*Information is based on original charter application.

Grades served in year 1: 9

Grades served at capacity: 9-12

Enrollment in year 1: 100

Enrollment at capacity: 400

Proposed Location: unknown

Mission, Need, and Demand for the School

·         The founders of Herron High School propose to open a liberal arts high school featuring a classical curriculum in the near north side of downtown Indianapolis, preferably in the Herron-Morton neighborhood.  The idea for the charter school originated within the Herron-Morton neighborhood as members of the community discussed ways to re-use IUPUI's Herron School of Art building and how to build a new base of patrons for the arts in Indianapolis.

·         The proposal for the Herron High School was developed by representatives of the downtown cultural community after a year-long process of community engagement.  Through the founders' discussions with community members, the Board determined that there is demand for a liberal arts school in the neighborhood.

·         Herron High School has letters of support from the Indiana Humanities Council, VSA Arts of Indiana, Primary Colours, the Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association, Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., President Benjamin Harrison Home, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Charles Golden, the CFO at Eli Lilly, the President and CEO of Clarian Health Partners, Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Dean of Butler University's Jordan College of Fine Arts, The Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL), Michael Peek, an attorney with Christopher & Taylor, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the Old Northside Neighborhood Association, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, The Oaks Academy, King Park Area Development Corporation, the President of the Herron Alumni Association, the Herron-Morton Place Neighborhood Association, and the Herron-Morton Place Foundation, Inc., Recovery High School at Fairbanks, the Harrison Center for the Arts, the Remnant Trust, a member of the Indianapolis Women's Club and six parents/community members from the neighborhood who strongly support the proposed school.   

·         In addition, the school is developing partnerships with: the Nature Conservancy to provide environmental science support to the school; Joy of All Who Sorrow to assist with the lunch program; and The Propylaeum to provide a reading club and manners instruction.

Educational Services Provided

·         The school proposes to use aspects of the educational model implemented at the Oaks Academy a private PreK-8 school located on the near north side of Indianapolis.  Andrew Hart, the current School Director at the Oaks Academy, serves as Vice President of the Herron High School Board.

·         The Board is interested in replicating the following "classical" aspects of The Oaks Academy school design:  "1) a classical liberal arts curriculum made accessible to underserved populations, 2) a timeline approach to teaching an integrated curriculum, 3) an emphasis on civic responsibility and community service, and 4) teacher training in classical teaching methodology."

·         The school will integrate character curriculum into all aspects of the educational program.  Students will not participate in classes designed only to address character development.  Rather, character development will be woven into literature, history and science lessons. 

·         The school is committed to instilling civic responsibility in all of its students.  Community service is integral to the program.   

·         The educational program is focused on the liberal arts approach, specifically using the classical trivium, an educational strategy focused on grammar, logic and rhetoric.

·         The curriculum will be rigorous and college-preparatory.  The school will require students to earn 46 credits – more than the 40 credits required by the state of Indiana for a high school diploma.

·         The school's goal is for 100% of students who enter the school as freshman to graduate in 4 years.  The school has set benchmarks to measure student progress towards this goal, including: 90% of students who enter the school one grade level below their current grade level reaching grade level proficiency by the end of their first year of attendance and 90% of students who are 2 grade levels behind up to grade level within 2 years.

·         The school will offer a summer program for students who do not pass courses during the regular school year. 

·         Teachers will participate in three weeks of professional development training prior to the school's opening.  The training will focus on the liberal arts curriculum, team building, classroom management, effective communication with parents and other areas.  In addition, there are 8 professional development days built into the school's calendar.

·         One of the school's organizational goals is to retain at least 80% of teachers beyond 5 years and, in any given year during a 5 year period, to maintain staff continuity that exceeds 80%. 

Summary of the Founding Group

·         The Board of Directors assembled for the school includes representatives from many community organizations in the surrounding historic districts and neighborhoods where the school intends to locate.  The school's bylaws state that at least one-third of the Board members shall be individuals who reside, work or worship in the Herron neighborhood.

·         The founding Board members have experience in a wide range of areas including education, school administration, fundraising, historic preservation, finance, marketing, law, and nonprofit governance.  The school will benefit from this variety of expertise, particularly in the area of school operations.

Governance and Management

·         The Board is charged with upholding and overseeing the fulfillment of the school's mission – not the day to day operation of the school.

·         The bylaws state that there will be three Board committees, an Executive Committee, a Facilities and Finance Committee, and an Education and Curriculum Committee, which will oversee the school and report to the full Board regularly.

·         The Board has hired Rex Bolinger as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the school.  Dr. Bolinger has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the DeKalb County Eastern Community School District in Butler, Indiana and MSD Steuben County in Angola, Indiana and most recently served as a Senior Program Manager for Early College High Schools at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, NJ. He also serves on the board of directors of the IAPSS Sagamore Foundation. He was named Indiana High School Principal of the Year in 1997-1998.

·         The CEO will supervise the school's fiscal operation and will manage the organization and employment matters.  The CEO will oversee all instruction and coordinate public relations.

·         The CEO will be supported by a Curriculum Director/Data Analyst who will be responsible for managing the curriculum and coordinating student achievement data.  The person in this position will provide student achievement data to teachers on a regular basis.

Financial Viability

·         The school will benefit from in-kind services from the Harrison Center for the Arts, the Sagamore Institute, The Oaks Academy, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and the Indiana Humanities Council. 

·         The Facilities and Finance Committee of the board will oversee the school's finances and ensure that the school is financially viable. 

·         The school would like to locate within the former Herron School of Art campus at 17^th and Pennsylvania.  Herron High School is included the two final proposals for the re-use of the Herron campus.

·         The school has developed two alternate plans for a facility which can be implemented if the former Herron campus location is not possible.  One of these options is for the school to locate within the existing Harrison Center for the Arts building which currently has classroom, gym and auditorium space that the school could use. 

·         The school has already received a $40,000 exploratory grant and a $100,000 start-up grant from the Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning's (CELL) Network of Small Schools Initiative (NESSI) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and plans to apply for $260,000 implementation grant from CELL in 2006.  CELL has indicated its intent, in writing, to award the school an implementation grant in 2006.

Accessibility

Leadership Information

*Note: The information provided below is solely a summary of qualifications, and does not reflect a comprehensive description of each founding member's expertise and experience.

Name and Proposed Positions of Applicants

·         Joanna Taft—Authorized Representative, Board President

·         John Hammond—Board Member

·         Andrew Hart—Board Vice President

·         Kevin Hern—Treasurer and Chair of Finance Committee

·         Theresa Patrick—Member

·         Vicenta Andrade—Member

·         Gautam Rao—Member

·         Todd Ravesloot—Co-Chair of Facilities Committee

·         Kenneth Rohrer—Chair of Curriculum Committee

·         John Turner—Member (No resume provided)

·         Doug Wilson —Secretary and Co-Chair of Facilities Committee

·         Rex Bolinger—School CEO

Capacities Represented by Applicants (by topic area)

School Leader Biography

·         Herron High School has hired Rex Bolinger as the school's CEO.  He has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the DeKalb County Eastern Community School District in Butler, Indiana and MSD Steuben County in Angola, Indiana and was most recently Senior Program Manager for Early College High Schools at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, NJ. He also serves on the board of directors of the IAPSS Sagamore Foundation. He was named Indiana High School Principal of the Year in 1997-1998.

Education

Experience

·        John Hammond was the Senior Executive Assistant for Legislative Affairs and Education Policy for Governor Robert D. Orr.

·        Andrew Hart is presently the Head of School at The Oaks Academy.  He has also worked as an instructor of political science at the University of Bucharest. 

·        Kenneth Rohr is currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Phoenix where he teaches courses on school administration and educational technology.  He is also the Education Coordinator of the Indiana Humanities Council. He began his career in education as an elementary school art teacher.  He then worked as an elementary school assistant principal for two years and as an elementary school principal for seven years.  He has additional expertise in educational software development and web design. 

·        Kevin Hern taught at a private high school in Cincinnati for two years. As part of this work, he directed the high school's community service program.

·        Gautam Rao is Assistant Professor of Media Arts at Butler University.  He has taught art at numerous other colleges including the Maryland College of Art and Design and Northern Virginia Community College.  At the K-12 level, he participated in a collaboration between the Maryland College of Art and Design and the local public school system.  As part of this work, he taught art to middle school children with special needs for two years.   

·        John Turner is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Butler University.

·        Rex Bolinger has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in Butler and Angola, Indiana and was most recently Senior Program Manager for Early College High Schools at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, NJ.  He was named Indiana High School Principal of the Year in 1997-1998 and received the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in Oct. 1999. He has given numerous professional presentations and written articles on high school leadership, block-scheduling and school-to-work partnerships.  He also helped create the Tri-State University Middle College as a charter school.

Training

·        Joanna Taft has taken graduate courses at the School of Education at IUPUI.

·        Kevin Hern has a BS in education.

·        Kenneth Rohrer has a BA in art education, an MS in elementary school administration and supervision and is certified in employee evaluation and special education law. 

·        Rex Bolinger has a PhD in education. 

Other Youth Work

Experience

·        Joanna Taft has volunteered at The Oaks Academy.

·        Kevin Hern has been a soccer coach for several youth clubs and was a member of a leadership team that founded an after-school program in Oxford, Ohio. 

·        Theresa Patrick has worked as a theater instructor for the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir "Voices United" camp for two years. 

·        As the Latino Outreach Director for Indianapolis' Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, Vicky Andrade supervises educational programs.

Management

Experience

·        As a consultant for Price Waterhouse, Andrew Hart led consulting teams that helped private and non-profit sector clients analyze and find solutions to their business problems. 

·        Todd Ravesloot is a community preservation specialist with the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indianapolis.  He helps manage $1.4 million in funds to rehabilitate endangered Indianapolis properties.

·        As a Senior Peoplesoft Business Analyst with Covance Inc., Doug Wilson helps implement Peoplesoft systems for biotech and medical companies.  He also has experience implementing a quality improvement effort for the Heritage Group, a construction company. 

·        As the Latino Outreach Director for Indianapolis' Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, Vicky Andrade manages a complex outreach program that includes educational programs, translation services, public relations, and collaboration efforts.  This program was awarded a grant by Mayor Peterson for outstanding service to the city.  Formerly she managed the translation services department at Kiwanis International. 

Training

·        Joanna Taft has a BS in business administration.

·        Andrew Hart and Kevin Hern both have Masters in Business Administration.

·        Todd Ravesloot has a BS in building construction management.

·        Vicenta Andrade has a BS in management from Indiana Wesleyan.  

Entrepreneurialism

·        Joanna Taft has worked as a consultant for start up companies and has been actively involved in several community development efforts as a program associate for the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

·        Doug Wilson was a founding member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church.    

Fundraising

Experience

·        As Executive Director of the Harrison Center for the Arts and as a board member for The Oaks Academy, Joanna Taft has been involved in fundraising efforts. 

·        Doug Wilson helped establish The Oaks Academy's fund development program.

Finance / Accounting

Experience

·        Kevin Hern works as a senior financial analyst for Eli Lilly.  Previously, he worked as a financial advisor for UBS PaineWebber for three years.   

Training

·        Doug Wilson has a BS in finance from Ball State University.  

Marketing / Public Relations

Experience

·         Andrew Hart worked as a marketing strategy associate for Eli Lilly.

Legal Expertise

Experience

·        John Hammond is a partner with the law firm Ice Miller.  He is currently the co-chair of the firm's public affairs group.

·        Vicenta Andrade assists the legal staff in the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic by providing consultation and translation and by accompanying legal staff members and their clients to court.

Training

·        John Hammond has a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law.

Management of Public Funds

·        Todd Ravesloot manages the Fund for Landmark Indianapolis Properties.

Nonprofit Governance

Experience

·        Joanna Taft is a member of the board of directors of The Oaks Academy, the Indianapolis Artists and Dealers Association and the Board of Zoning and Appeals. 

·        John Hammond has served on the board of directors of the Mental Health Association of Indiana, Perry Township Education, Governmental Affairs Society of Indiana, Indiana Association of Cities and Towns Foundation, Indianapolis – Marion County Ethics Board, Indianapolis –Marion County Civilian Police Merit Board, Indiana Education Savings Authority, Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, Old Centrum, Inc., and DePauw University. 

·        Kevin Hern is the President of the Board of Standing Firm Ministries.