A measure adopted by the Indiana State Board of Education on Wednesday may pave the way for Gary’s Theodore Roosevelt Career and Technical Academy to make the transition into a transformation zone/innovative school network.
The board approved a recommendation to hire a liaison and a program manager. The consultants will work to help the Gary Community School Corp. and EdisonLearning Inc. hammer out an agreement as well as reach out to stakeholders in the community. Board spokesman Josh Gillespie said the consultants will hopefully have an agreement in place by winter, with approval before the state board coming in the spring.
Gillespie said the consultants will be paid by the state with one-year vendor contracts. The project manager will be paid $55,000 and the liaison $75,000. The state will start the interview and hiring process next week.
EdisonLearning has operated Roosevelt as a turnaround academy for the past five years. In April, the board approved an additional year for EdisonLearning at the helm with the condition that it make changes in partnership with Gary Community School Corp.
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Roosevelt became a turnaround academy in 2011 after it received a grade of F for six straight years. Student achievement has increased by 26 percent in math and 12 percent in English, but its letter grade is still an F.
Under the transformation zone reform model, students from low-performing schools would be grouped together, fed into Roosevelt and receive extra support. The innovative school network gives schools autonomy to create charter-like innovations in order to improve struggling schools.
Gillespie said it’s the first time that an Indiana school has tried the transformation zone/innovative school network model.
Gary and EdisonLearning officials said they are seeking funding for the initiative from state, federal and private sources.
The state board also approved withholding more than $2.53 million in district funds and directing them to Roosevelt through the end of 2016. The funds will be used to raise test scores, transform instruction and adjust school climate. Roosevelt received $2.36 million for the same period in 2015. The payments begin July 15. They are based on a 650-student population, but that could be adjusted based on student head count in September.
Gary Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt signed a document, dated June 21, acknowledging the payments.
Charter funding
Two local charter schools — Gary’s Steel City Academy and Merrillville’s Heritage Institute of Arts & Technology — were awarded $1 million loans by board vote. The payments come from monthly state tuition support grants.
Both schools are scheduled to open in August. The loans will be used for startup costs, including facilities improvement, instruction, administrative, technology and debt service.
Educator training accreditation
The board also approved the accreditation of Purdue University Northwest’s College of Education through the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. A site visit was conducted last fall, and Purdue was recognized for having no “areas for improvement relative to any of the standards.”