Charter School For Marion County Juvenile Center Prepares To Open

A charter school that will serve youths in the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center and students facing expulsion and other disciplinary problems was dedicated today by Mayor Greg Ballard and other city officials.

Marion Academy is believed to be the public first school in the country that collaborates with a juvenile court.

Marion Superior Court Judge Clark Rogers and Charles Parkins, detention center superintendent, devised the idea for the school with Goodwill Education Initiatives, the non-profit that operates the Excel Center adult recovery school network. 

School Director Emmitt Carney said the staff–teacher ratio ratio will be 20-to-1 and additional services will help students deal with emotional and behavior issues. Teachers and "coaches" will help students with academic and coping skills.

Carney is a former Republican candidate for Marion County Sheriff and a former agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“So what we want to try and do is present the education factor in a way that they can learn it and grab on to it,” he said. “And it is not getting a GED -- it is getting a degree and recovering some of these credits. We don’t want them sitting at home when they’ve been suspended or expelled. We want to get them off the streets, in these doors getting your education -- and we are willing to do it.”

The school is located in former Indianapolis Public School Number 68 on North Riley Avenue.
Around 200 students in grades sixth- through 12th are expected to enroll for the new school year, including around 90 students who will be taught at the juvenile detention center until their release.

Parents can also chose to enroll their students in the school.

By the 2018-19 school year, school leaders expect to reach enrollment of 450 students at the school and detention center.

The Indianapolis Mayor’s Office approved Marion Academy’s charter in 2014. The school is under a two-year lease with IPS to use the building, Carney said, but expects they will use the facility for much longer.

“This is not just some test," Carney said. "Our goal is to be the gold standard."

To contact Marion Academy call (317) 226-4268 or apply online here.

Contact WFYI education reporter Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.