Walton Family Foundation Awards $250,000 to Build ‘Oasis’ for Students of Christel House Academy West
Indianapolis, Ind. (PRWEB) November 14, 2013 -- The Walton Family Foundation has awarded a grant of $250,000 to Christel House Academy West for the school to create a safe, nurturing environment in which students learn, create and excel.
In Indianapolis, less than half of the city’s fourth graders are proficient in math, and almost two-thirds of eighth graders are not yet proficient readers and writers, according to a report from the National Assessment of Education Progress. Among blacks and Latinos in Indianapolis, the statistics are worse. In 2010, the Schott Foundation identified Indianapolis as one of the top 10 cities with the largest gap between the graduation rates of African-American males and white males – reporting a 30 percent gap in achievement.
The Walton Family Foundation took note of Christel House’s holistic model, which has been vetted and proven in learning centers across the world since 1998. Christel House Academy West will replicate the model of Christel House Academy South and will provide:
• High-quality, international standards-based academic instruction
• Education complemented with Spanish instruction and a strong emphasis on technology
• On-site mental health and social services
• Outreach to parents and families
• Art, music, physical education and extracurricular activities
• A longer school year and school day (Christel House Academy West will have 200 school days per year compared to the standard 180; and school days are seven hours long, not including after-school activities, compared to the standard 6 hours in the district)
By using this model, Christel House Academy South has proven that inner-city kids can consistently score well on ISTEP+ exams.
“We are looking forward to partnering with the Westside community to create new opportunities for children and families to learn, grow and play,” said Carey Dahncke, Chief Academic Officer, Christel House Academy.
The Walton Family Foundation grant will assist in providing: classroom furniture, instructional equipment, instructional software, administrative salaries, office furniture, and office technology for Christel House Academy West.
Interest applications for Christel House Academy West are available now at west.chacademy.org. Applications for the enrollment lottery, as mandated for charter schools in the State of Indiana, will be accepted beginning in January 2014.
-30-
About the Walton Family Foundation
Driven by the urgent need to improve K-12 education in the United States, the Walton Family Foundation has invested more than $1 billion to date in initiatives that expand parental choice and equal opportunity in education. Empowering parents to choose quality schools, regardless of type - traditional public, private or public charter school - will help spur the bold transformation of our national K-12 system of public education. Our nation’s children will only reach their potential in today’s global economy by having access to a high-quality, publicly funded education. Visit the foundation at: http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org.
About Christel House Academy West
Christel House Academy West, a new public charter school on the near Westside of Indianapolis, will open in August 2014. It will provide inner-city, at-risk students in grades K-2 numerous opportunities to realize and activate their full potential. Grades will be added organically every year up to grade 12. To learn more or find an interest application, please visit: west.chacademy.org.
Heather Richey, Christel House International, http://www.christelhouse.org, +1 (317) 464-8268, [email protected]
Share this article