Governance
The Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School is a public charter school in the state of Pennsylvania. Our School is funded by state tax dollars and governed by Pennsylvania public school, charter school, cyber charter school, and applicable local, state, and federal laws. The School’s initial charter from September 2001 to June 30, 2006 was granted by the Norristown School District. Since the renewal of the School’s charter in 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) serves as the School’s charter authorizer. As the authorizer, PDE monitors PA Virtual’s compliance with the stipulations of its charter. The School’s current charter is for a period of five years from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016. The Charter Application, Charter Renewal Application, Master Agreement, and current Charter Annual Reports are available on this website in the About Us: Accountability and School Charter section.
Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School’s Board of Trustees
PA Virtual has a Board of Trustees (BOT) composed of parents and community members who are passionate about providing educational options to students in Pennsylvania. The BOT provides oversight for PA Virtual and acts in trust for the tax payers of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The role of the Board of Trustees is to (1) develop policies to ensure the School operates in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws; (2) set goals for and monitor student achievement; (3) provide fiduciary oversight of the School’s administration and accounting of public funds; and (4) administer and monitor all contracts.
The PA Virtual Board of Trustees holds regularly scheduled virtual meetings every other month. The BOT convenes special meetings as needed. In compliance with the Sunshine Law, Board meetings are advertised in a local newspaper, the School’s Academic Calendar, the PA Virtual website, and Blackboard. Board meetings are open to the public and members of the PA Virtual community are encouraged to attend. The minutes for Board meetings are available on this website in the About Us: Accountability and School Charter section or by writing the Administrative Office in Norristown.
2011-2012 Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule
- July 23rd, 2011 at 2:00pm – Special Call Meeting
- August 23rd, 2011 at 6:30pm – Special Call Meeting
- September 26th, 2011 at 6:30pm
- November 28th, 2011 at 6:30pm
- January 30th, 2012 at 6:30pm
- February 5th, 2012 at 4:00pm – Special Call Meeting (Purpose: Purchase of Property at 630 Park Avenue, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania)**
- February 6th, 2012 at 8:00am (as needed) – Special Call Meeting (Purpose: Purchase of Property at 630 Park Avenue, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania)** CANCELLED
- March 26th, 2012 at 6:30pm
- May 21st, 2012 at 6:30pm
- June 4th, 2012 at 6:30pm
- June 25th, 2012 at 6:30pm
You can join the meeting via Elluminate Link, or via phone (888-394-8197 Passcode: 447703).
Contact The Board
You can contact the Board of Trustees via email at bot@pavcsk12.org or by mail at the address below: Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School
1 West Main Street Suite 400, Norristown, PA 19401
Board of Trustees Members
Dr. Mark Graham Secretary/Treasurer
Dr. Mark Graham is an associate professor of history at Grove City College, and has taught at Michigan State University and Stanford University. He has a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, an M.A. from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. from Bob Jones University. He is a member of the Association of Ancient Historians, the Society for Late Antiquity, Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Society, and Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society. Dr. Graham is conversant in four ancient and modern languages. He is the author of “News and Frontier Consciousness in the Late Roman Empire” (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006) and the forthcoming “Ancient Empires: From Mesopotamia to the Rise of Islam” (Cambridge University Press, 2011). He and his wife Becky have three daughters and a son.
View Complete BioMichael Kello President
Michael Kello is currently a public school administrator in the Poconos. He has a B.S. from West Chester State College, a Masters in Educational Technology and a Masters in Educational Leadership, both from Wilkes University. He is a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, National Middle School Association, AOPA, and AMA. Mr. Kello and his wife Paula have a son who has been enrolled at PA Virtual since 2003.
John McElvenny Member
John McElvenny is the president of J.P. McElvenny Co. Inc. He is a 1978 graduate of Devon Prep School and a 1982 graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s in Marketing. He has been a member of the First West Chester Fire Co. since 1978, and was involved with the West Chester Jaycees from 1983 to 1988 serving as Chapter Vice President. Mr. McElvenny currently serves as vice president of public awareness for the Foundation Fighting Blindness (Philadelphia affiliate) and has been the chairman of the “Blind” Wine Testing Gala. Mr. McElvenny and his wife Linda have two children.
Melinda L. R. Morrison, Esq. Vice President
Melinda Morrison has served on the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School Board of Trustees since 2008. Ms. Morrison has been practicing law for over ten years handling complex, commercial contract transactions as well as advising on employment and intellectual property law matters. In addition to having served as Assistant General Counsel to OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. and in-house counsel to Crump Group, Inc., Ms. Morrison is an adjunct faculty member of both Eastern University and Elizabethtown College teaching undergraduate business law courses. She earned a B.A. from Miami University and a J.D. from Villanova University School of Law.
Bonnie M. Schaefer Member
Bonnie M. Schaefer, in addition to serving as a Trustee of PA Virtual, has taught her son in our school since 2001. She holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. in Marketing, from Temple University. Ms. Schaefer has particular expertise in growing startup technology companies, having done this for Dun and Bradstreet and several smaller high-tech companies. She has taught marketing at the college level and has been named in numerous “Who’s Who” publications. Ms. Schaefer and her husband Paul also have a daughter.
Dr. Rhonda Waskiewicz
Dr. Rhonda Waskiewicz has a BS in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University, an MS in Health Administration from King’s College and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Temple University. She worked as a staff therapist and rehabilitation director prior to entering higher education in 1996. She has designed and taught a variety of courses in occupational therapy foundations and practice, applied statistics and quantitative research design and has educated undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral students across the allied health and education disciplines. She has held positions as faculty, department chair and college dean and is currently in the College of Pharmacy and Nursing at Wilkes University. Her research interests include civic engagement, community-based participatory research, and achievement goal orientation (motivation to achieve). Rhonda and her husband Peter have two children and 3 grandchildren, two of whom are enrolled at PA Virtual.