School remains open after 'F' grade

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Ball State University announced Tuesday it will stop its sponsorship of seven Indiana charter schools due to poor academic performance.

In Lafayette, New Community School (also sponsored by Ball State) was spared even after receiving a failing grade last year.

Administrators are making big changes to ensure their 214 students can continue to attend their school.

"We have implemented a teacher observation plan approved by the state," New Community School Executive Director Scott Fields said. "We're also working in collaboration with (the) Purdue math department to improve our math scores."

"Our teachers have undergone professional development, they've looked at the standards again, and they've become familiar with the areas of weakness," New Community School Principal Misty Ndiritu said.

The failing grade is based on ISTEP scores from last spring.

Fields said Ball State likely chose to keep the doors to the school open because this was the first time in the school's 20-year history it didn't pass.

"This was the first year we'd ever received a failing grade," Fields said. "If you look at our history, traditionally we made 'B's and 'C's."

New Community School administrators already have a plan in place to improve their "F" grade it received last year. They said the most important and crucial step is to consolidate all of their buildings into one school.

"We'll be consolidated back into one, and we'll be focusing on building a whole community of one again," Ndiritu said.

Parents and students said they are excited to unite all three buildings into one school.

"My kids are really excited," New Community School parent Robyn Morales said. "I'm really excited too, because it will be kind of nice to have all of them in one building. The kindergartners can be with all the others, and everybody can be together."

New Community School's new location is expected to be open for the beginning of next school year, after it received a $4 million bond fund for the new location.

The school is being built in the old Pay Less building on Elmwood Street.