| Act 22 of 1997 states "the charter school may give preference in enrollment to a child of a parent who has actively participated in the development of the charter school and to siblings of students presently enrolled in the charter school." |
Welcome!
| "Learning how to learn is life's most important skill." -Tony Buzan |
Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition
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"Our Children, Our School, Our Future"
| Meetings The MJACS Board meets the Third Thursday of Every Month at 6:30 pm Coalition Office Main Street, Mt. Jewett |
Charter Update. . .
As many of you have heard, the Charter Appeals Board (CAB) at the Pennsylvania Department of
Education (PDE) did not approve our charter and has upheld the Kane Area School District’s
denial of a charter school in Mt. Jewett. As a community, we are committed to keeping the idea
of a charter school in Mt. Jewett alive!
Although the official report will not be sent to us for approximately 10 days, the Secretary of
Education for Pennsylvania did give three reasons why he felt the charter should be denied.
Reason 1 – The location of the charter school in a church facility could expose the students to
religious symbols. The KASD had raised concerns over the fact that a large cross on the front of
the church was a religious symbol and the law states that students cannot be exposed to religious
symbols. Even though we made provisions to ensure that our students would not be exposed to
religious symbols, the CAB ruled in favor of the KASD.
Reason 2 – We did not include security clearances for the fifty (50) volunteers listed in the
application. KASD argued that these volunteers would be working with children, therefore
needed to have security clearances included in the application. We did not submit the security
clearances for these individuals in the application because the school is not open and these
volunteers are not working with children at this time. We did state that all volunteers and
personnel in the school would have proper clearances by the time the charter opened. However,
the CAB ruled in favor of the District.
Reason 3 – The CAB did not feel that we adequately explained how we would ensure that
expelled students would continue to receive a free and appropriate public education. It was
explained in the application that an expelled student’s education would be handled in
accordance with the law. However, that was not detailed enough for the CAB.
We are waiting for the official report that will explain in detail how the CAB ruled on each of the
arguments made by the KASD in its denial of the Mt. Jewett Area Charter School. Once we
receive the official report, we will review it and prepare to address those items in our new
application.
At this time, we must begin the whole process over again. We will review the current application,
address the areas of concern in the official CAB report and submit a new application. Our new
application must be submitted within the next month if we are to have a chance of opening the
charter school next school year. We will keep you informed of our progress.
Our major concern at this time is finding an affordable and suitable building option. The other
identified areas are more easily addressed. We need to identify a new building site before we can
submit the new application. By not allowing us to use the existing Mt. Jewett Elementary building,
KASD knows they have set a major obstacle in our path to opening a successful charter school in
Mt. Jewett. It is time once again for the communities of this area to band together and come up
with suggestions and ideas for funding such a venture. Several individuals have already
approached our organization with ideas but we continue to look for the best option available.
We thank you for your support and we ask that you not waiver in your support of the Charter
School! This is not OVER! "It is not a question of IF...but, a question of WHEN!!!!!!"
Thank you for your continued support,
Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition
As many of you have heard, the Charter Appeals Board (CAB) at the Pennsylvania Department of
Education (PDE) did not approve our charter and has upheld the Kane Area School District’s
denial of a charter school in Mt. Jewett. As a community, we are committed to keeping the idea
of a charter school in Mt. Jewett alive!
Although the official report will not be sent to us for approximately 10 days, the Secretary of
Education for Pennsylvania did give three reasons why he felt the charter should be denied.
Reason 1 – The location of the charter school in a church facility could expose the students to
religious symbols. The KASD had raised concerns over the fact that a large cross on the front of
the church was a religious symbol and the law states that students cannot be exposed to religious
symbols. Even though we made provisions to ensure that our students would not be exposed to
religious symbols, the CAB ruled in favor of the KASD.
Reason 2 – We did not include security clearances for the fifty (50) volunteers listed in the
application. KASD argued that these volunteers would be working with children, therefore
needed to have security clearances included in the application. We did not submit the security
clearances for these individuals in the application because the school is not open and these
volunteers are not working with children at this time. We did state that all volunteers and
personnel in the school would have proper clearances by the time the charter opened. However,
the CAB ruled in favor of the District.
Reason 3 – The CAB did not feel that we adequately explained how we would ensure that
expelled students would continue to receive a free and appropriate public education. It was
explained in the application that an expelled student’s education would be handled in
accordance with the law. However, that was not detailed enough for the CAB.
We are waiting for the official report that will explain in detail how the CAB ruled on each of the
arguments made by the KASD in its denial of the Mt. Jewett Area Charter School. Once we
receive the official report, we will review it and prepare to address those items in our new
application.
At this time, we must begin the whole process over again. We will review the current application,
address the areas of concern in the official CAB report and submit a new application. Our new
application must be submitted within the next month if we are to have a chance of opening the
charter school next school year. We will keep you informed of our progress.
Our major concern at this time is finding an affordable and suitable building option. The other
identified areas are more easily addressed. We need to identify a new building site before we can
submit the new application. By not allowing us to use the existing Mt. Jewett Elementary building,
KASD knows they have set a major obstacle in our path to opening a successful charter school in
Mt. Jewett. It is time once again for the communities of this area to band together and come up
with suggestions and ideas for funding such a venture. Several individuals have already
approached our organization with ideas but we continue to look for the best option available.
We thank you for your support and we ask that you not waiver in your support of the Charter
School! This is not OVER! "It is not a question of IF...but, a question of WHEN!!!!!!"
Thank you for your continued support,
Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition
| A copy of the updated MJACS Charter Application and related documents can be viewed here: MJACS Application |