Ben Davis University High School Begins In August

by Linda Karn

By August of 2007, Ben Davis University High School will be chartering a new educational dimension for Wayne Township students by offering Vincennes University courses. Although not confirmed, initial discussions are pointing to the former Ben Davis Junior High School at High School Road and Morris Street to house the program.

This partnership with Vincennes University will allow students to enroll among six different fields of study. The areas of study are Liberal Arts, Business Management-Distribution and Logistics, General Studies, Information Technology, and Emergency Management and Planning, Fire Science and Technology.
This new program gives students an opportunity to earn credits toward a two-year associate degree while earning a high school diploma.

Ben Davis University Principal Sheryl Garrett highlighted the program at the December 12th quarterly Community Business Leaders Luncheon. The program's inception started with an advisory committee of community leaders, parents, school board members, teachers, administrators and Vincennes University trying to find a link to some of the students' needs. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, through the Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL), funded the advisory committee study. (CELL is hosted at the University of Indianapolis.) The advisory group also received a $140,000 grant so the university high school could be fully designed. The program will prepare students for post secondary education or training. It will also give students more focus while in high school if they have an academic goal.

Garrett said the one of the attractive features of partnering with Vincennes University is its ability to successfully transfer students' credits to another post secondary institution. Often time during transfers, students lose credit hours that have an end result of costing them more money and time to graduate.

The program is not cart blanche. It designed to accommodate 400 students. There are certain guidelines to which a student must adhere. The student must have a minimum 2.2 GPA. They also have to adhere to the 21st Century Scholars Program of a drug fee life. Freshmen must have 11 credits and have completed the Vincennes University Accuplacer to begin enrollment. However, the dual courses do not begin until the sophomore year.

Superintendent Dr. Terry Thompson said the cost is only $25 a credit hour for Wayne Township residents. The program will also allow the students to have a brief on campus experience at Vincennes University.

He said the college courses mirrored some of the job opportunities on the Westside. He said many of Ben Davis High School graduates remain in Wayne Township and it is only logical to offer the courses that would further help graduates to stay in the area. One of the reasons that the business management curriculum focused on distribution and logistics is because distribution warehouses are located by the airport.
He also noted the Fire Science and Technology course will now complement the over two-year discussion that led to transferring the Fire Training Center and its estimated 55 acres to the Wayne Township School District December 8.

Although it looked like an 11th hour deal for outgoing township trustee Dan Gammon to transfer the property, Thompson reaffirmed that the school has always had a desire for the property because of its intent to teach fire training courses.

Gammon said the training facility has always been a financial drain on the budget. Maintenance runs about $200,000 a year. It has always been part of Gammon's desire to shed these assets to stop the financial bleeding. He also noted at one time the township government was paying out $29,000 of overtime for 16 firefighters to conduct the CPAT training test. (CPAT is the testing required to become a firefighter.)

"It has been a struggle since 1998," Gammon said.
He said he has had several talks with the governor and state fire marshal about acquiring the property to make it a state fire academy; however, those plans never materialized. He said Thompson has always waited in the wings in case discussions failed with the state for the school to accept the property. Gammon called Thompson a "pioneer" for his endeavor for the school corporation to take over the fire training facilities.

The resolution still allows the Wayne Township Firefighters to use the training facilities and administration offices at 700 N. High School Road until the Wayne Township Fire Department ceases to exist. For the last three years, Mayor Bart Peterson's goal has been to consolidate the township fire departments with the Indianapolis Fire Department.

Gammon, who does not favor consolidation, said this transfer of property also protects the Wayne Township taxpayer. Gammon wanted to make sure if consolidation occurred that the real property and site improvements would remain with Wayne Township taxpayers, not be absorbed by the City of Indianapolis. The transfer was even able to preserve jobs. Gammon explained part of the agreement includes the school retaining the same maintenance crew and the non-profit entity called Emergency Service Education Center that operates the training facility.
The ESEC has taken over the educational operations and now more of the testing cost is shifted toward the candidate and the 42 fire departments that use the facility. He said this is the first year they are coming close to breaking even since creating this entity three years ago. Gammon explained the ESEC by-laws have been amended to place Thompson on the board of directors.

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