USI Approved as Charter School Authorizer

Photo Courtesy: USI Photography and Multimedia

The Indiana State Board of Education has approved the University of Southern Indiana as a charter school authorizer after the university submitted a strategic plan. USI says the approval means it will play a role in expanding education for students in urban and rural areas.

“Our intention is to improve families’ access to quality charter schools, provide school communities the autonomy they need for schools to excel and hold schools accountable for their performance,” said USI Provost Dr. Mohammed Khayum.

The ISBE says authorizers are entities that determine who can operate a charter school, set academic expectations and school performance and ultimately decide which schools should remain open or close at the end of a contract.

USI’s oversight begins with the Indiana Agriculture and Technology School that opened in 2018 and is based on a farm near Trafalgar, with additional campuses in southern and northern regions of the state. The tuition-free school currently has 234 students in grades 7 through 12.

“Through hands on and project-based agriculture and technology curriculum, both face to face and online, our goal is to grow and expand the educational boundaries in our state,” said Indiana Ag and Technology School Executive Director Keith Marsh. 

The university says one area of potential growth for the ag and tech school is in Evansville. Joshua Academy was formed in 1998 as a pre-K through 6th grade school where plant and animal-based agri-business curriculum has been taught.

“As Indiana Ag School looks to establish an Evansville location, we are eager to partner with them and our long-time partner USI, to make quality seventh through twelfth grade ag education available for our students who chose to consider that as their next step,” said Joshua Academy Founder Rev. Larry Rascoe.