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This article was originally published by Mirror Indy.
Bethel Park Elementary could close next year. Or, it could be merged with another nearby charter school. Or, its current leadership could continue running the Indianapolis school under the oversight of a new charter operator.
It’s unclear exactly what the school’s operation will look like next year. What is certain is that the southeast side school will no longer operate under the oversight of the city’s Office of Education Innovation (OEI) after June 30.
School leaders received a letter from the city office last week that it is revoking the school’s charter. The city office cited longstanding concerns over the school’s finances.
Bethel Park leadership discussed their charter’s revocation in a public school board meeting Jan. 22, but declined to answer questions about what comes next. They said they still needed time to process the news.
“This is all fresh right now,” Principal Jade Welch told Mirror Indy after the meeting. “I want to help you as much as possible, but right now is not the best time.”
The revocation letter was issued a day after Chalkbeat Indiana reported on the school’s uncertain future as its authorizer contemplated pulling its support.
Meanwhile, another southeast side school, Victory College Prep, says it’s weeks away from closing on an offer to purchase the building Bethel Park uses in hopes of turning it into a high school.
Bethel Park’s charter revoked
Bethel Park leadership discussed their charter’s revocation letter for the first time publicly in a board meeting Jan. 22. Bethel Park Board President Lakisha Crawford said she was delivered a letter on Jan. 17 informing Bethel Park leadership that the city office planned to pull its support for the school.
The revocation letter comes after Bethel Park had been put on notice in late November over concerns of the school’s financial stability. It also aligns with the June 30 date Bethel Park’s current charter was due to end.
The school was going through a charter renewal process that would have included a public hearing and a chance for Bethel Park to defend its case for a continued relationship with the city office — until the November revocation notice put a pause in that.
Bethel Park leaders expressed other frustrations during their Jan. 22 meeting, saying they’d been contacted by the city office with concerns in the past and had attempted to address them through its plans to hire an outside financial consultant. They also said other concerns raised in the revocation letter, such as a midyear change in the school’s principal, had been communicated to the city office months ago.
“The timelines were lined up to make it not possible for us to respond appropriately and the benchmarks for what we needed to give them kept changing,” board member Samantha Bruton said during the meeting. “I don’t think the process was handled in a way that gave us a chance.”
Former Bethel Park Principal Jennica Adkins told Chalkbeat in a story published last week that she felt decisions had already been made for the school, including pressure to merge with Victory College Prep.
The city office also authorizes Victory College Prep and acknowledged in the Chalkbeat story that the office previously approached Victory College Prep to ask about its capacity to support another school.
OEI Director Shaina Cavazos told Mirror Indy this week that her concerns for Bethel Park’s finances go back years and any question about the revocation letter’s timing was purely incidental.
She said she explained in writing that Bethel Park leadership could request a public revocation meeting but that no one did.
“Our intention is that this decision does not disrupt learning,” Cavazos said. “As long as the school is able to operate, we want to ensure that they can finish out the year in as stable a way as possible for students and families.”
Victory College Prep could step in
State law allows schools to seek other authorizers after a charter has been revoked. Chalkbeat reported in its Jan. 16 story that Bethel Park was pursuing other authorizers.
When asked after the Jan. 22 board meeting if Bethel Park would consider that option, Crawford said the school had not yet put plans in place for next steps.
Welch declined a follow-up request the next day to discuss the matter further.
Any attempt Bethel Park takes to maintain leadership of its school could be complicated by building ownership.
Bethel Park leaders lease their building from the Charter Schools Development Corporation, an organization that finances property purchases for charter schools.
However, Victory College Prep made the organization an offer in late October to buy the building. A Victory College Prep spokesperson said the owner alerted them on Jan. 17 of the revocation letter and that they now appear poised to close on the building by Feb. 1.
Victory College Prep said it will act as a supportive landlord should Bethel Park secure another authorizer. Bethel Park would also need approvals from the Indiana State Board of Education to continue operating with a new authorizer.
Meanwhile, Victory College Prep is refining plans of its own for the building should Bethel Park choose to close the school.
High schoolers could take Bethel Park students’ place
Victory College Prep’s leadership envisions offering seats to Bethel Park’s K-5 students on the Sloan Avenue campus and moving high schoolers into the current Bethel Park site.
Bethel Park enrolls about 225 students compared to Victory College Prep’s more than 1,000 students in grades K-12.
The plans were detailed in a PowerPoint sent to Bethel Park leadership on Jan. 22 — the day of its board meeting.
A Victory College Prep spokesperson said its school prepared the presentation following a meeting between both schools that was called at Bethel Park Elementary’s request. Bethel Park leadership did not discuss the slides during their board meeting this week.
The Victory College Prep plans indicate the school would like to make a decision on its future use of the school building — should its sale close — by mid-February.
“Time is of the essence to make a determination on a potential partnership so we can best serve families and students in southeast Indianapolis,” Victory College Prep Chief Development Officer Andrew Hayenga said. “We need to give families and students as much time as possible to make their enrollment decisions.”
What the change means for students and families
Welch said during the school board meeting that she’s working on a plan to inform families of next steps. She said she plans to meet with staff Monday and to communicate with families by the end of next week.
News of the revocation letter is coming at a bad time for any parents who want to choose another school.
Enroll Indy, which manages the OneMatch enrollment lottery system for public schools across the city, allows parents to submit their interest in school seats during two enrollment windows.
The first of those windows closes Jan. 24.
The second enrollment window opens Jan. 25, and extends through April 18.
It is unclear what will happen for families who have already selected Bethel Park as their preferred enrollment option.
For more information on school enrollment, see Mirror Indy’s guide to the Indianapolis lottery here.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
