Schools

Circle of Seasons To Appeal Charter School Ruling

After being rejected by the Parkland and Northwestern Lehigh School Districts, the proposed Circle of Seasons charter school wanted to occupy the former Penn State Campus in Fogelsville.

Charter school guru Phil Arnold told his supporters in an e-mail that he intends to appeal last week's to create a Waldorf-style charter school at the former Penn State Lehigh Valley campus in Fogelsville.

The in February, citing the charter school would not meet state standards.

Arnold told supporters in the e-mail that he will return to the Northwestern Lehigh School District and submit an amended resolution of the charter back to the district within a month's time.

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"This is a very smart plan and is one that will help us in the event we ever have to take our charter application to the Charter Appeals Board in Harrisburg in the coming months," Arnold said in the e-mail.

He also wrote Northwestern's reasons for denial "were vague, sketchy, nit-picky, inaccurate, irrelevant, or convoluted legal interpretations of the Pa. Charter School Law. That is, Northwestern Lehigh would have a very hard time justifying their decision to deny the charter based on many of the reasons stated in the denial resolution."

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He asks his supporters for help by signing letters of support.

Arnold, a social worker who opened the in Emmaus, vowed to open

The Waldorf method does not use conventional textbooks, but rather reinforces what children learned by having them draw a picture about the lesson. At the end of the school year, students have a journal, or workbook, chronicling each lesson.

Charter schools are largely operated with state and local taxpayer money, funneled through the school districts where they are located. Allocations are based on what officials say is the cost-per-child to educate.

With public funding of Waldorf schools, controversy and court challenges have followed elsewhere. Critics say the schools, founded by Rudolph Steiner, are based on a New Age religion and therefore taxpayer money should not be used, according to published Web reports.


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