"Right now most of our parents are Russian, and most of the people who are interested in this charter come from immigrant backgrounds," said Ella Yaffa-Kremen, who hopes to direct the proposed school. "But it would not be closed off to everyone else."
She said the proposed Red Lion Charter School would stress foreign languages, performing arts and technology.
The founding group, Yaffa-Kremen said, has been meeting daily and hopes to submit its charter application to the district in October.
The roster of planned charters receiving grants also includes a high school for at-risk students. The group behind the proposed Learner Alternatives Charter School was rebuffed when it applied to operate a similar charter in Montgomery County.
The Cheltenham Township School District rejected the application for the Whole Life School for Learner Alternatives in January. Adjoining Springfield Township School District had granted the group a charter in 2006-07, but it had trouble finding a suitable building in Springfield.
Founder Gary Lee Sobolow said his group was still pursuing its proposal in Cheltenham.
"We are planning on going a second round with them," he said yesterday.
The charter school proposed for Philadelphia, Sobolow said, also would provide individualized instruction for students with specific learning difficulties, such as hyper-activity and attention-deficit disorder.
Others receiving planning grants include the Democracy in Action Charter School. The founding group of this proposed high school includes Simon Andrew Hauger, who oversees the Automotive Academy at West Philadelphia High School.
