A charter school review panel composed of Ball State faculty and external advisors specializing in education reviewed 24 formal applications before recommending the seven schools to university President Blaine A. Brownell.

"Part of Ball State's mission is to serve the state by providing access to innovative educational programs," Brownell said. "When the leadership of the state established charter schools, we felt we should serve as a partner in the process.

"We based that belief on the experience we have gained through our involvement in the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, Burris Laboratory School, 23 professional development schools and a host of other highly regarded educational endeavors."

"These seven schools will serve children across the state, and provide parents the opportunity to enroll their children in a public school that best fits their needs," said Roy Weaver, dean of Ball State's Teachers College. "Each charter comes with the promise of more individualized instruction, creative teaching and unique educational opportunities," he said.

As one example of the unique approach of each school, Weaver pointed to the Charter School of the Dunes in Gary. It proposes rigorous academic standards encouraging solid character, productive citizenship and environmental stewardship. The school will be actively linked to several local businesses and agencies, including the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore which the school hopes to use as an ecological laboratory. The school plans to open in fall 2003 and eventually hopes to achieve an enrollment of 426 students in grades K-5.

The other six schools plan to open this fall. Listed with their locations, initial grade ranges and prospective enrollments, the schools are:

• Campagna Academy Charter School, Schererville, 11-12, 16
• Community Montessori, Inc., Floyds Knobs, K-4, 74
• Irvington Community School, Indianapolis, K-5, 96
• New Community School, West Lafayette, K-7, 48
• Timothy L. Johnson Academy, Fort Wayne, K-5, 250
• Veritas Academy, Inc. South Bend, K-5, 60

"The opening of these schools is contingent upon their meeting our contractual requirements," Weaver said. "They must show they can meet the standards of the charter school legislation and demonstrate they have the financial resources to open and operate the school."

Ball State is the first university in Indiana to sponsor charter schools. A bill approved last year by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Frank O'Bannon gave four-year state universities the authority to grant an unlimited number of charters.

Charter schools are public schools that are given a greater degree of freedom than traditional public schools. They are nondiscriminating and nonsectarian.

As a charter schools sponsor, Ball State will not run the schools, but reserves the right to rescind a charter if a school fails to meet performance standards.

"The review panel recommended these seven schools because they presented the most comprehensive plans to meet the needs of students through this challenging new venture in public education," Brownell said.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on this story, contact Roy Weaver, dean of Teachers College, at (765) 285-5251 or rweaver@bsu.edu.)