Christel House Academy honored with Indiana Achievement Award
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Indianapolis, Ind. - The Robert K. Greenleaf Center has recognized Christel House Academy (CHA) as a 2013 recipient of the Indiana Achievement Awards (IAA). The prestigious award recognizes Indiana’s nonprofits for exemplary practices and demonstrated effectiveness.
“Striving for excellence is a quality deeply imbedded in our organizational culture,” said Christel DeHaan, Christel House Founder. “Christel House Academy is honored to be among the 2013 Indiana Achievement Award Winners. Christel House embraces the concepts of servant leadership and social responsibility through collaborative partnerships within the community, by working with parents to develop capacity and by empowering teachers to transform the lives of our students.”
Chartered by the Mayor of Indianapolis, CHA serves more than 600 inner-city students from kindergarten through high school. CHA has been recognized for its efforts to close the achievement gap among traditionally underserved and at-risk students. The school has achieved AYP every year it has been assessed, has consistently received the Indiana Department of Education’s highest rating, was designated as a "School to Watch" by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform and was one of 10 high-poverty schools in the nation to be recognized as a MetLife Foundation-NASSP “Breakthrough School” in 2012.
The IAA winners were judged by a coalition of Indiana foundation, nonprofit, and business leaders. The entrants were evaluated on qualities which included impact, innovation, board governance and funding. Additionally, the winning organizations were expected to embody the characteristics of servant-led organizations by the way they serve their colleagues and communities.
Christel House Academy will receive an unrestricted cash grant of $5,000, a professionally produced video to help tell its story, and recognition at the Indiana Achievement Awards celebration dinner on June 13, 2013.
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About Christel House Academy
Established as a public charter school in 2002, Christel House Academy (CHA) currently transforms the lives of more than 600 at-risk students. The school has a 93 percent free and reduced lunch population and a nearly equal representation of Hispanic, Black and White students; 30 percent of the students are English language learners; and 16 percent receive special education services. The Indiana Department of Education has consistently awarded CHA an ‘Exemplary’ rating for closing the achievement gap among at-risk students, and an ‘A’ grade for three years in a row. Recently, CHA became Indiana’s first charter school to receive the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform’s “School to Watch” designation for its commitment to student achievement, and was one of 10 high-poverty schools in the nation recognized as a MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough School. For more information, please visit www.cha.christelhouse.org.
About the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership
The Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership is an international nonprofit organization that promotes the awareness, understanding and practice of servant leadership. Robert K. Greenleaf founded the nonprofit Greenleaf Center (first called “The Center for Applied Ethics”) in 1964. Not long after, Greenleaf published “The Servant as Leader,” a landmark essay that coined the phrase "servant-leader" and launched the modern servant leadership movement. The Greenleaf Center pursues its mission through a variety of training programs, conferences, publications and partnerships.
For more information about the Greenleaf Center: www.greenleaf.org.