Academic Improvement Effort at GEO Foundation Schools To Launch Next Phase; News Corp.’s Wireless Generation to Provide Education Expertise

Wireless Generation, part of News Corp.’s education division headed by Joel Klein, the former Chancellor of New York’s Department of Education and a leading school reformer in the nation, has agreed to join the Indianapolis-based Greater Education Opportunities (GEO) Foundation in an effort to further improve academic achievement at its two Indianapolis charter schools.

"Joel Klein is one of the nation's most important and effective school reformers. We are extremely excited to learn from him and his team at Wireless Generation, best practices and systems for our schools. At GEO, we will never be satisfied with good enough. We can always get better," said Kevin Teasley, founder of GEO Foundation.

The students at GEO’s Fall Creek Academy and Fountain Square Academy charter schools have demonstrated tremendous growth in academic performance for 2010-2011.

Preliminary ISTEP test results for Fall Creek Academy reveal a 20% gain in language arts and a nearly 10% gain in math scores. At Fountain Square Academy, the improvement is more dramatic as preliminary results reveal a nearly 30% gain in language arts and a 60% gain in math on ISTEP. Also, preliminary graduation rates are 88% for Fall Creek and 93% for Fountain Square, with 100% of the graduating classes at each school going on to college, the military, or other post-secondary opportunities.

This week, Fall Creek Academy received a $20,000 check from the Indiana Department of Education for having one of the best non-waiver graduation improvements between 2009 and 2010. Fall Creek had the best improvement in the state.

Nonetheless, GEO Foundation seeks to continue improvements at both schools and is delighted to partner with Wireless Generation and News Corp.’s Education Division to advance the academic achievement at each school. Wireless Generation and Mr. Klein’s Education Division will provide a team of needs assessment experts to engage in a comprehensive analysis, including on-site observation and data review, which will lay the groundwork for bolstering student achievement at these schools. Mr. Klein will personally visit and review each school.

Fall Creek Academy and Fountain Square Academy are public charter schools serving children in grades K-12, and are sponsored and supported by GEO Foundation. The schools offer an early college program that allows students to graduate from high school with as many as 60 college credits—an Associate’s Degree. The schools partner with many Mind Trust programs including Teach For America, New Teacher Project, and College Summit to create an atmosphere for success.

“The opportunity to work directly with Joel Klein to effect change and improvements in our schools is a rare opportunity and we are really looking forward to it,” Teasley said.

GEO, located at 333 North Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis, believes that all children should have access to a quality education and embraces all quality educational options that enable parents to help their children learn and schools to succeed. As part of this commitment, GEO operates four charter schools – three in Indiana and one in Colorado – as part of its GEO Academies network. GEO will open a new charter (Gary Middle College) in the fall of 2012.

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