Indianapolis Charter School Board Meeting – April 29, 2025
Indianapolis Charter School Board Meeting – April 29, 2025
The Indianapolis Charter School Board convened on April 29, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the City-County Building, Conference Room 260, to consider three charter applications: Victory College Prep (replication for middle and high school), Indiana Math and Science Academy (replication for a third campus), and Legal Prep Charter Academy (prospectus for a new school). The meeting included public comment, presentations, board discussion, and votes on two applications. The board also received an overview of OEI's application and replication process.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Over 50 online comments were submitted to the board prior to the meeting. In-person testimony included:
- Robert Farr (Legal Prep teacher, Chicago) expressed support for Legal Prep, describing its law curriculum, judicial internships, and college preparation.
- Lenora McKissick (Legal Prep staff and parent) shared her son's positive experience and the school's family environment.
- Nazir Richard (Legal Prep alumnus) credited the school for providing critical thinking skills and opportunities.
- Jaleel Ware (Legal Prep senior) highlighted judicial internships and the school's support system.
- Joseph Myers (VCP board chair) and Sharinta Hewlett (VCP parent and teacher) supported VCP's replication, citing financial stability, community commitment, and the need for standalone middle and high schools.
- Megan Kinsey (VCP teacher) advocated for a standalone high school to improve college-going culture and dual credit participation.
- Ross Drain and Aileen Hernandez (VCP alumni) shared their success in college and credited VCP.
- Darius Sawyer (Teach for America) endorsed VCP's partnership and trustworthiness.
- Erica Cheney (Employ Indy) praised VCP's workforce readiness and high graduation rates.
- Keith Brown (IMSA teacher) and Okbayomi Coloridge (IMSA senior) supported IMSA's replication, noting STEM focus, debate, and advanced coursework.
- Falu Matsu Keita (IMSA student) and Georgia Ross (IMSA instructional coach) highlighted STEM opportunities and teacher commitment.
- Haley Griffin (IMSA regional coach) and Sandra Harris (IMSA science teacher) emphasized inquiry-based learning and STEM certification.
- Jesse Gardner (parent of IMSA student) and Courtney Kendrick (educator) supported IMSA's third campus, citing family culture and career readiness.
- Mike Saradakis (teacher) asked the board to postpone all approvals until a feasibility study is completed, citing charter school instability and recent state funding changes.
- Barbara Garrett (educator) and another parent supported IMSA for its stability, small class sizes, and cultural diversity.
Discussion Items
OEI Overview of Application Process
- Shaina Cavazos (OEI Director) outlined the multi-month review process, including external evaluation, capacity interviews, and pre-opening requirements. She noted that replication applications proceed differently than prospectus applications.
Victory College Prep – Middle and High School Replication
- Presentation: Ryan Gall (Executive Director) presented VCP's strategic plan to transition from a single K-12 school to a three-school network. He highlighted: 88% staffed for next year, purchase of Bethel Elementary for $4.5 million cash, strong financial reserves, and 96% reenrollment. Aviance Brown (Middle School Principal) and Chelsea Easter (High School Principal) detailed academic models, co-teaching, advisory periods, dual credit, internships, and alumni coaching. Goals include exceeding state proficiency by 2028, 80% college matriculation, and 90% teacher retention.
- Board Questions: Topics included financial sustainability, transportation (80% of students ride buses), enrollment projections (1,300 for 2025-26, 1,500 by 2028), plans if enrollment falls short, community engagement (Southeast Community Services partnership, FAFSA nights), suspension reasons (vaping, physical altercations), and maintaining school culture after split. The board also clarified that VCP does not cherry-pick students and has open enrollment.
Indiana Math and Science Academy – Replication (IMSA Central)
- Presentation: Wednesday Watson (Founding School Leader) and Jim Sparks (Board Chair) presented IMSA's track record at West and North campuses. West serves 554 students with 95% certified teachers, 44% English learners, and strong STEM certification. North serves a K-12 population with 83% certified teachers. IMSA West's ELA proficiency doubled IPS rates; North's IREAD pass rate grew 30 percentage points from 2023 to 2024. The proposed slow-growth model starts with K-6 (210 students) in fall 2026, reaching K-12 with 510 students by 2032-33. A facility (former IPS 75) has been secured with a letter of support. Chris Boldman (External Affairs) detailed community engagement in the Hallville neighborhood, including partnerships with churches, Math Track, and Christamore House. Financial plans include a $550,000 interest-free loan from Concept Schools and a $250,000 Mind Trust grant. Halil Dugru (Treasurer) projected a positive cash flow of $2.7 million by year five.
- Board Questions: The board discussed potential cannibalization of students from existing IMSA campuses, community engagement depth, historical enrollment consistency (both campuses at full scale for over a decade), teacher certification (8% uncertified), and plans to address academic gaps at North. The board also asked about contingency plans if federal funding is reduced. IMSA committed to pulling back 100% of management fees if enrollment targets are missed. Board members emphasized the need for strong local community ties.
Legal Prep Charter Academy – Prospectus Application (No Vote)
- Presentation: Sam Finkelstein (CEO) and Joseph Williams (Incoming Principal) presented a 6-12 college prep school with a legal theme. The model includes law courses at each grade level, dual credit via Ivy Tech, Indiana College Corps, and partnerships with law firms, McKinney School of Law, and John Deere. The school plans a slow-growth start with 6th and 9th grades (170 students) in fall 2026, reaching full capacity in year four. The school already has a facility identified near downtown. SEL support is emphasized, with a 1:75 counselor-to-student ratio. The Indianapolis board is being built with local lawyers and community leaders; seven of nine seats will be local. Jason Brown (Board Chair) highlighted the separation from the Chicago board and arms-length contracts.
- Board Questions: The board asked about the decision to apply to OEI (not the state), demographic composition, minimum viable enrollment (100 students), and how the school will engage families skeptical of the legal system. Andrea Neely stressed the importance of local governance and community voice. Jasmine Jackson noted the unique model but raised concerns about the middle-high school grade configuration. The board also noted potential competition with Arsenal Tech's law and public policy magnet.
Key Outcomes
- Victory College Prep Middle School: Motion to approve charter application passed unanimously (8-0? The transcript shows 8 votes: Bertram, Jasmine, Shamika, Andrea, Marco, Pam, Jennifer, Mary Ann – all yes, so 8-0? Wait, by my count, 8 members voted. Unanimous.)
- Victory College Prep High School: Motion approved 7-1 (Shamika Anderson voted no).
- Indiana Math and Science Academy Central: Motion approved unanimously (8-0? Transcript shows Bertram (yes with statement), Jasmine yes, Jimika yes, Andrea yes, Marco yes, Pam yes, Jennifer yes, Mary Ann yes – unanimous).
- Legal Prep Charter Academy: No vote taken; the prospectus will continue to the full application stage, with a final public hearing and board vote scheduled for June 24, 2025.
- The meeting adjourned after approximately 4 hours (started at 6 p.m., ended after 10 p.m.).
Meeting Transcript
I think that's just how that just might be how out of this. Um, we're gonna go ahead and get started. We have a couple board members who are still making the way in their building. I think there might be a game tonight. Um, so we're just fighting a little bit of traffic. Um, so as folks come in, I um will kind of introduce us, and then by the time we get to um public comments and of course any of the presentations, I expect that everyone will be here. So I'm gonna jump in front over there. But thank you guys for being here, and we will get started. All right, good evening. Welcome everybody to the Indianapolis Charter School Board meeting for spring 2025. I'm Shana Cavassos. I'm the director of the Office of Education Innovation. Um, this is our agenda this evening. We have a full slate. Um, I would oh, we are gonna unmute. There we go. Um, that's actually a good reminder. We do have some virtual uh participants tonight. Um, you can see them via the screen up at the front, and they can hear us and also all the presenters. Um, so should work pretty smoothly. But if at any point we need to jump in with tech support, we will. Um and I think we will start since we have some familiar faces, a couple new faces. We're gonna start by in having every board member just introduce themselves, and we will have our missing members introduce themselves as they as they arrive. We'll go ahead and start. Um I'm gonna go ahead and introduce our well, no, uh let's say um Andrea, could you come up mute please and introduce yourself and then we'll go to you, Marco. Um good afternoon, everyone. I'm Ray and Newey, uh, president deal diamond or reserve um the mayors in Indianapolis in 2015 in this row, and uh look forward to um presentation with that. Hey Marco Loming is with Santa Creative Union and being very happy that we've got this board and looking forward for tonight. And I'm sorry that I'm not there, I'm out of the CD, but we are here. Thank you. Hi, I'm Mary Ann Sullivan, and um want to welcome everyone who's here tonight. Um, and also thank Mayor Hogsett. This is my first meeting, my first meeting is chair, and I really appreciate him giving me the opportunity to support educational opportunity and excellence for kids, families, and communities in Indy. So thanks very much. Glad to be here, glad to have everyone here and hopefully kick up the process in the right way. Thank you. Pam Hickman, uh, I'm a small business owner, and I've been on the this particular board for several years. Good evening, Jamaica Anderson, president from New York Development Corporation, and this is my first year on the school board. Thank you. Good evening. I am Jasmine Jackson, uh chief of staff of Rise ND, and I have been on the Indianapolis Charter School Board for about two and a half years. Thank you so much. Um, so just the shape of this evening, you can kind of see up here. I'm gonna give a little bit more information about OEI's application process and where we are in that process. Then we will move to public comment. We will be taking all of our public comment in this portion at the top. Um, if you have not yet signed up to give comment tonight, please come up and uh sign in. We will kind of call folks in the order that they sign up. Um, and then we will commence with the three presentations that we have this evening. Um we'll be hearing from Victory College Prep on their replication applications for middle and high schools, Indiana Math and Science Academy for their replication, and uh prospectus presentation from Legal Prep Charter Academy.
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