Here’s some food for thought: locally run charter schools in Indianapolis are doing better on state tests than those run by national networks, according to a story by Chalkbeat Indiana.
The city has an unusually high number of charters not affiliated with large, out-of-state charter management organizations, writes reporter Scott Elliot:
Seven of the top nine, it turns out, are homegrown charter schools. Some are part of high scoring local charter school networks, such as Tindley Accelerated Schools or Christel House Academies, while others are unaffiliated schools serving a neighborhood, such as Paramount School of Excellence or Irvington Community School. The story is different for the nine schools that rank below the IPS average. For those schools, seven of nine are part of national networks. Just two are locally run charter schools."
Among the top-performers is Christel House Academy South. You may remember Christel House as the charter school at the center of the grade-changing scandal that ultimately led Indiana’s former schools chief, Tony Bennett, to resign from his then job as Florida’s commissioner of education.
Eight out of the nine highest-performing charter schools in Indianapolis are also overseen by the city’s mayor’s office, which is the only one in the country to authorize charter schools.
You can read more about Indianapolis’ highest-performing charter schools here, from Chalkbeat Indiana.
Related:
- How to Close a Charter School: Advice From Three States
- Indiana Private Schools Could Get Nearly $116 Million in State’s Voucher Program
- Poll: Support for School Choice Remains Strong, But Slides
Photo: The Christel House Academy charter school in Indianapolis. Michael Conroy/AP-File