Educator aiming for 'Ivy League feel' at new private school in Arnold

A new private, nonprofit middle school will have an “Ivy League” feel when it opens in Arnold in the fall of 2025, its backers say.

Matt DeHart, a South Carolina teacher and founder of the Teach from DeHart Foundation, shared conceptual designs for Teach from DeHart Academy with Arnold Council this week.

“It’s really going to be something,” DeHart said while visiting the building before the meeting with an entourage that included several of his fifth grade students from Greenville, S.C.

The academy, for students in fifth through eighth grades, is expected to open in the fall of 2025 at 1704 Fourth Ave. The building most recently had been the Alle-Kiski Pavilion, a halfway house that closed in 2019, and had previously been a public elementary school named for Dr. Harold Thomas.

The conceptual design, prepared by Canzian/Johnston & Associates Architects, shows an addition at the front of the building along Fourth Avenue to house administrative offices. The property would be surrounded by a fence, with an entry archway and the academy’s name above it.

The fence incorporates the academy’s slogans — “Creating Opportunities,” “Developing Goals” and “Changing Lives.”

Previously a fifth grade teacher in Greenville County, S.C., DeHart, 26, will be teaching eighth grade history at Bob Jones Academy in Greenville this fall, where he also will be an administrative assistant.

DeHart’s connection to the area is through his wife, New Kensington native Kaylie DeHart. Married for three years, they met in college at Bob Jones University in Greenville. He took notice of the building and that it was for sale while visiting her family in October.

“He wants the school to have an Ivy League feel,” said Chris David, Kaylie DeHart’s father and an engineer helping on the project.

DeHart’s foundation, which he chairs and created in January 2021, bought the 21,000-square-foot building from The GEO Group for about $39,000, after a $26,529 credit at closing for damage caused by burst pipes and the return of $2,000 in earnest money.

Since then, DeHart said they have been working on developing partnerships with individuals and organizations to support the school and the building renovation. He said fundraising has been going well.

DeHart said they are developing the curriculum, which he said would meet state standards with their “own twist on them.” That includes travel opportunities for students.

He said the school will aim for higher standards, academically and socially.

“We want to engage the parents,” DeHart said.

It also will offer programs for adults to obtain GED degrees and job and technology training.

The admission process will include interviews with prospective students and their families.

DeHart said they are aiming for annual tuition to be under $10,000. He said they expect most of the school’s students to receive scholarships that would cover most, if not all, of the cost.

DeHart said their goal is to begin the licensing process with the state next year.