Group working toward charter school in Mon Valley
Washington County’s first charter school is in the works, but launch is about a year away – or more.
Prominence Charter School is on the drawing board, confirmed Dana Moreno, lead member of the school’s founding committee. A location has not been finalized, however, she said the K-12 operation will be in the Mon Valley.
“Our first choice is a site in Monongahela, but we have backup options.”
The committee would like to begin classes in the 2017-18 school year but has to get approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. And the deadline for beginning that process is approaching. The panel has until next Tuesday to submit a charter school application to the school district where the school would be located. If a Monongahela site is selected, that would be Ringgold.
The committee hasn’t submitted the application – a site for Prominence hasn’t been secured – but Moreno said it hopes to have a location and plans to turn in the application before the cutoff.
The host school board then would have to form a review committee and schedule a public hearing by Dec. 30, after which the Education Department would have 45 to 75 days to render a decision.
Rejection of the plan, Moreno said, does not mean abandonment of the plan.
“If it’s delayed, that’s not stopping this,” said Moreno, an educator working on a doctorate. “It’s really something to believe in.”
Charter schools are publicly funded, tuition-free alternatives to public and private schools and home-schooling. The vast majority of funding comes from the school districts where students live.
A student living within 10 miles of a charter school location is eligible for transportation to and from class that is provided by his or her home district. A student living outside that radius may still enroll, but will be responsible for securing transportation.
“They can attend as long as they live in Pennsylvania,” Moreno said, adding that the school already appeals to a number of Westmoreland Countians across the Monongahela River.
Greene County does not have a charter school, but students living there also could attend Prominence.
Moreno, who recently moved to Monongahela from Allegheny County with her husband, is one of more than a dozen people serving on the founding committee. The panel, she said, is composed of educators, parents and community members with and without children. Though there isn’t a school yet, there is a school board, which will have its second meeting Thursday following an informal meet and greet that begins at 6:30 p.m. at Monongahela Public Library.
When it does open, Prominence Charter will offer classes from kindergarten through eighth grade. The committee plans to then add one grade level each of the next four years, until it includes 12th grade.
Initially, the committee wanted to start with K-5, “but the community really wanted K through eight, and we decided to up it,” Moreno said.
STEM education – a curriculum emphasizing science, technology, engineering and mathematics – will be one foundation. But that won’t be the only foundation at Prominence.
“We won’t be just a school with a STEM program,” Moreno said.
There also will be blended learning (online plus traditional classroom experiences); competency-based education; and community arts and engagement (community members working with students on arts, crafts and trades).
Moreno recently announced on the school’s Facebook page it is partnering with the Mon Valley Academy for the Arts for its Community Arts and Engagement program.
Prominence students will wear uniforms, though not like those traditionally associated with parochial and private schools. They will feature lab coats, safety goggles, brightly colored shirts, and pants or shorts covering the knees. Shirts will be the school logo, which hasn’t been developed.
“It’s all about safety and being comfortable,” Moreno said. “We encourage students to wear jeans and thick pants. We’ll really be involved with the outdoors.”
After-school care is not part of the equation for now, but Moreno said that could change.
For more information, visit prominencecharterschool.org.