Editor’s Note: This article is the first in an occasional series by students of the Capital Area School for the Arts Charter School.
On Aug. 26, students walked into the Capital Area School for the Arts Charter School (CASA) for their first day of school, eager new and old staff members awaiting them.
CASA, founded in 2001, survived for 12 years on donations and scholarship money from parents and arts patrons throughout the area, but the program’s teachers and administrators had bigger plans in mind: to become a full-time school. Many CASA students attended half the day, either morning or afternoon, and they had to provide their own transportation to Strawberry Square, as well as pay tuition. Now the school is tuition-free, with busing provided through the various school districts.
“CASA brought together young artists from all over central Pennsylvania,” said Cheryl Giles-Rudawski, former CASA principal who was instrumental in executing the charter school process. “Problems gradually started with this model because districts did not want to pay to send students to CASA so the financial burden started to fall on parents. This was not the intention, and many students started declining their acceptance because they could not pay. So, CASA decided to become a charter school so that tuition would not be an issue.”
According to the CASA website, “A charter school is an independent (tuition-free) public school, custom-designed by local citizens.”
In February, the Harrisburg School District board first voted to deny the charter application, but weeks later reversed its decision and accepted the application. Over the course of seven months, CASA board members and staff worked tirelessly to transform the program into a full-time school.
While six arts disciplines remain the core of CASA’s curriculum (dance, film, music, theatre, visual arts and writing), new additions to the school include the academic classrooms and libraries, with classes held in nearby Temple University. A fitness area, which used to be next to a CASA classroom, was reconstructed into a cafeteria and a locker area.
Enrollment continued up to the start of school with 145 students now attending the new charter school, compared to fewer than 100 students last year.
“We hope in the next 10 years that enrollment will keep growing,” said Tina Baker, guidance counselor. Timothy Wendling serves as CASA’s new principal.
Keely Fickau is a senior at CASA.
