NEW BEDFORD, MA, ISSUED NOVEMBER 18, 2022… Global Learning Charter Public School (GLCPS), a tuition-free public charter school that currently services 500 students in grades 5-12, is celebrating 20 years of education in the New Bedford Community.
GLCPS opened for the 2002-2003 school year for grades 6 to 8 as a Horace Mann charter school in the Paul Rodrigues Administration Building on Country Street with an enrollment of 248. In the 2003-2004 school year grade 5 was added. In 2004-2005 grade 9 was added growing enrollment to 279. In 2005-2006 grade 10 was added growing enrollment to 323. Grade 11 was added in the 2006-2007 school year. In 2007-2008 Grade 12 was added and GLCPS moved into the former St. Anthony of Padula School in the North End and broke ties with New Bedford Public Schools. The Board of Education approved an enrollment allotment of 500 students which it reached in 2013-2014. New Bedford charter school City on a Hill closed in 2019-2020 leaving GLCPS and Alma del Mar as the only remaining charter public schools in the city.
This school year GLCS will open a second building on campus and has applied to increase the enrollment allotment by and additional 100 students. The new building is adjacent to the main building and is the former St. Anthony’s convent. While construction has been delayed they hope to open in 2023 with the additional three story 18,132 square foot building for GLCPS students, staff and community members. This project will allow GLCPS to reallocate classroom space and offer students an education experience that remains rich in technology and on the leading edge of education innovations. The expanded classroom space will feature science labs, dedicated art and music space, foreign language classrooms, multi-use classrooms and teacher and community collaboration space. The renovation will also include necessary upgrades to bring the building up to code.
“The GLCPS community has reached a significant milestone. This year marks 20 years of building life-long learners, building community and building a better world for students, families and community,” said Dr. Stephen Furtado, Executive Director of GLCPS. “In those 20 years, we have educated thousands of students and celebrated hundreds of graduates. Here’s to the next 20 years of building life-long learners!”
