8/12/2005
Media Contact:
Steve Campbell, [317] 327-3622
Karina Straub, [317] 327-4422 |
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Mayor to visit two new Indianapolis charter schools on the first day of school
INDIANAPOLIS - Mayor Bart Peterson will help welcome new students and faculty to school at the Decatur Discovery Academy and Indianapolis Lighthouse Charter School, two of the three new Mayor-sponsored charter schools opening this year. 21st Century Charter School at Fountain Square, the third new Mayor-sponsored charter school, will open on September 6.
WHEN: 8:45 a.m., Monday, August 15
WHERE: Decatur Discovery Academy
5125 Decatur Blvd.
The Decatur Discovery Academy targets students who have not been successful in a traditional high school setting. The school uses the "Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound" educational model, a teaching approach that emphasizes active learning, character growth, teamwork, and learning expeditions. Students are arranged in "crews" or groups of 12-15 students who work with one staff member for a multi-year period. The school will partner with the Challenger Learning Center in Decatur Township for custom science classes and learning expeditions for the students and a Flight Directors in Training program.
Mayor Peterson also will visit Indianapolis Lighthouse Charter School (ILCS), the first of two ILCS charter schools that will open in Indianapolis.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Monday, August 15
WHERE: Indianapolis Lighthouse Charter School
1780 Sloan Ave.
ILCS offers pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in 2005 and will eventually grow to serve students through 12th grade. The school uses the Core Knowledge sequence, which presents carefully ordered facts, historical figures and concepts by individual grade levels. Arts infusion is a key component of the school’s educational program. The ILCS art teacher will collaborate with the classroom teachers to ensure high quality instruction that brings art techniques into the regular classrooms. ILCS will run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for 190 days per year.
Decatur Discovery Academy and ILCS will be the 11th and 12th Mayor-sponsored charter schools to open in Indianapolis. The first three Mayor-sponsored schools opened in 2002. Charter schools are public schools that are freed from most of the regulations governing traditional schools. They control their own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget. In exchange for this freedom, they must meet the highest academic standards.
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