York Academy update on WHP-TV

WHP-TV, the CBS affiliate in Harrisburg, reported March 30 on the latest news about the York Academy Regional Charter School. WHP Reporter Christina Butler interviewed Dennis Baughman, the president of the charter school's Board of Trustees. The public charter school, which will offer an International Baccalaureate program of study, emerged from work done by YorkCounts' Metro-York Educational Opportunities Committee from 2007 to 2009. Baughman, a former school administrator in Northeastern and York City school districts, co-chaired the committee, along with community volunteer Sue Krebs.

The school was chartered by York City, York Suburban and Central York School Districts. It is hoped that the school will improve educational outcomes for city students by breaking up the concentrated poverty that proves such a challenge to urban schools. The school could also prove to have appeal for families with children looking for a high-quality education options in the city.

Baughman will provide a lengthier update to the community on April 14 as part of YorkCounts' "State of the Schools: A Countywide Education Summit." Click here for details on the summit.

Watch the WHP clip below.

Gauging interest in the IB charter school

We're pretty excited here to have received funding for the International Baccalaureate regional charter school. But we'd like to know more about how you see this effort. Specifically, we'd like to know if there are individuals with school-age children or soon-to-be school-age children that would consider enrolling their kids in a future York IB school. Remember: This school would create classrooms with a mix of students from the city and the suburbs, hopefully offsetting the negative effects of classrooms filled with overwhelmingly poor children. And it would represent an attempt to make available a high-quality public education to parents all around York County.

Tell us what you think in a comment, and if you're comfortable, leave your name and e-mail address.

- Dan Fink