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FAQ About Charter Schools |
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FAQ About Charter Schools
What is Propel?
What is a charter school?
What will it cost me to send my child to a Propel school?
Are Propel's schools selective of students?
Do I have to live in the district where the Propel school is located?
What about transportation to and from school?
Is there a dress code?
What grades are in a Propel school?
How many Propel schools are there?
Is there a code of conduct?
What is Propel?
Propel is a not-for-profit charter school organization founded to bring new, high performance schooling options to Western Pennsylvania families. Propel operates its nine schools as a regional federation, a new kind of non-geographic district, that blends the most effective elements of current school district governance with the innovative potential and entrepreneurial spirit of small, independent schools.
Propel schools are not alternative schools or alternative placements. Propel Schools are free schools of choice. Families choose to enroll their children because they believe the school is right for their child, and children are welcomed regardless of ability or disability, race, religion or national origin.
Propel's charter schools are located in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All of Propel's nine schools are located in Allegheny County:
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What is a charter school?
Charter schools are independent public schools of choice. They are independent because they are not part of a local school district. Each school sets its own curriculum and hires its own teachers.
They are public because:
1. they must accept all students who wish to enroll (subject to space availability);
2. they are free, charging no tuition to families; and
3. they are non-sectarian.
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What will it cost me to send my child to a Propel school?
Propel's schools are free and open to all.
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Are Propel's schools selective of students?
No. Propel's schools are not selective of students. Students are accepted first by a blind, public lottery every year, and then on a first-come, first-serve basis. Propel Schools are free schools of choice. Families choose to enroll their children because they believe the school is right for their child, and children are welcomed regardless of ability or disability, race, religion or national origin.
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Do I have to live in the district where the Propel school is located?
No. Propel Schools are available to age-appropriate children from all Western Pennsylvania area school districts, not just the children who live in the districts where the schools are located.
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What about transportation to and from school?
Bus transportation, in most cases, is provided by the sending school districts (the resident school district in which you live). You must live within a 10 mile radius of the school, and within a bussing school district to receive transportation from your resident school district.
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Is there a dress code?
Propel has a uniform student dress code in order to provide an environment where the focus is on learning and the distractions of dress are kept to a minimum. All students are expected to be properly dressed in the school uniform every day. All parents and guardians are expected to support their children by ensuring that students are properly dressed when they leave for school each morning.
Students must be properly dressed throughout the school day and during all school activities, including before and after school activities and field trips. Parents and guardians will be notified in advance of any exceptions to this rule.
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What grades are in a Propel school?
Propel's schools serve students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Our kindergarten is a full day program. Propel does not offer a Pre-Kindergarten program.
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How many Propel schools are there?
Currently, there are nine Propel Schools located throughout the greater Pittsburgh area in Allegheny County.They are:
Propel EAST (K-8)
Propel HOMESTEAD (K-8)
Propel McKEESPORT (K-8)
Propel MONTOUR (K-8)
Propel ANDREW STREET High School (9-12)
Propel BRADDOCK HILLS Elementary(K-6)
Propel BRADDOCK HILLS High School (9-12)
Propel NORTHSIDE (K-5).
Propel PITCAIRN (K-6)
Propel is continuing to expand with plans to open new schools in years to come.
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Is there a code of conduct?
Yes. Discipline is an integral part of teaching and learning. Young people must develop good work habits and attitudes if they are to be successful students and become successful members of the larger community.
Because one of the primary goals of Propel is to promote constructive and respectful behavior, the procedures and consequences described in our Code of Conduct are designed to modify unacceptable behavior, not to punish.
Propel's Board has authorized the school administration to make reasonable and necessary rules and procedures for guiding student conduct. The intent of the rules, procedures, and consequences that follow is to explain how students will be held accountable for their behavior.
Propel's Code of Conduct (pdf)
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