Career Academy is honored to be chartered through Trine University, located at One University Avenue in Angola, Indiana.

Our partnership with Trine University is built on communication, innovation, and routine review and collaboration with our first term of our charter was from June 30th, 2015-June 30th 2020.

All 3 of our schools Career Academy H.S., Career Academy M.S., and Success Academy Primary School have recently renewed our charter from June 30th, 2020 until June 30th, 2025.

To learn more about Trine University, visit the official Trine.edu website. To learn more about Indiana public charter schools in general, visit the Indiana Charter School Board website

As a charter school authorizer, Education One, LLC. values accountability coupled with collaboration, in order to promote school autonomy and foster a high-quality educational environment for all students. Education One supports its schools through various monitoring, oversight, and collaborative opportunities.

Leadership Seminars:  Education One recognizes the importance of collaboration and strong communication with each of its schools, in order to ensure our processes and procedures are as transparent and effective as possible.  To do this, Education One hosts an Annual Leadership Seminar on the Trine University campus for all School Leadership Teams Members.  This seminar is geared toward policy and legislative changes, Accountability Plan updates, instructional best practices, and ongoing trends/areas of need specific to each of our schools.  Our schools are also provided opportunities to network and collaborate with other charter schools in Education One’s portfolio from across the state.

Site Visits: In order to monitor a school’s performance, in accordance with the metrics outlined in their Accountability Plan Performance Framework, Education One conducts in-person site visits at each of its schools.  During these site visits, the Education One Team completes classroom walk-throughs, meets with the School Leadership Team, collects attendance data, and monitors the overall effectiveness of “Instruction”, as defined by the indicators noted in the school’s Accountability Plan Performance Framework.  After each site visit, the Education One Team meets with the School Leadership Team to debrief and assign updated ratings (snapshots) according to the school’s Accountability Plan Performance Framework.  These ratings are captured on the school’s Accountability Plan Status Update and are shared out with the school’s board during monthly board meetings.

Board Meeting Attendance:  Members of the Education One Team attend all monthly board meetings for Education One sponsored schools.  During each board meeting, the Education One Team monitors and rates effective board governance, in accordance with the rubric outlined in each school’s Accountability Plan Performance Framework.  Education One also presents an updated school-specific Accountability Plan Status Update to each of its school boards each month.  This document is a dashboard, utilized by the board to monitor school performance in accordance with the metrics outlined in a school’s Accountability Plan Performance Framework.

Academic Support Visits:  In an effort to support school autonomy and to further collaborate with its schools, Education One conducts Academic Support Visits.  During these visits, members of the Education One Team meet with members of the School Leadership Team to support school-specific initiatives, monitor progress towards goals based on the most recent Site Visit, analyze data from local and state assessments, and provide schools with additional resources, as requested, in order to help them reach school-specific goals.

EL/SPED Compliance Visits:  In order to effectively monitor the quality of English Learner and Special Education programs at a school, Education One conducts quarterly Compliance Visits throughout the school year.  These visits include a combination of document review and classroom observations.  Following the visit, the school receives a copy of all findings via a Compliance Review Summary Letter.  Any findings that are not in compliance with the metrics outlined in the school’s Accountability Plan Performance Framework require a follow-up with the Education One team.

Trine Partnerships and Collaboration Efforts:  

Campus Tours/Visits:

Elementary/Middle:  These specialized visits are typically used in conjunction with a Trine program, such as Trine PALS, or as a way for students to experience new things through a field trip.  Students get to see where college students go to class, the dorms they live in, and where they eat.  Specialized activities, such as bowling and ice skating, are also offered as a part of this experience

High School:

General Campus Tour:  General tours are provided to freshman and sophomore groups as well as any group of students who may be on Trine’s campus for another event, such as the Innovation One Challenge.

Day in the Life of a Trine Student:  These specialized tours are for juniors and seniors who have a specific interest in a major or athletic experience.  Their visit mimics a day that a Trine student would have, including classes, practices, and attending a game to meet with coaching staff and players.

Trine Admissions:  Parents and students at Education One schools receive multiple opportunities for specialized visits and information from the admissions team at Trine to support them through the application process, financial aid, and scholarship opportunities, and setting up opportunities to come to Trine’s campus.  Members from the admissions team or the Education One team often come to the school’s open houses with Trine’s mascot, Storm, or during lunch periods to pass out information and treats to students.  Virtual parent nights provide one more opportunity and touchpoint for parents at Education One schools to understand the processes and steps necessary to attend college.

Franks School of Education:  Education One partners with the Franks School of Education at Trine University to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to experience Education One schools throughout their practicum courses. Education One also works to place student teachers in its sponsored schools.  Each semester, Education One offers the Immersion Excursion experience to graduating teachers.  As part of this experience, Education One provides interested candidates an expense-paid visit to the school of interest.  There, the candidate is able to tour the school, meet and talk with the school leader, and apply/interview for a job.

Special Events/Programs:

Trine PALS:  Trine students become pen pals with students at various Education One schools and meet with their Trine PALS either in person on campus or virtually.  This fosters another positive role model relationship for the students at Education One’s schools.

STEM with Storm:  Video lessons tied to state science standards in elementary grades have been created to be used as a resource to support the school’s science curriculum.

Innovation One Challenge:  This challenge is open to all high schools in the surrounding counties of Trine University and Education One schools.  Students are tasked to create an innovative product or business to be presented in front of a panel of judges.  Winners receive a cash prize.  Throughout the process, Trine students mentor Education One students in their presenting skills, overall product design, and business plan.

Trine Student Projects:  Seniors in various programs at Trine have to complete a senior project.  When available, Education One has worked with the various colleges to have these projects take place with a group of students at an Education One school.  Projects in the past have included surveying and conducting various analysis of ways to repurpose an unused courtyard to help the school create a garden for their Farm to Table program and supporting students in creating a marketing and Etsy shop for the products they were making in class.

Resources:  Education One works with various groups on Trine’s campus to provide resources needed by each of its schools.  This has included coat and hat drives, notes of encouragement for testing students handwritten by Trine students for all students served in Education One schools, money donated to Robotics teams, classroom resources, etc.  Each school is asked to complete a Wish List for the Education One team to be able to find the resources and/or opportunities that the school requests every year.

Teacher Appreciation:  The Education One team provides meals, desserts, tokens of appreciation, etc. to each of its schools’ teachers and staff multiple times throughout the year.

How is the support of Trine different from other charter schools in the state/region?

As a university authorizer, Education One has access to a plethora of educational resources which we offer to our charter schools in order to promote collaborative partnerships and opportunities for our charter students, families, and schools overall.  Our team has a dedicated staff member whose main responsibility is supporting our charter schools in making connections within the community and throughout our campus, and supporting campus-wide initiatives to ensure our schools’ needs are always being met. By providing our schools with this level of support, and access to university programs and student groups, our team is redefining innovation in authorizing.

As a charter school authorizer, Education One, LLC. values accountability coupled with collaboration, in order to promote school autonomy and foster a high-quality educational environment for all students.  Through various touch points throughout the school year and/or charter term, Education One establishes meaningful relationships with school board and leadership teams to be able to provide them with in the moment feedback as to how they are meeting, approaching, or not meeting the goals set out in their charter contract.

Education One’s website:  https://education1.org/