North Penn Board Says No to Charter Schools

Julianne Wylie February 13, 2013 at 04:22 am

Disappointed yet again in np scoop board

Julianne Wylie February 13, 2013 at 04:23 am

Oops school board yet again denies kids an better opportunity

Mark Lee February 13, 2013 at 05:05 am

Great job school board...charter schools not needed! Leave them in Philadelphia and other struggling school districts..our grad rate is 94 percent..charter schools will lower that while draining money...

Anna LoPiccolo February 13, 2013 at 07:01 am

Disappointed. What happened to giving us options for our Childrens' education? Education for New Generation has a great concept. Using the arts to learn history for example. of the NP teachers my son has had only ONE does that and he is NOW an A student. Where last year spelling was his worse subject, this year A's. Learning Spanish starting in kindergarten and full day instead of half day. Guess in NP school district you need to pay for that sort of education!

Anna LoPiccolo February 13, 2013 at 07:08 am

To Mark Lee you say 94 percent graduate, what is the average GPA? and how many further their education and not go to Montco to take prerequisite and maybe transfer out or actually stay.

Mark Lee February 13, 2013 at 11:49 am

To Anna...there is no crystal ball to tell what a teen will do AFTER high school...it is only the duty of a charter or public school to prepare them for college and further themselves...and North Penn happens to do that better..I was at that meeting and there was more opposition than you can imagine...charter schools are cash cows and are not a good alternative..I work at a juvenile facility and our kids tell us personally that they didn't help them.

d webb February 13, 2013 at 03:21 pm

I was at the meeting too and the application meetings last year. an over abundance of support outweighted the minority of those against. let's be honest.

d webb February 13, 2013 at 03:25 pm

i'm so dissapointed by the board's decision With two little ones on the verge of their educational career, it's disheartening that choice has been stripped of so many. I fundamentally don't understand the argument of "cash cow charter" schools and the district losing out. if my child goes to a charter school, why wouldn't their "funds" go with them? NP wouldn't have the student so allocating the funds to the appropriate school only makes sense. I live in the community and can only hope that the appeals process rewards the charter schools a chance.

Parentfirst February 15, 2013 at 07:07 pm

D,
Funds do go with the child to the charter school. But the expenses stay behind with the district. Just because the money goes to the charter school, your child's teacher is still teaching the class your child would have been in. The bus still runs the same route. The custodians still clean the same classroom. The electric, heat, and water are still the same. The principal and other support staff remain the same, along with all of the other factors. Look at the district's web site under finances and you can see how a charter school is an additional financial burden. The fact is, and at least Montgomery Flex was honest enough to admit this, charters expect the districts to save money by eliminating district jobs. Their theory is that an entire class room will flock to the charter school, and you can then get rid of that teacher. But as I'm sure you realize, not everyone from your child's class would leave. That leaves the staff member in place, no savings. As for choice, if you don't want your child to attend a NP school, or in particular the elementary school in your area, you can ask for a residential transfer which in essence puts your child in another NP elementary school. That is a free choice. If you are against public schools, you also have the choice to attend a non-public school. Examples: Gwynedd Mercy, Corpus Christi, and many more. Yes, there is an additional tuition for non-public schools, but you still have the freedom of choice.

Parentfirst February 15, 2013 at 07:16 pm

You cannot judge the attendance of the meeting either way as support for or opposition against. That has not held up in PA courts in the past. You have to realize that an area the size of NP, covering as many municipalities as it does, having only student's families and a few business owners signing a petition or "pre-registering" barely even represents 2% of the NP population. Kind of hard to prove community support and therefore the applications should have been denied in addition to the other deficiencies pointed out. If families want a non-public school education for their children, they are free to do so (aka school choice). There are dozens of them in this area.

yahoo February 26, 2013 at 06:20 pm

if anybody is interested in appeling this, you may want to contact souderton charter school collaborative (type this into google to get contact info) ASAP. FYI: I dont work for them - i am just a parent who supports charter school.

Elizabeth Kettle March 5, 2013 at 05:25 pm

Having worked in several charter and public schools before and since my long-term substitute experience at SCSC, I can honestly say that the Souderton school provides, a superlative education. It strikes that difficult-to-reach balance of serving the "whole child" while never giving short shrift to academic achievement - the latter claim being a matter of record. Moreover, it offers a culture of inclusiveness, which is difficult to establish, regardless of a school or district's written policies. While my
overall professional experiences with charter schools has left me sorely disillusioned with the movement in general, I can honestly say that I wish that my own children could have attended SCSC. A similar school in North Penn area would only be a positive option for families!

Elizabeth Kettle March 5, 2013 at 05:29 pm

A student at SCSC would be alert for subject - verb agreement errors. Please
note that I should have written "experiences have..."