The University of Southern Indiana has been approved as a charter school authorizer by the Indiana State Board of Education. WNIN’s Sarah Kuper has more on what that means for USI and area school opportunities:
While still a public school, charter schools in Indiana may be structured differently, serve a specific population or focus on a particular area of study.
Now, USI is designated as a charter school authorizer - which means the university can decide who can start a new charter school, set academic and operational expectations, and oversee school performance.
The first charter school the university will oversee is the Indiana Agriculture and Technology school based in central Indiana. There, middle and high school students have a project-based curriculum focused on agriculture and technology.
University and charter school spokespersons say an area USI may pursue is bringing the Ag-Tech school set up to the Evansville area. This could be in collaboration with the already established Joshua Academy charter school.