In 1997 Pennsylvania passed legislation allowing for the opening of charter schools in the state.

Twelve years ago, Dr. Thomas Lubben founded the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts in Bethlehem.In those 12 years the school has graduated more than 1,000 students.According to Lubben, the charter high school has one of the highest graduation rates in the Lehigh Valley along with consistently high standardized test scores and a highly diverse academic population.Lubben has since opened a middle school and most recently last fall opened the Arts Academy Elementary Charter School in Allentown.The high school has students attending from 40 different school districts. The middle school and elementary schools have reached 15 different school districts. Enrollment at the new elementary charter school is 413 as of last week.Lubben and his board are looking to bring the Arts Academy Elementary Charter School to Monroe County. Lubben plans on opening the new school in the former Monroe Campus of the Northampton Community College in Tannersville. The plan would be to open the school in time for the 2017-18 school year.The location puts the school in the Pocono Mountain School District. Pocono Mountain School District is the largest school district in northeast Pennsylvania, but like other schools in the area has seen a decrease in student population in the last several years."We will be submitting our plan to the Pocono Mountain School District shortly," said Lubben. "The district will have to approve of our charter in order for us to proceed with our plan.""This is not an escape school," warns Lubben. "This is for students interested in submersing themselves in the arts. We are passionate about this."According to the website, students interested in attending the Arts Academy Elementary Charter School will submit an application and then be invited to attend a modified audition process to identify level of training and interest. Academic records are used for placement and not for admission.Charter schools do not charge tuition to families of students who attend the schools. The home school district is required by law to pay for the student to attend. School districts cannot refuse to allow a student to attend a charter school.Home school districts within 10 miles of the charter school location will also have to supply transportation for the student.According to Wendy Frable, Director of Public Relations for the Pocono Mountain School District, the district has not been notified of any new charter schools planning on coming into the district. Frable said the deadline for filing an application with the district was Nov. 15 for the 2016-17 school year.Frable said that currently 12 Pocono Mountain students are enrolled in the Arts Academy. Five are in the elementary school and seven are enrolled in the intermediate level. There are an additional 18 students attending the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the performing Arts.The Arts Academy Elementary Charter School will be holding a number of informational meetings over the next few months. All of the meetings will be held at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 196 Fish Hill Road, Tannersville. Meetings are scheduled from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday,Feb. 20,March 5 andMarch 13. There is also a meeting scheduled for 7

p.m.Feb. 3."Art makes a difference in the academic and social life of a child," Lubben said. "I could bore you with all of the academic literature that supports this."