October 2, 2019
Dear Friends:
Yesterday was a fun day in Gary, Indiana as members of the Indiana Board of Education and the Governor’s office stopped by to visit with our students and to tour our new high school facility. Tony Walker, a state board member and representative of the Gary community, Katie Jenner, Governor Holcomb’s chief education advisor, and Ron Sandlin, executive director for the state board of education, spent almost two hours visiting with our students to learn about our unique college immersion program. Instead of listening to me, our students led the conversation and the tour. It was awesome!
It was fun to hear current students tell our guests how they are learning more than content in their college classes, they are learning how to navigate college successfully. Things such as registering for class, getting books, reviewing their class syllabus, planning their day, managing their time, and study skills were all things they mentioned as something they are learning by actually being on the college campus while in our high school. An alum shared that when she went off to college after graduating from our high school in 2014, that she was fully prepared, and felt way ahead of her peers, because she had already spent years on a college campus. She earned her associate degree with us and took only two more years after high school to earn her bachelor’s degree. She’s also college debt free, too.
Tony Walker asked us to think about how we can help the state encourage others to do what we are doing and commended us for doing what charters are supposed to do–innovate. He shared that we should get credit for having a college and career readiness rating that is way above the state’s 25% expectation (ours is 80.5%, only 3 points away from surpassing one of the richest school districts in the state) and that we should look into how the state can start funding our college results.
Yes, it’s fun changing the world together! Join us. You will be glad you did!
Sincerely,
Kevin Teasley
President
GEO Foundation
317-694-9985
Twitter: @teasleygeo
P.S.: While visiting with some of our students, they mentioned they liked my jacket. I realized that many of our students may not have suits or sport coats to wear. So, I’m taking some of my suits and sport coats in my closet next week to give to our students. If you have suits and nice clothes you want to donate to our students, please do. You can send them to GEO’s address at 1630 N. Meridian St. #350, Indianapolis, IN 46202 and we will get them to our students. Thank you for your consideration.