INDIANAPOLIS — Good news for families in Gary: Thea Bowman Leadership Academy is not headed anywhere.
The Indiana State Board of Education approved the school’s new charter authorizer on Wednesday, effectively saving it from having to shut its doors.
“It’s been in the air for so long, just waiting … I think now everybody just can finally breathe and can be prepared to move forward,” said Marisa Simmons, the school’s principal.
Simmons was joined by other school leaders who also traveled downstate to witness the vote in person. Thea Bowman’s board president, Eve Gomez, said the approval marked a “good day for Gary, Indiana.”
In December, Thea Bowman’s charter was abruptly revoked by its previous authorizer, Education One, which is housed within Trine University in Angola, Indiana. The decision was based on “historical deficiencies” in academic and organizational performance.
According to Education One’s executive director, Lindsay Omlor, the charter school consistently underperformed since authorization began in 2016. At the start of the school year, she said it was put on probationary status, but steps weren’t taken to follow an improvement plan. When staff learned that Thea Bowman was looking for a new authorizer, Education One elected to pull the charter.
Thea Bowman’s new authorizer is affiliated with Calumet College of St. Joseph, a Catholic college in Whiting, Indiana. In January, the college’s charter board voted to approve the school’s application for authorization after hearing testimonies from students, parents, staff members, and Mayor Eddie Melton, an alum of CCSJ.
Melton also wrote a letter to the Board of Education supporting the authorization approval, which was read aloud on Wednesday. In it, he called the charter school a “cornerstone” of Gary’s educational system and a “beacon of hope” for kids in the city.
Parent Teneia Dilosa is a proud “Bowman baby” — she graduated from the charter school, and her son is now in the first grade there. Though she had a feeling the school wasn’t going to close down, she said it was necessary to express why she felt Thea Bowman should be authorized at the CCSJ Charter Authority meeting in January.
Dilosa said she enjoys the school’s family environment the most and has no complaints about her experience there. Despite this, she’s still aware of other parents’ and former students’ concerns about the school’s quality.
While the school boasts the highest IREAD passage rate in the city at 89.1%, over half of its teachers are not fully licensed, and only 8.5% of its students are proficient in math. Last year was also not the first time Thea Bowman’s charter had been revoked. In 2016, Ball State University pulled its authorization, citing financial and governance issues.
Carrie Hutton, executive director of the CCSJ Charter Authority, referenced some of the school’s longstanding critiques and presented a plan to address them on Wednesday. This included actions like ongoing board training, additional dual-credit courses for students, and getting more teachers appropriately licensed through the college.
“We have a vested interest in student success at [Thea Bowman]. Their graduates are our neighbors, they’re our coworkers, they’re students at our college. Their success directly impact our shared community,” Hutton said.
With a new authorizer on board and an expansion that broke ground earlier this year, Dilosa is hopeful about the school’s future. The $8 million expansion will see the construction of K-5 classrooms, athletic fields, a health clinic, and more for the campus. School board president Gomez said the project’s first phase is expected to be completed in September.
“It’s exciting. It brings something positive to the city of Gary,” Dilosa said. “I think anytime people are able to see something new coming to the area, up to date, that’s obviously a win.”