Christel House Academy Awarded Interactive Intelligence Foundation Grant - Only K-12 school in U.S. to receive funding -
Monday, February 22, 2016
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Christel House Academy is pleased to be the only K-12 school in the U.S. to receive an Interactive Intelligence Foundation grant for STEM-related programming and technology opportunities for at-risk youth. The Interactive Intelligence Foundation Corp. is a not-for-profit charitable corporation whose main mission is to use resources and funding to foster life improvements for at-risk youth.
“The grant allows Christel House Academy to form partnerships with the University of Indianapolis for STEM-themed activities and Camptown, (outdoor adventures for youth), for environmental and leadership programs,” Carey Dahncke, Chief Academic Officer/Director.
Christel House leads the way in technology programs for students
In addition, Christel House Academy is a local example of a school that is leading the charge in rolling out coding and computer technology opportunities to all of its students, which ties in with President Obama’s initiative mentioned in his State of the Union Address. Christel House Academy has over 70 students enrolled in computer science courses as part of Nextech’s (www.nextech.org) partnership with Code.org – working to develop the next generation tech pioneers.
Through a public-private partnership, each high school student was screened this year for computer coding abilities through a proprietary assessment developed by the Eleven Fifty Academy (www.elevenfifty.org), the innovative coding academy developed by the Indiana technology entrepreneur Scott Jones. This partnership allows intercity, minority students with strong aptitude to take highly specialized computer coding coursework at the Eleven Fifty Academy – helping to close the nation’s growing technology skills gap.
A special partnership is also underway with the University of Indianapolis to develop a cyber security summer camp in collaboration with UIndy’s cybersecurity criminal justice program. And finally, Academy South middle school students participated in the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot Competition this year with support from a collection of local IT companies – including Interactive Intelligence (www.inin.com), Allegient (www.allegient.com), and Rook Security (www.rooksecurity.com).
While low-income and minority students are persistently underrepresented in technology programs, Christel House Academy is leading the way to reverse that trend.
About Christel House Academy
Established as a public charter school in 2002, Christel House Academy (CHA) today operates four schools in Indianapolis—CHA South, serving 641 at-risk students in grades K-12; CHA West currently serving 198 students from K-3, and two adult high schools, Christel House DORS South with 268 students and Christel House DORS West with an enrollment of 151 students. CHA provides a holistic human development approach that focuses on building strong character to complement each child’s rigorous academic foundation. Through its College & Careers program, CHA continues to support its graduates through post-secondary education and job placement so they become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.
Christel House Academy South was Indiana’s first charter school to receive the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform’s “School to Watch” designation. Additional awards include the Indiana Achievement and Breakthrough Schools Awards. For more information, please visit www.chacademy.org.