As school winds down for winter break, we are finding ourselves filled with joy at the success of 2017. This year has brought so many wonderful opportunities and special moments in the PALCS community and we are so excited about what 2018 will bring.
Over the past year, PA Leadership Charter School was a top-performing school and has reached our highest enrollment numbers in the school’s history — reaching 2800 students for the first time ever today, December 22! PALCS was named #1 best online school in Pennsylvania on Niche’s 2018 Best School Rankings list and the #9 best online school in America!
Out of over 170 charter schools in the state, PA Leadership Charter School ranked as the #1 charter school in Pennsylvania for ACT scores. Out of some 750+ local districts, charter and cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania, PA Leadership Charter School comes in 10th place for the highest ACT scores in the state.
Students from the Class of 2017 were accepted to colleges and universities from all over the state and country, including Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, University of Pittsburgh, George Mason University, West Chester University, Duquesne University and many more.
We had many wonderful events, field trips, and extended-stay trips throughout 2017. With countless field trips and events like the annual high school snow ball dance and prom, or the beginning- and end-of-the-year school picnics, and our staff and PALCS families even went ice skating! This past September, a group of middle school students traveled with PALCS staff to Camp Mount Luther in Mifflinburg to participate in a 3-day peer leadership trip. A group of PALCS students even had the opportunity to travel to and explore the Galapagos Islands. In June of 2017, PALCS held the 2017 STEM Camp, where students had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with some of the most popular STEM devices and tools available on the market.
Throughout 2017, we had the opportunity to speak with many wonderful families and students to learn their individual stories about why they chose to enroll at PALCS and what a difference it has made in their lives. We had the honor to do many Family & Student Spotlights: we spoke with the Byler, Manternach, and Ellison families, highlighted students Rachel Stern, Danny Gauntlett, and William McGregor, and checked in with 2017 graduates Danielle Guth, Elliot Mast, and PALCS Alumnus Vinh Le. Many more have been featured on the PALCS Blog!
2017 has been one for the books! We are incredibly proud of all the accomplishments our students, staff and community have made this year. In 2017, we reached new heights, which makes us all-the-more excited to see what 2018 holds for our PALCS community. Thank you for all of your hard work and making 2017 the best year yet! On behalf of all of us here at PALCS, we wish you a happy and safe holiday break and a Happy New Year!
PALCS is still enrolling students in grades K-11 for the current school year. Join us today, as we prepare for success in 2018! The 2018-2019 registration packets for the next school year will become available on our website in the beginning of the new year.