History
The Multicultural Academy Charter School (MACS) was founded in 1998 as a public school of choice. When the members of the community realized that a high school was needed to provide a quality education for their children, the Indochinese American Council (IAC), along with community leaders and parents, made it their goal to reduce the dropout problem in the Logan/Olney section of Philadelphia. The IAC provided MACS with computers, furniture, and manpower to help start the charter school. From the beginning, parents were actively involved. They selected the school uniform, helped draft the Student Handbook, and provided advocacy and outreach for the school.
MACS has retained that community support through active volunteer efforts and community partnerships. And because MACS values these relationships tremendously, when MACS began to search for a new school building, the most important consideration was that MACS stay in the Logan/Olney community.
For the 2009-2010 school year, MACS moved from its original storefront location to the former St. Stephen's School. This new location, at the corner of Broad and Butler Streets, is still convenient for the students who commute to MACS from around the city and also provides the space so desperately needed for a thriving school.
During the summer of 2013, MACS leadership oversaw major renovations to the school, especially to the convent building, which had previously sat mostly vacant. MACS and its landlord combined resources and invested nearly 1 million dollars in a major overhaul of the entire school. By merging the school building and the convent, MACS was able to move its front entrance onto Broad Street. Renovations to the exterior of the building, new floors, paint, HVAC, and bathrooms transformed a once aged-looking former Catholic school into a beautiful and modern educational centerpiece on upper North Broad Street. Below, please be sure to see a photographic narrative of the transformation.
MACS has retained that community support through active volunteer efforts and community partnerships. And because MACS values these relationships tremendously, when MACS began to search for a new school building, the most important consideration was that MACS stay in the Logan/Olney community.
For the 2009-2010 school year, MACS moved from its original storefront location to the former St. Stephen's School. This new location, at the corner of Broad and Butler Streets, is still convenient for the students who commute to MACS from around the city and also provides the space so desperately needed for a thriving school.
During the summer of 2013, MACS leadership oversaw major renovations to the school, especially to the convent building, which had previously sat mostly vacant. MACS and its landlord combined resources and invested nearly 1 million dollars in a major overhaul of the entire school. By merging the school building and the convent, MACS was able to move its front entrance onto Broad Street. Renovations to the exterior of the building, new floors, paint, HVAC, and bathrooms transformed a once aged-looking former Catholic school into a beautiful and modern educational centerpiece on upper North Broad Street. Below, please be sure to see a photographic narrative of the transformation.
As MACS looks to the future, many things are certain to change. But what will never change is the school's commitment to strict discipline, high behavioral expectations, and academic rigor. It is these core values that will allow MACS students to succeed in school - and in life.