Indy charter schools granted 15-year contracts by mayor’s office

Eleven Indianapolis charter schools are renewed for the next 15 years — more than double the length of time previously allowed in Indiana. The Indianapolis Mayor’s Office will use a new law to allow schools in four networks to operate until 2039 before it’s required to renew the charter.

The extended renewals are for K-12 and adult schools part of Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, Paramount Schools of Excellence, Goodwill Education Initiatives, and Herron Classical Schools.

Each school is in the seventh or final year of its initial charter authorization, part of a network with one or more schools is facing renewal. The schools also had to meet standards of the Office of Education Innovation performance framework, which evaluates academics, finance, governance, and external site visit evaluations.

“We're really looking for schools that have demonstrated excellence over at least the balance of their first charter term,” said Patrick McAlister, the office director. “They also have to meet our rigorous standards in order to be considered for this distinction.”

Charter schools are public schools that are granted a charter to operate by one of several authorizers in Indiana, including the Indianapolis mayor’s office.The maximum charter renewal term was extended by legislators earlier this year, from seven years to 15 years.

Charter advocates who supported the new law say longevity can help charter organizations with securing funding and paying off loans towards building or improving facilities. Charter schools are publicly funded but independently managed and don’t typically receive property tax revenue in Indiana.

“If we were to go out and we needed some financing for capital improvements, it just gives us an opportunity for better rates,” said Keeanna Warren, CEO of Purdue Polytechnic Schools. “We are very intentional about being responsible with any funding that we have, and so being able to get better rates and better opportunities, just allows us to pour more back into the classroom.”

The approval follows an examination by Chalkbeat Indiana into Marion County charter schools, revealing a lack of safeguards in state law to guarantee accountability for both charter schools and their authorizers.

The 11 schools are still required to receive OEI evaluations annually in order to stay open. School operators are in regular communication with OEI staff, McAlister said.

“This doesn't take away from the kind of accountability that we have for schools,” McAlister said. “We will still review them annually the way that we have always done, and if things aren’t going well, we have the ability to intervene, just as we had before.”

Courtney Hughley, Vice President of Communications for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, said longer terms don’t carry an inherent risk of less school accountability.

“A longer charter term in no way equals less oversight,” Hughley said. “And we definitely think it's a good practice that when you have a school who has exhibited excellence, that you reward them in some sort of way.”

The charters for these schools will renew for 15 years starting in the 2024-25 school year:

• Purdue Polytechnic High School Englewood (Purdue Polytechnic High Schools)
• Purdue Polytechnic High School Broad Ripple (Purdue Polytechnic High Schools)
• Paramount Brookside (Paramount Schools of Excellence)
• Paramount Cottage Home (Paramount Schools of Excellence)
• Paramount Englewood (Paramount Schools of Excellence)
• The Excel Center for Adult Learners (Goodwill Education Initiatives)
• The Excel Center West (Goodwill Education Initiatives)
• The Excel Center University Heights (Goodwill Education Initiatives)
• Herron Preparatory Academy (Herron Classical Schools)
• Herron High School (Herron Classical Schools)
• Herron-Riverside High School (Herron Classical Schools)

Contact WFYI Marion County education reporter Sydney Dauphinais at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.