21 students in inaugural class of the Teach from DeHart Academy in Arnold

The founder of the Teach from DeHart Foundation believes his new school that opened this week in Arnold will change lives.

Classes started Wednesday. They will be held at Reclamation Church in New Kensington until about October due to a pipe that burst inside the school building, said Matt DeHart, founder of the Teach from DeHart Foundation.

“My heart is full,” DeHart said. “I’m so grateful to the city, I’m so grateful to our staff and I’m so grateful to our families for believing in this. Because what we’re going to do here is, we’re going to change the world, starting in Arnold, Pennsylvania and we’re going to change it by creating opportunities, developing goals and always changing lives.”

The school serves students from fifth through eighth grades. There are 21 students enrolled this year, DeHart said, and there are five staff members.

“We’re excited to be in the community. We’re excited to be a part of what Arnold wants to be.”

DeHart said the school curriculum is tied to state standards with a “DeHart touch,” he said, which involves different field trips and other opportunities.

DeHart said the school is classified as a “home education program.” School staff will work with parents and families in reporting students’ progress to the state.

Representatives from the state Department of Education did not return calls seeking comment, but the department’s website states parents or guardians of homeschooled students must inform their home school district each year of their intent to homeschool their child.

They also must maintain a written portfolio of the student’s work and present a progress report at the end of each school year to the superintendent of the public school district in which they reside. Homeschooled students are required to complete standardized testing, administered by someone other than homeschool instructors, at the appropriate grade levels.

Homeschooled students also are required to provide proof of required immunizations to the school district of residence, according to the state’s website.

Almost 43,000 students in Pennsylvania were homeschooled in 2024, according to the education department. That amounts to about 2.5% of the state’s students in all grade levels.

DeHart said he and his staff will work with students and families for the transition to high school after the student completes eighth grade at DeHart.

It will also offer a GED program for adults. Three people have graduated from that already, DeHart said.

DeHart Advisory Board President JP Marino said the school itself “is dreams, courage and community.”

“We are tying the bond between education, family and future generations,” Marino said. “This is a game changer for the community and also the future generations that come here, as they’re going to learn a whole new style of learning, engagement, and really take their lives to the next level.”

Lindsay Schellinger of Tarentum said she is confident and excited for what the future at DeHart holds for her son, Emanuel White. Emanuel, 10, is attending fifth-grade at DeHart and plans to stay there until completing eighth grade.

“Before I asked the question, (DeHart) said, ‘We will work with them for their high school goal.’ They’re worried about ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th grades,” Schellinger said.

She said she believes DeHart will be the best choice for her child because of its smaller setting. That would make for more individualized attention education-wise, she said.

Schellinger said she had a good feeling about the school when DeHart met her and her son at the Arnold school in June.

“I trusted (DeHart),” she said. “I felt like I could trust him with my son.”