On Aug. 15, 2012, former state school chief Tony Bennett stood on the freshly patched concrete steps of Gary’s iconic Roosevelt High School and declared the beginning of a bold education reform movement.
“We stand in front of you as one of the nation’s experiments. The eyes of the United States are upon EdisonLearning and the state of Indiana. Our state and nation are watching you for greatness.”
State and local officials, including Roosevelt alums State Sen. Earline Rogers and Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, looked on as Republican reformer Bennett deeded over academic operations at the legendary school to a private education turnaround company, hand-picked by the state.
The “greatness” hoped for by Bennett met with gridlock, but the Roosevelt College and Career Academy made some impressive strides. Still though, its state letter grade has remained an F.
Now, Bennett’s “experiment” could be coming to an end.
With EdisonLearning’s four-year contract expiring this year, it’s up to the State Board of Education to determine the fate of Roosevelt and three other schools in Indianapolis.
Before the board renders a decision, it must hold at least one public hearing at Roosevelt to gauge community sentiment and review the school’s status. Officials aren’t divulging how they’re leaning, saying they want to wait until the hearing is completed.
“I’m interested in hearing the progress that’s taken place over the last five years,” said Eddie Melton, of Merrillville, who represents Northwest Indiana on the State Board of Education. “At the end of the day, I want to make sure the children have what’s best for them.”
Melton said the hearing could take place in March, although no date has been announced.
Like state Superintendent Glenda Ritz, Melton is not in favor of continued state school takeovers. “I would recommend the state do all we can to help districts out before we look for a state takeover,” he said.
Samantha Hart, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Education, said Ritz plans to listen to the input from the local community before making a determination.
Gary Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt didn’t want to comment.
The state has several options.
It can return Roosevelt back to the Gary Community School Corp., a move some in the city might favor, but there are questions whether the shrinking school district can support a fourth high school.
Or the state board can direct EdisonLearning to apply for charter school status for Roosevelt. How long EdisonLearning, a for-profit company, wants to be associated with Roosevelt is also an unknown. EdisonLearning officials know the dire financial challenges facing the school district. A state-contracted financial specialist is pecking away at labor costs and other expenses.
The state can also choose a new intervention strategy that involves merging Roosevelt with a nearby school in a higher academic rating category. It could also assign a special management team to operate all or part of the school. Or it could approve a school improvement strategy proposed by the school district.
All the measures are uncharted territory for the state board since Bennett invoked the school takeover strategy in 2011. While the accountability law has been on the books since 1999, the state had never taken over a school before Bennett took action.
A school built to segregate black students from whites in the 1920s, Roosevelt maintained its strong legacy and traditions for decades. Recent years found the school struggling. Six straight report card F grades, landed it in Bennett’s cross hairs. Instead of giving the district more money to improve the school, Bennett turned to a private company. Money that would have gone to Gary – about $9 million a year – went to EdisonLearning to run Roosevelt.
The change in operation left the community initially confused. It stunned and angered Gary school officials who did little to foster a positive relationship with incoming EdisonLearning staffers.
Bickering began immediately over student records, changed locks, an unusable swimming pool, and maintenance responsibilities at the aging school building. A state fire marshal visit uncovered 13 outstanding fire and building fire code violations. In 2012, EdisonLearning sued the district over the issues and a judge in Indianapolis ordered both sides to reach an agreement.
The problems continued, though. Burst pipes in early 2013 flooded some classrooms and left the music wing off limits to students to this day.
Just last month, a boiler broke down again causing the cancellation of classes. Irate students, parents and staff members protested outside the school.
Bennett wasn’t around to ease the transition. His bold moves may have cost him traction with voters and he lost his re-election bid to political newcomer Glenda Ritz, the lone Democrat to win a statewide office in 2012.
Meanwhile, EdisonLearning Principal Donna Henry said during the first week of classes in 2012, she found just 23 of 146 seniors on track to graduate. One senior had just four credits. Henry said she was shocked by the severity of the deficiencies. In a 2013 interview, Henry said students had to be shown “what learning looks like.”
In trying to change the culture, EdisonLearning hired a truancy officer to catch kids trying to ditch school. In 2013, Roosevelt turned over the highest number of truants to the Gary City Court’s Project Rebuild truancy court program.
EdisonLearning spokesman Michael Serpe said student achievement has increased 35 percent in math and nearly 20 percent in reading since it began working with students. “In other words, the number of students now performing at their appropriate high school grade level has doubled since our involvement,” he said.
He said disciplinary and truancy cases have been reduced by nearly 70 percent. Attendance is up nearly 25 percent; and 85 percent of graduating seniors are enrolled in a two-or-four-year college/university or vocational school, serving in the military, or have a job.
Some parents and students say they’re satisfied with the school, even though its grade is unchanged.
“They started to build leadership at the school, there were more student-led activities,” said senior Cary Martin, who’s student council president. “They’ve given us trust.”
Academically, Martin said EdisonLearning increased the amount of technology at the school. “They did a pretty good job in the four years they’ve been here. I don’t want Gary to get the school back. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
The rancorous relationship between EdisonLearning and the school district improved when Thom Jackson became EdisonLearning’s CEO two years ago.
In December, 2014, Gary Superintendent Pruitt and Jackson addressed the State Board of Education in Indianapolis. Pruitt said they had “locked arms to do what’s best for children.”
They announced a partnership to create a financial and academic transformation. Jackson promised to hire financial experts and a turnaround team embedded in the district. The state funding they sought for the plan didn’t materialize.
Instead, Rogers secured a measure to provide the troubled district with a state-paid financial consultant from Michigan. Given three choices by the state, the Gary School Board selected Jack Martin, the former emergency manager of the Detroit Public Schools.
Martin reports to the Indiana Distressed Appeals Board who approved his $650,000 contract. Martin, who pegged the district’s debt at nearly $75 million in October, has not spoken specifically on Roosevelt’s future in the district.He did tell the DUAB that EdisonLearning was willing to take over the district’s human resources and payroll departments. “But that’s kind of a political issue…” he said.
He often makes it clear the financial situation is critical, such as the advice he gave the school board on Jan. 19.
“If we don’t do something, none of us will be here period,” Martin said.
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Options for Roosevelt
Following a public hearing, the Indiana State Board of Education can determine a course of action for the future of the Roosevelt College and Career Academy. The options include:
-Return Roosevelt to the Gary Community School Corp.
-Direct EdisonLearning to apply to a charter authorizer for charter school status for the school
– Implement a new intervention strategy that may include: merging the school with a nearby school in a higher grade category; assigning a special management team to operate all or part of the school or approving the school district’s plan to improve the school.
