PLA was contacted by Elkhart community members to partner on improving the education experience for Elkhart students. Our goal is to partner with the Elkhart community to support an amazing educational experience for Elkhart families and scholars. We will work with the staff to provide the resources and support needed to encourage student achievement and community growth.

PLA Elkhart will serve grades K-6. We are looking to enroll a total of 200 new scholars. 

A charter school is a tuition-free public school. Enrollment is open to all students and is not based on residence. Charters are independently operated and run with more flexibility than traditional public schools in exchange for increased accountability. All charter schools are: tuition-free and a part of the public school system; held to state and federal education standards; open to all students including those with disabilities. Like traditional public schools, charter public schools must have open enrollment policies, may not charge tuition, and cannot discriminate based on disability, race, color, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry.

Some charter schools serve at-risk populations such as students living in poverty or at-risk of dropping out. Others provide accelerated learning opportunities for students, including both traditional and at-risk students.

"Under Indiana Code § 20-24, charter schools are established to serve the different learning styles and needs of public school students, to offer them appropriate and innovative choices, to afford varied opportunities for professional educators, to allow freedom and flexibility in exchange for exceptional levels of accountability, and to provide parents, students, community members, and local entities with an expanded opportunity for involvement in the public school system."

Charter schools have unique freedom and flexibility not found in public school districts, and their freedom from the red tape of public education often allows them to dedicate increased resources and energy on supporting students in excelling academic standards. Charter schools are independently-operated public schools that have the freedom to design classrooms that meet their students' needs.

Charter schools receive a combination of state aid and local funds according to the same weighted student funding formula applied to traditional public schools.

What is School Turnaround? School Turnaround is a comprehensive intervention designed to support and help improve schools that may be under-performing set standards. At PLA, we call it school transformation. We have a strong reputation for transforming F-rated schools into A-rated schools. We work to achieve strong results within 3 years of management. During our school transformation efforts, we support school boards, districts, and educators in improving academic offerings for students, revamp curriculum, encourage scholars, foster parental engagement, and work to improve the school's overall climate and culture.

In Indiana, Charter schools receive the same state and federal funding as traditional public schools.

Charter schools offer parents more choices regarding where they can send their students. Parents can now send their students to traditional district schools, or not. Either way, charter schools are funded the same way public schools are funded – according to enrollment numbers or average daily attendance (ADA). This means districts do not pay for students to go to charter schools, the state taxpayers do.

Charter schools receive money based on the number of students that chose to attend the school. Charter schools cannot ask the voters to approve more funding on top of state funding at an election called an override election. Further, while school districts can ask the local taxpayers if they want to raise local property taxes to build schools, charter schools must pay for school buildings out of the state funding they receive for each student who attends their schools.

There is a misconception that charter schools are taking money from districts. Charter schools provide parents with more education options for their students. For many districts, this does not interfere with their ability to ask for money from voters, even if they have fewer students.

Nationwide, charter schools are funded at approximately 64 percent of their district counterparts, averaging $7,131 per pupil rather than $11,184 in total per pupil at funding district schools, according to a 2014 Center for Education Reform report. The reason for this disparity is the ability of districts to raise taxes at the local level for construction and operational spending.

Charter schools are held accountable academically and financially through their contracts with state and local authorizers. The contract lays out the academic performance goals a charter school must meet in order to fulfill the terms of its charter.

The process that an organizer must go through varies based on the sponsor to whom the organizer is applying. The Indiana Charter School Board's application process includes a Letter of Intent, a Full Application, an interview, and a public hearing prior to a final decision by the Board. 

Charter schools are public schools and as such are required to comply with all Indiana laws, except those that expressly do not apply to charter schools. For example, charter schools must comply with laws pertaining to open enrollment, special education, the unified accounting system established by the State Board of Accounts, student health and safety, compulsory school attendance, and standardized testing.

Eleven charter schools opened in Indiana in 2002, the first year for charter schools in the state. In the 2021-2022 school year, 120 charter schools are open across the state of Indiana.

Charter schools in Indiana can be authorized by one of the following: (1) a governing body, (2) a state educational institution that offers a four year baccalaureate degree, (3) the executive (as defined in IC § 36-1-2-5) of a consolidated city, (4) the Indiana Charter School Board, or (5) a nonprofit college or university that provides a four year educational program for which it awards a baccalaureate or more advanced degree. Unlike many states, Indiana's legislation does not place a limit on the number of charter schools that can open in the State.