Snapshot of the Indiana Public Charter School Movement

1. Snapshot of the Indiana Public Charter School Movement

2. A CONTRACT between Organizer—nonprofit for educational purposes Authorizer—one of the three entities who have been given the power by the legislature to operate a charter WHAT IS A CHARTER?

3. 1. Board of an LEA (school corporation) Who? Lafayette and 2 in Evansville 2. Public university that offers a 4-year bachelor’s degree program Who? BSU took risk 3. Mayor’s office of a consolidated city Who? Mayor of Indianapolis WHO CAN AUTHORIZE?

4. WHY CHARTERS? • Less than one in five of the black males who start high school in IPS will leave with a diploma. • That's low enough to rank IPS 63 out of the 63 largest urban areas in the U.S. • PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS • Our small rural schools do a good job • Smaller is better for students and for teachers • Accountability--if a charter school does not meet testing requirements for 4 years, they are closed

5. WHAT ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS?

6. Charter Schools Offer Choice: Increased parent options in choosing a school. Innovation: Freedom to try new approaches to increase student achievement. Flexibility: Power to make timely decisions about curriculum, operations, and staff. Accountability: To authorizer, state DOE and SBOA, elected officials, and parents. Partnerships: Charters actively develop relationships with parents/community to support student success.

7. Limitations on employment of children Firearms and deadly weapons Health and safety measures Reporting of student violations of law Patriotic—student due process & judicial review Standardized testing (assessment programs, including remediation under assessment program) Parental access to education records Accountability for school performance and improvement Personal financial responsibility instruction Required audits by the state Board of accounts Unified accounting system Special education Criminal history Subject to laws requiring Regulation by state agencies Void teacher contract when Two (2) contracts are signed Nondiscrimination for teacher marital status Teacher freedom of association School counselor immunity Compulsory school attendance Commemorative observances STATE LAWS THAT APPLY TO CHARTERSI.C. 20-24-8-5

8. Exempt from rules or guidelines adopted by the Indiana state board of education Exempt from rules or guidelines adopted by the professional standards board with the exception of teacher licensure STATE LAWS THAT DO NOT APPLY TO CHARTERSI.C. 20-24-8-4 • Exempt from Indiana statutes applicable to a governing body or school corporation • Exempt from local regulations or policies adopted by a school corporation unless specifically incorporated in the charter

9. Fort Wayne (3) 1,453 students 200+ on waiting lists Lake County (10) 4,895 students 2,000+ on waiting lists Indianapolis (22) 8,131 students 1,700+ on waiting lists Others (21) 3,347 students 300+ on waiting lists Ball State Schools (33) Indy Mayor Schools (17) LEA (3)

10. CHARTER MYTHS Myth: Charter schools can deny enrollment to a student based on special needs or academic reasons. Fact: As public schools, charter schools must comply with all state and federal laws concerning open enrollment. A charter school may not establish admission policies or limit student admissions in any way in which a traditional public school is not permitted to establish admission policies or limit student admissions. --

11. CHARTER MYTHS Myth: We can’t afford more charter schools in this economic climate. Fact: Since state funding (General Fund) follows the pupil, charter schools have ZERO additional fiscal impact on the state. If a school corporation get $5835 per student to educate a student, then the money follows the child and the charter would get the same $5835 per student. For county taxpayers, each student attending a charter school saves money, as no local tax dollars (which fund capital projects, debt service, bus replacement and transportation for districts) go to charter schools. Charters do not have a tax base. --

12. CHARTER MYTHS Myth: Charter schools drain resources from traditional public school districts. Fact: The numbers don’t bear this out: 16 percent of students who leave Indianapolis Public Schools enroll in a charter school. --

13. Recipients of Migration from Indianapolis Public Schools by % Source: Indiana Department of Education Data (2006/07 to 2007/08)

14. CHARTER MYTHS Myth: Charter schools drain resources from traditional public school districts. Fact: A 2008 survey of parents with students attending Indianapolis charter schools found that if their charter school ceased to exist, less than one third of the parents would send their student back to a traditional public school. Other charter school (28%) Magnet school (15%) Private school (18%) Home school (4%) --

15. CHARTER MYTHS

16. RURAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, INC. dba RURAL COMMUNITY ACADEMY Sullivan County, Indiana’s 3rd Public School Corporation

17. Why did we start RC—first school in Indiana to beat consolidation by default 5 people on local school board decided to “turn off utilities, put plywood on the windows, and abandon the premises” Abandoning a school who had just received a Four-Star Award for academic excellence to send their 150 kids to a “failing school” with 5 times the enrollment Leaving another old school building to set and fall down around itself Leading to the deterioration of the small rural community it served for 100 years WHY—Rural Community

18. Who started RC—parents and a proud local community who care about education Who begged the school board to reconsider Who did not need an Adult and Continuing Education program Who started an entire nonprofit corporation, then an entire school corporation from scratch with hiring personnel, creating a unique curriculum, creating policies Who obtained the decommissioned school building when the community started a nonprofit and got the building as a community center who leases the space to the school WHO—Rural Community

19. When did RC start—charter law started in 2003 and RC started in 2004 When we knew we had something was when we had an impact upon how education in Sullivan County has evolved with the other schools becoming better with the increased competition When parents have a choice in their child’s education WHEN—Rural Community

20. Where is RC—Sullivan County, Southwestern Indiana, between Terre Haute and Vincennes on the Illinois border Where athletic prowlness—or lack thereof—is not the important part but teaching self-confidence is Where people gather as a community for all kinds of events involving community and school Where our rural life is preserved Where all staff is equal and part of the same team Where these kids will grow up and become our friends, our peers, our co-workers, our neighbors—our relatives WHERE—Rural Community

21. What is our Philosophy of Education Limiting class size to 19—smaller is better Involving parents with 20 hours per year per family Developing partnerships with agencies, for profits, non-profits, veterans, fraternal, and educational organizations supplement learning, allowing kids to learn about their community Utilizing people, places, and things in the community to supplement the curriculum inside and outside the four walls of the classroom (example, Riverwatch) Giving back to the community in the form of time, talent and treasury WHAT—Rural Community

22. WHAT—People, Places, Things Learning science with community- built ecosystem and now wetland bog

23. WHAT—People, Places, Things Preserving rural heritage by learning science at the farm with a local farmer

24. WHAT—People, Places, Things Learning math, science and history in a local cemetery

25. WHAT—People, Places, Things Using a neighboring field to catch, mark, tag and release butterflies

26. WHAT—People, Places, Things Partnerships with profit and nonprofit organizations

27. WHAT—People, Places, Things At the creek, gathering water samples to turn into Hoosier Riverwatch

28. How are we doing at RC Have met the federal AYP (No Child Left Behind) every year we have been eligible—PASSED For the last two years have met the state PL221 with the highest rating for academic excellence of “EXCEEDING STATUS” Have been recognized by BSU for financial planning, strategic planning, and accountability planning How we are accountable—if we do not meet testing requirements for four years, we are closed HOW—Rural Community

29. Is the school you, your children and your parents and grandparents went to still viable? Is that important to you or are new buildings and consolidation in the county seat better for education? If you could design a school from scratch, what would it look like? Maintaining small rural schools helps the economic development of small rural communities ALL RURAL SCHOOLS

30. Russ Simnick, President 407 Fulton St., Suite 301.Indianapolis, IN 46202 317-452-0075 (cell) russ@incharters.org RURAL COMMUNITY • Susie Pierce, Rural Community Schools • PO Box 85, Graysville, IN 47852 • 812-382-4500 • susiep@rcsi.k12.in.us INDIANA PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION