Kane Republican - Mt. Jewett Charter School forum is Tuesday

MT. JEWETT - The Kane School Board has been personally invited to attend Tuesday's public meeting on a proposed Charter School in Mt. Jewett.

Chuck Paar, a spokesman for the Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition, addresses the Kane School Board during the board meeting Thursday at the Mt. Jewett Elementary School. The Charter Coalition is planning a Charter School for Mt. Jewett and will host a public meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Mt. Jewett Fire Hall. Photo by Ted Lutz.

In keeping with a tradition, the school board held its April forum at the Mt. Jewett Elementary School rather than at its normal meeting site at the Kane Middle School auditorium.

It probably was the last board meeting held at the school, which is being closed at the end of the school year as part of a school consolidation plan.

Paar said he is "cordially inviting" the school board members and "other interested parties" to attend Tuesday's Charter School meeting at 7 p.m. at the Mt. Jewett Fire Hall. He said the coalition members "look forward to seeing all of you at Tuesday's meeting."

Paar said the forum will include a "power point" slide show presentation as well as a "discussion concerning our plans to establish a Charter School in Mt. Jewett."

In his remarks, Paar said the coalition is asking the school board to "seriously consider making the current Mt. Jewett Elementary School facility available to us at little or no cost" as the site for the proposed Charter School.

"It is our understanding that much of this facility is situated on donated property that, if not used as an educational facility, would revert back to the Kane Estate," Paar said.

The school board is expected to consider options for the Mt. Jewett school once classes end in June. Paar asked the board to "include representatives of the Charter Coalition" when discussions are held regarding the fate of the Mt. Jewett school building. He is hoping for a "prompt decision" by the school board on the coalition's request to use the building for its proposed Charter School.

"We believe that, if we work together in a spirit of cooperation, we can come to a conclusion that will be a 'win-win' for everyone concerned, especially the children of Mt. Jewett, children in the surrounding area and their educational future," Paar said in his remarks to the school board.

Several members of the Mt. Jewett Charter Coalition were among 30 persons who attended the school board meeting.

Stephanie Eckstrom, the lone Mt. Jewett resident on the school board, said the apparent final board meeting in Mt. Jewett is "the end of yet another era for everyone in the Kane Area School District."

"But it is also the beginning of another new era," she said in comments at the close of the board meeting.

"Change is one of the constant things of our society and change can be unnerving, full of unknown challenges," she said. "But change can also be exciting, a time of opportunity, of expanding educational excellence-an era full of potential."

"For all of the students in the district in this new era, let us keep our focus on the common ground of providing them with the best education that we can."

Eckstrom said focusing on education will "make sure that each child has the insight, knowledge and skills to challenge and succeed in all of the changes, all of the new eras, in their lives."

?Named Mike Szymanski as girls soccer coach. He replaces Tom Hall, who resigned last month.

?Hired summer custodians. They include: Dora Gelatko, Jackie Kinney, Janis Newpher, Chad Rugh, Austin Ewing, Joe Saquin, Michelle Jubon and Amanda Woodford. Lydia Bush and Lanette Carlson also were hired to split one summer custodial job.

Representatives from all grade levels have spent about 100 hours in developing the curriculum, according to Natalie A. Eckert, principal in charge of curriculum.

She said "this curriculum has been written to align in scope and sequence" with science "anchors" under the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).