2/21/2007
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller, 317-327-3690 |
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Mayor Peterson announces selection of new charter school
Indianapolis – Mayor Bart Peterson today announced his decision to accept the recommendation of the Indianapolis Charter Schools Board and select Honor Charter Academy (HCA) to receive a charter. The City-County Council still must review and ratify the charter. The school plans to locate in the Lafayette Square neighborhood.
“The Honor Charter Academy will provide another high quality educational option for students in Indianapolis,” Mayor Peterson said.
“As we have seen in other neighborhoods, new schools can be catalysts for investment and redevelopment, so I am particularly excited about this charter school locating in the Lafayette Square area where revitalization efforts are ongoing,” the Mayor stated, noting that city and state officials joined Wal-Mart representatives Monday to announce details of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter being built along Lafayette Road. The store will create up to 350 new jobs and bring millions in investment to the retail corridor.
HCA will be managed by National Heritage Academies, a national charter management organization that also operates Andrew J. Brown Academy, a Mayor-sponsored charter school on the East Side. HCA’s mission is to create a challenging learning environment grounded in an academically rigorous, proven and content-rich education program, while also providing character values by instilling a sense of family, community and leadership within all of its students. The school will eventually grow to serve grades K-8.
Of the six initial charter school applicants this past fall, HCA is the only school to receive approval. Each applicant’s prospectus and application underwent an intensive review by the Mayor’s charter schools staff, members of the Indianapolis Charter Schools Board, and an experienced charter schools expert. To date, fewer than a quarter of those submitting a letter of intent to the Mayor’s Office for a charter have ultimately been approved.
Charter schools are public schools that are free and open to the public. Charter schools are also freed from many of the regulations governing traditional public schools, with each school controlling its own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget. In exchange for this flexibility, charter schools must meet the highest academic standards.
The passage of Indiana's charter school law in 2001 made Mayor Peterson the first and, thus far, only mayor in the nation to have the authority to charter schools. Sixteen mayor-sponsored charter schools are currently in operation. For more information, go to /Mayor/Charter.
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