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After months of controversy, an all-girls charter school is one step closer to opening in Washington Township. During a meeting Wednesday, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved the request to rezone a former church property for the Girls In STEM Academy.
But the path for final approval to open a school at that location is uncertain.
Opposition to the school appears to be growing. Officials and parents from the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township fiercely oppose the school. Twelve of the 25 Indianapolis City-County Council members now say they do not want the school to open at the proposed Michigan Road location.
The site is in the boundaries of Washington Township schools—and a few miles from other school districts, including Pike Township and Indianapolis Public Schools.
The council is the ultimate decision-maker in the rezoning process. The council typically votes to approve all requests at one time in a consent agenda. But the councilor of District 6, where the building is located, can call for an additional public hearing before a final council vote.
People opposed and in support of the charter school packed the chamber for the public hearing Wednesday afternoon. Those from Washington Township wore red in contrast to the purple shirts advocating for the Girls In STEM School.
The school, operated by Paramount Schools of Excellence, is projecting an enrollment of 125 students in grades K-6 in the first year. The projection increased to nearly 300 students in grades K-8 by 2028-29. Enrollment for the school is open but Paramount is planning to use a temporary location for the 2024-25 school year because the planned campus won’t be ready.
Paramount says they aim to close the gender and racial gaps in science, technology, engineering and mathematics achievement while preparing the students for high school, college, and careers in STEM fields, according to the planned curriculum.
But Councilor Dan Boots (D-District 3) said the school will only benefit the organizers behind it—Paramount and its partners Purdue Polytechnic High Schools and the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana.
“For this community and the people that live in that area, it does not serve them because they do not feel they need it. Washington Township, Pike Township are excellent school townships,” Boots said. “If a Black or brown young lady wants a STEM education, they can get it. It’s there.”
Girls In STEM Principal Chrystal Westerhaus pointed out that test scores at Washington Township are far lower for economically disadvantaged and Black students compared to their white classmates. Scores for similar students are higher at the local schools operated by Paramount.
“Our new school helps address this problem at the source,” Westerhaus said. “It allows them to thrive and excel in a proven supportive environment that provides a sense of belonging and purpose.”
Councilor Leroy Robinson (D-District 1) asked the commission to approve the rezoning and give Black and brown girls a chance to attend the school.
Jonathan Hughes, an attorney for Washington Township Schools, made several arguments for the commission to deny the rezoning, including strong local opposition, concerns around traffic safety and that using the site for a school is not compliant with the Comprehensive Plan for the City-County.
The development commission’s staff and hearing officer previously recommended the rezoning request be approved if Paramount agreed to several site changes, including construction of a three-lane driveway and a traffic control plan for arrival and dismissal of students.
The commission members voted 5-1 to approve the request. The City-County Council could take up the request next month. The full council meets April 1.
Charter schools are public schools that are privately managed. They are granted a contract to operate by one of several authorizers in the state. Last year Trine University, a private institution in Angola, authorized Paramount to open Girls IN STEM.
A charter school is directly overseen by a board that is not elected by voters. Most state funding for charters comes from per-student tuition support.
Eric Weddle is the WFYI education editor. Chalkbeat Indiana is a not-for-profit news site covering educational change in public schools.
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I know this is a third party piece, but it seems to fall below the standards of balance and fairness IBJ projects. The largely unsupported conclusion that opposition is growing and the little factoids at the end expose the bias of the source. I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but this is what I would like to know, as someone looking in from the outside. Do the Paramount schools really come closer to closing the gap for the test scores of Black and economically underprivileged kids? If so, how does Washington Township explain that gap and how do they intend to address it? Is the curriculum for the proposed school really that much different than the currciulum at Washington Township? Is this just recycling the same old thing in order to try to grab students, or is something new being offered. Again, from the outside, this feels very much like one school system trying to protect its territory from the attempt of a charter school to reach a targeted group of students. Can IBJ please go beyond the surface arguments and conclusions and provide some substance to allow people to make up their minds based on the facts, not the rhetoric and the politics? Your source publication is not doing that. It would be very helpful if you did.
MW: your comments are succinct and thoughtful. Here’s the rub:
The parent company of this proposed school has a dismal current record in these matters. And, the existing nearby school districts–WashTwp and Pike–meet the needs of the proposed student body. Very well.
It’s a tuition-grab. Vouchers deplete resources from public schools. Our stated is awash in poor public policy in these regards. Sadly. This money-grab won’t stop. But it should.
Sounds like a decision that should be left to area parents – and if the townships are that strong academically, they shouldn’t be so threatened. This isn’t the Pike and Washington Townships of 20 plus years ago.
Policymakers have an obligation to maximize education choices for parents based on the needs of their children. This right of choice was secured years ago by the Indiana General Assembly and has been enjoyed by thousands of Hoosier families. It is outrageous that MSD Washington Township (or any public school district in the future) would use tax dollars to try to block this important choice for local parents. It is also outrageous that they would claim as one of its arguments that the district already has two “high-performing” schools nearby when even a cursory look at the Indiana Dept. of Education data says otherwise. According to IDOE, they are in fact two of the lowest performing schools in the district. At one, only 54% of white students, 8.7% of black students, and 6.4% of Hispanic students are proficient when tested in 6th grade math. Only 5.8% of students on Free and Reduced lunch demonstrated such proficiency in math. At the other school, there was a 50% achievement gap between white students and those of color. To say a charter school focused on math and other STEM subjects for girls of color is not needed in Washington Township — let alone desperately needed — is to blindly deny the facts.