Heketi Community Charter School

Heketi School

Heketi Community Charter School, a community-grown charter school located in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx, is dedicated to providing a rigorous and nurturing environment for students, while fostering a warm family-oriented school culture and a strong connection to the community at large. Civic Builders teamed up with KSS to transform a former manufacturing site into a vibrant new home for the K-5 school. Through a thorough assessment of the former industrial building’s assets and systems, KSS developed a new plan to capitalize on the building’s wide open, loft-like spaces on the upper two floors and open up the ground floor by removing walls and adding windows. The enlivened ground floor is home to administrative offices, a multipurpose room, and art room. Kindergarten and grades 2 and 3 occupy the second floor, and grades 3, 4, and 5 are housed on the third floor.

Throughout the year, the school provides more than rigorous, inclusive education; the facilities uplift and maintain community. By hosting events such as BBQ’s, Family Engagement Council Meetings, Thanksgiving Feasts, Career Days, Annual Walk-a-thons, Community Meetings, and an Annual International Festival, the school enriches and extends into the local community, offering its spaces as a vibrant haven for connection and holistic growth for its neighborhood.