Imani students have come from the adjacent East Hills housing complex and nearby low-income neighborhoods.
A strong Christian identity has been embedded in the school since the beginning. It was originally founded by Petra International Ministries and Bishop Donald Clay.
But it appears that Imani’s current leadership may now be setting aside its Christian mission in order to qualify for public funding by transforming the private religious school into a public charter school.
Imani’s charter application appears to follow a trend by other religious schools nationally in recent years. After struggling financially to stay afloat, some have chosen to transform into charter schools to create a steady revenue flow,  even though it requires giving up their religious mission. Such transitions have occurred or are in the process in other states, including Florida and Tennessee and in Washington, D.C.  Often the schools, like Imani, are those that serve poor or minority communities.
Imani CEO and Head of School Paulo Nzambi has filed an application with the Pittsburgh Public Schools board to start the Imani Academy charter school at 2150 East Hills Drive, the location of Imani Christian Academy. The application calls for the charter school to start operation in fall 2019.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE AT:
https://www.publicsource.org/imani-christian-academy-joins-national-trend-of-religious-schools-considering-charters-to-stay-afloat/
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