Ball State President Blaine A. Brownell and Timothy P. Ehrgott, president of the Irvington Community School, signed the agreement Tuesday at the school on the Indianapolis east side.

"This begins another chapter in Ball State's long and successful history of leading educational innovations in Indiana," Brownell said. "The Irvington Community School promises a choice for parents who are looking for a school to best fit their children's needs."

Irvington Community School is the first of seven schools chartered by Ball State in March to sign a formal agreement. The school, which will open in the fall, has received applications from 170 prospective students and dozens more are expected before the May 11 application deadline.

"We had originally hoped to open with 96 students in grades K-5, but because of the high interest, we will enroll 120 students this fall," Ehrgott said.

Ehrgott said he is not surprised by the overall interest in the school, but a portion of the applications exceeded his expectations.

"We anticipated we would receive a large number of applications for children in the lower grades," he said. "But it's been exciting to see a larger-than-expected number of parents consider sending their fourth and fifth graders here, which says to me parents see us as an attractive alternative and a reason to cement their ties to the Irvington community."

Irvington Community School will use an Internet-based curriculum developed by K12, a national education resource company, which is working with home schoolers and "virtual" charter schools. Irvington will be K12's first "bricks and mortar" school in the United States.

"Unique curriculums are a characteristic of all the schools we will charter," Brownell said. "We will watch their progress very closely and will use what we learn from these schools to train the teachers of the future."

"Experimentation and innovation are key factors in the charter schools initiative," said Roy Weaver, dean of Teachers College. "The individualized, technology-based approach at Irvington Community School is an excellent illustration. Much can be learned by the experiment and the results may influence teaching and learning in other schools."

Ball State is the first state university in Indiana to sponsor charter schools under a law created in 2001. Charter schools are nondiscriminating, nonsectarian public schools that are given a greater degree of freedom than traditional schools.

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 contract serves as Irvington Community School's charter and also outlines Ball State's process for evaluating the school's progress.

Five other charter schools sponsored by Ball State plan to open this year. 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 Charter School of the Dunes in Gary has proposed opening in fall 2003 and eventually hopes to achieve an enrollment of 426 students in grades K-5.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information about Ball State's charter schools initiative, contact Roy Weaver at (765) 285-5251 or rweaver@bsu.edu.)