Harambee Charter School, Club Damani: PA School as Night Club

Harambee Charter School Shares Space with Club Damani, School as Night Club in PA

Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School is under fire for sharing space with Club Damani. The nightclub operates during Harambee Charter school's off-hours, but school and city officials are not happy about the arrangement.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said in a letter to Harambee Charter School that "a school and a nightclub cannot coexist in the same space and (the arrangement) must cease immediately."

The arrangement between Harambee Charter School and Club Damani came under public scrutiny after WPVI-TV reported on it on Friday, March 26. It was reported that the nightclub served alcohol, but its liquor license had expired in 2008. The site of Harambee Charter School was an Italian-American social club. The license was transferred to Harambee Institute in 2002, but it expired in 2008.

Harambee Charter School posted a stern response on their official website. It says that the attack on Harambee was a "biased depiction f the true success story that Harambee truly is." It goes on to list what the charter school has achieved. Officials at Harambee did not go into the specifics or deny some of the claims reports have made.

Harambee receives about $3.5 million annually in public funding as a charter school, but operates independent from the district. The school serves about 450 children from kindergarten to grade eight.