7/28/2006
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller, [317] 327-3690 |
 |
Harris to leave charter schools post to explore new public-private education venture
Mayor names Roy as new director
Indianapolis – David Harris, the City’s first charter schools director, is leaving his post to create a new nonprofit organization Mayor Bart Peterson will launch later this year to support innovation in public schools, the Mayor announced today.
Harris will continue to serve as a senior advisor to Mayor Peterson on charter schools, a position for which he will be paid $1 annually.
Peterson named Daniel Roy, an attorney with the Indianapolis law firm of Baker & Daniels with several years of experience dealing with charter school issues, as the city’s new charter schools director.
“Charters schools in Indianapolis are breaking new ground in public education and providing our students and parents with outstanding new educational opportunities,” Mayor Peterson said. “We are fortunate that experts from around the country are looking to Indianapolis as a model for innovation in education.
“The majority of this success has been the result of David Harris’ tireless and diligent work for the students of our city. David has not only been a trusted advisor to me, but he has become a national leader in the charter schools movement.
“We have been blessed to have him as a part of this team, and I am excited to continue working with him to explore a new venture that will continue to improve education in our city for years to come.”
Harris was an original member of Peterson’s team in 2000 and served as assistant deputy mayor for planning. After landmark legislation passed in 2001 that made Peterson the only mayor in the country with the authority to charter schools, Harris became the city’s first charter schools director.
He is a founding member and currently serves as chairman of the Charter Schools Association of Indiana. He also has been a board member of the National Association of Charter Schools Authorizers.
Under Harris’s direction, Indianapolis’s charter school initiative became a national model. This fall 16 Mayor-sponsored schools will be in operation serving more than 4,000 students. In addition, several public school corporations – including Indianapolis Public Schools, MSD Lawrence Township and MSD Decatur Township – are creating unprecedented partnerships with the Mayor’s charter schools.
Last month, Peterson’s charter schools initiative was named a recipient of the prestigious Harvard University Innovations in American Government Award. This is only the second initiative from Indiana to receive the honor from Harvard in the 20-year history of the award program.
The National Association for Public Charter Schools recently profiled Indianapolis as one of its top five cities for growing charter school success. The city’s accountability system also was featured in a Progressive Policy Institute report entitled Fast Break in Indianapolis: A New Approach to Charter Schooling.
Harris is leaving his position to create a new nonprofit Mayor Peterson will launch later this year to support innovation in public schools, both district and charters. Harris will continue to advise the Mayor on charter schools as his Senior Charter School Advisor.
Harris was one of the chief researchers and drafters of The Peterson Plan, the Mayor’s 1999 blueprint for running city government. He previously practiced law with the Indianapolis firm of Baker & Daniels and was a Governor’s Fellow under Governor Evan Bayh.
He received a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from the Indiana University School of Law. Harris serves on the boards of the Nicholas H. Noyes Jr. Memorial Foundation, the RCA Tennis Championships and the National League of Cities Education Policy Advisors Network.
Harris and his wife Marion have two boys, Aidan and Ian, and are expecting their third child later this year.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Roy has spent the last seven years working as a lawyer for Baker & Daniels. For the past three years, he worked as the city’s primary charter school attorney and has worked extensively on several charter school issues, including teacher licensing, school insurance, contracts and other school-related legal issues.
“Daniel Roy’s deep understanding of the charter school law will be a great asset to our schools, students and parents,” Mayor Peterson said. “I look forward to him taking our initiative to the next level.”
Roy is a magna cum laude graduate of Indiana University School of Law, where he was also an editor of the Law Journal and Order of the Coif. He also graduated with honors from DePauw University and is the author of several legal articles. He and his wife Jena are the parents of two daughters.
For more information on the Mayor’s charter schools, visit www.indygov.org/eGov/mayor.
- 30 -
|
