CSUSA PROPOSAL FOR EMMA
DONNAN

Prepared for the IPS Board of School Commissioners
January 27, 2015

Charter Schools USA
800 Corporate Drive, Suite 124
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334

 The Concept
In order to achieve better academic outcomes for students and families, Indianapolis Public Schools and
Charter Schools USA propose to partner together under the guidance of the State Board of Education to
create a 1321, IPS k-8 school operated by Charter Schools USA. The school would allow students to enter
the CSUSA educational model earlier and produce greater learning gains over time through a systemic k12 approach. The vision is to not only create a feeder pattern, but also to attract additional students to
the IPS system. This could serve as a model for how, under the guidance of the SBOE, “takeover”
schools can be transitioned back to the school corporation over time without jeopardizing progress that
has been made by the turnaround provider and without major disruption to the community.

The Specifics
The Emma Donnan facility would have a target enrollment of 840 students. For fall of 2015, IPS would
support the targeted recruitment of 300 IPS students from selected schools, including a logical
geographic feeder, to the newly formed k-6 grades of the k-8 school. CSUSA would keep the students
already enrolled and recruit an additional 300 students, targeting those who are not currently attending
an IPS school. This would result in a net gain of hundreds of new students to the IPS system. Siblings
(those children in the same family unit residing at the same address) of students currently attending a
CSUSA operated school would be permitted to enroll as well. Children of teachers teaching at a CSUSA
operated school could also enroll, but parents would have to provide transportation. Students would
matriculate from Emma Donnan to either Manual or Howe. CSUSA proposes that the 300 students
targeted for recruitment to attend Emma come from schools in the same general area, producing a
natural feeder pattern; however, students from other schools identified by IPS as part of the targeted
recruitment program would also be enrolled. CSUSA and IPS do not follow the same academic calendar.
CSUSA believes that the ability to implement a calendar reflective of its educational model is essential to
producing results. CSUSA recognizes that there may be additional costs associated with providing
transportation on days IPS is not in session and proposes a cost sharing arrangement be built into the
contract to address this.

The Contract
We envision a tri-party agreement, entered into by CSUSA, IPS, and SBOE for the Emma Donnan
Campus. The contract would provide detail on specifics; however, generally, IPS could provide services
such as transportation and food service. CSUSA would continue to provide all academic, management,
and operational functions as well as any before/after care services. Funding would be provided at the
same per pupil amount CSUSA would receive under the current model, adjusted for any overall changes
to the state funding formula. The contract would be for an initial term of 5 years and include annual
performance goals. A contract extension would be provided for each year the goals are met.

800 Corporate Drive, Suite 124, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
Phone: 954-202-3500 ● Fax: 954-202-3512
www.charterschoolsusa.com