6/8/2007 Media Contact: Margie Smith-Simmons, [317] 327-3690

State rankings: Mayor-sponsored charter schools tops county in ISTEP improvement

Indianapolis – Charter schools sponsored by Mayor Bart Peterson accounted for six of the 11 schools in Marion County with the most improvement on ISTEP, according to data released yesterday by the Indiana Department of Education under the state’s accountability system. 

In addition:

The school showing the most student improvement in Marion County was a Mayor-sponsored charter school, KIPP Indianapolis College Preparatory. 

Of the 50 schools with the most student improvement in Indiana, five were Mayor-sponsored charter schools.

At KIPP Indianapolis College Preparatory, the county’s top performer, 89 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

Similarly, Christel House Academy, Southeast Neighborhood School of Excellence, and Indianapolis Lighthouse Charter School all have poverty rates above 80 percent.  Both 21st Century at Fall Creek and Andrew J. Brown Academy have poverty rates above 58 percent. 

The state also places schools into one of five categories based upon ISTEP test data: “exemplary progress,” “commendable progress,” “academic progress,” “academic watch” or “academic probation.”

“Charter schools are living up to their reputation in Indianapolis for academic achievement and student success,” Mayor Peterson said.  “These schools are helping to shatter the myth that students from disadvantaged backgrounds can’t succeed.  They can, and these results are proof positive.”

City Rank	State Rank	School Corporation	School Name	Progress	Change in ISTEP+ passing scores
1	5	Mayor’s Charter Schools	KIPP Indpls College Preparatory	Exemplary	18.7
2		Indianapolis Public Schools	T.C. Steele E.S. 98	Acad Progress	15.9
3		Indianapolis Public Schools	Harriet Beecher Stowe E.S. 64	Acad Progress	13.2
4	19	Mayor’s Charter Schools	Andrew J. Brown Academy	Exemplary	9.9
5		M S D Perry Township	Rosa Parks-Edison E.S.	Acad Progress	9.5
6	23	Mayor’s Charter Schools	Christel House Academy	Exemplary	9.4
7		M S D Perry Township	William Henry Burkhart E.S.	Exemplary	8.9
8	39	Mayor’s Charter Schools	SE Neighborhood School of Excellence	Acad Progress	8.0
9		Indianapolis Public Schools	Rousseau McClellan E.S. 91	Exemplary	7.7
9	45	Mayor’s Charter Schools	21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek	Acad Progress	7.7
11	67	Mayor’s Charter Schools	Indpls Lighthouse Charter School	Exemplary	7.1

 
Charter schools are public schools that are free and open to any child in Indiana.  They are designed and operated by educators, parents, community leaders, and others, and they are freed from many of the regulations governing traditional schools.  Charter schools control their own curriculum, staffing, organization, and budget.  In exchange, they must meet the highest academic standards.

In 2001, Indiana passed a charter schools law that made Mayor Peterson the only mayor in the nation with the authority to charter schools.  Now, there are 16 mayor-sponsored charter schools in Indianapolis.

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