The education level expected of children reflects the priority of its citizens and its government

What do parents want most for their children? What is the surest ticket out of poverty? A good education.  In a City with 11 different school districts, more than twenty public charter schools and dozens of private and parochial schools, it can be hard to assess, not to mention influence, the educational outcomes of students from the Mayor’s office. 

Early in Mayor Ballard’s administration, he unveiled an expansion of the incredibly popular Community Schools model in partnership with the United Way.  New schools where brought into the program so we could better understand how this model could be applied to students all across the county.

Ballard’s team has continued the efforts to foster meaningful expansion and accountability in the public charter school arena in Indianapolis. New schools with dynamic models of engaging students and families have come on-line and more are expected.

To link all of this together, Mayor Ballard is creating the Office of Educational Innovation (OEI) within the City of Indianapolis. OEI will be a single entity that will not only oversee the Mayor-sponsored charter schools, but link together the variety of activities currently occurring in our community designed to help students achieve. There is no single clearinghouse for that activity and OEI can be that for Indianapolis.