Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 July 2005 — Page 1

Preparing a conscious community today and beyond The Color Purple’ heads to Broadway, Page C6

iThe Indianapolis

INDIANA’S GREATEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Volume 110 ■ Number 29 ■ Since 1895 ■ FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2005 ■ www.indianapolisrecorder.com ■ Four Sections ■ 75C

The Isley Brothers recently performed as part of Indiana Black Expo's Music Heritage Festival II. Babyface and Chaka Khan were among the other performers. See more Summer Celebration coverage on page A2. (Photo/J. Hurst) NEWS BRIEFS

Library changes renewal policy Library patrons are now allowed unlimited renewals of print and non-print materials other than adult feature DVDs under a revised policy announced by the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. Effective the beginning of July, unlimited renewals are allowed on borrowed materials, such as books, audiocassettes, music CDs, VHS titles, and juvenile and non-feature DVDs, as long as they're not being reguested by other patrons. In the past, print and audio-visual materials, other than adult feature DVDs, were restricted to 15 renewals, due to occasional misuse of the privilege by some library users and a concern about their availability for other patrons. The library will address concerns of abuse with patrons on an individual basis. Renewals and holds are unavailable for adult feature DVDs under a policy, which provides for greater accessibility of items in this highly-popular format. The policy limits the loan period for adult feature DVDs to three days. Shattering the silence "Shattering the Silence" Community Day, a campaign to bring awareness about domestic violence, will be held at the Indianapolis City Market on Tuesday, July 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The free event is sponsored by the Domestic Violence Network of Greater Indianapolis and WTHR Channel 13. To RSVP e-mail [email protected] or call (317) 475-6110.

Got a hot news tip? Want to be heard? If you would like to report any news or share your comments, call the Recorder News Hotline at (317) 924-5143 ext 300

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INDIANA BLACK EXPO EMPOWERING AND FUN 2005 SUMMER CELEBRATION AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

By BRANDON A. PERRY Staff Writer

By anymeasure, organizing a 10day series of expositions, concerts, summits, luncheons, seminars, fairs, workshops, community worship services and other events is no easy task. However, 19 staff members of Indiana Black Expo and a host of committed volunteers not only

pulled it off, but made new achievements in the process. As a result, the 2005 Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration was an affair to remember for tens of thousands of Indiana residents as well as out-of-town visitors. “It was absolutely great,” said Joyce Rogers, president and CEO ofthe Indiana Black Expo (IBE). “I think that we were truly blessed to have a really good 10 days.”

Although IBE events have gained considerable attention every year for the past three decades, observers were particularly watchful of the outcome of this year’s Summer Celebration because it represented a milestone and transition. First, 2005 has marked IBE’s 35th anniversary, as a non-profit ► See EXPO, A3

Cedrick Florence (left) emotionally accepted an award on behalf of his deceased father Johnny Florence, past president of the Gary Chapter of Indiana Black Expo. IBE Chairman of the Board Arvis Dawson presented the award to Florence. (Photo/C. Guynn)

Indiana charter schools show mixed results of requirements

■ Achievement scores for majority of Hoosier charter schools are meeting the state standards. By ERICKA C. WHEELER Staff Writer

s parents begin to zero in on a school for their children’s 2005-2006 academic year, new Indiana charter schools have ^ been added to the list of educational training sites. Nearly eight new Indiana charter schools will open in August - three of which will open in Indianapolis. Of the 3 0 total Indiana charter schools, 13 of them have become established with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and have test results available for public viewing. Since the 2001 incorporation of the No Child Left Behind Act, IDOE has been required to track the overall student progress by schools and corporations. IDOE does this through its annual Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports. The results track each school and corporation’s stu-

21st Century Charter

Indianapolis

100

Green

Andrew J. Brown Academy

Indianapolis

151

Green

Camagna Academy

Schererville

Green

Charter of the Dunes

Gary

175

Community Montessori

Floyds Knobs

Green

Flanner House Elementary

Indianapolis

102

Green | Green | Green i

Planner House Higher Ed.

Indianapolis

Irvington Community

Indianapolis

Green

New community

West Lafayette

Green

Options Charter School

Carmel

Green

Signature Learning Center

Evansville

Green | Green

Green

Thea Bowman Leadership

Gary

219

Green

Veritas Academy

South Bend

Green

Green- Indicates passing

dents by their ethnicity, economic background, and limited proficiency in English and special education status. The 2004 reports show that over half of the schools in Indiana are meeting state standards. “The majority of our students continued to make AYP, even though we doubled the number of grades and students tested,” said Dr. Suellen Reed, superintendent of public instruction. “Furthermore, the vast majority of our schools that did not make AYP missed the mark in only one or two areas.” Like any school district, parents inquire about the teachers, curriculum, other students and activities available at each school. While a majority of Indiana’s charter schools are succeeding, a handful of those schools are planning to restructure their curriculums. Schools that have failed to meet the standards of AYP have either “not met one or more student performance targets” (English, math and other) or they have been unable to meet the required “95 percent participation and attendance/graduation rates for any student groups with 40 or more students.” Of the 13 charters schools’ AYP results reported in 2004, five of those schools did not meet the AYP standards by either one or both of the requirements. One of those was Planner House Higher Learning. It fell below passing in English and math, passed the participation requirement, but failed overall. “We know that we have some work to do, but you also have to consider that these students are new to our program and 2004 was our first year for working with them, not saying that is an excuse,” said Cynthia Diamond director of the Planner House. Planner House was not alone, Charter School of the Dunes, located in Lake County, held the same outcome for the 2004 school year. Thea Bowman Leadership in Lake County, Options Charter School in Carmel, and Camagna Academy in Schererville, all passed the English portion, but failed in math and failed the AYP overall. “For the most part charter schools in urban Indiana serve a higher percentage of minorities in public education. Most of the kids who come into charter schools are already academically behind before they even start a charter school,” said Ron Gibson, president of the Charter Schools Association of Indiana. There is no excuse for failing charter schools, ► See RESULTS, A3

Birth control patch linked to higher death rate By ERICKA P. THOMPSON Staff Writer

The Ortho Evra birth control patch could be more dangerous than initially reported. Though the Food and Drug Administration and patch-maker Ortho McNeil saw warning signs of possible problems with the patch before it hit the market, both maintain that the patch is as safe as the birth control pill. Yet, FDA reports obtained by the Associated Press appear to indicate that in 2004-when 800,000women were using the patch - the risk of dying or suffering a survivable blood clot while using the method was about three times higher than while using birth control pills. According to AP, the deaths of a dozen people, all who died last year, could be linked to the patch. The women who died were young - in their late teens and early 20s - and apparently at low risk for blood clots. One such woman, Zakiya Kennedy, an 18-year-old Manhattan fashion student collapsed and died in a New York subway station last April. Also, Sasha Webber, a 25-year-old mother oftwo from Baychester, N.Y., died of a heart attack after six weeks on the patch last March. Some health care professionals say that women who are currently using the patch or thinking about using the patch shouldn’t worry. Cathy Hansell, a nurse practitioner and senior director of medical services for Planned Parenthood of Indiana says skeptics should look more closely at the report. “I think you have to look at what those reports are saying,” she said. “The FDA director of the Division for Reproductive and Urological Drug Products (Dr. Daniel Shames) has said he doesn’t see that there is any cause for alarm. As far as the risk of blood clots, we are not aware at this time that the risk of clots with Ortho Evra is necessarily any higher than that with the other combined hormonal methods. There are a lot of factors that we don’t know about this reporting.” Some doctors said that they would have expected some deaths and no investigation is warranted. They say that more than 4 million women have safely used the patch and note that the FDA reports are called in voluntarily, rather than gathered scientifically. “It doesn’t jump out at me to say, ‘Let’s look at this any further,’” said Dr. Steven J. Sondheimer, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania. “I don’t feel that these need to be looked at in any detail.” Though Ortho McNeil says that none of the deaths can be directly attributed to the patch, AP found that before the patch was approved, the FDA had already noticed nonfatal blood clots from the patch ► See PATCH, A3

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