Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School

School District region in Lehigh County

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School is a midsized, urban, public charter school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.^[5] It is one of four public charters schools operating in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.^[6]

In 2013, enrollment was 543 pupils in grades first through 12th, with 52% of pupils eligible for a federal free or reduced price lunch due to the family meeting the federal poverty level.^[7] The school employed 25 teachers yielding a student-teacher ratio of 14:1.^[8] Additionally, 8% of the pupils receive special education services and no pupils were identified as gifted. According to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 3% of the school's teachers were rated "Non‐Highly Qualified" under No Child Left Behind.^[9] In 2012, Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School served 369 students throughout the year from 6 different school districts.^[10] In November 2012, the Allentown School District School Board renewed the charter school's agreement for five years, amid concerns regarding Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School's association with a local church.^[11]

In Pennsylvania, charter schools are initially approved and subsequently overseen by the local school board (Allentown School District).^[12] They make in depth, annual reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In Pennsylvania, charter schools are a public school alternative the local public schools. Students may seek admission to a local charter school. The student's home public school district pays the tuition costs on the student's behalf. Additionally, when the local school district provides transportation to its students it must also provide transportation at no costs to charter school students when the receiving school is within 10 miles of the District's borders.^[13] Pennsylvania charter schools have the same academic accountability as traditional public schools and must give the PSSAs to their pupils each year, working to achieve AYP status.^[14]

According to PA Charter School law, if more students apply to attend than there are open slots available, Charter Schools are required to use a random lottery system to select new incoming students.^[15] According to the Charter School law, siblings (brothers and sisters), and children of individuals who help establish a charter school, are granted an “admissions preference.” Students residing in the Allentown School District are selected first, according to the number of slots available for Allentown students. If there is space available for more students, seats will be declared open for out-of-District students. The first graduating class will be spring 2014.^[16]

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School is one of four public charter schools operating in Lehigh County in 2013. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, in 2012, there were 50,605 children in Lehigh County who were enrolled in public charter schools.^[17]

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School's graduating class of 2017 will consist of a large amount of students graduating with fifty-four or more college credits.

The Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit IU21 provides the district with a wide variety of services like specialized education for disabled students and hearing, speech and visual disability services and professional development for staff and faculty.^[18]

2013 School Performance Profile

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School achieved 59.3 out of 100. Reflects on grade level reading, mathematics, writing and science achievement on the state PSSAs and Keystone Exams. In reading/literature - 54% were on grade level. The third grade has just 47% reading on grade level. In Algebra 1/mathematics - 47.46% showed on grade level mathematics skills. In Biology/science, just 28.5% showed on grade level science understanding. In 5th and 8th grade writing, 64% of pupils showed on grade level writing skills.^[19] According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2,181 public schools (less than 73 percent of Pennsylvania public schools), achieved an academic score of 70 or higher. Pennsylvania 11th grade students no longer take the PSSAs. Instead, they now take the Keystone Exams at the end of the associated course.^[20] Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School students' achievement was on par with the local traditional public schools in the Allentown School District.

AYP History

In 2012, Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School declined to Warning Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status.^[21]

• 2011 - achieved AYP status^[22]
• 2010 - achieved AYP status^[23]

PSSA results

Eleventh grade Pennsylvania System of School Assessments are No Child Left Behind Act related examinations which were administered from 2003 through 2012. In 2013, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania changed its high school assessments to the Keystone Exams in Algebra 1, Reading/literature and Biology1. The exams are given at the end of the course, rather than all in the spring of the student's 11th grade year. Charter school students are required to take the Keystone Exams and PSSAs.

11th Grade Reading:

• 2012 - 47% on grade level, (24 below basic). State - 67% of 11th graders are on grade level.^[24]

11th Grade Math:

• 2012 - 31% on grade level (49% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 59% of 11th graders are on grade level.^[25]

11th Grade Science:

• 2012 - 15% on grade level (28% below basic). State - 42% of 11th graders were on grade level.^[26]

Sixth and seventh graders are tested in reading and mathematics since 2006. Eighth graders are tested in: reading, writing, mathematics and Science. Beginning in the Spring of 2013, eighth graders, who are enrolled in Algebra I take the Keystone Exam for Algebra I at the end of the course. The testing of 8th grade in reading and mathematics began in 1999. Testing in science began in 2007. The goal is for 100% of students to be on grade level or better in reading and mathematics, by the Spring of 2014. The tests focus on the state's Academic Standards for reading, writing, mathematics and science. The standards were first published in 1998 and are mandated by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.^[27]

8th Grade Science:

• 2012 - 10% on grade level (61% below basic). State - 59%
• 2011 - 19% (59% below basic). State – 58.3%
• 2010 - 8% (67% below basic). State – 57% ^[32]

Tuition

Students who live in the local public school district's attendance area may choose to attend one of Pennsylvania's 157 public charter schools. A student living in a neighboring public school district or a foreign exchange student may seek admission to Allentown School District. For these cases, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sets an annual tuition rate for each school district. It is the amount the public school district pays to a charter school for each resident student that attends the charter and it is the amount a nonresident student's parents must pay to attend the Allentown School District's schools. The 2012 tuition rates for Allentown School District are Elementary School - $7,803.88, High School - $9,858.67.^[34] For students who reside in other local school districts, their home school district pays its mandated tuition rate to Lincoln Leadership.

Wellness policy

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School established a school wellness policy in 2009.^[35] The policy deals with nutritious meals served at school, the control of access to some foods and beverages during school hours, age appropriate nutrition education for all students, and physical education for students K-12. The policy is in response to state mandates and federal legislation (P.L. 108 – 265). The law dictates that each school district participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq) "shall establish a local school wellness policy by School Year 2006." Most districts identified the superintendent and school foodservice director as responsible for ensuring local wellness policy implementation.^[36]

The legislation placed the responsibility of developing a wellness policy at the local level so the individual needs of each district can be addressed. According to the requirements for the Local Wellness Policy, schools must set goals for nutrition education, physical activity, campus food provision, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness.^[37] Additionally, schools were required to involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and to have a plan for measuring policy implementation. Districts were offered a choice of levels of implementation for limiting or prohibiting low nutrition foods on the school campus. In final implementation these regulations prohibit some foods and beverages on the school campus.^[38] The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the district to submit a copy of the policy for approval.

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School offers both a free school breakfast and a free or reduced-price lunch to children in low income families. All students attending the school can eat breakfast and lunch. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level are provided a breakfast and lunch at no cost to the family. Children from families with incomes between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level can be charged no more than 30 cents per breakfast. A foster child whose care and placement is the responsibility of the State or who is placed by a court with a caretaker household is eligible for both a free breakfast and a free lunch. Runaway, homeless and Migrant Youth are also automatically eligible for free meals.^[39] The meals are partially funded with federal dollars through the United States Department of Agriculture.^[40]

In 2013, the USDA issued new restrictions to foods in public schools. The rules apply to foods and beverages sold on all public school district campuses during the day. They limit vending machine snacks to a maximum of 200 calories per item. Additionally, all snack foods sold at school must meet competitive nutrient standards, meaning they must have fruits, vegetables, dairy or protein in them or contain at least 10 percent of the daily value of fiber, calcium, potassium, and Vitamin D.^[41] In order to comply with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 all US public school districts are required to raise the price of their school lunches to $2.60 regardless of the actual cost of providing the lunch.^[42] In 2014, President Obama ordered a prohibition of advertisements for unhealthy foods on public school campuses during the school day.^[43]

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School provides health services as mandated by the Commonwealth and the federal government. Nurses are available in each building to conduct annual health screenings (data reported to the PDE and state Department of Health) and to dispense prescribed medications to students during the school day. Students can be excluded from school unless they comply with all the State Department of Health’s extensive immunization mandates. School nurses monitor each pupil for this compliance.^[44] Nurses also monitor each child's weight. In addition, a dental health program is conducted with HealthStar II – Mobile Dental Service.^[45]

Grants

In addition to tuition payments, Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School applied for several grants to increase its funding. Both the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Federal government offer several education grants each year.

Federal Stimulus grant

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School received an extra $69,795 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students.^[46][47] The funding was limited to the 2009-10 and 2010-2011 school years.^[48] 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

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School officials applied for the federal Race to the Top grant which would have provided nearly one half million dollars, in additional federal funding, to improve student academic achievement.^[49] 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.^[50] Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.^[51][52][53]

Extracurriculars

Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive, costly sports program. Eligibility for participation is determined by school board policy and in compliance with standards set by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School is noncompliant with state law, due to failing to post its Interscholastic Athletic Opportunities Disclosure Form on its website. Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School offers an activity bus for students remaining after school hours for extended instruction, enrichment activities or sports.

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.^[54]

Sports

The Charter School funds:

Varsity

According to PIAA directory July 2013 ^[55]

All student-athletes are required to participate in concussion training at Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School. All coaches at Lincoln Leadership are mandated to pass a concussion awareness course before coaching the children. Parent have access to the free training.^[56]

References

Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Schools
Main school districts Allentown William Allen High School Louis E. Dieruff High School South Mountain Middle School Harrison-Morton Middle School East Penn Emmaus High School Eyer Middle School Lower Macungie Middle School Northwestern Lehigh Northwestern Lehigh High School Parkland Parkland High School Orefield Middle School Springhouse Middle School Salisbury Township Salisbury High School Salisbury Middle School (Salisbury, Pennsylvania) Southern Lehigh Southern Lehigh High School Whitehall-Coplay Whitehall High School Whitehall-Coplay Middle School
Other schools Bethlehem Area (partially located in Northampton County) Freedom High School Liberty High School Bethlehem Area School District Stadium Broughal Middle School East Hills Middle School Nitschman Middle School Northeast Middle School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) Catasauqua Area (partially located in Northampton County) Catasauqua High School Charter schools Arts Academy Charter Middle School Circle of Seasons Charter School Executive Education Academy Charter School Innovative Arts Academy Charter School Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School Lehigh Valley Charter HIgh School Academy for the Arts Medical Academy Charter School Roberto Clemente Charter School Seven Generations Charter School Northern Lehigh (partially located in Northampton County) Northern Lehigh High School Northern Lehigh Middle School Private schools Lehigh Valley Christian High School Salem Christian School Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown Allentown Central Catholic High School Vocational schools Lehigh Career and Technical Institute Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School

Coordinates: 40°37′21″N 75°26′03″W / 40.62261°N 75.43426°W / 40.62261; -75.43426