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Novah Marvin blows excess dirt off of herbs about to be planted during class in the school's garden on Wednesday, May, 17, 2017 at the Environmental Charter School at Frick Park. The school could sign a lease as early as next month with the developer that now owns the old Rogers school, with plans to begin construction in April.
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Environmental Charter School at Frick Park eyes expansion

Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette

Environmental Charter School at Frick Park eyes expansion

Another generation of students may again walk through the halls of the old Rogers school building in Garfield.

As early as next month, Environmental Charter School at Frick Park could sign a lease with the developer that now owns the largely gutted former Pittsburgh Public school, with plans to begin construction in April.

One of the city's fastest-growing charters, Environmental Charter was founded in 2008 and currently operates a K-8 school in two buildings: a lower school for grades K-3 in the former Park Place school and an upper school for grades 4-8 in the former Regent Square school on Milton Street.

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The Rogers space would accommodate 300 students in grades 6-8 and 75 ninth-graders in the fall of 2019 and make Park Place a K-2 school and Milton Street a 3-5 school. ECS plans to add an additional 25 students per grade level in each school.

“Overall, the expansion to a third location allows us to increase access of our unique program to more students in all grades,” said Nikole Sheaffer, Enviromenal Charter’s director of innovation, communications and outreach.

The developer, East End Development Partners, couldn’t be reached. Its owners were among the project developers of Ace Hotel in East Liberty. Ms. Sheaffer said the cost of the lease is being finalized.

One community organization that’s been working in the public schools for more than 20 years has pledged its support for the expansion, which its executive director called “a very positive development for the East End.

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"This would be the first time we've ever worked in depth with any charter school,” said Richard Swartz of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. “It’s a school that has achieved significant results. ... Coming into a community that’s predominantly African-American signals a hope that we have, that their student body could become more representative of the city as a whole.”

Mr. Swartz said he appreciates the school’s willingness to work with the corporation, which partners with the Neighborhood Learning Alliance to provide after-school programs at Wooslair PreK-5, Arsenal 6-8 and Milliones 6-12.

“Having another charter to drain revenue and students from them is not exactly a thrilling development” for Pittsburgh Public, he said. But “no matter what happens on the charter school front, we’re going to be there for the [PPS] students and their schools.”

Environmental Charter has been criticized for a lack of diversity, and it’s among the arguments the city school board made when it first rejected the charter’s expansion plan in 2014 and again a year later. The school won its appeal to the state Charter School Appeal Board earlier this year.

The district has budgeted $74.2 million in its 2018 for charter school tuition, up $6.2 million over this year.

Molly Born: mborn@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1944.

First Published: November 27, 2017, 12:00 p.m.

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Novah Marvin blows excess dirt off of herbs about to be planted during class in the school's garden on Wednesday, May, 17, 2017 at the Environmental Charter School at Frick Park. The school could sign a lease as early as next month with the developer that now owns the old Rogers school, with plans to begin construction in April.  (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette
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