Christel House Academy and DORS charters approved by Indianapolis City-County Council

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Indianapolis, Ind. - The Indianapolis City-County Council granted four new charters to Christel House Academy. The Academy is an award winning charter school that was recently recognized nationally by the MetLife Foundation - NAASP Breakthrough Schools program.

With a waitlist exceeding 300 students annually, The Mind Trust awarded Christel House a Charter School Incubator grant last year. Of the four new charters granted, three will be used to replicate Christel House DORS, an adult dropout recovery high school.

“These additional charters will allow Christel House to reach another high-needs area in our city. Giving quality educational options to at-risk children, and a second chance to adults who did not complete high school. This is a major step forward in fulfilling our mission by empowering the most vulnerable in our community to become productive, contributing members of society,” said Carey Dahncke, Director and Chief Academic Officer, Christel House Academy.

Christel House will first open Christel House Academy West on the old Central State Hospital grounds in August 2014. Located at Washington and Tibbs in Indianapolis, this school will serve traditional aged students in grades K-12 and plans to be an anchor in the new Central Greens development.

Christel House DORS West will open in August 2015 on the same campus. This school will enroll adults over the age of 18 who have dropped out of high school and desire to earn a high school diploma, not a GED.

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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 economically disadvantaged 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.

For more information, please visit www.chacademy.org

About Christel House DORS

Opened in August 2012 as a public charter school, Christel House DORS (dropout recovery school) gives students ages 18 and above a second chance to earn a high school diploma, not a GED. DORS provides a complete high school curriculum focused on competency-based achievement, individualized graduation and career planning assistance that includes options for dual-credit courses, continued education and/or vocational certifications.

For more information, please visit www.chdors.org.