Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a public charter school located within Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland, Pennsylvania. It opened in 2006. The school provides grades 7th through 12th. While it is a public school, students must apply, and audition to attend. The school is run by a seven-member board of trustees which appoints the school's administration.

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center
Address
One Lincoln Park

Midland
,
Beaver County
,
Pennsylvania

United States
Information
TypePublic Charter
Established2006
PrincipalDr. Lindsay Rodgers
Grades7–12
Number of students660
Color(s)Blue and Gold
NewspaperThe Siren
Websitelppacs.org

The cost of the student's education is paid by the public school district where the student resides. The tuition rate is set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education each year. The school year is 184 instructional days. Thirty percent of pupils at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School received a free or reduced-price lunch in 2010. The Midland Borough School District is the school's supervising district. By Pennsylvania law, the District has oversight powers through approving the charter application and 5 year renewals. Additionally, the school submits an annual Charter Report to the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

The school has eight "arts foci," or areas of study, including Dance, Writing And Publishing, Media Arts, Music, Vocal, Health Science and the Arts, Pre-Law And the Arts, Theatre, and Musical Theatre. The school's enrollment was 501 students in 2010.[1] Enrolled students included 87 pupils eligible for a federal free or reduced-price lunch. The school employed 26 teachers, yielding a student–teacher ratio of 20:1.[2] According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 100% of its teachers were rated "Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.[3]

History

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center is built on the same plot as Midland's former Lincoln High School. After Lincoln High closed in 1987 due to low enrollment, the Midland area became increasingly depressed, and Midland Borough School District Town leaders initiated the construction of the Center, which houses the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School.

Graduation rate

In 2011, the graduation rate was 100%.[4] In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School's rate was 100% for 2010.[5]

According to traditional graduation rate calculations

Academics

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School program of studies is comprehensive, integrated. It is aligned to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. Lincoln Park provides academics in two different formats: direct instruction and online. A team of artists and educators was assembled by one of the school's founders and principal architects, Stephen Catanzarite, to develop the school's curriculum over a period of one year. Catanzarite secured a grant from Pittsburgh's Grable Foundation, and recruited Dr. Micheal Cerveris, an alumnus of the Juilliard School, retired arts administrator at the university level, and a staff member of the Arts Education Collaborative in Pittsburgh to oversee this process. Lincoln Park has a partnership with the Community College of Beaver County to offer juniors and seniors college-level coursework in select subjects. Course of study for each student is chosen through the collaborative effort of the parents, student, and professional staff. A personalized education plan is developed for each student to address the student's abilities, learning needs, learning style, future educational plans, and/or employment interests. The school has also developed key strategic partnerships with organizations such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Berklee College of Music, and the Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute, and also collaborated in a research project with the MIT Media Lab.

In 2009, the academic achievement of the students at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School was in the 40th percentile among 500 Pennsylvania school districts.[8]

In 2010 and 2011, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School achieved AYP status under the federal No Child Left Behind law.[9] Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School has made AYP each year since its 2006 founding

Eleventh grade
PSSA results

11th Grade Reading:

  • 2011 - 79% on grade level, (10% below basic). State - 69.1% of 11th graders are on grade level.[10]
  • 2010 - 86% (7% below basic). State - 66%[11]
  • 2009 - 82% (4% below basic). State - 65%[12]
  • 2008 - 78% (5% below basic). State - 65%[13]
  • 2007 - 86% (7% below basic). State - 65%[14]

11th Grade Math:

  • 2011 - 65% on grade level (17% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 60.3% of 11th graders are on grade level.[15]
  • 2010 - 48% (26% below basic). State - 59%
  • 2009 - 45% (26% below basic). State - 56%.
  • 2008 - 52% (25% below basic). State - 56%
  • 2007 - 41% (25% below basic). State - 53%

11th Grade Science:

  • 2011 - 40% on grade level (13% below basic). State - 40% of 11th graders were on grade level.[16]
  • 2010 - 34% (12% below basic). State - 39%
  • 2009 - 44% (13% below basic). State - 40%
  • 2008 - 40% (5% below basic). State - 39%[17]

SAT scores

From January to June 2011, 97 Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 503. The Math average score was 451. The Writing average score was 479.[18] Pennsylvania ranked 40th among states with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479.[19] In the United States 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.[20]

Graduation requirements

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School graduation requirements are a completion of a minimum of 27 credits in the following areas: 4 credits in Language Arts; 4 credits in Social Studies; 4 credits in Mathematics; 4 credits in Science (Biology is required); 1 credit in physical education; 1/2 credit in health. The remaining credits are fulfilled through the performing arts curriculum and elective classes (2 credits must be in the fine arts).

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district.[21]

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating class of 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.[22][23][24] In 2011, Pennsylvania high school students field tested the Algebra 1, Biology and English Lit exams. The statewide results were: Algebra 1 38% on grade level, Biology 35% on grade level and English Lit - 49% on grade level.[25] Individual student, school or district reports were not made public, although they were reported to district officials by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Eighth Grade

Eighth grade was added to the school in 2008-09.

8th Grade Science:

  • 2011 - 73% on grade level (13% below basic). State – 58.3% of 8th graders were on grade level.
  • 2010 - 72% (9% below basic). State – 57%[28]
  • 2009 - 84% (2% below basic). State - 55%[29]

Special education

In December 2010, the district administration reported that 45 pupils or 8% of the district's pupils received Special Education services. Of the identified students 62% had a specific learning disability.[30] The school uses the services of the Beaver Valley IU 27 to meet the needs of its students that have an IEP - Individual Education Plan.

In accordance with state and federal regulations, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School established and implemented procedures to locate, identify and evaluate school age students suspected of being eligible for special education services. These procedures include, but are not limited to: review of records, various modes of screening (reading and math screenings are completed the first week of school), and/or recommendation of teacher and/or parent. There is currently in place a referral system for students who may be in need of assistance. Instructional strategies are updated and revised as needed for individual student needs. Teachers attend trainings to ensure that strategies employed address the individual needs of the student in special education. Strategies used for the special education student are dependent upon the needs reflected in the IEP.

Funding for special education students comes from the respective student's home school district which is required to pay all the state and federal subsidies it receives for the student to the charter school.

The school uses Response to Intervention (RTI) methodology combined with differentiated instruction in the classroom is designed to help students with different learning styles and needs. Title I interventions are provided for reading and mathematics. Students are administered a benchmark mathematics test. Those that do not meet the proficiency level are placed in a comprehensive math program designed to target their areas of weakness.

Gifted education

The Administration reported that fewer than 10 of the school's students were gifted in 2009.[31] By law, the school must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels. The referral process for a gifted evaluation can be initiated by teachers or parents by contacting the student's building principal and requesting an evaluation. All requests must be made in writing. To be eligible for mentally gifted programs in Pennsylvania, a student must have a cognitive ability of at least 130 as measured on a standardized ability test by a certified school psychologist. Other factors that indicate giftedness will also be considered for eligibility.[32][33]

Transportation

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School uses multiple forms of transportation to accomplish the task of bussing students to school. As charter school law requires school districts within a ten-mile range to transport students who choose to attend a charter school, Lincoln Park has seven districts who participate. Those districts are: Beaver Area School District, Blackhawk School District, Central Valley School District, Hopewell Area School District, South Side Area School District, Midland Borough School District and Western Beaver County School District. For those students who do not reside in one of these districts, Lincoln Park contracts with a private company operating within individual school districts. Most of these students catch the bus at a hub stop where up to a few dozen students may get on. Parking lots are available for students who drive to school. Accommodations and modifications to transportation are provided for any student with that need.

Food Service Program and Wellness

There is a daily breakfast and lunch program at the school. It is a participant in a wellness program as mandated by Pennsylvania Department of Education for all schools involved with The National School Lunch Program. The school uses an outside agency to facilitate the nutrition program. Of the 482 students enrolled throughout the year; 47 received reduced-rate lunches, and 101 received federal free lunches due to family poverty.

Budget

The school's annual budget is developed by the administration and subject to approval by the Board of Trustees. The school does not levy any taxes.

Reserves In 2010, the school reported a balance of zero in an unreserved-designated fund. The unreserved-undesignated fund balance was reported as $647,589.00 [34] In 2008, Lincoln Park Administration reported a balance of $156,479 in its unreserved-undesignated fund. Pennsylvania public school agency reserve funds are divided into two categories – designated and undesignated. The undesignated funds are not committed to any planned project. Designated funds and any other funds, such as capital reserves, are allocated to specific projects. School districts are required by state law to keep 5 percent of their annual spending in the undesignated reserve funds to preserve bond ratings. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, from 2003 to 2010, as a whole, Pennsylvania public school entities (school districts, charter schools and Intermediate Units combined) amassed nearly $3 billion in reserved funds.[35]

Federal Stimulus grant

The district received an extra $31,861 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students.[36] The funding was limited to the 2009–10 and 2010-2011 school years.[37] Due to the temporary nature of the funding, schools were repeatedly advised to use the funds for one-time expenditures like acquiring equipment, making repairs to buildings, training teachers to provide more effective instruction or purchasing books and software.

Race to the Top grant

School officials applied for the federal Race to the Top grant which would have provided over hundreds of thousands in additional federal funding to improve student academic achievement.[38] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate.[39] Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of many school districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.[40][41][42]

Extracurriculars

The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy. Sports are part of the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (Class A) and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The sports offered are: men's basketball, men's and women's golf and women's volleyball. Lincoln Park has won the WPIAL Men's Basketball championship in 2014, 2018, and 2019 (2018, 2019 in Class 3A).

The clubs/organization the school offers includes: Student Council, Environmental Club, National Honor Society, BatCat Press, The Siren, and Humanitarian Club.

By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students residing in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.[43]

Controversy

In 2007, just one year after the creation of the school, Pennsylvania Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak became concerned with the school's accounting, citing the school double-billing students' home districts, misuse of taxpayer dollars, and questionable payments.[44] Founder of Lincoln Park Nick Trombetta was accused of mail fraud, theft and bribery concerning a federal program, tax conspiracy and filing false tax returns in 2013,[45] and pleaded guilty to tax conspiracy in August 2016, and diverted about $8 million from PA Cyber through other organizations.[46]

In March 2017, Shaun Rolly, a theatre teacher, committed suicide after being accused of possessing child pornography depicting 10-12 year olds.[47]

Due to the ongoing success of the Lincoln Park men's basketball team, some have accused the school of recruiting players for non-academic reasons, since students from nearby districts can elect to attend the school. Lincoln Park issued a statement that the accusations were false and that the school abides by WPIAL rules.[48]

References
  1. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core data - Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, 2010
  2. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Care Data - Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, 2010
  3. Pennsylvania Department of Education, Professional Qualifications of Teachers Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, September 29, 2011
  4. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School AYP Data Table".
  5. Pennsylvania Department of Education (March 15, 2011). "New 4-year Cohort Graduation Rate Calculation Now Being Implemented". Archived from the original on September 14, 2010.
  6. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School Academic Achievement Report Card Data table" (PDF).
  7. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (2008). "High School Graduation rate 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-07. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  8. The Morning Call (2009). "2009 PSSA RESULTS School District". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27.
  9. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School AYP Overview".
  10. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA and AYP Results".
  11. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "2009-2010 PSSA and AYP Results".
  12. The Times-Tribune (September 14, 2009). "Grading Our Schools database, 2009 PSSA results".
  13. Pennsylvania Department of Education (August 15, 2008). "2007-2008 PSSA and AYP Results".
  14. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2007). "PSSA Math and Reading results".
  15. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School Academic Achievement Report Card 2011" (PDF).
  16. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 29, 2011). "2010-2011 PSSA results in Science".
  17. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2008). "Report on PSSA Science results by school and grade 2008".
  18. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2011). "Public School SAT Scores 2011". Archived from the original on 2011-10-15.
  19. College Board (September 2011). "SAT Scores State By State - Pennsylvania". Archived from the original on 2011-10-08.
  20. "While U.S. SAT scores dip across the board, N.J. test-takers hold steady". NJ.com. September 2011.
  21. Pennsylvania State Board of Education. "Pennsylvania Code §4.24 (a) High school graduation requirements".
  22. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2010). "Keystone Exam Overview" (PDF).
  23. Pennsylvania Department of Education (September 2011). "Pennsylvania Keystone Exams Overview". Archived from the original on 2012-03-17.
  24. Pennsylvania State Board of Education (2010). "Rules and Regulation Title 22 PA School Code CH. 4".
  25. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2011). "Keystone Exams".
  26. Pennsylvania Department of Education Report (September 14, 2010). "2010 PSSAs: Reading, Math, Writing Results".
  27. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2009). "2009 PSSAs: Reading, Math, Writing and Science Results".
  28. Pennsylvania Department of Education Report (August 2010). "Science PSSA 2010 by Schools".
  29. Pennsylvania Department of Education Report (August 2009). "Science PSSA 2009 by Schools".
  30. Pennsylvania Bureau of Special Education Services (2009–2010). "Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School Special Education Data Report LEA Performance on State Performance Plan (SPP) Targets". Archived from the original on 2011-08-24.
  31. Pennsylvania Department of Education (July 2010). "Gifted Students as Percentage of Total Enrollment by School District/Charter School" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
  32. Pennsylvania Department of Education and Pennsylvania School Board. "CHAPTER 16. Special Education For Gifted Students". Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  33. Pennsylvania Department of Education (March 26, 2010). "Special Education for Gifted Students Notice of Parental rights" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  34. Pennsylvania Department of Education. "Fund Balances by Local Education Agency 1997 to 2008".
  35. Murphy, Jan., Pennsylvania's public schools boost reserves, CentreDaily Times, September 22, 2010
  36. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2009). "County ARRA FUNDING Report". Archived from the original on 2011-03-07.
  37. "School stimulus money". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 12, 2009.
  38. Pennsylvania Department of Education (December 9, 2009). "Race To The Top Webinar powerpoint for districts December 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  39. Governor's Press Office release (January 20, 2010). "Pennsylvania's 'Race to the Top' Fueled by Effective Reforms, Strong Local Support".
  40. Race to the Top Fund, U.S. Department of Education, March 29, 2010.
  41. Dr. Gerald Zahorchak (December 2008). "Pennsylvania Race to the Top Letter to Superintendents" (PDF).
  42. Pennsylvania Department of Education (January 19, 2009). "Pennsylvania Race to the Top -School Districts Title I Allocations 2009-10".
  43. Pennsylvania Office of the Governor Press Release (November 10, 2005). "Home-Schooled, Charter School Children Can Participate in School District Extracurricular Activities". Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  44. "CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School". CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  45. Doerschner, Kristen. "'Bags' of cash: Court records detail allegations against Trombetta". Ellwood City Ledger. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  46. "Cyber Charter founder Trombetta is sentenced to 20 months in prison". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  47. Luciew, John (2017-03-15). "Pa. art teacher, 47, found dead amid child porn probe". pennlive.com. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  48. "Critics Questioning Charter School's Basketball Dominance". 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2019-08-21.

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