Virtual school closure to cost 62 workers their jobs

The Hoosier Academy plans to terminate 62 employees in July when it closes its online school, according to a notice filed with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

The affected employees at the Hoosier Academy Virtual Charter School are 54 teachers, three counselors, three advisers and two special education administrators. The termination dates are July 31 for the teachers and July 15 for the other employees.

The school is authorized by Ball State University and operated by the Herndon, Virginia-based for-profit K12 Inc.

The Hoosier Academy school board voted in September not to renew the charter of its full-time online school after months of scrutiny from the state, dropping enrollment, and poor academic performance. The school is expected to close June 30.

The Hoosier Academy continues to operate its two other schools—the hybrid Hoosier Academy-Indianapolis, where students learn online and in-person at a brick-and-mortar school, and Insight School of Indiana, which is geared toward students with more intensive needs.

Hoosier Virtual saw a drop of about 800 students this school year from its enrollment of 2,867 a year ago. The Insight School enrolled 593 and the hybrid school enrolled 199.

The Indiana State Board of Education voted a year ago to allow Hoosier Virtual to remain open despite years of poor test scores and F grades. But the state board also told the school not to enroll new students, and it reduced fees paid to Ball State to authorize the school.

Officials said they decided to close the school because they did not think it could meet the requirements to get its charter renewed.