Mayor to announce plans for new charter school 1.24.11

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
Southwestside facility would serve students with significant developmental disabilities

Mayor Greg Ballard plans to announce his support today for opening a new charter school in Indianapolis that would be operated by Damar Services and serve students with significant developmental, emotional and behavioral challenges.

The school will occupy an existing facility on Damar's Southwestside campus, at 6067 Decatur Blvd., said Karega Rausch, the city's charter schools director.

Ballard lauded Damar's 43-year history of serving children and adults with disabilities.

"I congratulate (Damar) for their dedication in meeting the needs of a very important group of students in our community," he said in remarks prepared for delivery today.

Charter schools are public schools allowed to operate with greater flexibility and fewer regulations than traditional public schools. Marion County has 22 charter schools sponsored by the mayor's office.

After Ballard's expected announcement, the only remaining hurdle for the school would be ratification by the City-County Council. The mayor indicated in his prepared remarks that the council is on board.

"I also thank the City-County Council for the bipartisan support the school has received thus far," Ballard said, "and for their consideration of a high-quality proposal that will meet a huge unmet need in our city."

Others in past years have proposed charter schools serving similar populations, Rausch said, but none demonstrated credentials as impressive as those of Damar.

The company serves more than 1,200 special-needs individuals on a daily basis, according to its website, and enables more than 96 percent of its clients to live more independent lives than before they began receiving Damar's services.

"We are really thrilled we have a quality operator that has a very long and very strong reputation in our community of providing specialized education and behavioral supports for children and adults facing these challenges," Rausch said.

Students attending the charter school would include those with cognitive disabilities, behavioral difficulties, autism and other developmental issues.

The school is expected to open this fall and serve 150 students in Grades K-12 during its first year, eventually expanding to serve a maximum of 400 students.

"We're prepared on this end," said Nicole Gilliam, spokeswoman for Damar.

For 15 years, Damar has operated an accredited residential school on its campus, a facility where about 200 students live during the time they are enrolled, Gilliam said.

The opening of Damar Charter Academy -- which will serve students who do not require on-campus living quarters -- will not affect the residential school's operations, officials said.

The City-County Council could vote in February on whether to ratify the Damar charter, city officials said, though they added that the council sets its own agenda.

The Damar school's annual budget would be roughly $2 million in its first year, assuming it meets enrollment expectations. Charter schools are funded in the same way as other schools, relying on state and federal funds, Rausch noted.

Marion County's 22 charter schools serve about 8,500 students.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indiana legislators are pushing proposals this year, such as allowing more entities to create charter schools, that would encourage more charter school startups statewide. Under current laws, entities authorized to launch charter schools are limited to the mayor of Indianapolis, school boards and public colleges that offer four-year degrees.

Ballard's office also is studying materials submitted by another entity proposing to operate a charter school. A local group called Achieve Now Learning wants to open a charter school in Warren Township -- on Washington Street, just west of Post Road -- that would focus on "dropout prevention and recovery."

A Texas company called Responsive Education Solutions, which operates more than 40 schools in Texas, would manage Premier High School of Indianapolis. That proposed charter school, however, is not close to securing a mayoral endorsement, Rausch said.

"They're where Damar was in their application process about five months ago," he said.

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