The [not so] surprising reason Imagine Environmental School in Pittsburgh was turned down

by David Safier

Ah, the joys of semi-focused googling. I just found with this gem from 2007.

Imagine Schools wanted to open The Environmental Charter School at Frick Park, but Pittsburgh Public Schools turned them down. Get ready for the reason . . .

Imagine's Environmental Charter School hadn't developed an environmental curriculum.

True, they were planning to develop one before the planned opening of the school in Fall, 2007.

The environmental curriculum is scheduled to be developed during a week long session in August 2007 by the principal, environmental specialist teacher, four teachers representing grades K-3 and two parents.

That's it. A month before school opened, a few people were going to think tank for a week and develop an environmental curriculum. It wouldn't be much of a curriculum, of course, and that would leave no time to purchase texts or other materials or train the teachers. Details, details, details.

Typical Imagine. Rush in to creating a school, give it a fancy name, prepare a glossy color brochure and hope enough students enroll to make the school financially viable. Curriculum? No worries, it'll take care of itself somehow.