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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Lehigh Valley Academy to Build Gym, Auditorium

There are no more than 25 students to a class. They must wear uniforms. Their school day is one hour longer, and school year is ten days longer, than most other schools. There are no athletic facilities on site, and students who want to play sports will have to do that in their own school district. Foreign language instruction starts in kindergarten.

This is Lehigh Valley Academy, a K-12 Charter school located at five buildings along Valley Center Parkway in Hanover Township. When it first started in 2002, there were just 185 students. Student census now is 970, and there are actually several hundred students on a waiting list, according to Director of Operations Holly Parkinson.

Th e school charges no tuition.

At an April 24 meeting of Hanover Township's Board of Supervisors, Manager Jay Finnigan announced that enrollment is expected to be over 2,000 within the next five years, making the charter school larger than some area school districts.

On May 22, Lehigh Valley Academy will ask the Board to approve plans for a gymnasium and auditorium, Finnigan reported.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 26, 2012 at 8:14 AM

    Then they will ask to have their own sports teams, stadium, ball fields, track and so on, don't do it!

    If it's all about education, great but don't mix the sports into the academy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mark BakerApril 26, 2012 at 8:16 AM

    Kudos to LV Academy. With that large a waiting list this is obviously a gem of a school.

    If I had young children I would never send them to public schools.

    Perhaps the administrators of BASD and ASD could get some education themselves if they would follow this model.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 26, 2012 at 8:38 AM

    Where will they get the money, more local tax dollars?

    As another comment stated, don't mix education with sports, it's toxic!

    ReplyDelete
  4. cApril 26, 2012 at 9:18 AM

    8:38
    While in principle I understand your points, it is not the job of the Hanover Twp. Supervisors to act on philosophical principle. The building will either meet the criteria set forth in Hanover Township's Zoning and Saldo (subdivision and land development ordinance) or it won't. From what I understand, the process is black and white.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 26, 2012 at 11:05 AM

    @9:18

    You're correct and I should vent my frustrations to the board of the school.

    ReplyDelete
  6. TJDApril 26, 2012 at 1:57 PM

    There's not really any room within the industrial park where they are located to add outdoor amenities such as a stadium, ball fields or a track. I think before getting worked up over this and forming an incorrect opinion, it may be wise to contact the board to determine the purpose of the additions.

    I did a quick search of their minutes for this year and didn't see anything about the proposal. It is possible the gym/auditorium are not meant for extra-curricular athletics.

    ReplyDelete

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