About Us
The mission of The Environmental Charter School at Frick Park is to educate each student to high academic learning standards using a themed curriculum that will foster knowledge, love of and respect for the environment and the will to preserve it for future generations.
The school began with grades K-3 in September, 2008 and grew to include fourth, fifth and sixth grades by the 2011/2012 school year. The school will continue to grow by one grade a year to grade 8. The school fills a gap in local education programs as the first environmentally-themed public school in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
The Board of Trustees of the charter school has chosen Imagine Schools, a high-performing national charter school / organization based in Arlington, VA (imagineschools.com) as its partner. Imagine Schools will provide valuable support to help the school grow and thrive.
Imagine Schools uses these five principles to create this school culture for students, teachers and all other school staff:
- Shared Values of integrity, justice and fun influence collective behavior.
- Parent Choice and satisfaction are used as key indicators of success.
- Academic Achievement is balanced by excellence in reading and math with instruction in science, social studies and the arts and is measured by student learning gains as well as proficiency.
- Positive Character Development is themed through the curriculum and its impact is evaluated by measuring discernable positive changes in behavior.
- Economic Sustainability is established to have every school financially able to stand on its own with a secure facility to continue to educate children over the long run.
In addition to its innovative approach to curriculum and instruction, ECS utilize a longer school day and a longer school year.
