Board hears MAST plans for high-tech charter school

NESHAMINY - During a special hearing Nov. 29, the MaST Community Charter School publicly presented its application to open up a h-12 science and technology-oriented school in the Neshaminy School District.

For more than two-and-a-half hours, MaST leaders outlined the operations and successes at its Northeast Philadelphia school on East Byberry Road near Roosevelt Boulevard, after which were peppered with questions from both Neshaminy administrators and school board members.

“A group of Neshaminy parents come to us and asked us to come in,” said haren Delduercio, a retired teacher who founded MaST in Philadelphia in 1999 and is currently president of its board of directors.

The school then established a website for inquires about setting up a similar charter school in Neshaminy, and according to MaST CEO John Swoyer, more than 730 parents signed the online petition.

Swoyer told the school board that if the application for a Neshaminy location were approved there would be roughly 600 stuGHnWs IURP .LnGHUJDUWHn WKURuJK 5WK JUDGH GuULnJ WKH fiUsW yHDU RI the operation, which could be as early as the 2013-24 school year.

After four years, the school would expand to a h-12 facility with about 1,275 students.

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Swoyer said that the school focuses on what is known as ‘STEM’ education, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

According to Swoyer, r.S. News & World Report recently ranked the Philadelphia MaST 34th out of 579 charter schools in Pennsylvania. In addition, he said that it had a 100-percent graduation rate last year, with 94 percent of graduates going to college.

The presentation included a slide show focusing on the school’s high-tech classrooms, labs and computer-oriented teaching practices.

Swoyer pointed out that all MaST middle and high school students are given their own Apple iPads free of charge which interconnect with the teachers’ devices.

“We have the largest telescope in h-12 in Pennsylvania.” Swoyer boasted. “We have an HD video studio that’s larger than Comcast.”

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“I see every day the impact technology has on job development,” said Matt Pileggi, a Web developer from Levittown. “I want my kids to have a choice.”

Langhorne resident Deb Harker agreed, saying that her son is bored with the current public school curriculum.

“Think about approving this for people like my son who can thrive in this program,” she implored the school board.

However, Langhorne resident Steve Rodos, a retired lawyer, did question whether the science and technology-oriented curriculum also contained courses in civics, literature and languages.

Currently, MaST is looking at several locations in the district for the charter school.

Although, it has not yet chosen a property, one of the prime locations that MaST is considering is The Dump discount furniture store on Lincoln Highway in Middletown Township.

According to MaST, the store is looking to get out of its lease, and the site has appropriate space and parking.

“That was the only property which we looked at so far that is large enough to accommodate the students,” Swoyer said, acknowledging that zoning issues would have to be resolved with Middletown because the site is designated for commercial, not educational use.

However, Swoyer noted that, if the charter application were approved and MaST acquired that property, the building would be expanded to eventually house h-12.

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Meanwhile, Neshaminy School Superintendent Robert Copeland, who attended the hearing, asked MaST to provide the district with the names of those parents who signed the online petition and live in the district. In addition, Copeland wanted a breakdown of how many of those students are currently in public and private schools.

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Another concern is whether MaST teachers have the necessary experience.

According to Swoyer, the average MaST teacher has six years experience, but he indicated that many have considerably more tenure than public school teachers.

“Teachers want to work at MaST because of our facilities,” he said.

Neshaminy educators also focused on how MaST handles pupil service and special education programs, as well as whether nonscience courses are adequately stressed.

When asked about high school electives, Swoyer noted that MaST has 14 courses, to which Neshaminy’s Copeland responded, “We have 75.”

Copeland also noted that the Neshaminy High School teaches such courses as ethics and comparative religions., to which Swoyer acknowledged, “We’re a smaller school and do not have as many electives.”

School board member Mark Shubin wanted to know how many MaST teachers have been removed for cause or performance, to which Swoyer was uncertain.

Board member Mike Morris then asked how MaST teachers are hired.

Swoyer said they are given a one year, or in some cases, a twoyear contract, which either side can abrogate with a 30-day notice.

In addition, Swoyer noted that none of the MaST faculty have an ‘equal say’ on educational issues, a controversial issue that the Neshaminy School Board is trying to keep out of a new teachers contract that is now being negotiated. “What if they went out on strike,” Morris queried. “You’d be out of a job,’ Swoyer shot back. MaST’s haren Delduercio said that the Philadelphia facility has D 185-GDy sFKRRO yHDU, fiYH GDys PRUH WKDn WKH sWDWH PDnGDWHG PLnLmum. Middle and high school students spend 40 minutes more in class each day, and teachers’ school days are also longer than in Neshaminy.

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Profy explained that under state law, the board has 45 to 75 days to formally decide whether to grant the application.