February 17, 2009
Parents check charter schools for the right fit
City's 17 alternative schools hold a public fair to explain their offerings

Indianapolis Star
By Diana Penner

Parents went shopping Monday at Circle Centre mall, but they weren't looking for clothes, shoes or toys.

Their mission was much more fundamental: They were browsing the schools at a Charter School Community Fair at the Indianapolis Artsgarden.

Dozens of parents picked up literature and interviewed staff from the 17 alternative public schools in the city, searching for the best matches for their children for the 2009-10 school year.

Sponsored by Mayor Greg Ballard, the first-of-its-kind fair allowed parents to supplement their research on the schools with one-stop shopping convenience.

And parents were being methodical and particular about making a decision so critical to their children's futures.

Among them was Kim Johnson, who was searching for the best fit for 7-year-old daughter Kaylin Johnson, now a second-grader at Building Blocks Academy, a private school on the Near Northside.
Johnson, an accountant at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, wants Kaylin to attend a larger school that offers the same focus on academics but also a broader selection of extracurricular options and a diverse student body.

She said she has been comparing schools and their test scores on the Internet and hasn't ruled out a Washington Township gifted and talented option for Kaylin. She might also just keep Kaylin where she is, Johnson said.

"I want to make sure that she has the best education that I can offer her -- and that I can afford," Johnson said.

Kaylin is not thrilled about the prospect of leaving her friends at Building Blocks, but Johnson is confident that if she chooses a different school, her daughter will come around -- especially if there's soccer.

Heather Staggs has three children -- Marisah, 11, fifth grade; Haylie, 12, sixth grade; and Dustin, 14, eighth grade -- already enrolled at Christel House Academy, a charter school at 2717 S. East St.
Staggs was at the fair shopping for Dustin's high school, as Christel House currently goes only through eighth grade. Her son attended second grade at an Indianapolis Public School, but he had attention-deficit issues and Staggs thought he would do better at Christel House. It worked out well for her son, so that's where she decided to send her daughters, too.

Now, she is trying to match Dustin's strengths and interests -- math and the arts, especially drawing -- with a high school that emphasizes those subjects.

Staggs attended Catholic schools through eighth grade and then transferred to Manual High School, where she said she felt lost. She said she didn't want that to happen to her kids.
"He needs more of a small community," she said.