SUMMER ACADEMY:
A program of arts enrichment workshops that is open to the community.
Learn something new this summer and have fun working with young artists from the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
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Transportation

Charter School Transportation Policy

Any school district boundary within ten (10) miles of Charter Arts’ front door obligates a sending district to transport all district students to Charter Arts. The following school districts will provide bus transportation to Charter Arts:

Allentown City SD
Bethlehem Area SD
Catasauqua Area SD
East Penn SD
Easton Area SD
Nazareth Area SD
Northampton Area SD
Palisades SD
Parkland SD
Quakertown SD
Salisbury Township SD
Saucon Valley SD
Southern Lehigh SD
Whitehall/Coplay SD
Wilson Area SD

Act 372 Bus Transportation Request Forms for 2024-2025:

All students that require busing arrangements from one of our busing school districts must complete an Act 372 Bus Transportation Request each school year. We must receive these forms no later than June 3, 2024 to receive busing for the 24-25 school year. Any form submitted after the date will risk a delay in transportation for the 24-25 school year and until transportation is provided it is the responsibility of the parents/guardians to transport their student to and from school until busing is approved.  A new form must be completed EVERY YEAR.

Mail the form to Charter Arts Transportation Office, 321 East 3rd Street, Bethlehem PA 18015 or send a clear and legible image (scanned or photographed) to transportation@charterarts.org.

Allentown 24-25 372

Bethlehem 24-25 372

Catasauqua 24-25 372

East Penn 24-25 372

Easton 24-25 372

Nazareth 24-25 372  FORM INSTRUCTIONS

  • On the Nazareth SD website, locate and click on “Transportation Forms” listed on the side menu.
  • Select “Request for Transportation under Act 372” from the available options.
  • Fill out the digital form with the required information.
  • Once completed, submit the form electronically.
  • Send to Transportation@charterarts.org a screenshot or confirmation of your submission.

Northampton 24-25 372

Palisades 24-25 372

Parkland 24-25 372  FORM INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Choose “Act 372 NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION REQUEST form.”
  • If you don’t have an account, you will need to create one. If you already have an account, please proceed to fill out and submit the form.
  • Send to Transportation@charterarts.org a screenshot or confirmation of your submission.

Quakertown Community 24-25 SD  FORM INSTRUCTIONS

  • Scroll down to “Forms”
  • Click on the link labeled “Private & Non-Public School Requests for Transportation for the 2024/25 school year are NOW available here: 2024/25 Private & Charter Transportation Request Forms” to access the digital form.
  • Fill out and submit the form promptly to ensure timely processing.
  • Send to Transportation@charterarts.org a screenshot or confirmation of your submission.

Salisbury 24-25 372

Saucon Valley 24-25 SD – FORM INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Click on the link labeled “ACT 372 Request for Transportation to Non-public Partner Schools” to access the digital form.
  • Fill out and submit the form promptly to ensure timely processing.
  • Send to Transportation@charterarts.org a screenshot or confirmation of your submission.

SouthernLehighSD_Act 372 24-25

Whitehall-Coplay 24-25 372

Wilson 24-25 372

Palmeri Group Bus Transportation

Families who reside in the following districts are eligible for bus transportation to school through the Palmeri Group, a privately owned transportation company that provides bus transportation to many schools in and around these communities:

Bangor Area School District
East Stroudsburg Area School District
Jim Thorpe Area School District
Lehighton Area School District
North Pocono School District
Pen Argyl Area School District
Pleasant Valley School District
Pocono Mountain School District
Stroudsburg Area School District

Charter Arts executes the contract for this service wherein the parent/guardian(s) assumes financial responsibility for the term of one school year. You may review the Palmeri Contract and further information HERE. For more information, please contact the Transportation Coordinator at transportation@charterarts.org.

Carpool

Families who reside outside any of the above districts must provide transportation to and from Charter Arts each day. If you wish to arrange a carpool with other Charter Arts families, please complete the Carpool Permission Form.

This form permits us to include your contact information on the current school year’s Live Carpool Document which is shared with other families who are interested in carpooling. Please note, it is up to the families to make carpool arrangements. There is no obligation to be a carpool driver by joining the carpool list.

Currently and historically, we have families carpooling from the following counties:

Berks County

Bucks County

Carbon County

Lehigh County

Monroe County

Montgomery County

Northampton County 

Schuylkill County

Student Drop Off and Pick Up Locations

To ensure the safety of all students and staff, we ask that all families please review and adhere to the following drop-off and pick-up procedures. These protocols are also in accordance with the City of Bethlehem’s requirements for our school.
…
Students can ONLY be dropped off or picked up in the parking lot across from the Steel Ice Rink, located on First Street. All student foot traffic to and from Charter Arts must adhere to crosswalks, sidewalks, and/or construction barrier pathways.
….
Our surrounding businesses also have private lots that are not permitted for student drop-off or pick-up. You are not authorized to drop off or pick up students in the Factory parking lot across from Charter Arts. Student drivers will continue to use the ArtsQuest lot at Second Street. Student drivers must get a parking pass from the Transportation Office.
….
STUDENTS MAY NOT BE DROPPED OFF OR PICKED UP ON COLUMBIA STREET UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. PLEASE REVIEW THE MAP BELOW.

Weather-Related School Delays/Closings

Charter Arts relies on the sending school districts within a ten-mile radius of Charter Arts for the transportation needs of many of our students. These sending districts cannot always accommodate Charter Arts’ schedule during weather-related circumstances. It is important for students who rely on busing from their home district to pay close attention to that district’s weather delay or closing. All students should check WFMZ.com for Charter Arts’ weather delay or closing. It is important to check several times as Charter Arts’ closing status can change from a two-hour delay to closed if bad weather continues.

When a home school district closes early because of weather, they will contact Charter Arts. Charter Arts will make sure students get on the bus at the appropriate time. If Charter Arts closes before a sending school district, the sending district will be contacted to pick up their students early for transportation home.

If your sending school district has a delay and Charter Arts does not:

As Charter Arts students travel into Bethlehem from a nine-county region, weather delays and school closings are not always consistent. If your school district has a delay and we do not, please follow your district’s delay.

If Charter Arts has a delay and your sending school district does not:

Below is a list of our sending school districts and their policy if they are on regular time and we have a delay.

School Policy
Allentown Picks up at regular time not delayed time
Bethlehem Picks up at regular time not delayed time
Catasauqua Follows our delayed time
Easton Picks up at regular time not delayed time
East Penn Follows our delayed time
Nazareth Follows our delayed time
Northampton Follows our delayed time
Palisades Picks up at regular time not delayed time
Parkland Follows our delayed time, unless otherwise notified
Salisbury Follows our delayed time, unless otherwise notified
Saucon Valley Does not transport in AM, will transport in PM
Southern Lehigh Picks up at regular time not delayed time
Whitehall Follows our delayed time
Wilson Picks up at regular time not delayed time

Palmieri Bus out of the Pocono area will follow our delayed time, unless otherwise notified.

Charter Arts will have someone here at the school to allow the students to enter the school when the bus drops them off.

THIS ONLY APPLIES TO WEATHER RELATED DELAYS AND CLOSINGS.