We offer free medical, dental, prescription, vision, long and short-term disability, life insurance coverage, PSERS, 403B, tuition reimbursement, vacation, sick and personal days. During the hiring process, we emphasize our focus on professional development and the environment of safety that we are dedicated to creating. Teacher increases at our school are more than in most neighboring school districts (which are in the 2-3% range) and can be as much as 5%.

They are slightly lower, due to the fact that we only receive 80% of the per-student subsidy from the local school districts. Additionally, our school board of trustees cannot levy taxes, as can other school boards, to allow for additional income. We are doing the best that we can for our teachers within our budget.

Yes. A survey was sent home late last school year that allowed parents and students to indicate areas of interest. During this time, we also approved a new Extracurricular Activities Stipend for any teachers who organize such activities and we put a process into place by which they can volunteer to facilitate such events.

It is no one's responsibility . Based on interest, if the parents would like to organize a sports team or research how students can participate in other districts activities, we enthusiastically invite them to do so.

We have had Brownies and Boy Scout troops meeting at the school for several years. Brownies meet every Tuesday after school. Boy Scouts meet nearly every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. If parents would like to organize a Cub Scout Troop the parents associated with the Boy Scout Troop are willing to provide support. For more information regarding the Boy Scouts, feel free to contact Vince Drybala (215) 639-8651 or Steve Drybala at (215) 757-9056. For information regarding Brownies, please contact Morene Freedman (215) 742-5178

We currently have an agreement with Bensalem Township School District, but because of our longer school day this is prohibitive. We encourage parents to gather more research on how this might be implemented.

Part of the vision of our school is our belief in multiple intelligences and that all children are gifted; it is up to us to find that gift in each child. Our school has an inclusion model based on differentiated instruction in each classroom; this allows all children (regardless of ability) to function as members of a classroom community while still having their individual needs met.

We expect the CAO and Assistant CAO to take an active role with the children. The children should be his and/or her first priority.

We will be using this building for musical instruction, meeting space and office space for our expanding staff.

This feature (including the longer school day) is a part of our charter.

We investigated this option during our first year of operations. Unfortunately, our electrical system will not handle the load of central air, nor will it handle each classroom having window units. Renovation and upgrade of the entire electrical system would be necessary at hundreds of thousands of dollars; the cost is prohibitive.

For matters of insurance liability, a board member or the CAO are to attend any school event. As we are all in Executive Session prior to any board meeting, this is not possible.

The staff turnover has been 32%. Of last year's 64 staff members, this turnover includes 7 teaching positions, 8 instructional support and 5 non-instructional support positions. We have created three new positions: Assistant CAO, Assistant Principal of Math and Science Curriculum and a Secondary School Counselor.
As a side note, student turnover for this school year was 4% with 20 students not returning. This is the same percentage as in prior years.
Positions remaining open are 2 classroom teachers, 3 instructional support and 2 non-instructional support positions. We expect to have these positions filled by the week's end.

Our Curriculum Implementation Specialist, Carol Adams and Board President, Kathy Harr attended the conference in Hawaii. This conference dealing with Restorative Justice and Holistic Education had been in the works for two years. Unfortunately, this remote location was the only one where the conference was being held. The many valuable points learned at this conference were shared with all staff members and were implemented in several classroom situations throughout the year. Additionally, Carol will be holding parent workshops in the coming school year to pass along the information learned.
A significant portion of this trip was paid for directly by Carol and Kathy.

Wonderful question! There are a variety of committees available for you to join. Please visit our Web site at http://www.schoollane.org/comm.htm to see more details. We invite you to join any committee you wish in fulfillment of your two-hour per month volunteer commitment that you agreed to. In addition, we currently have openings for Committee Chairs for the following committees:
* Academic Assessment and Curriculum Committee
* Communications Committee
* Clerical Committee
* Odd Jobs Committee

Certainly! We are looking to schedule a board forum the week following the September board meeting (for the week of September 16th). Once the date is finalized, notices will be sent home. Board forums allow for more open discussions compared to our Public Meetings. We invite any and all to attend.

School staff will have a special table set up on Back to School Night. They will be available to answer any questions parents may have about School activities, parent committees, and volunteer opportunities.