Charter school using grant to aim beyond college enrollment
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A class of students at Victory College Prep. Photo: Arika Herron/Axios
Victory College Prep is already sending roughly two-thirds of its students to college, more than most Indianapolis high schools. Now, it wants to make sure those students are succeeding once they get there.
Why it matters: Since 2015, Indianapolis — as well as all of Indiana — has seen a downward trend in college enrollment.
- Only 48% of Marion County's 2022 high school graduates enrolled in college, down from 66% a decade ago, and fewer than two-thirds of Hoosier students attending college graduate on time.
Driving the news: In September, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation awarded around $1.5 million each to four Marion County public school districts and Victory College Prep, a K-12 charter school, to address the challenges students and their families face as they navigate the process of exploring, enrolling in, and financing college.
Zoom in: Victory College Prep is using its grant to bolster support for college-bound students to make sure they're prepared to succeed once they arrive on campus.
- Already, every student graduates having completed at least one college course. Now, the school will have more resources to support students struggling in those college-level courses.
- The school's goal is to increase its share of students earning the Indiana college core from 25% to 50%, which equates to their first year of college courses, by the time they leave VCP.
- It will also start providing financial literacy classes for families in partnership with Southeast Community Services, a service provider in the school's near southeast neighborhood.
What they're saying: "We have a lot of kids who go to college, but they are not thriving," said Chelsea Easter, principal of VCP's 7th through 12th grade school.
Reality check: VCP's student population is majority-minority, from low-income families, and they're often the first in their family to attend college.
Providing more support during their time at VCP is one strategy the school is employing. Regular check-ins during the two years after they leave is another.
- The grant is also helping the school strengthen its alumni coaching initiative, which continues to provide every student with support and assistance through their second year of college.
- "If you can get a kid about halfway through their sophomore year, the chances of them leaving is significantly lower," Easter said.
Friction point: The school's executive director, Ryan Gall, was suspended for two weeks without pay this year after VCP's board learned of a sexually explicit email he sent in 2022 to people attending a camping trip, which included several school employees.
- As reported by WFYI, after an investigation was conducted some school policies were changed, and Gall was required to participate in training that included workplace sensitivity.
- Gall has the "full support" of the board and school leaders, according to a statement provided to WFYI.
The bottom line: "I don't ever need 100% of our kids to say, 'I'm going to college,'" Easter said. "I want them to say, 'I can go to college. That's always going to be a door that's open for me, and I'm prepared to attend. I'm prepared to be really successful,' and that's what this grant is going to allow us to do."