Foundation working to raise $3M-$5M to open private middle school in Arnold in 2025

A former South Carolina educator says he remains on track to open a new school in Arnold in just over a year.

Matt DeHart, founder of the Teach from DeHart Foundation, plans to open Teach from DeHart Academy, a middle school, for the 2025-26 school year.

It will be housed at 1704 Fourth Ave., once a public elementary school that most recently had been Alle-Kiski Pavilion, a halfway house that closed in 2019. The foundation bought the property in 2022.

DeHart, 28, was a fifth grade teacher for three years in Greenville, S.C. He and his wife of five years, Kaylie, a New Kensington native, moved to Harrison a year ago.

Since moving to the Alle-Kiski Valley area, DeHart has been tutoring, working as a substitute teacher at St. Joseph High School and Harvest Baptist Academy, and working in the food and beverage department at Oakmont Country Club. His wife works remotely in customer service.

Final designs for the school are being prepared with work expected to start in January, DeHart said. He says about $250,000 has been raised toward a goal of $3 million to $5 million.

Demolition inside the building has been largely completed, DeHart told a gathering of family, friends and supporters of the school at a recent fundraising event at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

Boards have been removed from the doors and windows of the building, and parts of the exterior have been painted to show signs of life.

“We’ve seen people in the community jumping in the street, people singing praises to God because this school is coming, it’s happening,” DeHart said at the event. “That’s the hope. That’s the hope that they needed in Arnold, Pennsylvania, after so long and deserved for so long. That’s what we’re bringing to the community.

“Yeah, we’re bringing a school. Yeah, it’s going to be fantastic. We’re going to educate the whole family,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re bringing hope. That’s the beautiful piece of what this school represents.”

Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci said the school will “be a big lift for Arnold.”

After attending the event at Phipps, Santucci said she’d like to hold a block party outside the school.

“It’s the start of what we’re trying to do to deter the blight and freshen up the city,” she said. “I know the people in that area are excited. It’s just the beginning of what’s to come for Arnold.”

After considering setting his academy up as a charter school, DeHart said he has returned to his original plan for it to be a private school.

“When we were pursuing the process of becoming a charter school, we realized that our model would be almost cut in half if we could not support our adult education program,” DeHart said. “This realization and the desire to make the most significant impact possible in our community led us back to our original plans — a private, community-centered school.”

GED classes are part of the adult education program, which DeHart started in January in partnership with Filterbuy. He and his father-in-law, Chris David, have been the instructors.

Three Filterbuy employees have earned GEDs from the classes, first held at Filterbuy in the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park and then at The Tomb in Arnold, said Gretchen Howard, production manager at Filterbuy. Two are still taking them, and at least 30 Filterbuy employees are interested.

DeHart said he wants to expand the GED program.

“When the school is open, we will host classes twice a week in the evenings in the school, while providing child care for the families as they are in class,” he said. “As part of our partnership, we plan to host classes for the guardians of our students, which connects to our desire to educate the whole family.”

DeHart initially hoped to set tuition at under $10,000, but that cost climbed to $12,500 because of inflation, he said. Scholarships will be available, and they expect at least 95% of students to receive scholarships through the foundation.

“Being a private institution means our school must fundraise for most of its expenses and tuition costs. Families will pay tuition to our academy but at a rate proportionate to the family’s income level,” he said. “To make our tuition rates equitable and affordable, we have created a sliding scale of tuition options for families in our community.”

A charter school would have required approval from the New Kensington-Arnold School Board.

Private schools are reviewed and approved by the state. DeHart said he plans to apply to the state’s Board of Private Academic Schools in September or October.

It usually takes about three months from the time an application is received for the board to formally act on an application, but it could take longer, state Department of Education spokesperson Casey Smith said.

“If a school is looking to open for the 2025-26 school year, they should file an application as soon as possible but, in any event, no later than May 2025,” Smith said.

The curriculum is still being worked on, DeHart said. He said it will focus on application-based learning.

While ultimately holding fifth through eighth grades, DeHart said the academy will open with 60 students in fifth and sixth grades, with the other grades added in future years with a total enrollment of 120 to 150 across the four grades. He expects to have four to eight teachers and employees, who have not been hired yet.

In addition to running the school, DeHart will teach history and has a classroom chosen for himself on the building’s top floor.

“When I came in here, I felt something,” DeHart said of the room while touring the building recently. “I love education. I can’t stand not being in a classroom.”

DeHart said they will launch an after-school program in September that would prepare 20 students in fourth and fifth grades to enter the academy in the fall of 2025.

“These students will be trained in public speaking, debate prep, homework assistance. They’ll be trained in how to interact with adults, soft skill development, and they will be the best students you’ve seen in a very long time,” he said. “The reason why we’re pushing so hard to have this program is because who’s best to be an ambassador for the school than the students?”

Families can apply for pre-enrollment at teachfromdehart.org. The pre-enrollment process will launch in November, with acceptance letters sent out by early spring .

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s so worth it,” DeHart said.