Proposed NP charter school launches enrollment

Final decision from appeal board still pending

Souderton Charter School Collaborative operators Wendy Ormsby and Jennifer Arevalo seem to be getting a head start on possibly opening the first charter school in the North Penn School District.

An open enrollment period is underway for The Collaborative of North Penn Charter School, which is awaiting a final decision from the Charter Appeal Board in Harrisburg. The school is currently taking student names to be considered for acceptance for the 2015-16 school year, Ormsby,

founder and director of organizational development, said via phone Thursday afternoon.

“We’ve checked with schools i n our situation, and this is how they typically handle it,” she said. “Historically, they have gone ahead and had open enrollment and then waited for the decision before slotting anybody.”

The open enrollment period, which started a few

weeks ago, concludes June 9 — the same day the appeal board is scheduled to issue its decision. There are anywhere from 75 to 100 students whose information they’ve received so far during the open enrollment period, Ormsby said.

One of the students is the son of Megan Slack, of Lansdale, a parent who has tried to get her children into SCSC without success, she said Friday.

Slack has been vocal about her support of CNPCS in the past and has put her middle son — who is headed into the second grade in the

fall — on the open enrollment list for CNPCS.

Slack, who said her children have had both positive and negative experiences in the district, said she believes the SCSC charter school model, which she said incorporates individualized and hands-on learning and offers smaller class sizes, would be a “better match” for her children.

“I honestly feel the litigation that’s going on here, between the district and the charter, is really a waste of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “When you have a school that’s a blue ribbon school,

has glowing reviews and has been asked to replicate, what more could you ask for?”

It seems to be because of parents like Slack that Ormsby and Arevalo decided to open CNPCS.

“Over the years, North Penn families have been cut off of the enrollment process at Souderton charter, because we have to accept students from the Souderton area first,” Ormsby said. “There has been a large demand to get into Souderton charter. Typically, North Penn students make up 25 percent of our waiting list. That, coupled with the success we’ve had, lead us to want to open the school.”

The goal is to open a kindergarten through thirdgrade school that serves approximately 105 students, with each year adding a grade until they reach the eighth-grade level, Ormsby said.

Ormsby and Arevalo would oversee CNPCS and SCSC, as well as move some SCSC staff to the new school. They have interviewed new staff and are down to their final selections, she said.

The official location of the new school won’t be announced until after the appeal board’s decision, Ormsby said. However, she did say they hope to rent a property in Upper Gwynedd.

When the pair submitted their application to the district for the CNPCS, they submitted a letter from the owner of 201 Church Road in Upper Gwynedd describing their lease agreement,

according to earlier news reports. However, this location for the school was not confirmed.

Ormsby and Arevalo began operating SCSC, a kindergarten through eighthgrade charter school, in 2000. In recent years, the pair worked to open CNPCS, but have faced obstacles.

They first submitted an application to the district in 2012 for CNPCS, which was denied by the school board in 2013.

The board listed several reasons for denying CNPCS, such as their failure to demonstrate how it would provide a comprehensive learning environment for students through support and planning; failure to identify a location for the school; and failure to outline curriculum that aligned with the state’s Core Standards for academics, according to Digital First Media archives.

Since then, they fought the board’s decision and brought it before the appeal board in late May, explaining their charter school model and addressing the district’s critiques, Ormsby said.

“This went very well and we received a lot of positive feedback from them,” she said.

With the final decision looming, Ormsby said she hopes there is “political will to replicate a successful and high-achieving” charter school.

However, if the decision’s “no,” Ormsby said they will inform the families who participated i n the open

enrollment process they did not receive the charter. As far as appealing the appeal board’s decision, Ormsby said that would be something they would “seriously consider” if it came to that. If such actions were taken, the case could end up in Commonwealth Court, according to Pennsylvania Department of Education’s charter appeal guidelines.

However, if CNPCS is given the green-light, what would this mean for the school district?

The district has budgeted $1.6 million for cyber charter and charter education for next year, which is a $250,000 increase from this year, Business Administration Director Steve Skrocki said via email Friday.

Approximately 118 students attended some type of charter school this year, and out of those students, 10 attended SCSC, he said. However, he couldn’t say if those students attended the school for the entire year. If they had, about $106,515 would have been paid to SCSC to cover student costs.

“If 100 students leave North Penn and attend a charter school our minimum cost would be $1.14 million,” he said. “(It will be) more if there are some special education students and more if the cost per student increases for 15-16 (school year).”

The district, like Ormsby and Arevalo, is awaiting the board’s decision. Whether the district takes any action after that decision is made has not been decided, North Penn Assistant Superintendent Diane Holben said.