THEA BOWMAN LEADERSHIP Academy (pictured) is under pressure to remain open.
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy, one of Indiana’s oldest charter schools and also Gary’s 1st is again uncertain about its future. The school serves grades K-12.
The Herald Republican, an Angola, Indiana newspaper, reported Bowman’s authorizer voted at its Wednesday, December 13 board meeting to revoke its charter for the school at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
At the same meeting, the authorizer – Education One – also voted to reject a charter application from Genius School in Indianapolis, citing concerns with inflated enrollment targets and financial projections.
Education One is the authorizing board at Trine University, in Angola. According to the university’s website, 15 Indiana charter schools are under the authorization of Education One. Organizations that operate a charter school in Indiana must get authorization from the Indiana Charter School Board, a four-year university in Indiana, or an Indiana city mayor.
In a statement to the Herald Republican after the board meeting, Lindsay Omlor, executive director for Education One said, “Today’s difficult decision was made first and foremost with the interests of students, families and taxpayers in mind. While we never set out to close a school, it is our obligation to ensure our schools are upholding their duty to provide high quality educational options for kids and communities across the state.”
TBLA has demonstrated ongoing deficiencies over the course of the last seven years in regard to academic performance and has consistently declined in their organizational performance over time, the statement from Education One said.
Omlor said, “Prior to the start of the 2023-24 school year, board and school officials were made aware that because of these historical deficiencies, the school was being placed on Tier III: Probationary Status with Education One.”
“Unfortunately, we’re now halfway through the school year and we’ve seen no evidence of improvement in regards to the noted deficiencies,” said Omlor. “What’s even more disappointing is that the TBLA board has now decided to seek charter authorization with another entity, as opposed to rectifying their deficiencies, which speaks to another issue altogether.”
Chalkbeat, a news outlet with a focus on education, reported this statement from Omlor: “This school year alone, staff turnover at Thea Bowman is the highest it’s been for the school at over 50%. Enrollment has also declined from over 1,200 students seven years ago to 850 this year.”
Chalkbeat reported, “Bowman also underperforms on state tests compared to some similar nearby schools, according to annual performance reviews — most notably at the high school level. It has consistently failed to meet overall academic standards in such annual reviews.”
If Bowman doesn’t find an authorizer, the school will have to close at the end of the school year.
Eve Gomez, Bowman’s board chair told the Post-Tribune, “It is clear that the actions of the Education One Board are in retaliation for TBLA making application to change Authorizers.” Gomez said the school notified Education One it filed an application to change charter authorizers in October.
Bowman opened in 2003 under the authorization of Ball State University. In 2016, Ball State announced it would revoke Bowman’s charter, sending the school in search of a new authorizer. That’s when Trine University stepped in.
Olmor said the concerns Ball State had were remedied within the first two years that the school began working with Education One. “However, as additional areas of concern have emerged, it is clear that the school lacks the academic and organizational capacity to fulfill the obligations outlined in its charter.”
A special school board meeting was held at Bowman on Tuesday evening, December 19, to approve and ratify their decision to authorize Attorney Jewell Harris to proceed with litigation on their behalf.
