34 | theburgnews.com | 08.18
B
ack in 2011, the CASA story did not
seem headed for a happy ending.
Enrollment was down 40 percent, school
districts were withdrawing funding, and
the arts-oriented high school had lost its program
director.
But in seven short years, the plot has turned
dramatically in favor of the Capital Area School
for the Arts. In April, CASA received a five-year
charter renewal in a school district that typically
does not embrace charter schools.
"is is a huge validation of the past four years—
all the kids we've reached, all the work we're doing,"
said Tim Wendling, CASA's principal and CEO.
Wendling arrived at CASA in 2013 after it had just
With a new charter, arts-focused
CASA continues its run as one of
Harrisburg's premier schools.
bY susAn rYDer
Take a Bow
Joelle Hitz
