INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Indianapolis Public Schools has announced plans to take back three schools that have been under state control since 2012.
The plans are contingent on approval by the Indiana State Board of Education, which will vote on the future of Emma Donnan Middle School, Emmerich Manual High School and Thomas Carr Howe Community High School during a meeting on Wednesday Jan. 15.
On its website, IPS outlined its Innovation Network Model. Options for the three could include:
- Return all three schools to IPS
- Allow Florida-based Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) to continue to operate them for another year in turnaround status without a charter
- Close the schools
IPS is hoping its plan will sway the state to return the schools to district control.
“There’s an urgency to make a decision, an explicit one, next week because the longer the decision is prolonged, the shorter time span you have to engage families and the longer you put those families in a place of limbo and ambiguity,” said IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson.
Under the plan, IPS and Christel House Academy have agreed to serve current Manual students, Christel House Academy South students and Christel House DORS South, an adult dropout recovery high school, at Manual.
The school would retain the Manual name and students can graduate with a Manual diploma. Christel House staff can interview to teach at Manual with a state goal of hiring as many as possible to provide continuity.
Bart Peterson, president and CEO of Christel House International, touted CHA’s college and career program, which follows students five years after graduation.
Christel House Academy claims graduation rates that exceed Manual’s by more than 20 percentage points, and students at CHA outperform Manual’s in all subjects on ISTEP 10+.
On Saturday, the IPS Board voted to approve a five-year Innovation contract for Christel House to operate Manual if the state votes to return Manual to the district.
The plan for Emma Donnan considers both Adelante Schools and Phalen Leadership Academies (PLA) as potential partners to make Donnan a full K-8 school.
Families and other stakeholders would have input in which partner the district selects.
Phalen currently partners with IPS at Phalen Leadership Academy at Francis Scott Key 103 and Phalen Leadership Academy at George H. Fisher 93. In four years, Phalen claims standardized test score improvement and "strong athletic and STEM programs and afterschool activities."
Adelante also has a record for improving test scores by providing all students with rigorous, grade-level academics and developing strong teachers.
IPS plans to pick its partner for Donnan in February after getting feedback from families following a series of community meetings and information sessions.
Howe, which serves Grades 7-12, would be closed to students for the 2020-21 school year while the district evaluates the future of the east side school site. In the meantime, IPS commissioners voted Saturday to give Howe high school students guaranteed enrollment in one of the district’s four college-and-career themed Choice high schools at either Arsenal Tech, George Washington, Shortridge or Crispus Attucks. Younger students could attend IPS Choice middle schools or another IPS middle school based on their home address.
Rising Howe 9th graders can also enroll into Thrival Indy Academy, the district’s study abroad program. The two-round enrollment process is run through Enroll Indy. Round 1 deadline is Jan. 31. Round 2 runs Feb.1–April. 30, 2020.
“We are committed to providing students with the smoothest transition possible,” said IPS Board President Michael O’Connor.
The district will reach out to current Howe staff after the state's January 15 decision about working elsewhere in IPS.
“I think if you look at where IPS was in 2012 (when the state took control of the three schools) and where IPS is today, families should rest well assured that we’ll take care of students,” O'Connor said. “Our first and foremost priority is what’s in the students’ best interest.”
The State Board of Education meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, in Room 211 at the Indiana State Library, 315 W. Ohio St.
For more information about the state takeover timeline for Emma Donnan, Manual and Howe, click here.