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COLUMBUS, Ohio — January 16, 2003 — An approval of charter renewal for HOPE Academy Broadway in Cleveland by the Ohio Board of Education on Tuesday, January 14, 2003 completes the renewals of all five HOPE Academy locations in Akron and Cleveland that have come up for renewal. Four other HOPE Academies were approved for renewal by the Board of Education on December 10, 2002.

“These approvals are especially significant because this was the first time that any charter school in the state of Ohio has been reviewed for renewal of its charter,” said Mark F. Thimmig, CEO and president of White Hat Ventures LLC, parent company of Akron-based White Hat Management, LLC, the education management company engaged to operate the HOPE Academies. “And the fact that the renewals were approved by an overwhelming majority of the Board of Education is even more gratifying.”

HOPE Academies are public community schools made possible by a 1997 Ohio law that allows parents to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs. Each HOPE Academy is owned and chartered through a non-profit, 501-C3 organization that is run by a board of trustees consisting of local community leaders. White Hat Management is the Education Management Organization (EMO) hired by each of these organizations to operate the schools.

Statewide, White Hat Management operates nine HOPE Academies and the Riverside Academy in Cincinnati, serving more than 3,300 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Like other public schools in Ohio, public community schools are required to administer Ohio Proficiency tests and adhere to local and state health and safety codes. Under state law, these schools undergo educational and financial audits twice a year and must go through an exhaustive evaluation of all aspects of the school, its operations and its academic improvement every five years.

The tuition-free HOPE Academies provide a high quality alternative for students performing below their expected grade levels or students in under performing traditional schools in inner city neighborhoods. These schools incorporate some of the latest techniques in education, particularly in the areas of math and reading, to foster continuous improvement by its students to reach expected grade levels.

“We applaud the Ohio Board of Education for assessing the realities of the situation we are faced with and looking not just at the Ohio Proficiency tests,” said Thimmig. “Their renewal of our charters represents much more than just the continued operation of five schools. It represents the continued ability of thousands of inner city parents who live in districts with poorly performing traditional public schools to have a choice regarding where they send their children to school.”

Thimmig also pointed out that the parents and students attending HOPE Academies appreciate the Ohio Board of Education’s willingness to consider the results of the Iowa and Cognitive Ability tests that are used in all academies managed by White Hat Management. Overall, HOPE Academy students consistently meet or exceed their predicted achievement level on these Iowa tests which is significant because it shows that these students are now progressing instead of continuously falling father behind as had been the case in their prior public school experience. “In effect, these tests allow us to evaluate each student’s verbal, non verbal and quantitative skills needed for learning inside and outside of school, this enables us to make instruction more effective by looking at each child individually and thereby offering them the greatest opportunity for success.”

In addition, annual surveys are completed by parents and students to evaluate the schools. Beyond test results and grades, on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest), students average score of (4.07) indicate they are giving their best effort in class and feel good about the grades they earn. Another significant factor is the respect demonstrated between the students and their teachers. Parents strongly feel that their children respect their teachers (4.20) and that their children’s teachers respect them (4.17).

The HOPE Academy environment and curriculum is specifically tailored to meet the needs of each individual school’s population. This helps ensure that all students attending HOPE Academies have every opportunity to reach their maximum academic potential. While Hope Academies provides a broad based program of academic instruction, the main emphasis of the schools is on reading and math. There are computers in every classroom, a computer lab and a full-time technology instructor. The schools stress good conduct, civility and all students are required to wear school uniforms.

The HOPE Academies receiving five-year charter approvals include:

• HOPE Academy Broadway, 3398 East 55th Street, Cleveland

• HOPE Academy Chapelside, 3845 E. 131st Street, Cleveland

• HOPE Academy Cathedral Campus, 10615 Lamontier Avenue, Cleveland

• HOPE Academy Brown Street, 1035 Clay Street, Akron

• HOPE Academy University, 220 S. Broadway, Akron

White Hat Management, founded in 1998, is the largest charter school operator in Ohio. It operates three types of schools: HOPE Academies; Life Skills Centers, which are alternative high schools; and OHDELA Academy, which provides educational resources and support to parents who educate their children at home. White Hat currently employs more than 800 people.

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