Throughout its 14-year history, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School has always drawn students from well outside its home base of Beaver County.
But in 2020, the school will take its message directly to those students. For the first time, Lincoln Park will hold an enrollment seminar off-campus, in an effort to bring information about its programs to students and families from the Pittsburgh area.
Lincoln Park will hold its first off-site enrollment seminar at Pittsburgh’s Hyatt Place North Shore from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 29.
The free seminar will allow students entering grades 7-12, and their families, to speak with representatives of Lincoln Park’s arts departments, and learn more about the school and its mission.
“This is something we’ve been discussing for years, because the Pittsburgh area has been a steady source of students for our school since Day One,” said Dan LeRoy, the director of Lincoln Park’s Writing and Publishing Department. “We’re certainly looking forward to bringing our message directly to new students and families from this region.”
Participants can visit the Pittsburgh seminar at any time between 6 and 8 p.m. They will have a chance to ask questions about the school’s various arts departments, about its academic classes, the transportation schedule, and other details about Lincoln Park.
Because Lincoln Park will be hosting two enrollment seminars in February — one for prospective middle schoolers on Feb. 5, and one for prospective high schoolers on Feb. 12 — people who attend the Pittsburgh seminar will also have an opportunity to visit an enrollment seminar at Lincoln Park.
Lincoln Park is home to seven different arts departments, and enrolls students from more than 80 different school districts across Western Pennsylvania. It is a tuition-free public charter school, housed in a professional performing arts center, and is open to any student residing in Pennsylvania. Its website is lppacs.org.
Despite charter schools facing public opposition from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Lincoln Park’s enrollment has continued to grow each year. The school is making plans to expand its facility with the addition of new classrooms and studio space.
That growth, LeRoy said, is proof that outreach to the Pittsburgh area is well-timed.
“We always want to take our message straight to the public, because we believe when people learn all that Lincoln Park has to offer, and what a special school it is, they will be interested,” he said.
“And we believe something that too many public schools these days don’t: that competition makes us better.”