C.B. Community Schools

What C.B. Community Schools does

C.B. Community Schools (CBCS) is a private nonprofit high school licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, founded in 2015 and headquartered at 4101 Freeland Avenue in Philadelphia. It operates as the only high school in the United States specifically designed for students ages 14-21 who are currently or formerly involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice system — a population that has experienced multiple home and school disruptions and where roughly 60% have spent time in institutional placements. The school delivers a competency-based academic model mapped backward from Common Core and Pennsylvania standards, paired with a healing-centered Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program anchored by its proprietary 'Plan for Peace and Justice' framework of thirteen commitments, which drives 15-20 hours per week of staff-facilitated reflection and mediation circles. A full SEL team supports students 24 hours a day, year-round, and is reinforced by an onsite outpatient mental health clinic (Merakey partnership) and a daily school-based health center (EducationPlusHealth partnership, staffed by a nurse practitioner). Instructional delivery combines classroom instruction, Google Classroom and Zoom virtual learning, and Edmentum's accredited online program for acceleration. Postsecondary preparation — including college and trade school visits, a 'Beyond CBCS' course, capstone projects, and alumni support — is a core product alongside dual-credit pathways built with Arcadia University, Community College of Philadelphia, Temple, Penn State, and Drexel.

CBCS is a tax-exempt nonprofit. Its revenue mechanics are tuition-free: 100% of enrolled students receive full scholarships funded through Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs, which provide businesses with 75% (one-year) or 90% (two-year commitment) tax credits in exchange for donations to approved scholarship organizations. The organization layers on individual donations, workplace giving (including United Way), sustaining monthly gifts, stock transfers, Amazon Smile, and matched giving. Additional funding flows from grants (notably a 2022 Alliant Credit Union Foundation digital inclusion grant) and recognition-driven earned media coverage. Go-to-market is community-led: a full 30+ partner ecosystem — led by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services as the primary referral channel, plus clinical, postsecondary, arts, civic, and corporate partners — drives enrollment rather than paid acquisition. The Director of Enrollment, Debra Stevens, manages incoming referrals, while Head of School Dr. Robbin Smart sets institutional direction under a board chaired by Paula Solomon. Per-student fully-loaded cost is stated at $42,500/year versus $100,000-$200,000/year for juvenile or institutional placement, with reported outcomes of 90% graduation and 100% of graduates connected to postsecondary opportunities.

Name

C.B. Community Schools

Legal name

C.B. Community Schools

Website

https://cbcommunityschools.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

C.B. Community Schools is a Philadelphia-based, nonprofit private high school serving youth ages 14-21 in the child welfare or juvenile justice system. It delivers competency-based academics, 24/7 trauma-informed SEL with an onsite mental health clinic, and postsecondary pathway support, funded through Pennsylvania EITC/OSTC scholarships and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education (Private High School)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Court/Community School Programs (Diversion, Probation-Linked, Community Day Schools) (EDAJAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Charter Alternative & At-Risk Schools (Continuation, Credit Recovery, Juvenile) (EDAJACAE)

Keywords

• Private high school
• Child welfare education
• Competency-based education
• Social emotional learning
• Foster youth schooling

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. EITC and OSTC Tax Credit Scholarships: Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs provide 75-90% tax credits to businesses that donate to scholarship organizations. 100% of CBCS students receive full scholarships funded through these programs.
2. Individual and Corporate Donations: The school accepts donations through various programs including workplace giving (United Way), monthly sustaining donors, stock donations, in-kind gifts via Amazon Smile, and workplace matching gift programs.
3. EITC/OSTC Program Administration: As an approved scholarship organization, CBCS administers Pennsylvania EITC and OSTC funding, receiving contributions from businesses in exchange for tax credits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

C.B. Community Schools operates a single-site private high school in Philadelphia serving young people ages 14-21 in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. It delivers a healing-centered educational model combining competency-based academics, intensive social-emotional learning, wraparound health services, and postsecondary preparation, with all students on full scholarships.

Product overview

C.B. Community Schools operates as a single-site, private high school licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The school provides a unified, healing-centered educational model combining competency-based academics with intensive social-emotional learning, postsecondary preparation, and comprehensive student support services. Core offerings include Competency-Based Education, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Postsecondary Opportunities, and the Plan for Peace and Justice framework. Support services include an onsite Student Health Center (via EducationPlusHealth), an onsite Mental Health Clinic (via Merakey), and Virtual Learning via Google Classroom, Zoom, and Edmentum. The school serves students ages 14-21 in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Competency-Based Education A transparent, competency-based educational model where students know what they need to learn and how they will achieve mastery, mapped backwards from Common Core and Pennsylvania Standards. For high school students ages 14-21 in the child welfare system.
• Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Healing-centered SEL program with a full team of professionals providing trauma-informed support, check-ins throughout the day, and 24/7, year-round availability for students.
• Postsecondary Opportunities Comprehensive postsecondary preparation including annual fairs, college and trade school visits, a 'Beyond CBCS' course, capstone projects, and alumni support throughout the postsecondary journey.
• Plan for Peace and Justice A thirteen-commitment framework embedded in the school's SEL culture that builds a caring community of accountability, with reflection and mediation processes averaging 15-20 hours per week.
• Student Health Center Onsite health center through partnership with EducationPlusHealth where students can be seen by a Nurse Practitioner daily for medical care.
• Mental Health Clinic Onsite outpatient mental health clinic through Merakey partnership providing therapy and medication management at the school.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Arcadia UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPostsecondary partnership providing students exposure to four-year college pathways and postsecondary opportunities.
• Community College of PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo-year college partnership providing students exposure to postsecondary pathways.
• Temple UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour-year university partnership providing students exposure to postsecondary opportunities.
• Penn State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour-year university partnership providing students exposure to postsecondary opportunities.
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partnership providing students with healthcare services and career exposure.
• U.S. ArmyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMilitary service partnership exposing students to military career pathways.
• Philadelphia Department of Human ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership providing referrals and support for students in the child welfare system.
• MerakeycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOnsite outpatient mental health clinic providing therapy and medication management for students at the school.
• EducationPlusHealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool-based health center partnership where students can be seen by a Nurse Practitioner onsite each day.
• UpliftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrief counseling services for students through onsite groups.
• Philadelphia Outward Bound SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollege access and experiential learning programs for students.
• Community Behavioral HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBehavioral health services supporting student mental health needs.
• Drexel UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership providing postsecondary pathway opportunities for students.
• University of Pennsylvania Law SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal clinic services provided onsite for students.
• Kimmel CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArts and cultural programming partnership providing extracurricular opportunities.
• Revolution FoodsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeal program partnership providing breakfast and lunch for students.
• Citizens BankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial partnership supporting school operations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• iFoster: National nonprofit providing resources, scholarships, and wraparound support for foster youth. Overlaps with CBCS on scholarship funding and postsecondary access, but delivers services through a digital/resource model rather than a physical school.
• SchoolHouse Connection: National nonprofit addressing the educational needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness, including many in the child welfare system. Comparable wraparound-services ethos, though broader in target population than CBCS.
• FosterEd (National Center for Youth Law): National initiative focused on educational stability and success for students in foster care. Comparable in mission and advocacy for foster-youth education outcomes, though operates as an advocacy/capacity-building model rather than a direct-service school.

Broad incumbents

• Seneca Family of Agencies: California-based nonprofit providing wraparound mental health, education, and child-welfare services, including nonpublic schools for system-involved youth. Comparable integration of mental health and alternative education for foster/juvenile justice youth, but at substantially greater scale.
• KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program): National charter school network serving educationally underserved students, many from low-income and system-involved backgrounds. Comparable focus on college-ready outcomes for under-served youth, though operates a public charter model at scale rather than a single trauma-specific private school.
• National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP): Large national social-services organization serving youth and families in child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health. Overlapping target population and wraparound service model, but operates at much greater scale and as a social-services agency rather than a school.

Direct peers

• Treehouse: Seattle-based nonprofit that provides educational support, housing stability, and postsecondary pathways for youth in foster care. Highly comparable mission, target population, and operating model — likely the closest direct peer in another major U.S. city.
• First Place for Youth: California-based nonprofit serving former foster youth (ages 18–24) with education, employment, and housing support. Comparable postsecondary outcomes focus and trauma-informed program design, though skewed to transition-age rather than high-school-age youth.
• Boys Hope Girls Hope: National nonprofit providing residential and educational support to youth in need, including those impacted by foster care and juvenile justice. Comparable trauma-informed residential plus education model with strong postsecondary outcomes focus.

Others

• Say Yes Buffalo / Say Yes National: Community-based organizations providing scholarship and postsecondary support to under-served students, with a model similar to EITC/OSTC-funded scholarships. Relevant comparable for funding/structure design, but not a direct service provider for foster youth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/community_cb
• Facebookfacebook.com/cbcsphila
• Instagraminstagram.com/cbcommunityschools
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cb-community-schools

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C.B. Community Schools