A 100% online trades school built by Philadelphia contractors is raising $12,000 to get its state license

Disclosure: The Maintenance Academy and True News are both part of Bagley Enterprises, founded by Len Bagley.

The Maintenance Academy, a trades school built by working contractors in the Philadelphia area, has finished its courses and is raising $12,000 for the one thing it still needs before it can enroll students: a Pennsylvania license.

The school is 100% online. Its 8 courses and 186 lessons cover construction, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, property maintenance, floor care and green jobs. The lessons are filmed by contractors on real job sites, with OSHA safety videos, questions along the way, a test for every section and a final exam. For the hands-on skills, students do the work with real tools at home, at work or on a job site, and an instructor watches over live or recorded video and signs each skill off. Graduates get a certificate employers can verify online.

The Academy is the training arm of the Black Boots Initiative, which works to open the skilled trades, and the businesses behind them, to Black Americans first. It also trains other people of color, low-income residents, veterans, people updating their skills, and returning citizens through its Second Chance program.

Why the license matters

Pennsylvania requires a career school to be licensed by the State Board of Private Licensed Schools before it can enroll a single student. With a license, the Academy can enroll students, apply to become an approved training provider so public workforce programs can pay tuition for eligible residents, and work toward registered apprenticeships with employers.

Where the money goes

The fees come from the Pennsylvania Department of Education's schedule for private licensed schools:

School application, including the first program: $7,500

Two more programs, $1,400 each: $2,800

Required new-applicant orientation seminar: $300

State site visit: $750

First year of the $10,000 surety bond that protects students: $300

Crowdfunding and card-processing fees: $350

Total: $12,000

Anything raised above the goal pays the fee for the next program.

How to help

Give any amount on the GoFundMe: Help open The Maintenance Academy. Gifts go to Maintenance 215 LLC, a Pennsylvania company, and are not tax-deductible. The campaign takes gifts only.

Every course outline, the full budget and a 40-second tour are open to everyone at academy.bagleyenterprises.net/support. The school says it will post an update when each application is filed and when the license is granted.

Sharing the campaign helps as much as giving.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/216