Plans for Waldorf Charter School To Be Presented Tonight

If Phil Arnold has his way, the Lehigh Valley may be home to the state's first-ever Waldorf Charter School.

Arnold, a social worker with Lehigh Valley Hospital’s Pediatric Center in Bethlehem and former administrator at Seven Generations Charter School in Emmaus, wants to establish and operate the school on the grounds of the 60-acre Manito Farm and Equestrian Center in South Whitehall Township.

The charter school would be the first of its kind -- utilizing the Waldorf teaching method -- in Pennsylvania, he said.

Arnold will detail his plans during an informational presentation at 7 tonight, March 9, in Room 102 of the Academic Resource Center at Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville. The presentation is open to the public.

Arnold said he hopes to have the school open by 2012, offering education to kindergarten and first-grade students. Future plans would include adding a new grade each subsequent year, up to at least eighth grade.

Nicole McGalla, spokeswoman for the Parkland School District, said Arnold met with district administration last week about his proposal. He would have to submit an application to both the state and district, which he plans to do in the fall, she said. The school board would approve or deny the application, according to the district's charter school policy.

Currently there are no charter schools operating within the district's boundaries.

Under Arnold's vision, the charter school would be conducted in a newly constructed “green” building on a five-acre site on the Manito property. 

Much of the Manito property is preserved as farmland, according to Jeff Zehr, director of Lehigh County Farm Preservation program. However, about five acres is not included in the conservation easement, he said.

Arnold says he chose the location because the township has an interest in “green issues,” and part of the Waldorf philosophy is “less is more.”

He said he also selected the property because it is spacious and easily accessible to students from Allentown, the suburbs and the northern and northwestern areas of Lehigh County. The spot, he said, is the “perfect location to attract students from Allentown and the Lehigh Valley area.”

Charter schools are free public schools with a particular emphasis or focus. For example, both the Bethlehem Performing Arts School and the Lehigh Valley Academic Charter School in Bethlehem utilize the more widely known International Baccalaureate method.  In it, three programs of broad-based education are offered to youngsters from early childhood to pre-college age.

The Waldorf method has a strong arts component. Recognizing that art is more in tune with how kids learn, it helps strengthen motor skills and allows the students a creative vent. For example, they learn how to sew, work with wood, and create journals and workbooks drawn on their experiences in school.

At the end of the school year, they have a “textbook” chronicling their learning experiences. Waldorf also recognizes the advantage of "play" as a way of learning and building friendships.