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Two days after President Obama called for more charter schools, The Leadership and Entrepreneurship Charter High School www.lephigh.org received the news that the PPS school board will most likely deny their charter renewal.

What I have seen at LEP is a community of educators, students, families and community members that care more deeply for their school then you could imagine. 

I have seen the transformation of students who, when they started at the school believed that they were dumb, unable to be successful and certainly didn't believe they could ever attend college. 

After two years I have seen so many students find that they can learn, that they can be successful in school and begin to envision a future that includes college.  What a tranformation! I can't imagine where the majority of these students will end up if the School Board decides to close the school.

Many of these students have been homeless, in foster care, overcome unbelievable family situations and have found in LEP, a place where they can put those things in the background, and bring their hopes and dreams to the foreground.  Many of these students have found a life-line that they would not find at a large traditional school.

At LEP, the staff know the students names, not just the ones in their classes.  The staff meets regularly and finds ways of helping students that they see falling behind. Students are taught about college in every grade.  Students create projects where they have the opportunity to put their ideas into action. They learn about a commitment to community service through projects that help community partners. Students are empowered to be creative, innovative and themselves. 

How will we create a new generation of innovators, of innovative schools, of inventors and entrepreneurs if we kill the hope that these students have even before they graduate from high school?

Speak to any student at LEP and you will hear about a tranformative experience.  Ask them what type of student they were in middle school or at their previous high school.  You will find that this a truly unique school that must not be closed.

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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