Friends of Otwell Elementary continue pursuit of new school

The Friends of Otwell Elementary are awaiting word on whether the charter school application sent to Ball State will be approved.

“When we started this process, Ball State had already charted 23 schools and we’re hoping to be the 24th,” said Bob Rhodes, vice president of the Friends group.

The group submitted the 284-page application last month and the decision is expected to come out in April. If approved, the charter school will be located on the Otwell Community Center property and could open this fall.

When Pike County School Corporation announced Otwell Elementary would be closing after the 2015-2016 school year, the Friends of Otwell formed and conducted a survey for input. They learned that the community overwhelmingly supported maintaining a school in Otwell.

Rhodes said that Otwell Elementary’s history of excellence in education could wax favorably in the organization’s pursuit. Rhodes extrapolated on the school’s Blue Ribbon status and spoke about their relative success with ISTEP. “Last year, in 2015, when the ISTEP testing had some questionable factors and everybody across the state saw a fairly significant decrease in scores, Orwell’s decreased less than others,” he said. “They remain one of the top five elementary schools in the 3 or 4 county area around here.”

He added that with the proven academic record, “the powers that be that are in the charting process for charter schools are very favorably inclined to move ahead with our charter, and that’s what we’re feeling and hearing from Ball State right now.”

This despite Ball State having declined the past 14 applications.

But if it’s declined, the group has another plan. “We have a plan that continues the effort but the bottom line is that so far the working relationship between us and Ball State has been nothing but congenial,” Rhodes said.

“Our president, Mike Houtsch, who is an associate professor over at VU, has been our leadership since the word go and Mike has done an outstanding job and we’re all very lucky to have his leadership and stewardship in this process so far,” Rhodes said explained.

To support their efforts, a slew of fundraising ideas are being explored. The first idea to come to fruition is an upcoming gun and knife show on April 9th and 10th. At this point, it has over 27 vendors from around the area slated to attend.

“The funds that we’re gathering now are funds that will be used to cover that period of time between now and when the school actually opens in the fall,” says Rhodes.

Rhodes said the group’s efforts represent a return to schools driven by the community in which they live. “This way that control of the education process can be focused on the local families and much less on the guidance or direction or leadership from outside the community,” he said.

He added that Otwell Miller Academy will be a public school. “Those families that have children at Otwell Elementary today, will by law, have priority over the seats in the new Otwell Miller Academy,” he said. “If your child wants to come to school at Otwell Miller Academy, we will make room for you.”

“If your child wants to come to school at Otwell Miller Academy, we will make room for you,” he added.