beautiful community beautiful education beautiful mind Eunoia Learning Academy Planned Location: 3440 Guion Road Indianapolis, IN 46222 Prospectus Presented to Mayor Greg Ballard Office of Education Innovation March 21, 2014 1 EunoiaSchools.org beautiful community beautiful education beautiful mind Charter Applicant Information Sheet Name of Proposed Charter School: Eunoia Learning Academy Proposed School Address (if known): 3440 Guion Road Indianapolis, IN 46222 School District in which Proposed School would be located: Indianapolis Public Schools Legal Name of Group Applying for the Charter: Eunoia Charter School of Excellence Applicant's Designated Representative: Michelle Thompson, Ph.D. Address: P.O. Box 3690 City: Carmel State: Indiana Zip code: 46082 Daytime telephone: 317.623.3162 E-mail address: [email protected] The proposed school will open in the fall of school year: 2015 Proposed Grade Levels & Total Student Enrollment Maximum Student School Year Grade Levels Enrollment First Year 2015 - 2016 Pre-K – Grade 5 400 Second 2016 – 2017 Pre-K – Grade 6 500 Year Third Year 2017 – 2018 Pre-K – Grade 7 575 Fourth Year 2018 – 2019 Pre-K – Grade 8 650 Fifth Year 2019 - 2020 Pre-K – Grade 8 675 Sixth Year 2020 – 2021 Pre-K – Grade 8 700 Seventh Pre-K – Grade 8 2021 - 2022 725 Year Maximum 2022 - 2023 Pre-K – Grade 8 750 Is this a single-gender or co-educational school? Co-educational If single-gender, please indicate who will be served by school: Indicate ―Girls‖ or ―Boys‖ N/A Are you planning to work with a management organization? Indicate ―Yes‖ or ―No‖ No If so, please indicate the name of management organization: N/A 2 EunoiaSchools.org beautiful community beautiful education beautiful mind Have you submitted this application to other authorizer(s)? Indicate ―Yes‖ or ―No‖ No If so, please list the authorizer(s) and the date(s) of submission: N/A Do you plan to submit this application to another authorizer before the Mayor’s Office makes a final determination on your application? Indicate ―Yes‖ or ―No‖ No If so, please indicate the name of the authorizer: N/A Have you submitted any other applications to an authorizer in the previous five (5) years? Indicate ―Yes‖ or ―No‖ Yes If so, please indicate the name of the authorizer, the date, and the name of the school on the application. Indianapolis Mayor‘s Office of Charter Schools 2009 Paramount School of Excellence Ball State Office of Charter Schools Eunoia School of Excellence 2011 / 2013 3 EunoiaSchools.org beautiful community beautiful education beautiful mind Table of Contents Information Sheet 2 I. Vision 5 A. Mission 5 B. Need 5 C. Goals 8 II. Educational Services Provided 9 A. Educational Model 9 B. Curriculum 16 C. Assessment 23 D. Special Student Populations 24 III. Organizational Viability and Effectiveness 26 A. Enrollment / Demand 26 B. Governance and Management 31 C. Community Partnerships 37 D. Budget and Financial Matters 39 E. Facility 39 F. Transportation 40 Attachments 41 Assurances I Sample Performance Framework II FSSA Paths to Quality Standards III School Calendar IV Discipline Policy V Curriculum CK Map VI Organizational Documents VII Board Resumes VIII Board and Leaders Memorandum IX Letters of Support / Partnership X Community Survey Sample XI Budget Forecasts and Assumptions XII Facilities Plan XIII Timeline to Open XIV I’mPossible Asset Wheel / Framework XV 4 EunoiaSchools.org beautiful community beautiful education beautiful mind I. Vision Mission Statement The mission of Eunoia Learning Academy (ELA) is to serve high needs, urban children, offering a world-class education that celebrates and develops each child in a caring environment, nurturing creativity, fostering growth, developing responsibility, and promoting collective stewardship. Teaching children to respect themselves, others, and their environment, Eunoia leads every child in maximizing their potential and preparing them as global citizens. Eunoia Learning Academy will serve students, Pre-K – Grade 8, through use of multi-platform technology, varied instructional strategies, multiple intelligences, interdisciplinary curricula, and diverse backgrounds of staff. ELA is a holistic, wrap-around model, focused on education of the whole child through a projects-based, arts and humanities design. Providing a triangulation of support in three critical areas – education, social-emotional health, and the security of a place to call home – we believe when a child‘s fundamental needs are addressed, and a culture established that fosters safety, well being and consistency, the child is able to focus on learning and maximize potential. Similar in concept, the Harlem Children‘s Zone, created by Geoffrey Canada, is founded on the premise that to truly change the lives and level the playing field for high needs‘ urban children, equipping them to be able to compete with their middle-class peers, you need to change everything in their lives – their schools, their neighborhoods (social behavioral health) and even the child-rearing practices of their parents.1 Within the School‘s model, five unique programs define the wrap-around model, building a continuum of services. These include pre-K program for children ages 3 – 5 (those who do not yet qualify for Kindergarten as an early 5 year old) that operates as a standalone licensed center, a projects based, arts and humanities designed instructional program for students in Kindergarten – Grade 8, an alternative education program focused on developing resiliency and daily living skills, and academically re-engaging the highest needs students in Grades 5 – 8, a housing partnership that focuses on minimizing the stressors of economic crises on the child and family, and a community collaborative that provides training and employment skills to parents and community residents. Need The Indianapolis west side is a community with few high performing school options. Eunoia offers a high quality, free public school of choice to the students and families that define this growing international community. Located inside the Indianapolis Public School boundaries, at 3440 Guion Road, families have articulated the challenges faced with low performing public schools and high tuition based private schools within the community. Eunoia is the right strategy to counter this problem. Analysis noted in Indianapolis‘ Neighborhood Educational Opportunity (NEO) plan targets the Indianapolis west side as a community in need of high performing schools. ―Stand for Children,…completed a preliminary analysis of 2010-2011 data and found only 26% of seats (36,031 out of 140,840) citywide were high quality. In contrast, 44% of all public school seats (61,969) were low-quality or very low-quality.‖2 1 Tough, Paul. (2008). Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada‘s Quest to Change Harlem and America. New York. 2 Mayors Challenge (2013). Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge. Indianapolis. 5 EunoiaSchools.org beautiful community beautiful education beautiful mind A subgroup of the Speedway Submarket, the community is bound by zip code 46222. Community population was 34,044 as calculated in the 2010 Census. Use of the 2010 Census data allowed greater drill-down of community demographics. School age children represent 31.9% of the total community population, with age specific sub-group populations shown below. Age Group Total Children Under 5 years of age 3,056 Ages 5 – 9 years 2,724 Ages 10 – 14 2,292 In looking at the broader Speedway Submarket, a community of five zip codes, demographic data report 40,000 school age students residing within a five-mile radius of the proposed site and representative of a very diverse community. The community has been slated for growth as the city‘s international quadrant – a project of the Lafayette Square Area Coalition that aligns with Eunoia‘s focus on preparing children and youth as self-managers. The School‘s programmatic features – Pre-K, alternative program, projects based design, housing partnership, and employment training skills – provide a consistent continuum of support critical in helping children develop as self-managers, maximizing skills needed to succeed in today‘s global economy. Placing a charter school in the Speedway Submarket provides families a quality Pre-K – Grade 8 education that offers a content-based curriculum that is rigorous, relevant and real, and counters the effects of closing and troubled IPS schools and tuition costs of private schools in the community. The near west side of Indianapolis was carefully selected because of the alignment of community revitalization plans, global focus, and restructuring of high-quality student seats with those of the School‘s vision. In a community focused on celebrating diversity and unique differences, the potential for partnership with local IPS and other public schools is great and is a plan Eunoia is eager to discuss with IPS Superintendent, Dr. Lewis Ferebee. Based upon need for quality schools of choice, developing skilled educators, identifying creative fiduciary and fiscal strategies, and creating options for parents where schools are closing and or part of the Indiana Department of Education schools slated for takeover due to failing programs and student achievement, the time is right for creative collaboration amongst schools and organizations that serve children and communities. Eunoia is committed to serving as a community beacon and leader in developing networks for meeting such challenges through shared resources. The School property is located within the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) boundaries – a district for which only one other district in the state reported lower ISTEP+ pass rates. Only 48% of students across all tested grades met basic state standards in both Math and English/Language Arts in 2012. This is significantly below the 73% state average and 68% in Marion County. With IPS graduate rates still below state average and high dropout rates, the district is struggling. It wasn‘t long ago that former state Superintendent, Tony Bennett, was quoted stating, ―Indiana‘s high school dropouts not only have limited career opportunities, they are also twice as likely to be unemployed and more likely to end up in the criminal justice system‖.