Circle of Seasons Charter School Rejected by Northwestern Lehigh

The Northwestern Lehigh School board rejected a motion Wednesday that would have allowed the proposed charter school to open at the former Fogelsville campus of Penn State University, according to a report in the Morning Call.

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

That is the exact reason the Northwestern Lehigh School Board denied the request, according to the Call's report. Afterwards, Arnold said he would be back and that 1,000 Waldorf-style schools are operating around the world.

Arnold, a social worker who opened the in Emmaus, vowed to open in the Lehigh Valley, according to the report.

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.