic School closed in Southeast Baltimore. It now occupies three buildings serving 725 students in grades PreK-8. PPPCS also serves 125 students in after-school programming focused on literacy as well as more than 150 youth during the summer. During the 2017-2018 academic year, PPPCS was awarded a 5 year charter renewal by the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, the longest possible renewal. The student retention rate is 95 percent. For the 2018-2019 school year, the school received 613 applications for approximately 50 seats. Despite the overall decline in enrollment across City Schools, Southeast Baltimore has a 1,800 seat deficit which has led to overcrowding and large class sizes in neighborhood schools. Southeast has the highest school building utilization rate in the city, with a 111 percent average utilization rate for K-8 schools. This grant provided funds for community engagement, communications, and planning for facilities and instruction as the PPPCS board and staff prepare to open a second school in Southeast.