April 4, 2008
Charter Schools Place 10 Schools in Top 25 for Improvement in 2007 Public Law 221 Rankings, Including Top 2 Spots

• East Chicago Lighthouse Charter School ranks first in Indiana in PL 221 Improvement score
• Galileo Charter School in Richmond ranks second in Improvement
• 21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek (now known as Fall Creek Academy) in Indianapolis places first in Marion County in Improvement and ties for fifth in the state
• 15 of Indiana’s charter schools achieve PL 221 “Exemplary Progress” status
• Signature School in Evansville achieves a PL 221 Performance score of 95.9

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – On April 2, 2008, the Indiana Department of Education released its 2007 Public Law 221 assessment data and results.

East Chicago Lighthouse Charter School in East Chicago and Galileo Charter School in Richmond place first and second in the DOE’s ranking of Improvement scores. A total of ten charter schools ranked in the top 25 schools in Indiana in Improvement scores. In other words, 40% of the top 25 were charter schools.

The 21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek, now known as Fall Creek Academy, ranks first in Marion County in Improvement score, and ties for fifth place in all Indiana with Whiting High School.

Kevin Teasley, President of the Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation which sponsors and manages Fall Creek Academy, credits “the efforts we implemented last year at Fall Creek” for the sizeable improvement. “High expectations and close attention to follow through on the implementation of new programs paid off in this case. We provide grades K-12 and now a middle college program – our students take college courses while attending our high school. We also serve a very ‘at risk’ population. It is one thing to take on one segment of the ‘at risk’ population but quite another to take on an entire K-12 population and do so in a ‘small school’ environment and then get good results.”

Improvement scores contribute to a school’s PL 221 “status” classification in one of five categories.

Public Law 221 is school accountability legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 1999, two years prior to enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Based upon a rubric which merges ISTEP+ performance data with improvement in the passing percentage for each school, schools are placed in one of five categories: Exemplary Progress, Commendable Progress, Academic Progress, Academic Watch, or Academic Probation. Federally-required incorporation of NCLB, however, places a cap on progress status. If for 2 consecutive years a school did not make Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by NCLB (which uses standards unlike those in PL 221), that school cannot be granted a PL 221-status higher than “Academic Progress.”

Fifteen Indiana charter schools achieved Exemplary Progress status, including Signature School in Evansville. One of the highest performing high schools in the state and in the country, Signature School is ranked 86th out of the top 100 high schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report Magazine. Signature School recorded a Performance score of 95.9.

“When I see these kinds of results,” says Signature School Principal Vicki Snyder, “it speaks to the dedication and the commitment on the part of our teachers. They work very hard to make these kinds of things happen. They really do – along with the students – deserve all the recognition.”

Charter schools receiving Exemplary Progress status include (in no particular order):
Signature School
Irvington Community School
New Community School
Christel House Academy
Flanner House Elementary School
KIPP Indianapolis College Preparatory
Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
East Chicago Urban Enterprise Academy
Galileo Charter School
Andrew J. Brown Academy
KIPP Lead College Prep Charter School
Challenge Foundation Academy
Hope Academy
Geist Montessori Academy

The 10 charter schools placing in the top 25 in Improvement scores are, in descending rank:
East Chicago Lighthouse Charter School
Galileo Charter School
21st Century Charter School at Fall Creek, now known as Fall Creek Academy
Options Charter School – Noblesville
Gary Lighthouse Charter School
New Community School
Indianapolis Lighthouse Charter School
West Gary Lighthouse Charter School
KIPP Indianapolis College Preparatory
KIPP Lead College Prep Charter School

In contrast to the 10 charter schools in the top 25 in Improvement scores (40%), only 2 charter schools placed in the bottom 250 in Improvement scores (less than 1%) – where the counting stopped.