Charter School Continues to Grow

The Young Scholars of Central PA Charter School recently expanded and was renovated, giving a growing student body a better space in which to learn.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony held by the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, the school highlighted the new additions, as well as the school’s multicultural education.

“We focus on teaching languages and different cultures, because we know that kids who learn languages are able to problem-solve better,” said principal and CEO Levant Kaya.

The school, located at 1530 Westerly Parkway, was built in 2007 and has grown several times through the years. Serving children from kindergarten through eighth-grade, the new addition gives middle-school students their own section of the facility.

“This will help them feel like they are getting more of the middle-school experience. It’s not necessarily separation, but more giving them their own space, which kids that age need,” said  Laurel Frymyer, who teaches autistic and emotional support at the school.

The principal agreed. “Middle schoolers love their own space. They don’t want to be mixed with the other grades, so this allows us to do that,” said Kaya.

State Rep. Richard Irvin, R-Huntingdon, was on hand for the ceremony and said the expansion shows the impact the school has.

“Parents have made a choice to have their children educated right here, to advance them into adulthood, to prepare them to become productive members of our society. The need for the expansion of your school due to the growing student population shows the confidence that our community has in the education that you are providing,” said Irvin.

Six classrooms, four offices, a staff lounge, a conference room, a Science Olympiad room, a storage room and mechanical rooms have been added to the facility. Also new are 20 additional parking spots and a back loop to help with student drop-off and pick-up.

The school serves students from 12 area districts. YSCP is the first International Baccalaureate World School in Centre County.

The addition allowed Frymyer to incorporate a sensory room where her students can come to receive sensory stimulation to help them focus during the school day. It offers a trampoline, touch pads and many other tools to help kids calm down and focus on their studies.

The new science room will allow the school’s championship robotics team to have its own space. The team builds robots for competitions and went to nationals in 2015 and 2017. Before the expansion, the group had to keep their work in the hallway.

Diversity and technology are part of what sets the school a part, said Kaya. Chinese and Spanish are taught to all students. The multicultural staff and student body hail from 80 different countries. Kaya said the school hopes to keep moving forward.

“The extra space was needed, and will help us continue to grow. We offer a great education and option for students and families in the area. We are the largest charter school in the area, and this addition makes us even better,” said Kaya.