OUR HISTORY

Mariana Bracetti Academy (MBA) was founded in 1999 by a coalition of educators and community residents committed to creating a high performing middle and high school for the students of the Kensington neighborhood. In March of 2000, the Board of Trustees was granted a four-year charter to establish a school serving students in 6th through 12th grades with an approved enrollment of 1155 students, making MBA one of Pennsylvania’s largest charter schools.

In September of 2000, 150 6th and 7th grade students were enrolled in MBA and classes were held in the annex of the Lighthouse building on the corner of Howard and Somerset. In the second year the school expanded, adding 8th and 9th grades to accommodate rising and incoming students. With this expansion came the need for more space, so MBA moved to the historic Kelly’s Korner building at Kensington and Cumberland Avenues.



With each successive year additional grades were added, and in 2005 MBA graduated its first class of seniors. These students continued on to a variety of post-secondary institutions, and have since graduated from Philadelphia Universities like Temple and Drexel.



Now in its twenty-first year of educating students, Mariana Bracetti Academy continues to collaborate with parents, teachers, staff, and community members to foster a powerful culture of academic achievement and personal responsibility that prepares our students for success after graduation.