Issues

School issues

Now that renovations are complete at all six Pottstown schools (including Rupert Elementary School, above), the school district must look to its long-term sustainability. For decades, the district has been self-absorbed, unable or unwilling to look at the impact of its policies on the entire Pottstown community.

The Pottstown School District is not as poor as it might seem when it comes to per pupil spending.

Pottstown schools face dramatic changes

The Pottstown School District offers students an excellent opportunity to learn. But with declining real estate values and a growing number of economically disadvantaged students, the community must learn to do more with less. Former Gov. Tom Corbett believed competition and school choice would force public schools to do better. Whether he is right or wrong, the following articles, first published in The Mercury in 2011, looked at other models for education that might benefit Pottstown:

Homeschooling can work well

Linda Reinhart homeschooled four children to be knowledgeable and independent thinkers. Her experience shows that properly done, homeschooling can be just as effective as public or private schools.

Cyber charter schools growing in popularity

Parents who wish to homeschool their children now have the option of enrolling them in one of 11 cyber charter schools approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Local Christian schools do more with less

Here in the Pottstown area, we can find no better example of doing more with less than our Christian private schools.

Pottstown parochial school nears century mark

St. Aloysius Elementary School has been a downtown Pottstown landmark since 1912.

Locals find Renaissance School worth a ride

Nearly 40 Pottstown students are willing to take a half-hour ride, one-way, to attend the Renaissance Academy Charter School in Phoenixville. They have to find their own transportation. So what's the big attraction for parents?

Kimberton Waldorf fosters creative thinking

Kimberton Waldorf's graduates typically are accepted by the nation's leading universities. Yet its students spend much of their time on creative activities like drawing, painting, singing, dancing, sewing, and gardening.

Bringing children out of poverty

Ruby Payne is a former teacher and principal who has spent decades researching how schools can bring low income children out of poverty. Here in Pottstown, we can profit from her ideas.

A quality education for all, at less cost

Like it or not, school choice is here to stay. We can wring our hands, or we can seize the initiative to partner with charter and private schools.

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