Chalkbeat

Indiana school district referendum guide 2026: What to know about your district’s requested tax increase

2026-08-17T11:00:00+00:00

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This article was co-reported with WFYI.

A record number of school districts are asking voters to approve higher property tax rates this fall as recent tax reforms compound with the state’s existing property tax caps to bring financial stress to districts across Indiana.

Nearly all of the 38 school districts seeking referendums are doing so to cover operating expenses, such as transportation and teacher salaries. But the impact on taxpayers can vary based on a community’s assessed property values and whether the district already has a referendum in place.

Many districts attribute the need for a ballot question to Senate Enrolled Act 1 from 2025, which will bring property tax relief to homeowners by phasing in new property tax deductions and creating new property tax credits — changes that at one point were estimated to cost districts a collective $744 million.

But districts also face a multitude of other challenges, including rising operational costs, declining enrollment, and a competitive school choice landscape that, for the first time this year, will include private school vouchers for every family regardless of income. Districts are also now restricted in how often they can ask voters for a referendum to the November general election, which are held every even year.

Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI have compiled a referendum guide to help you understand your district’s ballot question.

What to know about referendums at the polls

If voters in your school district have recently passed a referendum, the new ballot question is likely asking them to replace it with a higher tax rate — not charge the new rate on top of the existing one — to offset revenue the district expects to lose under property tax reform.

Yet some school districts are warning voters that the ballot question does not clearly explain that distinction.

State law requires ballot language to describe a referendum’s cost as if a district currently has none. In Westfield, for example, the ballot question lists an $873 annual increase for a $450,000 home, based on a maximum rate of $0.3941 per $100 of assessed value. But Westfield Washington Schools already collects a rate of $0.17 per $100 under a referendum voters approved in 2023.

If voters approve the measure in November, the new tax rate would replace the existing $0.17 rate rather than be added on top of it. As a result, the owner of a $450,000 home would pay closer to $494 more a year, not $873, according to the district.

Five districts are seeking a property tax increase for the first time: the Metropolitan School District of Shakamak, Mississinewa Community School Corporation, Shelbyville Central Schools, Tipton Community School Corporation, and Tri-Central Community Schools.

State law previously required that districts in four counties — Lake, Marion, Vanderburgh, and St. Joseph — share their operating referendum proceeds with charter schools enrolling students living within their boundaries. But beginning in 2028, all districts statewide must share with charter schools that enroll students within their borders.

This year, only districts in Marion and Lake counties have stated that they will share their potential revenue with charters, which is estimated at over $49 million for about 60 charter schools, according to documents districts submitted to the Department of Local Government Finance. Spending plans and amounts for charter schools were submitted by districts, although these plans may not include all of the charters eligible to receive money.

Statewide, the requested tax rates range from an extra $0.9912 per $100 of assessed value for the River Forest Community School Corporation to an additional $0.09 for the Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation.

Search for details on your district’s ballot question below. Figures in district spending plans and charter school amounts are estimations.

The general election is on Nov. 3, and voters can register to vote, check their sample ballot, and check voting locations at https://indianavoters.in.gov/. Early voting starts on Oct. 6.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Eric Weddle is WFYI’s education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.

Indianapolis Public Education Corporation to pay executive director $285,000 salary

2026-08-12T22:13:57+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation will pay its executive director a salary of $285,000.

In a unanimous vote, IPEC members approved the salary for Karega Rausch, who was hired in July. His start date is Sept 17.

IPEC and Mayor Joe Hogsett announced last week that Andrew Strope would join as executive vice president. IPEC chair David Harris said Wednesday that the board was “extraordinarily fortunate” to have both staffers on board. It’s unclear if IPEC will hire more employees in the future.

Rausch comes to IPEC with a background in charter schools, similar to a majority of the IPEC board members, while Strope spent the last four years as deputy superintendent for Indianapolis Public Schools.

Strope helped to lead the district’s high school redesign, the reopening of schools after COVID-19, and the Rebuilding Stronger initiative. He was a finalist for the IPEC executive director role.

The duo will work with the IPEC board as it creates plans for an accountability system, transportation, and buildings for IPS and city charter schools, as required by state law adopted this year. IPEC is responsible for putting a property tax referendum on the November ballot to provide revenue to both IPS and charters and for creating its own budget.

Rausch’s compensation package includes a cellphone allowance, city benefits, and paid time off in line with city executives, acting executive director Michael O’Connor told IPEC members. However, other details such as vehicle use, specific holidays, and incentive bonuses are all things for the board to consider in the future, he said.

O’Connor told the board Wednesday that Strope’s compensation is not final, but his salary will likely be in the $250,000 range, and he is expected to start between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1.

Per state law, IPEC’s funding for an executive director, staff, and consultants comes from property tax revenues used for operating expenses for IPS and participating charter schools.

O’Connor’s contract with the city is through the end of the month. He originally started to lead the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, a precursor to IPEC, through brainstorming sessions in 2025 at a rate of $40,000 a month. His contract was renewed twice since then at the same rate, he said.

IPEC is not expected to meet in September and will meet twice in October, O’Connor said. Those meeting dates are not set.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

What do you think about your school district’s ballot request for a property tax increase?

2026-07-30T11:00:00+00:00

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A record number of Indiana school districts are asking voters to approve property tax increases this November.

We want to know: How will this impact you?

Indiana’s school districts are facing financial strain on multiple fronts. Enrollment, which influences how much state revenue they receive, is declining. The costs of running a district, officials say, are increasing. And lawmakers last year passed property tax reform that is expected to cost districts millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Under state law, property taxes are capped at 1% of a home’s gross assessed value. But districts can seek out revenue beyond that by asking voters to approve a referendum on the ballot.

Those referendums ask voters to provide additional funds to schools for a specific need, such as operations, construction, or safety. The funding is on top of property taxes already allocated to schools along with state and federal funding.

Starting this year, districts may only ask voters for these increases during the state’s general election in November.

We want to hear from residents about what they think of school referendums and the impact it may have on their household budget. Your answers may help shape our future reporting on this year’s elections. Share your thoughts on questions below:

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Amelia Pak-Harvey covers schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

IPEC is about to pick its executive director. See the list of finalists.

2026-07-17T17:29:22+00:00

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Two current Indianapolis Public Schools leaders, and two former architects of the city’s charter school policy are among the candidates for a top job overseeing key aspects of both systems.

Along with a current IPS school board member and a former state legislator, they are in contention to lead the work of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, a newly appointed board responsible for decisions about IPS and charter schools’ finances, buildings, and accountability.

On Thursday, the board announced six finalists for the job, which is expected to pay between $235,000 and $325,000, according to the job listing. The board’s working group chose the finalists, but Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett will make the final recommendation for an executive director, which the board will then vote on.

The executive director will oversee the work of the board during its pivotal first year, which includes passing a tax increase that would be shared between the district and charter schools this November. The board is also due to submit an update on its development of a school accountability system for city schools to state lawmakers by Aug. 1. A final version is due Nov. 1.

The finalists are:

Karega Rausch, the current president and CEO of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, who previously led charter school policy in the Indianapolis mayor’s office.
Andrew Strope, currently the deputy superintendent at IPS and board member at Teach for America Indianapolis and Enroll Indy.
Zach Mulholland, who currently serves as the executive director of operations at IPS.
Deandra Thompson, a current member of both the IPEC board and the Indianapolis Public Schools board, and the founder of a STEM-based pre-K program.
Carolene Mays, a former state legislator, former executive director of the White River State Park Development Commission, and co-host of Community Link on WISH-TV.
Patrick McAlister, the former director of the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, whose projects since his tenure in the office include the Preschool Choice Alliance.

IPEC will meet again July 22 at 4 p.m. in room 260 of the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Building.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

5 takeaways from Chalkbeat’s panel on Indiana’s changes to school board elections and referendums

2026-07-10T17:42:59+00:00

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The upcoming election season will ask Indiana voters to make critical decisions about how schools are funded and who sits on local school boards.

Shaping these decisions are new laws taking effect this year that allow school board candidates to run under partisan labels, and change how districts seek property tax referendums.

To explain how these changes may affect the makeup of school boards and future funding for schools, Chalkbeat hosted a panel at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in Indianapolis on Wednesday featuring three experts:

Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association.
Ashley Thomas, District 1 IPS commissioner, and member of the IPEC board.
David Roof, associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Ball State University’s Teachers College and Director of the Center for Economic and Civic Learning.

Here are five takeaways from the discussion.

Half of school board candidates choose party affiliation

Beginning this year, under a new state law, school board races in Indiana will shed their nonpartisan label and allow candidates to declare a party affiliation. There are no primary races for school board, meaning more than one candidate in a race may be a Democrat or Republican. For this reason, straight-ticket voting won’t include school board races.

Candidates can also choose to remain nonpartisan, or label themselves independent.

Of 1,044 school board candidates who have filed for office statewide, 524 have chosen a party affiliation, according to data from the school boards association shared by Spradlin. Around 72% of that number are running as Republicans, 6% are running as Democrats, and 7% are running as independents.

There are a number of reasons candidates may have chosen a partisan label, the panelists said. For example, listing a party puts a candidate higher on the ballot, Spradlin said. Not listing a party might make voters think a candidate has something to hide, Roof said.

Another 516 candidates chose to remain nonpartisan, according to ISBA data. Approximately

60% of school board races have just one candidate, in line with previous years.

Effect of partisan labels remains to be seen

Supporters of the law previously said partisan labels give voters key information to make a decision. But panelists said that might not be the case in school board elections.

For one thing, there can be considerable differences between members of the same political party, Thomas said.

“Someone could be a Democrat and they could have completely different views on some really strong points compared to someone who sits in that same party,” Thomas said.

Plus, it’s not clear how much party affiliation matters for the responsibilities of school boards, which primarily focus on governance decisions, rather than legislative ones, Roof said. School boards are primarily responsible for hiring superintendents, approving budgets, and adopting policies. No school board member can make these decisions alone, Spradlin noted.

“One of the worries I have is that people will begin to see those decisions through a partisan lens and interpret the decisions that are made — the governing decisions — through a kind of partisan framework,” Roof said.

The years of heightened political tensions at school board meetings during COVID seem to be simmering down, panelists agreed.

At the same time, the 2025 Civic Health Index indicates Hoosiers appear less willing to discuss potentially divisive political issues or attend public meetings. That affects young people’s first experiences with civic engagement, Roof said.

“Our students are paying attention to adults and whether or not we can disagree respectfully,” Roof said.

Three dozen school districts — and counting — seek referendums

Indiana districts can ask voters to raise their own property taxes to help fund schools. Districts typically seek referendum funding for either capital or operating expenses. While capital referendums fund construction or renovations, operating referendums fund expenses like teacher pay, programming, and transportation.

So far, around three dozen districts plan to seek property tax referendums in the fall, and ISBA expects the final number to be around 55. Spradlin said that while the number seems higher than in the past, it reflects the changes lawmakers made to limit when school districts can seek referendums.

This year, districts are asking voters to consider these tax increases in a time of increasing household costs, creating some uncertainty about whether the referendums will pass.

But districts are grappling with rising costs, too, Spradlin said. The majority of a school district’s operating fund goes to insurance, transportation, and utilities, he said, and energy rate hikes are outpacing inflation.

“What districts are pursuing are not really expansive revenue requests to add new programs or build new buildings,” Spradlin said. “These requests are simply to maintain the status quo, to continue to have enough funding for the momentum that we are seeing in our classrooms across Indiana.”

Thomas said districts should be transparent about how they’re spending referendum dollars. In Indianapolis, she said she has recommended an accountability ticker for all schools — including charter schools — that benefit from a referendum to explain how they’re spending the money.

Could sharing tax revenue with charters displease voters?

This year, Indiana lawmakers passed sweeping legislation requiring public school districts to share more property tax revenue with charter schools. Members of the audience wanted to know why they should support referendums if they fundamentally oppose this change.

Thomas said she heard from a constituent with this concern. She said she believes the economic climate will be more of an issue to voters than which schools would benefit from referendums.

“Any disruption that may happen for a referendum that doesn’t pass could be to the detriment of kids, no matter the school type,” she said.

Sharing the revenue means districts have to seek a higher rate, Spradlin said, which could make passing a referendum more challenging.

The next statewide budget could end referendums

Our audience also wanted to know: Is there a piece of legislation that could put an end to districts’ consistent need for referendums?

Spradlin said the next state budget could provide enough state funding to reduce the reliance on referendums.

“That’s the vehicle that we hitch our wagon to every two years and ask for adequate funding for public education in Indiana,” Spradlin said.

With talk of ending property taxes altogether, ensuring an adequate stream of funding is critical, he added. Over the next couple of years, the state will free up another $1 billion after paying off the teacher retirement fund liability — money Spradlin said should be reinvested in public education.

Thomas suggested that lawmakers reverse a 2025 law that made school vouchers open to all in order to ensure more funding is available for public schools.

In addition, providing special education services for Indianapolis students in both district and charter schools has left IPS in a multi-million dollar deficit, Thomas said.

Roof added that lawmakers could tackle specific initiatives, like the recommendations from the Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission, or proposals to implement universal preschool.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

More Republicans than Democrats file for school board races in central Indiana

2026-07-01T11:00:00+00:00

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A plurality of school board candidates in central Indiana did not declare a party affiliation ahead of the general election in November, when school board races across the state will be partisan for the first time.

But those who did declare a party tended to declare themselves Republican, with about one-third of candidates identifying with the GOP in candidate filings.

In the nine-county region, about one-third of the 211 candidates are Republicans, while roughly 13% are Democratic and 9% are independent. About 45% of candidates did not declare a party affiliation. Incumbent candidates were more likely to identify as Republican or not have a party listed. Only incumbents in Marion County identified themselves as Democrats.

The filings for central Indiana could shed light on how political partisanship affects school board races. In Marion County, Democratic candidates outnumber Republican candidates. Yet in the more conservative counties that surround the state’s capital, Republican candidates outnumber Democratic ones.

State lawmakers approved partisan school board races last year despite significant opposition from educators and advocates who argued that partisan politics would disrupt inherently nonpartisan activities left to the school board, like selecting a superintendent and approving an annual budget. But some Republican lawmakers who backed the legislation said it would help voters support candidates who align with their values.

The new state law allows candidates to include a political party after their name, leave their political affiliation blank, identify as independent, or state that they do not identify with a party. But candidates who identify as Democrats or Republicans could gain a key advantage.

Under a state law adopted this year, the party whose candidate received the most votes in the county in the most recent election for secretary of state will be listed first on ballots. The party with the second-highest number of votes for that office will be listed second, followed by independent candidates or those affiliated with parties that did not have a secretary of state candidate. Finally, candidates who do not disclose any political affiliation will appear last.

That means in Democratic-leaning Marion County, for example, Democratic school board candidates will be listed before their Republican opponents. But elsewhere in the state, Republican school board candidates will be first on the ballot — which some research suggests could give them an advantage over other candidates.

The move toward partisanship comes as national political polarization has begun to affect state and local races that have typically been less partisan, said Michael Wolf of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University Fort Wayne. In K-12 education, this shift has fueled divisive debates over book bans and mask mandates.

The change could have upsides and downsides, Wolf said. While fewer candidates may be interested in running in partisan races, more voters may cast a vote for school board candidates if they’re aware of the candidate’s party.

“One of the benefits, certainly, of partisan elections is that you probably would have more participation at least in people not skipping that race when they’re voting,” he said.

Party affiliation could bring ballot advantage

Some incumbents say voters have often wanted to know what political party school board candidates belong to.

When Zachary Smith Howard knocked on doors in his first bid for the Franklin Township Community School Corporation board in 2018, the most common question people asked him was his party affiliation, he said.

“I would tell people, ‘This is a nonpartisan race, but I identify with the Republican Party,’” said Howard, who is on the board of the Indiana School Boards Association but spoke to Chalkbeat in his personal capacity. “Most people don’t do the homework on the school board elections, they just don’t.”

Howard is seeking his third term as the sole candidate for the northeast portion of the district. But this time, he filed as a Republican.

Howard considers his Republican affiliation as just another piece of information for Marion County voters in Franklin Township to consider. But he also wishes voters would do more research on what candidates stand for, he said, because there’s more to a candidate than a partisan label.

“My fear is that people will just look at the label and that’s how they’ll make a decision,” he said.

In Westfield, the partisan school board law spurred Gabriel Crawford-Paree to run as a Democrat for the at-large seat on the Westfield Washington school board — even though he opposed making school board elections partisan.

“Filing as a Democrat is my shorthand way to signal to the likely many voters I won’t be able to reach during my campaign that I do support public education,” he said.

His opponent in Hamilton County, Republican incumbent Amber Huff Willis, said she’s seen voters struggle to understand why the school board races are nonpartisan when she’s run for her seat in the past.

Although she declared a party affiliation, she said lawmakers shouldn’t have introduced political partisanship into school board races because it shouldn’t matter.

“I would say nine out of 10 times if you’re involved in a community, you probably understand who does what and who falls where,” she said.

The general election is on Nov. 3.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board taps Chris Bultman to represent District 4

2026-06-26T01:07:53+00:00

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Chris Bultman will be the newest member of the Indianapolis Public Schools Board of Commissioners. He will represent District 4, the southwest part of the school district.

The IPS school board voted 5-1 on Thursday to appoint Bultman, the regional director of external affairs at Concept Schools, a nonprofit charter management organization that works with Indiana Math and Science Academies. The board interviewed him and finalist Lindsey Cornett in a public meeting on Wednesday.

Bultman will serve through January, when the newly elected District 4 representative will be sworn in.

Both Bultman and Cornett are running for District 4 in November. Bultman’s appointment means he will have some time on the board ahead of the election, unlike newcomer Cornett. He’ll also have to balance joining the board and campaigning.

Bultman is on the ballot for November. Cornett will be added, said the Marion County Clerks’ Office on Thursday. She was originally denied due to what she said was confusion about whether she met the deadline to file.

Board president Hope Duke Star said she voted for Bultman as a decision aimed at the future, adding that “a year from now, we will need some stability on the board.”

The District 4 seat became vacant when former Commissioner Allissa Impink resigned earlier this month after winning the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 46. During public comment on Wednesday, Impink spoke in support of Cornett.

IPS board members Star, Angelia Moore, Deandra Thompson, Ashley Thomas and Hasaan Rashid voted for Bultman. Board member Nicole Carey voted for Cornett.

Carey said she is concerned about the professional conflict Bultman could face as an IPS board member who also works for a charter organization that aims to enroll students living within the IPS district boundaries.

Star said that even when there is a gray area, she expects all IPS board members to prioritize IPS when they are in their board seats, including Bultman.

Bultman joins the board at a critical time, with five of the board’s seven seats on the ballot in November. It is also the first school board election since the creation of the mayor-appointed Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, which holds key powers for IPS and charter schools.

Voters will also be asked to decide whether to approve a tax increase, or referendum, that would provide funding for IPS and charter schools that opt in.But even if it passes, IPS is still expected to make $20 million in cuts by the 2027-28 school year.

In his Wednesday interview, Bultman said has experience working with students facing challenges outside of school and with helping families make decisions about where to attend school.

He said his priorities would be improving student outcomes and the district’s financial health while also making IPS a destination for families. Bultman said the referendum is also a key challenge facing the district. He also called for collaboration across Indianapolis’ school types with a focus on improving student outcomes.

Bultman will be sworn in during the school board’s next agenda review meeting at 6 p.m. July 28 at 120 E. Walnut St.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

IPS school board approves Cold Spring School’s bid to be an innovation charter school

2026-06-26T01:04:09+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Schools board reversed its decision from last year and approved Cold Spring School’s request to remain in the district’s Innovation Network as a charter school.

The board also approved two new innovation schools: a second campus for Global Prep Academy and a new Monarca Academy high school. Both schools are already in the Innovation Network.

Innovation schools are independently run but receive some services from IPS such as transportation, food service, or building space. While many innovation schools are charter schools, some are not. Those schools rely more heavily on IPS for student services such as special education and English learner support.

The changes are all for one year, as contracts for Cold Spring, Global Prep, and Monarca are all up for renewal this year, according to Ricky Ritter, IPS director of innovation schools.

IPS superintendent Aleesia Johnson told the board that she expects more clarity around the district’s future and finances ahead of the renewal votes.

Here’s an overview of the changes.

Cold Spring School will become a charter school

Cold Spring School, which serves grades K-8, is an innovation school that wants to become a charter innovation school. Last year, the IPS school board rejected that request, saying the city’s education policy landscape was in flux.

This year, the board approved an amendment to Cold Spring’s innovation school contract that allows it to be a charter school.

Cold Spring Chief Operating Officer Cody Stipes told the school board that becoming a charter school would allow the school to access about $1.8 million more in state funding along with opportunities for federal and grant funds. The school can expand programming and academic offerings with the added money.

With the change, Cold Spring will contract with IPS for custodial and food services, while IPS would continue to provide transportation and the school building. As a charter school, Cold Spring will take over services for students with disabilities and English language learners from IPS, saving the district more than $800,000, per Stipes.

Global Prep Academy splits into 2 campuses

Global Prep Academy is expanding from one building to two to free up space at its current location at Riverside School 44. The existing campus will serve students through fifth grade, while a new location, Global Prep at the Monon, will serve grades 6-8.

The IPS board approved a one-year innovation school contract for the new school and amended its contract with Global Prep at school 44 to reflect the grades served at that location.

Global Prep owns the new building and will manage IT, custodial services, and food services. IPS will provide transportation for the schools. IPS will also save more than $96,000 a year by removing a modular classroom from school 44.

Monarca Academy adds high school

Monarca Academy, which is co-located at Northwest Middle School, is splitting into a middle school and a high school but remaining in the same building.

The IPS board approved a one-year innovation school contract for Monarca Academy High School and amended the existing contract for Monarca’s middle school to reflect the grade changes.

IPS will continue to provide custodial services, food service, transportation, and building space for both schools.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

A network of public microschools wants to expand across Indiana. Is it collaborating or competing?

2026-06-22T11:00:00+00:00

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Jen Shipley would have never considered public school for her rising third grader, whom she had homeschooled since kindergarten.

In public schools, she said she saw cuts to recess and enrichment, an overreliance on screens, and not enough time to give each student individual attention, she said.

But a 2025 meeting with Indiana Microschool Collaborative CEO George Philhower and Nature’s Gift microschool leader Erin Wolski changed her mind. They painted a picture of a public school located in the woods in Hancock County that would emphasize parental involvement and a flexible schedule, while drawing from Montessori and classical education to allow students to move at their own pace.

Over the next school year, Shipley’s daughter excelled in math where she had been struggling at home. It was hard to leave their full-time homeschooling community, but Shipley said it was worth it.

“I love that she can learn from teachers who love teaching reading and math,” Shipley said. “Sure I could teach my child a science experiment, but not with the same passion behind it.”

Nature’s Gift’s, which just wrapped up its first year, is the Indiana Microschool Collaborative’s first microschool. But the collective plans to open five more sites with spots for hundreds more students across eastern central Indiana. Planned sites in Richmond and New Palestine already have waitlists for admission, a sign that parents’ interest in microschools continues to grow.

The collaborative’s approach is distinctive — and not just for its education model. In fact, the Indiana Microschool Collaborative, or IMC, could be a harbinger of how emerging models for schooling in the state will increasingly blur traditional lines.

It’s a network of microschools, which operate with a degree of independence, but it’s also classified as a single charter school in terms of state funding. And it doesn’t just draw on resources and services from a traditional school district — its CEO, Philhower, is also that district’s superintendent.

Eastern Hancock Schools, a rural district serving around 1,200 students across three schools, provides administrative support to Nature’s Gift through a shared services agreement. However, the charter school is an independent entity and authorized by the Indiana Charter School Board.

Philhower envisions Indiana microschools working collaboratively with their local districts to offer families an alternative to leaving the public school system altogether. For families, this opens up possibilities like learning at home some days and learning in a classroom on others, while districts still earn some revenue from providing facilities or administrative support.

“At a broader level, the goal is not to create separation between schools but to create more connected and flexible public learning opportunities for families,” Philhower said.

Not everyone is so taken with the idea. Some Indiana superintendents have spoken to the collaborative about bringing microschools to their districts, said Jeff Butts, of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. But the collaborative’s Richmond site has been criticized by the superintendent of the local school district, who said losing students to IMC would lead to district funding cuts and staff reductions.

That kind of financial crunch would hit rural districts especially hard, said Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer, president at Indiana Coalition for Public Education.

Then there are broader concerns about whether such arrangements are appropriate or fair. Fuentes-Rohwer questioned how Philhower can promote both the district and the collective and serve both well.

“Charter schools are based on the idea that the public schools are failing to provide something for kids. Your job as a superintendent is to fix that, and provide what’s needed so that every student can be the best that they can be,” Fuentes-Rowher said. “If it’s about smaller class sizes or individualized attention, why is that not provided to all kids at the district?”

Philhower said he believes in school choice, and that all students should get to attend “a school that feels like it was designed for them.”

“Nothing is stopping us from providing that. One benefit to Eastern Hancock is we get to learn from these sites,” he said. “And these sites get to learn from us.”

Funding and operating microschools throughout the state

Indiana’s microschools have operated mostly as small private schools, although in 2023, Purdue Polytechnic High School opened the Lab School, a microschool within a public charter school serving around 20 students

The microschools’ approaches share an emphasis on small environments and personalized instruction. But with small staffs, there are some tradeoffs.

At Nature’s Gift, parents pick up and drop off every day. The school can incorporate some special education goals into small group instruction, but other services for students with an Individualized Education Program might be offered virtually, school leaders said. That format might not be appropriate for every student.

Each IMC site serves between 60 and 100 students, and will have “its own educators and identity that fits the local community,” Philhower said, though there is collaboration with districts “around professional learning, systems, curriculum design, and student experiences.”

Under Indiana law, IMC could be eligible to receive local property tax revenue from multiple districts. Philhower said IMC has not discussed participating in a referendum, and would only participate if its partner districts wanted the school to do so.

For state funding purposes, IMC is one big charter school, Philhower said. That also means the new locations are not subject to an Indiana law that requires charter authorizers to hold public hearings before granting charters to new schools.

That left local education leaders in one county blindsided.

Wayne County superintendents were not included in IMC’s plans to open a microschool on the campus of Indiana University East in Richmond this fall, said Mike McCoy, superintendent of the local district, Centerville-Abington Community Schools.

Philhower said the school works with its authorizer, the Indiana Charter School Board, on hearings. The board did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, IU spokesman Mark Bode said IU East shared initial information about the new school in late March, followed by a meeting with the superintendents in April.

If he had been asked for input, McCoy said he would have suggested a model within a district that would allow students to stay with their peers while also taking classes at the university. His district already sends some students to IU East for a teaching pathway and other college courses.

Enrollment in Centerville-Abington, which has about 1,700 students, has fallen in the last several years due in part to local demographic changes, McCoy said.

Philhower said it makes sense for districts with declining enrollments to work with IMC schools instead of merely losing those students. After dipping slightly during the pandemic, enrollment in Philhower’s Eastern Hancock district has recovered to where it stood a decade ago.

But McCoy said a loss of even 10 students to a microschool could force his district to cut a teaching position.

“Schools in Wayne County, we’re working together more than we ever have,” McCoy said. “It’s unfortunate that we’re going to lose students.”

What teaching and learning at a microschool is like

On a recent Friday, Nature’s Gift students boarded an Eastern Hancock school bus for a field trip to the Conner Prairie museum.

The school paid Eastern Hancock schools for the gas and the cost of the driver’s time for the field trip, said Wolski, the school leader. Two Nature’s Gift teachers planned the outing. (Eastern Hancock does not provide daily transportation to and from the school.)

Teachers at Nature’s Gift don’t typically spend the whole day with just one group of students; Wolski is the licensed teacher for the middle school, but might also pull aside a group of five second graders for additional reading instruction, she said.

“I don’t feel like I’m on an island, and my whole career, I felt like I was on an island,” said Wolski, who previously spent 16 years teaching in both general education and special education roles.

Wolski said IMC hopes to add a special education coordinator in the future to be able to offer more services — like identification — in-house, rather than relying on Eastern Hancock.

The group instruction at the school is based on skill level, so it’s easier for students to move at their own pace, Wolski said. A first grader recently joined her math group for third to fifth grade students.

These learning groups might include approximately a dozen students at a time, though the school comes together in larger cohorts to work on Project Lead The Way curriculum.

Some students attend in-person only part-time, and complete the rest of their instruction at home. The flexibility allowed Shipley’s daughter to attend Nature’s Gift in person three days a week, leaving time to attend a wilderness school program while completing schoolwork at home.

“We are always thinking about outside the box ideas,” Wolski said. “When you work closely with parents, you have that partnership, and you can problem solve a lot easier.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana wins federal education funding waiver from Trump administration

2026-06-16T15:01:14+00:00

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The Trump administration is giving Indiana new flexibility in how it spends some of its federal education funding.

But the waiver from the U.S. Department of Education is not nearly as expansive as what Indiana requested last year, when it sought a waiver from some provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the main federal law governing K-12 education.

The approved waiver will merge five federal funding streams to the tune of around $50 million over the next four years, according to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who spoke at a news conference with Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday.

This strategy for federal education funding, often referred to as a block grant, is popular among conservatives championing fewer regulations. But others have criticized it, saying it could weaken accountability for the money and ultimately hurt certain students.

Indiana is now the third state after Iowa and Louisiana to receive a “Returning Education to the States” waiver from the Trump administration, which has also sought to close the Education Department. The flexibility the department provided to Iowa was also more modest than what the state originally sought.

McMahon and Jenner said the move will save Indiana an estimated $20 million in compliance costs over four years associated with administering the grants separately.

“As states, we have significant control over education. We set standards, choose our curriculum, and design assessments. When it comes to federal funding, our hands have always been tied, until now,” Jenner said.

The waiver will also allow the state to use its newly approved school accountability model as the sole accountability model for state and federal purposes.

At the state level, the waiver will merge the following funding streams:

Title I, Part B grants, which cover assessment.
Title II, Part A grants, which cover professional development.
Title III, Part A grants, which cover education for English learners.
Title IV, Part A grants, which cover enrichment.
Title IV, Part B grants, which cover 21st Century Learning Centers.

The federal funding for these grants will not change under the waiver.

The waiver does not grant all Indiana districts similar flexibility to spend the money they receive from the state, as the state originally requested in its waiver application. Instead, it allows the state to create a pilot program for up to 15% of local education agencies that will allow them to merge Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A funds.

The waiver also does not address Indiana’s request to redirect School Improvement Grant funding away from schools identified as low-performing. That request would have potentially diverted $25 million in annual federal funding to other schools, like charter schools and microschools.

Education advocates had expressed concern that this move would have hurt students who have to stay at the schools identified as low-performing.

Similarly, critics have also said that merging dedicated federal funding streams for specific student needs into block grants risks losing the guardrails that ensure the funding reaches those students.

Denise Forte, president and CEO of The Education Trust, an advocacy group that tracks the status of state waiver requests, said in a Tuesday statement that the Trump administration “has abandoned” commitments to supporting students and schools and to publicly reporting important education data.

“Instead, the Department of Education will allow Indiana to rewrite its accountability system in a way that will mask student performance and move millions of dollars in dedicated funding away from students who need it most,” Forte said.

Indiana officials on Tuesday rejected such arguments.

“Our funding formulas … direct a certain number of dollars per student to every school. That money will continue to flow,” Jenner said. “Now the money will be able to be deployed exactly how they need it in a timely manner.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

From 19 to 55 cents: IPEC hears options for a possible tax increase

2026-05-29T01:58:47+00:00

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Changes are coming to Indianapolis schools, but how many and which ones depend on a potential tax increase and if it passes, speakers told the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation on Thursday.

The mayor-appointed IPEC board was created by state lawmakers earlier this year to oversee key aspects of district and charter schools in the city, including transportation, buildings, school accountability, and some finances. It lessened the powers of city school boards, including the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board.

One of the first things that IPEC will decide is whether or not to put a tax increase, or referendum, on the ballot in November, something previously decided by the IPS school board.

Tuesday’s meeting, IPEC’s second, largely centered on the possibility of the ballot measure and also included electing officers and updates about the corporation’s accountability framework for schools.

IPEC members listened to a presentation from IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and Andy Seibert, CEO of TogetherEd, and one from Susan Preble, the Indy Chamber’s vice president of state government affairs.

A vote on the tax measure is expected at the corporation’s June 22 meeting ahead of a July 22 deadline for the ballot question to be sent to the state Department of Local Government Finance.

Speakers during public comment expressed support for IPEC and the need for equitable transportation, as well as the need for the referendum to focus on students, equity in schools, and voter transparency.

Referendum possibilities for Indianapolis schools

School districts, and in this case IPEC, can ask voters to approve tax increases for specific needs such as operating costs, construction, or safety measures. These dollars are in addition to the local property tax dollars that schools receive along with state and federal funding.

IPS last passed an operating referendum in 2018. Charter schools that are part of the IPS Innovation Network currently receive some referendum funding, but independent charters do not.

Since then, state lawmakers made a change that also allows charter schools that enroll students living within the borders of the IPS district to opt into receiving money from the tax measure. This year is a key one for the future of IPS, as the current operating referendum is expiring and the district faces a budget deficit.

Presenters to IPEC laid out options from no referendum to tax measures at the current rate of 19 cents per $100 of assessed value up to 55 cents. Estimated impact on homeowners could range from $169 annually if the current rate is renewed to $475 at 55 cents.

Johnson said the lower amounts could lead to a state takeover of the district as well as more widespread changes for students such as school closures, ending Innovation Network agreements, and cuts to programs, transportation, or staff. She stressed that the vote outcome will determine the level of stability or disruption for students and families.

While the current referendum was for the typical eight years, Johnson and Seibert said they support four years for the next one.

They said that is long enough for long-term planning and resource stability as things change with the addition of IPEC. Funding would help with services for students with disabilities and English language learners as well as teacher and staff retention and student opportunities around work-based learning and postsecondary pathways.

Preble said the popularity of referendums across the state reflects that “we are not funding public education in an adequate way.” She said she believes state leaders know this, especially when it comes to students with disabilities and ELL students, and could address it in the upcoming legislative session, but that wouldn’t start until after the referendum vote.

IPEC members asked presenters for additional data around costs, referendum funds and enrollment. They also asked questions about funding for Pre-K while acknowledging there wasn’t enough time to include it in this referendum.

IPEC approves posting for executive director, discusses accountability

IPEC also made several personnel decisions: It staggered terms for board members, and corporation officers and approved a job posting for an executive director. The job will be posted Friday on the IPEC website and the Indianapolis City-County Council’s job board. The salary range is $235,000 to $325,000 annually.

Deandra Thompson was elected as the vice chairperson, and Patricia Castañeda as the secretary in unanimous votes. Board terms were also announced, per state law:

Hope Duke Star, Dexter Taylor, and Eddie Rangel each have a two-year term.
Ashley Thomas, Janet McNeal, and John R. Hammond III each have a three-year term.
Thompson, chair David Harris, and Castañeda each have a four-year term.

IPEC members also heard updates around the accountability framework. Priorities are to gather more feedback from the community and IPEC members, O’Connor said. A progress report is due to state lawmakers on Aug. 1.

Presentations from Tuesday’s meeting will be posted on the IPEC website. The corporation’s next meeting is 5 p.m. June 22 in room 221 of the Indianapolis City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St. IPEC’s July meeting was changed to July 22.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

How to run for school board in Indiana

2026-05-11T11:00:00+00:00

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With primary season officially over in Indiana, attention is turning to the November general election. For schools, the most important offices on the ballot may not be at the top.

School boards across the state will have seats up for election in November 2026, and for the first time they’ll be partisan races due to a new state law.

School board members vote on important issues affecting their school districts, including the hiring of a superintendent, and the district budget. The latter responsibility carries even more weight at a time when property tax caps could pressure districts into budget cuts.

Over the last few years, spending on school board campaigns has increased significantly in some communities. There have also been rising tension over policies about school choice, and curriculum. At the same time, school board races sometimes don’t have enough candidates to fill every seat that’s up for election.

“School board used to be the sleepy quiet board where you could get your toe in the waters in terms of running for office and serving,” said Patricia Russo of the Campaign School at Yale University, a nonprofit, issue-neutral organization that helps women prepare to run for office.

“Now it’s become very contentious. As a result of that, you need to be prepared and know what the issues are.”

School boards alums in Indiana include Republican Gov. Mike Braun, who served on the Greater Jasper school board.

Chalkbeat has compiled a list of common questions and answers about running for school board ahead of the filing deadline at noon on June 18. Here’s what candidates need to know before seeking a seat.

How do I run for school board in Indiana?

The first step for a would-be candidate might be one they’ve already done: figuring out whether public service is a path they want to take. One of the best ways to do that is to work for a campaign first before running, Russo said.

Once they’re sure, the next step is to determine what school district they reside in, as well as whether the open seats on that board represent a specific region within the district, or represent the district at large.

Then, they’ll need to fill out a petition of nomination for school board.

What forms do I need to fill out to be a school board candidate?

That petition is also known as a CAN-34, which can be found on the secretary of state’s website. This form has space for signatures — a school board candidate usually needs 10 signatures from voters in the district to run, though the rules can differ slightly for some districts, according to the Indiana School Boards Association. In a metropolitan school district, for example, a candidate needs 10 signatures from voters in the board district that the candidate is running to represent.

This petition of nomination must be filed with the county voter registration office and needs to be accompanied by a statement of economic interests, or a CAN-12. This form essentially asks a candidate to disclose how they make their money. It’s also available on the secretary’s website.

Candidates can start filing petitions of nomination on May 19 and must do so by noon on June 18.

Are all school board races partisan elections?

As of July 2025, all school board elections in Indiana are partisan, meaning candidates must do one of three things: declare a political party affiliation, declare an independent candidacy, or elect not to declare any affiliation. This information will appear alongside a candidate’s name on the ballot.

This controversial change was championed by conservative lawmakers and other advocates as a way to give voters more information about who they’re voting for. But critics fear it will invite partisan politics into school matters. The November 2026 election is the first time school board races will be partisan.

To declare affiliation with a major political party, the candidate must have voted in the two most recent primary elections in Indiana held by that party. If not, a candidate needs to seek approval from the county chairman of that political party before they can claim affiliation — and that certification must be filed with their candidacy.

Each county party will have their own process for candidates to seek chair approval — the Marion County Republican Party requests that candidates reach out here, for example, while Hamilton County Democrats ask that requests be emailed to chair@hamcodemsin.org.

A good starting point to find other contacts would be each party’s county directory, which can be found here for Democrats, and here for Republicans.

A candidate’s party affiliation could be challenged if they did not vote in the two recent primaries or obtain certification from the county chairman.

Multiple candidates with the same political affiliation can appear on the ballot because there’s no law establishing a primary process for school board candidates. That’s why straight-ticket voting still won’t include school boards seats.

Can I serve on the school board as a teacher, or if I don’t live in the school district?

A teacher or other school district employee can’t also be a school board member of the same school district. But they can run for a seat, as long as they leave their job before assuming office.

Candidates must also be residents of the school corporation, and if they’re running to represent a certain district on the board, they must be residents of that district for at least a year before the election.

Others may be excluded from running due to the partisan nature of the election. Federal employees typically can’t run in partisan elections under the Hatch Act.

How much money does it cost to run for a school board seat?

There is no filing fee for school board candidates. The costs of running might include campaign materials like yard signs and pamphlets, said Terry Spradlin of the Indiana School Boards Association.

But school board races have increasingly attracted large campaign contributions, especially in high-profile races where issues like school choice spur donations from political action committees.

Candidates who do raise or spend more than $500 have some additional requirements. They must file a Statement of Organization to establish a candidate’s committee that will make expenditures and take contributions for their campaign. More information about forming these committees and filing campaign finance reports can be found in this manual from the secretary of state.

What do I need to do during the campaign season?

Most candidates can rely on their county political parties for help with the traditional hallmarks of campaign season, like going door-knocking, or even finding a part-time campaign manager, Russo said.

But it’s important for the candidate themselves to knock on doors and meet voters in person, she said.

“That’s where your votes are,” she said.

In a guide for candidates, the Indiana School Boards Association suggests that a candidate use this time to share the “background and the skills you have that make you a good school board member.”

However, candidates will need to be careful about campaigning on school grounds, which most districts prohibit.

What should I do if I win? Will I be paid?

First, bask in your victory. Then, look for an orientation session for new school board members put on by the district, or by the Indiana School Boards Association.

Each school board member’s primary duty is to vote on important matters like hiring a superintendent, and requests to ask voters for a tax increase. It’s important to note that no school board member can make decisions for the district on their own.

Boards also approve policies for the school district that affect students, staff, property, and technology. The Indiana General Assembly has given school boards more direct power over what’s taught in classrooms in recent years, like through a law specifying that all sex ed textbooks and curriculum must be approved by a district’s board.

School board members are typically paid a small stipend for their service, up to 10% of the lowest starting salary of a district teacher.

How can I learn more about running for school board?

For more information, the Indiana School Boards Association holds free webinars throughout May and June ahead of the candidate filing deadline.

This story has been updated with the time of the filing deadline on June 18.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Education Corporation announces date and location for first meeting

2026-04-10T20:54:35+00:00

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A new governing body for Indianapolis schools will meet for the first time on April 14.

The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, will govern key aspects of public schools in the city. It will oversee buildings and transportation for charter schools and Indianapolis Public Schools. The corporation will also have power to ask voters for funding for schools through a referendum, and will create an accountability system that could be used to decide which schools close.

IPEC will meet at 4 p.m. April 14 in Room 221 of the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington Street, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office announced. An agenda was not available on Friday.

The nine members of the board, appointed by Hogsett, were announced by him late last month and include three IPS board members, three representatives of charter schools, and three experts in areas relevant to the corporation’s work as required by state law.

One of the appointed experts is also a charter school leader. Additionally, David Harris is the board chair. Harris was the charter schools director under former mayor Bart Peterson, and the duo co-founded the Mind Trust, an influential nonprofit that helps launch charter schools.

IPEC’s creation by state lawmakers means less power for school boards in the city, including the elected IPS board. However, school boards will still have power over day-to-day tasks including setting budgets, curriculums, and hiring and firing the superintendent or school leaders for charter schools.

IPEC was formed following the December 2025 recommendations of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, which was a state-created task force. The corporation’s powers will phase in with key powers over finances and referendums starting this year and powers over buildings and transportation in 2028.

The April 14 meeting will also be livestreamed on Channel 16.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

What does a school board do, anyway? The answer is changing for IPS and charters — here’s your guide.

2026-04-01T14:54:39+00:00

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Big changes are coming to Indianapolis Public Schools and the power of its elected board.

The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, is a new public entity with a nine-member board announced on Tuesday. The corporation will have the power to determine property tax rates on behalf of both IPS and charter schools. It will also eventually be responsible for running transportation and managing IPS buildings for both school types.

But the IPS school board — and the school boards of more than 50 charters within district borders — will still retain some powers over the day-to-day operations of schools.

While the IPS school board manages traditional district schools, charter school boards oversee one school or multiple schools that are part of the same charter network. Charter schools that are part of the district’s Innovation Network are run by their charter school board and not the IPS school board.

Lawmakers created IPEC to manage key aspects of both school types.

State law dictates the roles and responsibilities of the IPS and charter school boards. Below is a breakdown of their major responsibilities, how board members are selected, and what rules may change with the creation of the new corporation.

Who can serve on school boards and IPEC?

The IPS board is a seven-member board elected by residents who live within IPS borders, with two at-large members and five members who each represent a district.

Charter school boards — including those in the IPS Innovation Network — are not elected. Charter schools typically list their founding proposed board members in the application they submit to the authorizer, which must include a governance plan. Each charter school may have its own rules on board composition, including the number of board members, their term length, and the process for filling a vacant board seat. (The five Innovation schools that are not charters also have their own unelected boards.)

Charter school boards are ultimately accountable to charter school authorizers, which approve new charter schools and have the power to revoke or not renew the contracts that allow charter schools to operate.

Beginning in April, the only entities that can authorize charter schools within IPS boundaries are the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, the Indiana Charter School Board, and the IPS school board, which has expressed interest in becoming an authorizer.

An Indiana law adopted last year also requires charter schools receiving property taxes — nearly every charter in the city, excluding virtual schools and adult high schools that do not qualify for such funding — to have one member appointed by the mayor.

Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Office of Education Innovation told Chalkbeat last year that Hogsett tapped existing members of the city’s charter school boards for those appointments.

State lawmakers created IPEC earlier this year. It has a nine-member board appointed by the mayor. Three members come from the IPS school board, three come from the charter sector, and three are experts in areas related to the corporation’s work, such as facilities, transportation, or working with vulnerable students.

What are the financial responsibilities of school boards and IPEC?

The IPS board sets and approves an annual budget, and is required by state law to approve contracts above $75,000.

But the new IPEC board will assume control of key financial powers previously held by the IPS school board.

Most notably, the IPEC board will set the tax rates for residents living in IPS boundaries beginning in 2027, taking into account funding needed for charter schools as well.

That means that future district budgets will need to be crafted based on the funding that it receives through IPEC’s formula — a funding source that IPS had historically exclusively controlled.

And beginning this year, the IPS school board loses the authority to put a referendum for additional property taxes on the ballot. Instead, the IPEC board assumes that authority.

The county auditor will then distribute property taxes to both district and charter schools through formulas that are both dictated in state law and created by IPEC.

IPEC will also assume the responsibility of issuing debt to fix school buildings throughout the district, a power previously reserved for the IPS school board.

Although charter boards are also responsible for their school’s finances, they are less affected by the creation of IPEC than the IPS board. Charter boards approve and oversee the school’s annual budget, and control the state and federal funds the charter school receives. The charter school board can also apply for public or private grants, and also must submit an annual audit to the state.

But because charter schools have historically not received property tax funds, charter school boards do not control property tax rates.

What else are school boards and IPEC responsible for?

The IPS board selects a superintendent to run the day-to-day operations of the district. The superintendent, in turn, makes employment recommendations to the board, which approves the hiring or firing of employees.

The IPS board also sets policies that help guide the district, the superintendent, and IPS employees in their daily operations. These policies can include rules on transportation, homework, field trips, and athletics, for example.

Similarly, charter boards can hire or dismiss school leaders and approve policies that help the school function on a daily basis — such as a hiring policy or a policy on electronic student devices.

IPEC, meanwhile, will assume responsibility for transportation and buildings for district and charter schools in the 2028-29 school year. Charter schools can choose not to cede control of their buildings to IPEC, although they would forfeit a portion of property taxes by doing so.

What powers will the IPS board keep, even with IPEC?

The IPS board will still retain authority over many day-to-day district operations.

For example, the IPS board will still set an annual budget for the district based on its state and local property tax funding. The board will also still retain control over the superintendent, oversee hiring and firing of employees, and set the policies that establish how schools run on a daily basis.

When and where do school boards meet?

Both the IPS board and charters are subject to the state’s Open Door Law, which requires the posting of every meeting at least 48 hours in advance at the district’s main office.

The IPS board typically meets at district headquarters at 120 E. Walnut St., and has a calendar of upcoming meetings on its website. Many charter schools also post their upcoming board meetings on their website.

The IPEC board is also subject to the Open Door Law, although information on its meeting schedule and location has not yet been made public.

Correction: This story was corrected to reflect that the county auditor distributes property taxes.

This story was also updated to reflect that IPEC will set property tax rates for IPS and charter schools, and that both state law and IPEC will determine how property taxes are distributed by the county auditor.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Education Corporation members announced by Mayor Hogsett

2026-03-31T21:48:42+00:00

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Mayor Joe Hogsett announced the members of the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation on Tuesday.

The nine-member board represents a significant change to education in Indianapolis. The corporation will oversee buildings and transportation for district and charter schools, while also assuming the power to collect property taxes. The board will also create a system of accountability that officials could use to decide which schools close.

These changes diminish the power of school boards including the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board. School boards will still have power over day-to-day policy decisions like setting their budgets and curriculums, and they’ll maintain the power to hire and fire the superintendent or school leaders for charter schools.

The corporation’s members are:

Hope Star, IPS board president.
Ashley Thomas, IPS board member.
Deandra Thompson, IPS board member.
David Harris, president and CEO of Christel House International.
Janet McNeal, president of Herron Classical Schools charter network.
Dexter Taylor, director of Paramount Brookside charter school.
Patricia Castañeda, vice president of Key Bank.
John Hammond, partner at the Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm.
Edward Rangel, founding CEO of Adelante Schools charter network.

Harris, who served as charter schools director under former mayor Bart Peterson and later helped found the Mind Trust nonprofit that helps launch charter schools, will serve as the IPEC board chair.

The board was created by state lawmakers in this year’s legislative session following recommendations issued by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, or ILEA, which met in the second half of 2025. The state law establishing the corporation says that three of its nine members must be charter school leaders, three must be IPS school board members, and three must be experts in areas related to the corporation’s work, such as capital planning or transportation.

The board would assume key powers over finances and referendums beginning this year, and would begin managing school property and transportation in 2028.

“These dedicated leaders possess the expertise necessary to ensure our schools are able to operate efficiently and serve our students equitably,” Hogsett said in a statement. “I believe in their combined ability to make the difficult – but important – decisions that will create a sustainable public school system in Indianapolis for years to come.”

The city also extended its contract with Michael O’Connor of Bose Public Affairs, who led the ILEA through its brainstorming sessions last year. The original contract, paid for by the city with a maximum cost of $340,000, allowed the city to renew its agreement with O’Connor to help implement the ILEA’s recommendations. The extension runs through May and allows for an additional maximum of $200,000.

The date of the corporation’s first meeting has not been announced.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board approves cuts in 2026-27 budget, with more looming

2026-03-27T02:21:00+00:00

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With a financial shortfall looming, the Indianapolis Public Schools board approved a roughly $490 million operating budget for the 2026-27 school year on Thursday that includes $7 million in cuts to schools.

The vote came after criticism from parents and teachers over what they called a lack of transparency from the district, which communicated budget cuts in a video earlier this month after weeks of rumors.

Next year’s budget is a turning point for IPS as it confronts declining enrollment, recent property tax reforms, and a requirement to share property taxes with charter schools. Lawmakers recently created the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, which will assume the power to levy taxes and request referendums instead of IPS.

To cut costs, some schools will share “specials” teachers — those teaching art or P.E., for example. The district already implemented that strategy at some schools for this year, and which parents opposed.

IPS is also listing fewer prekindergarten sites for next school year. At least five schools that offer preK this year aren’t on the list for 2026-27.

In public comment on Tuesday, teachers affected by the cuts expressed frustration with the district’s communication and its decision to remove them from their schools and students.

Emily Schunke, who said she was displaced from her school as a specials teacher last year and will be left without a job at her current school next year, said that she felt reduced to a number after 15 years of service.

“My parents taught me if I was professional, had integrity, and was loyal to my employer they would take care of me,” she said. “IPS has proven my parents wrong.”

Jamie Thompson, a prekindergarten teacher at Clarence Farrington School 61 — one of the sites that have dropped prekindergarten for next year — said that she’s received no guidance from her principal or the district since being told in late February that she won’t have a job at her school next year.

“Having neared 40 years of experience and dedication to this district, I still find it hard to believe that my time and commitment can be ended with, ‘We don’t need you next year,’ claiming it’s in the students’ best interest,” she said.

The 2026-27 budget includes the last portion of the voter-approved tax increase passed in 2018, estimated at $24 million, according to district financial documents. If voters don’t approve another such referendum this November, the financial situation will worsen. IPS said it hasn’t modeled financial plans to consider if a November referendum doesn’t pass.

Even with the $7 million in cuts, IPS still anticipates ending the 2026-27 school year with a $5 million dollar deficit. If voters approve the referendum, it could be used to fill the projected hole, according to the district.

In a mid-March video announcing plans for those cuts, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson alluded to additional future reductions.

“As for district-level budget reductions, you can expect to hear more from me and my team about tradeoff conversations and the strategies we will deploy as we move through the next couple of months of this school year and beyond,” she said.

The district hasn’t announced any additional cuts.

Charter schools receive property tax, referendum dollars

Charter schools, which enroll about 40% of students living in IPS borders, will receive roughly $13 million in local property taxes in 2026-27, according to district estimates.

Charter schools that are part of the district’s Innovation Network are projected to receive $2 million for next school year from the 2018 operating referendum — part of an agreement the district approved in 2021 to give these schools $500 per pupil from that funding source.

Marion County charters enrolling students who live in IPS boundaries will receive a collective $11 million next school year through a state law passed in 2021.

Budget anticipates decrease in tax base

The budget assumes minimal growth in state funding while both enrollment and year-over-year property values decline.

Property tax reforms that lawmakers approved last year curb the growth in property values to bring relief to homeowners. But that change will also affect government revenue.

The budget accounts for state funding at $8,370 per pupil including the base amount given to every student and the Complexity Grant for students from low-income households or in foster care — a 1.3% increase over last year.

CFO Weston Young has said that state per-pupil funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation. Adjusting that funding for inflation would put the amount at about $10,000 per pupil, according to the district.

Transportation, other costs increase

Next year’s budget projects $42 million in transportation costs, up from the $41 million the district projected spending for this school year as of February. Administrative support costs will increase from the $30 million the district anticipated spending this year to $31 million for next year.

But the district said in a statement that the budget appropriation for administrative support doesn’t take into account future budget reductions.

The district estimates spending $112 million on general education costs that include the recently approved teacher and support staff raises, compared with the $110 million projected for this year, and $48 million on special education compared with $47 million projected this year.

The new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation must certify a referendum for the November ballot by August.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board taps Hasaan Rashid to fill vacant seat

2026-03-27T02:11:19+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools board members tapped Hasaan Rashid to fill the vacant District 2 seat on the board in a 4-2 vote on Thursday.

Rashid, who founded a music festival on the northeast side to benefit high school students, will serve on the board until the November election. Rashid has expressed interest in running for the seat at that time.

Rashid and education professor Bryan Duarte were the only two applicants for the District 2 seat previously held by Gayle Cosby, who stepped down earlier this month. They represent two sides of a major divide in the Indianapolis education landscape. Rashid drew support from school choice advocates, while Duarte was backed by traditional public school supporters.

In interviews this week, both applicants said they would prioritize student outcomes over school type.

Board members Angelia Moore, Ashley Thomas, Deandra Thompson, and Hope Duke Star voted for Rashid, while Allissa Impink and Nicole Carey voted for Duarte.

Rashid ran for the seat in 2024, receiving support from groups supportive of school choice. Cosby won.

In his interview with the board on Tuesday, Rashid stressed his relationship with the community as an asset.

“People know me. When I go to the grocery store, they know who I am,” he said. “I still get questions about, ‘Hey are you going to throw your hat back in the ring?’”

In his interview on Tuesday, Duarte noted his interactions with the IPS Parent Council. The group formed in support of traditional IPS schools during a heated legislative session last year in which lawmakers required the district to share more funding with charters. In public meetings over the last year he questioned the creation of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, which is taking significant power away from the elected school board.

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IPS school board interviews applicants for vacant District 2 seat

2026-03-25T00:29:12+00:00

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An assistant professor and a community advocate have applied to fill the vacant District 2 seat on the Indianapolis Public Schools board.

The board interviewed Bryan Duarte and Hasaan Rashid at a meeting on Tuesday ahead of its vote on Thursday to fill the seat. Former board member Gayle Cosby announced her resignation from the seat earlier this month, citing health challenges.

The board is expected to select the new member at its action session on Thursday.

The new board member will serve until the next general election in November, when the seat will be on the ballot along with three others.

Duarte is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at Purdue University. In public meetings held over the last year, Duarte has advocated for a fully elected school board to maintain control over public schools and has questioned the creation of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, which lawmakers established earlier this year to oversee certain aspects of public schools’ operations. (Duarte has stated that his comments or desire to apply for the seat are not reflective of the university).

Rashid is the founder of the annual Brendon Park Live Music Festival, which offers scholarships to graduating seniors. He also ran against Cosby for the District 2 seat in 2024. In that election, he won the endorsement of Stand for Children Indiana — a parent advocacy group that has supported expanding high-performing charter schools — and RISE Indy, which runs education-focused programs for district and charter schools and has connections to prominent school choice advocates.

The newest commissioner will join the board at a particularly fraught time for the district. IPS, which already projects ending the year with a $40 million cash deficit, will run out of money without an additional property tax increase that voters must approve on the November ballot.

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, whose members will be appointed by the mayor, will assume control over buildings and transportation for district and charter schools. It will also assume many powers historically reserved for the elected school board — including the ability to collect and levy property taxes and control school buildings.

Both applicants said they would consider running for the District 2 seat in November.

At the interview Tuesday, Duarte stressed his experience as a former teacher and his educational research background. Rashid, meanwhile, emphasized his connection with District 2 as a community leader.

Both said they would set aside differences between school types — a divisive topic as relations between advocates for traditional and charter schools have soured in recent years — and focus on student outcomes.

Asked about the district’s current financial challenges, Rashid said property tax caps that lawmakers implemented in 2010 have limited the district’s revenue.

“Some things are going to have to be cut and we have to be clear and concise on what is best for the students,” he said.

Duarte said IPS has been good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and also said state legislation has adversely impacted the district. The district needs to ensure it does not exacerbate inequalities in any potential budget cuts, he said.

“I’m unwilling to compromise on meeting the needs of the people who have historically been left out of choice,” he said.

The school board will vote at 6 p.m. on Thursday at 120 E. Walnut St.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public Schools board seeks applicant for vacant District 2 seat

2026-03-13T17:56:19+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Schools board is accepting applications for people interested in filling the vacant role of District 2 commissioner on the IPS school board.

The effort to fill the vacant seat follows the resignation of Gayle Cosby, who said this week that she would step down on Friday due to ongoing health concerns.

The board said on Friday that it is accepting applications, which are available online, until 5 p.m. on March 20.

The appointee selected by the IPS board will serve in the seat until the next election on Nov. 3, when state law dictates voters must choose a new District 2 commissioner to serve until the term ends in 2028.

Three other seats will also be up for election in November: Hope Duke Star’s District 3 seat, Nicole Carey’s District 5 seat, and the at-large seat currently held by Angelia Moore. Those terms will end in 2030.

The election will be the first since lawmakers passed a law to allow partisan school board elections and since the creation of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation.

The corporation will oversee buildings and transportation for district and charter schools while also assuming the power to collect property taxes — changes that significantly diminish the elected school board’s power. The IPS board, however, would still retain the power to hire and fire the superintendent and oversee other day-to-day policy decisions, such as selecting curriculum or crafting its own budget.

Candidates for the appointed seat must have lived in District 2 — which encompasses parts of the Near Eastside and the Far Eastside — for at least one year, the district said in an announcement. They must also not have any felony convictions unless those convictions were pardoned, reversed, vacated, or set aside.

The board will select three finalists in a closed-door session on March 23 and will interview finalists in a public session at 6 p.m. on March 24.

The board will vote on the appointee on March 26.

Interested applicants can contact board administrator Leslie-Ann James with questions at boardofcommissioners@myips.org or 317-226-2056.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Public School board member Gayle Cosby announces resignation

2026-03-11T00:11:48+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools board member Gayle Cosby announced her resignation from the board on Tuesday, just over a year into her term.

In a statement at a board meeting, Cosby said she would end her service on the board on Friday due to ongoing health challenges. In her remarks, she criticized recent efforts to change Indianapolis Public Schools as it grapples with declining enrollment and a competitive charter school sector.

Her departure leaves a vacancy on the seven-member board, which will lose a substantial amount of power under a new law that redistributes resources between district and charter schools.

Beginning this year, a new nine-member board appointed by Mayor Joe Hogsett will assume critical financial powers typically reserved for the school board, including the ability to levy property taxes, request a referendum on the ballot, and issue bonds for debt. The appointed board is slated to gain control of IPS buildings and transportation for both district and charter schools in 2028.

“We must be honest about the current moment,” said Cosby, who serves as board secretary and represents the District 2 portion of IPS that stretches from parts of the Near Eastside to the Far Eastside. “We are witnessing an unprecedented and coordinated assault on the very idea of ‘public’ in public education.”

The board elected Allissa Impink as its new secretary in a split vote that also mirrored a divided vote over whether to postpone the vote for secretary.

Board president Hope Duke Star and board members Allissa Impink, Nicole Carey, and Cosby — who all rejected a motion to postpone a vote for secretary until the vacant District 2 seat is filled — supported Impink for secretary. Board members Deandra Thompson, Ashley Thomas, and Angelia Moore voted to contest the agenda and later voted for Thompson for secretary.

Cosby was elected to the board in 2024. She also served on the board from 2013 to 2016.

Cosby kicked off her second term in office with a sharp critique of efforts to dissolve IPS, including a bill that would have replaced it entirely with charter schools. Over the past year, she has shown strong support for preserving traditional district schools, backing a proposal to maintain an elected board that serves as the sole charter school authorizer.

Cosby was first elected to the board in 2012 with donations from groups that support charter schools and school choice, including Stand for Children Indiana and Indiana Democrats for Education Reform.

But in her first term, she became a critic of the district’s reform plans, which included partnering with charter school operators through the district’s Innovation Network. She did not seek reelection at the end of her first term.

Cosby ran again in 2024, this time with a $28,000 donation from the political action committee for the Indiana State Teachers Association. She defeated reform-backed candidate Hasaan Rashid, who raised about $12,000 more than her, with 54% of the vote.

In her resignation remarks, Cosby criticized the move to hand control of IPS buildings over to the new appointed board, arguing that they are not “surplus commodities to be auctioned off.”

“To see these assets stripped away under the guise of choice is a betrayal of the generations of families who built this district,” she said. “The privatization of public schools — the slow, calculated dismantling of a unified district into a fragmented market — is not a reform. It is a displacement of the public’s voice.”

State law requires that the school board appoint someone who lives in IPS boundaries to fill Cosby’s seat and finish her term, which ends in 2028. Board policy requires the board to fill Cosby’s vacancy within 30 days. Three other seats are also up for election this year, and District 4 board member Impink — whose term ends in 2028 — has announced a run for Indiana Senate District 46.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

New A-F grades are coming to Indiana schools. Here’s how they will be calculated.

2026-03-04T18:31:38+00:00

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Indiana has approved a new system to assign A-F letter grades to schools for the first time since 2018, giving students points for passing state tests — and additional points for passing other tests, like the Classic Learning Test, an alternative college entrance exam embraced by conservatives, according to a final draft of the grading metric presented Wednesday.

The system gives students points for state test scores in reading and math, according to the presentation to the State Board of Education, and assigns additional points for other skills, like work ethic as measured by attendance, diploma attainment, and work-based learning credentials. Schools are assigned a grade on an A-F scale based on the average of their students’ points.

The new grading system could form the basis for further monumental shifts in Indiana education. The state has proposed to use the new system as the sole measure of accountability in its request for federal flexibility, in order to create streamlined standards for schools. The work on the flexibility request was paused as the state “worked through the final touches on the accountability model,” Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said, but will be unpaused shortly.

The grades could also factor into the shared accountability system that the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation is charged with creating, and which could lead to school closures.

The system has been in development since early last summer after new state laws required the department to create a new grading metric. The state has not issued grades to schools since 2018, due to a new testing model, the pandemic, and then a brief shift to a school dashboard model. The State Board of Education was initially expected to adopt the new grading system in December, but the timeline was delayed.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Secretary of Education Katie Jenner at the Wednesday meeting, adding that feedback on the model had come from educators, families, and business and industry leaders.

Multiple rounds of public feedback informed the process, department officials said, resulting in several changes from the second draft to the final model presented on Wednesday.

One major change from the second draft gives students more points for reaching proficiency in reading and math. Previous drafts had given equal weight to students who demonstrated academic progress — but this gave parents the impression that their students were doing better than they really were, said Ron Sandlin, chief innovation officer at the Indiana Department of Education.

High school success indicators can include the Classic Learning Test

Two other changes in the final draft were made to align Indiana with federal accountability standards as the state pursues its flexibility waiver from the federal Department of Education. First, graduation rate will now become a standalone indicator worth 10% of a school’s grade 12 rating. Schools above 95% will earn the full 100 points for the metric.

Second, proficiency on the SAT, or an alternative assessment for students with disabilities called the I AM will become a standalone indicator worth 10% of a school’s grade 12 rating, rather than an optional success indicator. Schools with 60% or more students reaching SAT proficiency will earn the full 100 points for the metric.

The bulk of a school’s grade 12 letter grade will come from the number of students who earn an Indiana diploma, honors seal, or honors plus seal, as well as the number who pass a list of other skills and tests. The state’s new diploma requirements go into effect for the class of 2029.

Because the SAT will become a standalone indicator in the model, the department has added both the ACT and the Classic Learning Test to the list of ways that students can earn additional points that indicate success in English and math.

The Classic Learning Test, or CLT, is an alternative test that assesses reading, writing, and math skills using both religious and secular texts from Western historical writers. The test, which has been linked to the conservative education movement, is gaining ground: Indiana lawmakers just passed a new law requiring state universities to consider CLT scores to the same extent they consider the SAT or ACT for admission.

Other changes to the final model include a new indicator in middle school for students who complete a graduation plan, as well as consideration for English learner students who take the WIDA, which assesses English listening, speaking, and reading and writing skills.

Schools are expected to receive their initial grades by December. The first round of grades will include some runway as schools also implement new diploma requirements and testing checkpoints: To earn an A, they must receive a minimum of 85 points, for example.

After the initial grades, the scale will more closely resemble a traditional A-F grading system, with an A beginning at 90 points.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis charter school focused on students with autism to acquire shuttered IPS building

2026-02-26T01:40:30+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools will sell the Raymond Brandes School 65 building for $1 to a charter school that serves students with autism.

The school board’s approval on Wednesday to sell the building to Dynamic Minds Academy could mark the last time the district sells a building under a state law that requires traditional school districts to provide shuttered or underutilized buildings to charters or state educational institutions for $1.

The building, which was constructed on the district’s southeast side in 1961. It would provide a critical second campus for Dynamic Minds, which operates a K-12 school on the northeast side of Marion County. The school partners with the Hope Source clinic that offers applied behavioral analysis, a service known as ABA therapy that serves students with autism, for an experience that combines therapy with school.

The school enrolled 135 students this year, according to state records, but it has about 160 students on its waitlist, education director Samantha Bandy told Chalkbeat last month. She anticipates the need to grow even more, as state efforts to cut Medicaid spending impacts ABA centers that rely on such funding.

“We’re getting a lot more interest from families that aren’t ready for traditional public school but they’re being pushed out of their ABA center,” she said.

The school plans to open in the fall of 2027 to grades K-12 and is seeking approval from Education One at Trine University, which authorizes its existing campus.

The $1 sale could be the last of its kind, because lawmakers are considering a bill that would exempt IPS from the law and establish a new corporation to manage school buildings and transportation for district and charter schools.

A state appeals court ruled last year that the district must sell School 65 to any interested school.

Both Dynamic Minds and Damar Charter Academy — another charter school serving students with behavioral and developmental challenges — expressed interest in the building. State law dictates that if more than one charter school expresses an interest in an unused building, a committee of charter school authorizers must select which school receives the facility.

IPS will list School 68 on open market

The school board also voted Wednesday to list Susan Roll Leach School 68 as available for sale on the open market after no charter schools or institutions expressed interest in buying the property for $1.

The building in the near eastside neighborhood, built in 1938, had the lowest overall facility quality rating in the district, according to a previous study that IPS commissioned.

No charter schools expressed interest in purchasing the former Susan Roll Leach School 68 building on the east side of the district.

IPS will hire a broker to oversee the building’s potential sale.

The board also voted to transfer roughly 18 acres of the former John Marshall school property on the Far Eastside to the city’s parks department. IndyParks plans to use the land, which includes the school’s athletic fields, as part of its master plan for Grassy Creek Regional Park.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana lawmakers react favorably to most ILEA recommendations and discuss replicating them

2025-12-18T20:05:44+00:00

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There could be rare bipartisan agreement among lawmakers in favor of a task force’s recommendation that an independent agency oversee Indianapolis Public Schools and charter schools. But they could tweak the proposal to give the mayor less power.

And state leaders are already thinking about how they could replicate the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s proposal in other parts of the state — particularly in rural districts where there is population decline and a need to consolidate buses and facilities.

Speaking at an annual legislative conference, Republican Rep. Bob Behning, the chair of the House Education Committee, said Thursday the General Assembly could use the group’s recommendations as a guide for legislation. But he expressed skepticism about the group’s proposal for the Indianapolis mayor to appoint all nine members of the independent agency, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation.

“A different mayor could have a totally different outcome in terms of what that panel might look like,” Behning said. “We need to at least make sure that the whims of whoever is at the helm of the mayor’s office doesn’t necessarily have a huge impact on the overall governance.”

In addition to recommending a new agency with oversight powers, the group voted 8-1 to recommend requiring that all schools provide transportation to students living within IPS boundaries, restricting the number of charter authorizers, and exempting IPS buildings from a state law requiring districts to make unused buildings available to charters for $1.

Behning said he would also support repealing the so-called $1 law, although he noted his support depended on the ILEA’s recommendations being fully implemented first.

The ILEA’s recommendations also earned support from Indianapolis Rep. Ed DeLaney, a Democrat. Since the new agency as proposed would have the power to impose property taxes for both IPS and charter schools, that means it could demand accountability for charters that’s currently missing, he said.

“Over my objection, we decided to give the charter schools tax revenue,” he said. “This gives us an opportunity to say, ‘we’re not going to give you the money, we’re going to have a structure under the mirror to see how you do it and make sure you cooperate.’”

Despite their past disagreements over charter and traditional public schools, Behning and DeLaney said they may co-author a bill based on the ILEA’s recommendations. Each said taking the responsibility of buildings and transportation away from the current IPS board would allow the board to focus more on students and academics. 2

“I think this allows the IPS board to focus on really trying to drive resources into the classroom and have a positive impact in terms of outcomes for kids, and they won’t have to be labored with facilities,” Behning said.

Lawmakers: ILEA proposals could help other school districts

Leaders from other parts of the state also see the potential to replicate some of the ILEA’s work in their own districts.

Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Richmond Republican and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said rural communities face many of the same challenges as IPS, like declining population and transportation issues.

“This is an innovation incubator on education,” he said. “So we’ll get started here, and maybe it will work in other ways across the state, to help economies of scale, and looking at the number of buildings as population declines in some counties.”

Raatz said while a statewide expansion of the ILEA’s work is unlikely this year, lawmakers may make it easier for rural school districts to merge together or consolidate services.

For example, they could repeal a state requirement that school boards must meet in the geographic boundaries of their school district, Behning said.

Secretary of Education Katie Jenner also said rural and suburban districts are watching what happens in Indianapolis closely. During the 2025 session, lawmakers initially proposed a bill that would have dissolved IPS and four other school districts where most students attend schools not directly run by the district. That led to panicked calls from leaders of the other districts, Jenner said.

“I think we’ll be able to learn some things and probably apply them more broadly in Indiana, and I believe other states will watch as well,” Jenner said.

But Jenner also encouraged lawmakers to look at more than just student enrollment when considering school consolidation, closure, or other changes. Student academic outcomes and fiscal health should also be factors to account for small, successful school districts, she said.

In a last minute move in the 2025 session, Indiana lawmakers added a provision to dissolve the Union School Corporation, citing its low enrollment of around 300 students in brick-and-mortar schools as well as its academic performance.

The same law that created the ILEA this year also gave other schools throughout the state the option to participate in a pilot program testing new ways to use facilities and transportation. Three such pilot programs were approved this year, including one involving more than 50 public charter and private schools in Marion County.

Behning said the Marion County program may be reconsidered, given the recommendations of the ILEA.

Lawmakers are up against the clock to pass a bill turning the ILEA’s proposals into law.

The 2026 session started early in December, meaning lawmakers may only have three committee hearings to pass bills before they must move to their full chambers. Raatz said on the Senate side, that might mean a max of 10 education bills this year.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance backs plan to create new education authority to oversee IPS, charter schools

2025-12-18T01:24:32+00:00

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In a move with potentially profound consequences for Indianapolis education, a state-backed task force has told lawmakers they should establish a new agency to oversee both the city school district and charter schools.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance voted 8-1 on Wednesday to recommend the creation of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation that could set and enforce standards for both district and charter schools. The new agency would consist of nine members appointed by the mayor: three IPS board members, three charter leaders, and three at-large members, all of whom would have to live within IPS boundaries.

The new corporation would have the power to impose property taxes for both charter and IPS schools. It would also manage the district’s buildings and transportation services through its own staff, establish a framework for school accountability, and manage a unified enrollment system.

If state lawmakers agree to turn the ILEA’s recommendations into law, the vote would mark a monumental shift in the city’s educational landscape. It would represent a significant loss of power for IPS and a qualified victory for charter supporters, after years of rising conflict between the two sectors. The GOP-run state legislature has become increasingly skeptical of IPS while passing legislation favorable to charters when it comes to issues like property taxes.

In addition, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance voted to restrict the number of charter school authorizers to the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, the Indiana Charter School Board, and the IPS school board, which this week said it will seek to become a charter authorizer. The recommendations also require all schools to offer transportation to students living within the IPS boundary, and exempt IPS buildings from a state law that requires districts to make unused buildings available to charter schools for the sale or lease price of $1.

Under the recommendations, school boards would retain the power to set certain policies, hire leaders — including the superintendent — and approve budgets and contracts. The recommendations, which will be in a final report, were outlined to the public in a presentation.

ILEA member Tina Ahlgren, an IPS parent and teacher, was the sole no vote.

The ILEA’s recommendations come amid struggles by both IPS and charters to address structural challenges.

The district has been losing students for years. IPS also has significant long-term financial problems as well as underutilized buildings. Charters, meanwhile, have struggled to acquire buildings and provide transportation services as their enrollments have grown, and roughly 1 in 3 Indianapolis charters closed from 2001 to 2023.

The ILEA’s recommendation to reduce the power of the IPS board matches the desire among many charter supporters for less power to rest with the elected school board.

But supporters of traditional IPS schools have not only opposed efforts to diminish the elected school board; they’ve also pushed for the board to exercise power over charters as well as district-run schools. They’ve criticized the growth of charters, calling for more accountability in that sector, and said that the elected school board should serve as the only charter authorizer.

In a statement before the vote, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson — who is an ILEA member and voted yes — said she championed many of the recommendations.

But not all the details of what the ILEA has recommended are clear yet, she noted. She urged the public to keep pressure on state lawmakers to ensure any new authority is transparent and values community input.

“In my most pessimistic moments, I can assume that those details will be filled in ways that intentionally bring harm to families, staff and students in IPS,” Johnson said. “However, because the details aren’t filled in, I actually do — naively or not — hold some level of optimism.”

The Mind Trust, a nonprofit that’s supported many Indianapolis charter schools, celebrated the “bold, structural changes” in the ILEA recommendations.

“Separating the education of students from the management of real estate and transportation is a nationally unique innovation that The Mind Trust has long supported,” Brandon Brown, the group’s CEO, said in a statement Wednesday. “This approach will expand access to transportation for thousands of students, ensure that facility access is tied to school quality, and create a path to full funding parity by ensuring capital funds are available to charter schools that opt in.”

Some speakers say elected board should maintain power

Several people expressed hostility to the ILEA’s plans on Wednesday, and some didn’t wait until the task force’s meeting began to do so.

Roughly 60 people supportive of traditional IPS schools gathered outside of the City-County Building ahead of the vote to urge the ILEA to consider a Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America proposal that would expand the power of the elected IPS board. They also attacked how charter schools operate and the private interests that support them.

“We’re told, ‘This is for the kids,’ but if that was true, the money and political will behind privatization could have fully supported public schools serving mostly Black and brown students decades ago,” said Brianna Dines of the Central Indiana DSA.

In a public comment period at the meeting before the ILEA voted, many speakers chastised the task force for diluting the school board’s power. Pastor Clyde Posley Jr. said the ILEA’s process amounted to political overreach.

“To remove the voices of elected board officials and replace them with other overt or private agendas — which do not benefit our children in the short or long term, but only invite scavengers and investors to pillage off the plight of a broken school system — is not only wrong, it is vicious toward the well being of our children and their future,” Posley Jr. said.

Meanwhile, organizations that back charter schools celebrated the recommendations minutes after the vote.

“While the ILEA’s final plan differs somewhat from advocates’ ideas, parents celebrated the focus on stronger school accountability, a growing transportation system and a more unified and coherent approach to school facilities,” Stand for Children Indiana, a parent advocacy group that has pushed to expand certain charter models, said in a statement.

Universal ratings could guide school closure decisions

Under the recommendations, the new corporation would create an advisory board that would collaborate with charter authorizers and IPS to develop unified accountability standards. Those would be based on measures such as test scores and student discipline practices.

Both charter and district schools would need to commit to use the standards to make decisions about closing chronically low-performing schools — provided that struggling schools are given time to make improvements.

The task force also recommended that the legislature fund the full cost of educating students with disabilities. The ILEA noted that IPS spends millions more to educate students with disabilities than what the state provides.

It’s unclear whether the new authority would assume control of both IPS school buildings and those owned by charters.

The task force also noted that details on how exactly to collect and distribute property taxes would need to be ironed out with fiscal experts at the statehouse. Other topics, the group noted, also require further legal review.

Ahlgren highlighted the lack of details in the recommendations as a key reason why she could not support them.

“I find these recommendations falling into this bizarre zone of simultaneously feeling both too much and not enough, bold in some areas, but overly timid in others, with vague promises that the ecosystem will sort itself out,” she said. “I’ve done enough policy work … to understand the dangers of leaving important elements up to chance — or worse, a legislature which historically has not aligned with the values of this community.”

Before his vote of support, ILEA member Andrew Neal acknowledged to the crowd that “this is an imperfect plan.” But he said he was proud the group recommended mandating transportation, and called on the legislature to adequately fund students with disabilities.

Lawmakers will return to the statehouse on Jan. 5 to resume the legislative session.

This story has been updated to include additional details about the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s recommendations and comments from officials and members of the public.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Here are 5 things the mayor and IPS superintendent want in the ILEA recommendations

2025-12-16T16:01:40+00:00

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The day before a scheduled vote on recommendations that could impact who oversees Indianapolis schools, Mayor Joe Hogsett and Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson announced their preferred outcomes.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is scheduled to vote Wednesday on final recommendations about the future of the city’s district and charter schools. The ILEA will then send those recommendations to state lawmakers.

The task force is considering two proposals that would limit the power of the elected IPS school board.

One would give oversight of charter and IPS schools to a collaborative board consisting of IPS, mayoral, and charter school appointees. Another would give oversight to an independent Indianapolis Education Authority within the mayor’s office, and create a new secretary of education position.

But notably, Hogsett, the chair of the alliance, and Johnson, a member, didn’t express a preference for either proposal or any other plan for who would run schools.

Instead, their five priorities, which they announced via a Tuesday press release, focus on transportation and buildings, as well as limiting charter authorizers and ensuring schools have funding to serve all students, such as those with disabilities.

Hogsett and Johnson’s five priorities are:

Exempting IPS from the so-called $1 law, which allows charter schools to purchase or lease district buildings no longer used as schools from the district for $1.
Requiring all public schools — including district-run and charter schools as well as Innovation Network schools — to offer transportation or forfeit their share of property taxes. (Legislation passed earlier this year allows all charter schools to receive property tax funds starting in 2028.)
Limiting charter authorizers to two who can approve schools within the boundaries of the IPS school district: the Office of Education Innovation and the Indiana Charter School Board. (Currently, charter schools in Indianapolis use one of three authorizers.)
Have a shared framework for making decisions about buildings to give the community a clear understanding of how decisions about school buildings are made. The press release notes there are more than 103 school buildings for 41,000 students within IPS boundaries.
Make sure all public schools, regardless of type, have resources and funding to serve and be accessible to all students, including students with disabilities, students facing homelessness, and English language learners.

The ILEA was created by state lawmakers and tasked with making recommendations about how the district and area charter schools might share buildings and buses. But lawmakers also gave the task force the ability to make recommendations on other topics, including school governance.

Last month, the alliance said addressing who oversees schools would be key to its recommendations. Hogsett and Johnson said they drew up their priorities for the ILEA’s recommendations after listening to community input.

The ILEA, which has nine members, has met since the summer and most recently had two public comment sessions ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

At one of those sessions on Monday, members of the Indianapolis community raised concerns about the potential impact of the ILEA’s recommendations on the elected school board. Another speaker asked whether the ILEA would recommend repealing the $1 law about building acquisitions — an idea that appears to have growing bipartisan support among Indiana lawmakers.

Members of the public have also sparred over whether the ILEA should recommend limiting the number of authorizers for Indianapolis, and requiring all public schools to provide transportation. Charter advocates in particular have criticized these ideas as an infringement on charter autonomy.

The ILEA will meet to vote on its final recommendations at 6 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the City-County Building at 200 E. Washington St.

Chalkbeat Indiana reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed reporting.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

ILEA proposals to change who runs Indianapolis schools in spotlight again at public hearing

2025-12-15T20:54:12+00:00

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Is this thing even on?

That’s what people at a public hearing on the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance wondered after the mic briefly stopped working — a technical glitch that underscored their real question: whether the group had not only heard but truly understood concerns about their work so far.

Those comments from some of the roughly two dozen attendees at the Madam Walker Legacy Center on Monday took place two days before the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s vote on its final recommendations Wednesday.

The alliance is considering two proposals that would both reduce the power of the elected IPS school board. One would give oversight of charter and IPS schools to a collaborative board consisting of IPS, mayoral, and charter school appointees. Another would give oversight to an independent Indianapolis Education Authority within the mayor’s office, and create a new secretary of education position.

But would an appointed board listen and be responsive to the public’s views about schools? Several people in the audience on Monday were skeptical. They pointed out that the ILEA — which consists of appointed members — was advancing proposals to create appointed boards, despite public support for elected ones.

“The thing I see here is consolidation of executive authority to individuals who do not have direct accountability to the public,” said Madison Whitcomb, a community member. “I don’t want people appointing anybody. I want them elected. When I elect someone, I have a voice in that.”

ILEA member and former mayor Bart Peterson rejected the idea that public feedback had reached any kind of consensus. Ultimately, the ILEA’s recommendations will likely leave some people disappointed, he said.

“It’s not about pleasing any individual,” he said. “It’s about trying to figure out the best thing to do for our city, for our students, and our families.”

It’s unclear whether state lawmakers will adopt the task force’s recommendations or mandate their own changes.

The alliance was created by state lawmakers to make recommendations on how charters and Indianapolis Public Schools could share transportation and facility resources. But to address those challenges, the group is also tackling the question of who in the city should have oversight of public schools.

Groups supporting IPS have criticized the two proposals to change how schools are run, and instead have called for an elected school board to oversee both district and charter schools. On Monday, they also raised concerns about how the city would fund a new secretary of education position and other staff necessary to maintain the proposed Indianapolis Education Authority.

But IPS has financial concerns, too, including a precipitous funding cliff that could lead to schools closing, said Chris Bultman executive director of external affairs at Indiana Math and Science Academy, an independent charter school.

“That would be bad, that would reduce choice,” he said.

IPS currently operates at a deficit that’s reached tens of millions of dollars, said Andrew Strope, IPS deputy superintendent, who spoke at the public comment session. And the effects of a new law that both caps property tax revenue and requires school districts to share that revenue with charter schools will further impact the district’s operations fund by up to $50 million.

Some charter school supporters have praised some aspects of the two proposals the ILEA will consider Wednesday, but have also warned the group not to recommend infringing on charters’ independence.

Bultman said he liked the ILEA’s proposed governance models because they retained his school’s elected board to make decisions for the school. But the ILEA should avoid limiting the number of charter authorizers, or placing a moratorium on new schools, he said.

Stand for Children Indiana, an advocacy group that’s backed the expansion of charter school models, has proposed a board that’s partly elected and partly appointed by the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

Stand for Children has also called for an end to district-run schools, calling for all schools to be autonomous — either as an Innovation Network school or a charter school — with their own boards. The head of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center has also called for all schools to become autonomous.

The task force is also considering two sets of proposals for how IPS and charters could share transportation and facilities. In one model, schools would participate in and pay into a collaborative that manages transportation and building services. In another model, an independent authority would collect property taxes and oversee those services.

The ILEA will meet at 6 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the City-County Building at 200 E. Washington St. and will take another hour of public comment before discussing and then voting on final recommendations.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Parents, students skeptical of ILEA proposals to change who oversees Indianapolis schools

2025-12-11T03:19:59+00:00

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Parents and others have expressed skepticism about a task force’s proposals to change who oversees charters and Indianapolis Public Schools, arguing the plans would create additional bureaucracy without improving education.

Roughly 100 people attended a public input session at KIPP Indy Legacy High School on Wednesday, just one week before the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance votes on recommendations to make sweeping changes to IPS and charters. Their recommendations will go to state lawmakers.

The alliance will consider two proposals that would significantly dilute the power of the elected IPS school board. One gives oversight of both charter and IPS schools to a collaborative board consisting of IPS, mayoral, and charter school appointees. Another gives oversight to an independent Indianapolis Education Authority within the mayor’s office.

But both proposals encountered virtually universal criticism on Wednesday. In a breakout group during the session that focused on the best structure for governing schools, supporters of both IPS and charter schools said either option could result in more bureaucracy.

“One of the reasons that our school system is failing our students is because we keep on inventing new ways of creating structures that don’t really care about the learning inside the classroom,” said Bony Georges, an IPS teacher who is also an advocate with Stand for Children Indiana, which has supported expanding charter school models. “At the end of the day, I’m confident it will fail. Why? Because parents, students don’t care about school systems that we are creating, models that we are creating — they care about good education.”

Other parents questioned how these proposals would foster collaboration between IPS and the charter sector, or how they would close the opportunity gap between students of color and their white peers.

Groups supporting IPS have pushed the ILEA to consider giving the elected IPS school board expanded powers, including becoming the sole authorizer of charters in district boundaries.

Meanwhile, Stand for Children’s advocates have proposed that a new hybrid IPS school board, partly elected and partly appointed by the mayor’s Office of Education innovation, should serve as the charter authorizer. The plan also calls for district-run schools to become Innovation or charter schools with their own boards.

Samantha Douglas, president of the Far Eastside Community Council, said her experience has shown that the city’s current boards with appointed members already consist of individuals who do not represent their residents well.

“What you’re proposing is that we have more boards with more appointees that will continue to not represent general residents well,” she said.

ILEA members at Wednesday’s meeting explained their support or opposition to the various models.

Former mayor Bart Peterson said he did not favor a model that would put an elected IPS school board in charge of boh district-run and charter schools. He pointed out that the district has never chosen to authorize a school — even though state law gives IPS that ability.

“I don’t think the charter school community would believe — I don’t believe — that that is the environment in which all of the decision-making ought to occur,” Peterson said.

Another ILEA member, Tobin McClamroch, said the two proposals that would reduce the current IPS board’s authority prioritized collaboration. By bringing charters and district schools together under one entity, he said, it would create an economy of scale that would make IPS sustainable as it faces serious long-term fiscal concerns.

Students from charter and district schools also voiced skepticism that the proposals would make a real impact in their classrooms or affect how they get to school. Instead, they cited the need for help with other problems students face: gun violence, mental health challenges, and getting to and from school safely.

KIPP Indy Legacy High School senior Dazlyn Delarosa said both options under consideration by the ILEA that would dilute the elected school board’s power are unpopular with the public and do not address the issues at hand.

But she also criticized the lack of input from students who, like her, have struggled with challenges like housing instability. In their own breakout group Wednesday, she said, students discussed the importance of safety.

“That is what they care about — that’s all they care about. They want to be safe when they go to school,” she said. “They want to know that there are adults with them. They want to know that security is available. They want to feel safe coming to school, being in a safe building.”

The task force is also considering two sets of proposals for how transportation and facilities could be shared by district and charter schools.

In one model, schools participate in and pay into a collaborative that handles transportation and building services. In another model, an independent authority collects property taxes and oversees those services.

The next public listening session is on Monday from 12-2 p.m. at the Madame Walker Legacy Center at 617 Indiana Ave. The ILEA’s final vote on which recommendations to adopt will be held on Dec. 17 at the City-County Building at 200 E. Washington St.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Corrections and clarifications: This story has been updated to include more details on Stand for Children’s proposal.

As the ILEA mulls changing how Indianapolis schools are run, here are 5 key unanswered questions

2025-12-11T00:25:43+00:00

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A state-mandated task force is one step away from proposing major changes to who oversees public schools in Indianapolis. But even at this late stage, significant questions remain.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is weighing two options that would leave the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board in place but significantly weaken its power. The task force is mulling two possibilities. One model would create a “collaborative compact advisory board” that would oversee both traditional public schools and charter schools. The other would establish a separate authority and create a new position for Indianapolis schools: a secretary of education.

Such a loss of power by the elected IPS board could have profound effects on the city’s schools and change their relationships with students, families, state officials, and others. But beyond that, it’s not clear how much detail for each option the ILEA will include in its final recommendations.

It’s also uncertain whether state lawmakers will adopt the ILEA’s recommendations, or whether they will flesh out the task force’s proposals through new laws or other means.

The ILEA is also weighing recommendations to change how transportation and buildings are managed. One model would create a collaborative advisory board in which schools would voluntarily work together and pay for services. The other would create an independent authority that would manage and possibly dictate services to schools.

The task force is considering both models for each of the two issues; it could recommend a collaborative board for transportation but an independent authority for buildings, for example.

The ILEA will vote to adopt final recommendations on Dec. 17.

Here are a few major unanswered questions that the alliance could address in its final recommendations — and what we know right now.

Who exactly would be in charge of schools?

The proposed collaborative compact advisory board would be made up of an unknown number of appointees from IPS, the mayor’s office, and charter schools. But how those appointees would be chosen is unclear.

Then there’s the other option, which would create the Indianapolis Education Authority. In an initial draft, that authority would have a nine-member board appointed by the mayor. The mayor would have to appoint four of the nine members from the elected IPS board.

But the draft advanced by the ILEA last week removed the requirement to have four IPS board members on the Indianapolis Education Authority, and didn’t specify who would appoint the authority’s members.

It’s also unclear how much either of those options would overlap with the ILEA’s separate recommendations for transportation and buildings.

How much power would these new authorities have?

In both governance models, the IPS board and charter school boards would still exist and report up to a new authority.

But how much power the new authority would have is unclear. It could have the power to impose and collect property taxes and authorize new charter schools. It could also set policies for all schools to ensure charter and IPS schools are held to the same standards — such as guidelines for students with disabilities or discipline.

In theory, the IPS school board and individual charter school boards could still be in charge of day-to-day school operations, including hiring and firing school leaders and superintendents or approving yearly budgets — the most important functions elected boards have.

Collaborative advisory boards for transportation and facilities could allow participating schools to agree on decisions such as transportation zones or opening or closing schools. In contrast, independent transportation or facility authorities that receive property tax dollars directly could dictate some of these decisions to the schools.

Would all students have school transportation?

It’s unclear whether all students would receive transportation to school under the ILEA’s recommendations.

There seems to be some consensus among ILEA members that to bus all students to any school they want to attend — regardless of distance — would be too costly.

But the larger unanswered question is whether all schools would be required to offer transportation to students living within a certain distance of the school.

About half of the 25 charter schools in the IPS Innovation Network use the district’s bus services. Less than half of the 29 independent charter schools provide bus service, according to a September report from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, which authorizes charters.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who has objected to stripping the district of its authority over transportation, said at an ILEA meeting last month that schools should be required to participate in a transportation service. She said this would address the problem that the alliance is trying to solve, which is how to ensure every school offers transportation.

If schools decline to do so, she said, then they should not receive property tax dollars earmarked for transportation.

Four other ILEA members have told Chalkbeat they would support a requirement for schools to offer transportation: Tina Ahlgren, Barato Britt, Andrew Neal, and Angela Smith-Jones.

But former mayor Bart Peterson, who’s also an ILEA member, said there would need to be limits on how far students could live from their school and still receive transportation.

Will new charter schools be allowed to open?

It’s unclear whether the ILEA will address the issue of opening new schools.

In the proposals, there’s no mention of stopping new public schools from opening in Indianapolis. But in an ILEA meeting last month, Ahlgren and Smith-Jones voiced support for a moratorium on new schools.

“We have to have a pause, because you cannot continue to have just a rolling wheel of change,” Smith-Jones said last month. “To me that feels unstable.”

In practice, such a moratorium would likely disproportionately impact charters, which have grown in number in recent years as the number of IPS-run schools have shrunk, although roughly one-third of charters have closed since 2001.

In a related matter, IPS supporters are also calling for just one charter authorizer instead of the three currently overseeing schools in Indianapolis. Charter school leaders and advocates have opposed limiting the number of authorizers and any moratorium on new schools.

Would charter schools need to give up their buildings?

Few charter schools own vehicles that transport students. But over 20 charter schools own their buildings and a little over a dozen leased them in the 2023-24 school year, according to a report from the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation. Those arrangements include millions in remaining financial obligations.

It’s unclear whether the alliance will recommend that charter schools give up authority over those assets.

“How are property rights exercised by an independent authority over buildings that are owned in lots of different ways by lots of different entities?” Peterson said at the ILEA’s meeting in November.

It’s also unclear whether the ILEA will recommend the state repeal a law that allows charter schools to buy unused school buildings from IPS for $1 under certain conditions. The law has sparked conflict between IPS and charters for years.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Groups backing IPS slam proposals advanced by task force that would reduce elected board’s power

2025-12-04T23:55:45+00:00

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A coalition supporting Indianapolis Public Schools is blasting a task force’s proposals to dilute the power of the elected school board, and is also calling for IPS to have the power to authorize charter schools.

The coalition’s response on Thursday comes on the heels of recommendations advanced by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance on Wednesday that would dramatically alter how district and charter schools in the city are governed. The groups in the coalition — the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America, the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Education Association, and the IPS Parent Council — have been critical of the growth of charters.

The coalition also shared an alternative proposal, authored by the Central Indiana DSA, for changing how schools are run that would provide the elected IPS school board more power, not less.

Kristen Phair of the IPS Parent Council said at a press conference that the alliance’s proposals ignored the wishes of more than 1,000 families who signed a letter calling for an elected school board to serve as the sole authorizer of charter schools.

“Parents have consistent serious concerns: the weakening of democratic oversight, the creation of new authorities with unclear accountability over transportation, facilities, and public funds, and a rushed timeline that has allowed only limited and shallow engagement,” Phair said. “There is no evidence that these changes will benefit our kids.”

The charter school community, meanwhile, welcomed some aspects of the ILEA’s preferred recommendations while cautioning the alliance not to restrict charter schools’ autonomy. The Mind Trust, an influential Indianapolis nonprofit that has helped start many local charters, applauded the alliance’s work, saying it has recognized “the need for multiple quality charter school authorizers.”

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance advanced two proposals for changing oversight of public schools for further public input on Wednesday. One would create an advisory board made up of appointees from the mayor’s office, IPS, and charters. It would collect and levy taxes, and both charters’ boards and the elected IPS board would report to this board. The other would concentrate more power in the hands of the mayor, who would appoint a new secretary of education and make appointments to a nine-member board. Both models leave open the possibility for more than one charter authorizer.

Public pressure is mounting on members of the alliance as they consider recommendations for how to address falling IPS enrollment, long-term fiscal concerns for traditional public schools, and the growth of charters in the city. After gathering more public input, the alliance will vote Dec. 17 on final recommendations to send to state lawmakers. Many Republican legislators have sought to divert money and other resources away from IPS in recent years.

Voice and a Choice plan emphasizes IPS authority

The Voice and a Choice plan supported by the pro-IPS coalition would keep authority under an elected school board, which would also gain the sole power to open and close charter schools.

IPS would continue operating buildings and transportation services for charter and district schools, and an elected school board would set policy that would hold both district and charter schools to the same standard.

The coalition’s model differs sharply from the transportation and facilities proposals advanced by the task force, which would strip the district’s authority over those services and instead move it to either an advisory board or an independent authority.

“The ILEA’s other proposed options add needless complexity and create further opportunities for wealthy, private actors to personally profit rather than address the real issues: underfunding, systemic racism, and a lack of public accountability,” said Adrea McCloud, an IPS teacher and co-chair of a campaign run by the Central Indiana DSA in support of traditional public schools.

In general, shifting control of transportation and buildings away from IPS is something pro-charter advocates have supported.

“Even with the best intentions, we can play favorites,” said Sashah Fletcher, a parent affiliated with EmpowerED Families, said at the alliance meeting on Wednesday. “When we talk about sharing assets specific to school transportation, I believe the best path is a transportation and authority that is not housed in any school system.”

The proposals the ILEA advanced represent wins for charters in other respects, although the ILEA could change them before putting them to a final vote.

The ILEA has discussed a moratorium on new public schools in the city while it undergoes structural changes, but it did not include that in the proposals it advanced this week. Charter leaders have opposed such a moratorium. They also argued against restrictions on the number of charter authorizers, and the ILEA did not move forward with such proposals.

“Eliminating independent authorizers concentrates authority in ways that increase political risk,” said Tommy Reddicks, the CEO of Paramount Schools of Excellence, a network of charters. “A ban on charter expansion denies families access to proven models.”

Mind Trust CEO Brandon Brown also cautioned the task force against concentrating too much power in a small group of officials.

“As the ILEA continues its deliberations, we encourage members to guard against creating a new overarching governance structure that could unintentionally infringe upon school autonomy,” Brown said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance advances proposals diluting power of elected IPS school board

2025-12-04T01:49:59+00:00

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A state-mandated education task force has advanced two proposals that would both significantly dilute the power of the elected board governing Indianapolis Public Schools.

In a 7-2 vote on Wednesday, members of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance moved ahead with two potential recommendations to change how local schools are run, but did not indicate a preference for one of them.

The first model would increase the influence of the mayor and charters through a new three-way power-sharing arrangement.

The model’s proposed “collaborative compact advisory board” would consist of appointees from IPS, the mayor’s office, and charter schools. The IPS school board and charter schools’ boards would report to this advisory board, which would collect and levy property taxes and serve as a charter authorizer. The mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, however, which currently serves as a charter authorizer, could also continue in that role.

The second model would concentrate more power in the mayor’s hands by establishing an Indianapolis Education Authority consisting of a mayor-appointed secretary of education. In the version of this model presented last month, the mayor would also appoint a nine-member policy-making board. Four of those nine members would be selected from the elected IPS school board, which along with charter school boards would also report to the policy-making board.

The model would allow the Office of Education Innovation, or OEI, to remain as a charter authorizer. The Indiana Charter School Board would either be another authorizer, or would serve as an appeals board for charter schools seeking to challenge a decision made by the OEI.

Either plan would bring monumental changes to Indianapolis Public Schools and the 54 charters within district borders. The ILEA’s work is taking place against the backdrop of declining enrollment and significant long-term financial issues for IPS, while charter school enrollment in the area has grown. Tensions between traditional public and charters over funding and other resources have also escalated. And in recent years, state GOP lawmakers have sought to take power and funding away from IPS in different ways.

The Republican supermajority that approved the creation of the ILEA is also considering redrawing Indiana’s congressional map to potentially eliminate two Democratic seats statewide and dilute the electoral power of the urban core of Indianapolis.

The alliance was created by state lawmakers to recommend changing how IPS and charter schools could share resources. The ILEA’s members also agreed to advance two options for the management of IPS and charter facilities and transportation that would put power over bus services and school buildings under either a separate authority or advisory board.

The ILEA will collect public input on its three preferred models in two meetings later this month. One will be held on Dec. 10 at KIPP Legacy High School from 6 to 8 p.m., and another will be held on Dec. 15 at the Madam Walker Legacy Center from 12 to 2 p.m.

The group will pick its final recommendations to state lawmakers in a vote at a Dec. 17 meeting, although legislators could also disregard the ILEA’s preferences.

IPS superintendent critical of plans to reduce board’s power

The vote on the three models came after heated public comment Wednesday from both district and charter supporters.

While charter leaders opposed any moves to reduce the number of charter authorizers, parents supportive of IPS urged the alliance to give authority over both district and charter schools to a fully elected IPS school board.

“If charters have concerns about answering to the IPS board, they can campaign to elect members that are favorable to their kids,” said IPS parent Josiah Harris-Adam, referencing previous school board election cycles that have garnered financial support from charter-friendly organizations.

The IPS Parent Council, which supports traditional IPS schools, called on the ILEA to pause Wednesday’s vote to hear more public testimony on the options. The council also decried the 4 p.m. meeting time that they said was inconvenient for many students and families.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and IPS teacher and parent Tina Ahlgren were the two votes against the proposals to dilute the power of the current IPS board.

“The elected school board oversees the administration of transportation and facilities for 70% of public school students in our boundary, charter and district,” Johnson said. “It would seem to me that the least disruptive way to proceed would be to leverage that publicly elected board to provide service or set policy for 100% of the public schools within our boundary, charter and district, while still respecting the autonomy and flexibility that many of our charter schools enjoy today.”

But Angela Smith-Jones, who was appointed to the ILEA by Mayor Joe Hogsett, noted that the alliance must consider how state lawmakers will respond to the task force’s recommendations.

Fellow ILEA member and former Indianapolis mayor Bart Peterson agreed, and said the alliance will still be doing a lot of work to address unanswered questions. He also said the task force will take more public input before its final meeting in two weeks.

“I believe we can reach a proposal that we can be proud to put forward,” he said.

ILEA advances options for independent transportation, facilities oversight

Meanwhile, the proposals advanced by the ILEA to change oversight of transportation and facilities have some key similarities.

One option for facilities would be to create another “collaborative compact advisory board” to manage buildings. The board could set accountability and performance standards that could determine which schools receive buildings.

The other recommendation for changing facilities management would create an independent building authority that consists of facilities experts and professional staff.

The transportation options advanced by the task force are similar. One would create an advisory board that would set transportation zones. In this model, schools opting in to the service would pay for transportation services that continue to be run by IPS.

Another model would create an independent transportation authority that would collect property tax dollars and hire transportation contractors.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Here’s when the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance will meet next

2025-11-26T17:38:55+00:00

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The Indianapolis Education Alliance will meet Dec. 3 to narrow down possible recommendations for changing who oversees schools and how school buildings and buses are managed.

The meeting is from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the public assembly room of the City County Building, said Shaina Cavazos, director of the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

ILEA members acknowledged at their last meeting that in order to recommend changes to building and transportation management — the main task assigned to them by state lawmakers — they need to address school oversight. The group heard four options for doing so, including ones that would drastically limit the power of the elected board for Indianapolis Public Schools.

On Dec. 3, the ILEA is expected to go over the options for how to change the management of facilities, transportation, and school oversight, and narrow them down. The alliance could decide to not pick one of the presented options, and instead combine elements to create a new option, or choose something entirely different, ILEA consultant Michael O’Connor previously told Chalkbeat.

A majority of alliance members told Chalkbeat that they don’t yet have a preferred option for how to change school oversight. However, multiple members said they are considering appointed board members for schools, as well as reducing the number of charter authorizers. Other members, however, support elected school boards.

After the meeting, the ILEA will host public input sessions on the transportation, facilities, and governance models that the group likes best, before voting on its final recommendations to city and state leaders on Dec. 17.

The time and location of that meeting has not yet been announced.

Give the ILEA your feedback on the options for governance, transportation, and facilities from the November meeting here. You can also send general feedback to the ILEA by emailing ILEA@indy.gov.

Chalkbeat reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

How much power should the school board have? Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members respond.

2025-11-26T11:00:01+00:00

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Authority over schools in Indianapolis could change in the near future. And while some members of a state-mandated task force want to maintain an elected Indianapolis Public Schools board, others see value in having an appointed authority.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance could soon suggest a change to who’s in charge of charter and IPS schools. At the group’s meeting last week, ILEA members said changes to the local education power structure may be necessary in order to help the group address its primary assignment from state lawmakers: suggesting changes to how schools share facilities and transportation resources.

Two of the potential options unveiled by ILEA consultant Michael O’Connor at last week’s meeting would dilute the power of the elected IPS school board — and one would eliminate IPS school board elections entirely.

The four options include maintaining an elected IPS board; creating an advisory board of mayoral, IPS, and charter school appointees; creating an Indianapolis Education Authority appointed by the mayor; and replacing the elected IPS school board with mayoral appointees.

A majority of alliance members have yet to say which option they like the most. But some have shared their preferences for how specific facets of school governance should change. When it comes to charter authorizers, for example, some want fewer of them for Indianapolis.

The ILEA will meet in the first week of December to select from one of these governance models, although the alliance could decide to combine elements of certain options or choose a different model altogether. It will also select from options presented last week for how charters and district-run schools can share transportation and facilities. Alliance members could also tweak the transportation and facilities options as they decide on a final model for both services.

The ILEA will then host public input sessions on the selected transportation, facilities, and governance models before voting on the final recommendations to city and state leaders on Dec. 17. The time and location of that meeting has not yet been announced.

Below, members of the ILEA weigh in on different options for changing who oversees Indianapolis schools, including whether the IPS board should be elected or appointed and how many charter school authorizers there should be.

Tina Ahlgren, superintendent appointee

Tina Ahlgren, an IPS parent, teacher, and union member, said she hasn’t had the chance to delve further into each governance option.

But she said she is hesitant about giving control of schools to mayoral appointees, given the unique city-county arrangement commonly known as Unigov. In Indianapolis, the mayor represents a county that consists of 11 school districts. More mayoral control would give the mayor authority over just one of the 11.

Voters in IPS boundaries would be only a fraction of the voters electing a mayor, Ahlgren said.

“We’re never going to have a critical mass of voters in the IPS boundaries,” she said.

Ahlgren also said she supports having fewer charter authorizers, but that she is also listening to suggestions from charter advocates.

“What I would prefer is probably different than I think what they would prefer,” she said. “But I also have zero experience in that world.”

Barato Britt, IPS board president appointee

Barato Britt said he is exploring the options and sees value in having appointed board members. He noted that appointees could bring expertise that may not be guaranteed in elected board members.

Britt said he is not in favor of limiting charter authorization to one entity.

Mayor Joe Hogsett, chair

In a statement, a spokesperson for Hogsett did not indicate which governance model he would prefer and instead stressed his desire to get more perspectives from the public.

“Over the coming weeks, there will be more opportunities for public input on the options that were detailed last Wednesday night, including through in-person listening sessions and by submitting digital comments,” the statement said. “Mayor Hogsett will consider this feedback from families, residents, and stakeholders as he continues to evaluate which option would be the best step forward for students.”

IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson made clear at last week’s meeting that she supports an elected IPS school board. She reiterated that sentiment in a video released by the district last Friday.

“Why would we remove decision-making power from leaders elected by our community, especially in a city where communities of color have fought hard to make their voices heard?” she said in the video. “Any option that eliminates elected board members risks doing exactly that.”

She said IPS should continue to own its schools’ buildings. And she opposed creating an independent transportation authority — which she said would be “disruptive, complex, and even more costly.”

Maggie Lewis, mayoral appointee

City-County Councilor Maggie Lewis did not respond to a request for comment through a spokesperson by deadline.

Tobin McClamroch, mayoral appointee

In an email, Tobin McClamroch said he prefers the Indianapolis Education Authority option.

“The best model would be an independent authority that would own and manage and deliver facilities and transportation services,” he said. “An independent authority will best incentivize participation among all public schools and thereby create economies of scale.”

Andrew Neal, superintendent appointee

Andrew Neal said he has not yet decided on his preferred model.

But he said he is in favor of an option that incorporates appointees to the board, noting that democratic representation has limits.

“Children can’t vote, undocumented families can’t vote, many low incomes families vote at disproportionately lower rates,” he said, echoing sentiments he shared at the ILEA meeting last week. “I think appointed members have an opportunity to represent some of those populations if the appointees are done well.”

He said he is in favor of one charter authorizer, with an option for charter schools to appeal that authorizer’s decision.

Bart Peterson, mayoral appointee

Former mayor Bart Peterson declined to say what his preferred outcome is but told Chalkbeat last week that he is “still in the learning mode.”

“I realize we only have a month left,” he said, “but I think we have a long way to go.”

He said he’s interested in hearing what other people have to say.

But he said he does not think the ILEA would be bound by any one option presented last week.

“They also have elements that could be mixed and matched,” he said. “The final result doesn’t have to be one of those four things in my opinion.”

Peterson said he’s not prepared to say whether there is a specific number of charter authorizers the ILEA should propose. But he highlighted his previously stated concerns about the number of charter authorizers growing too large.

Angela Smith-Jones, mayoral appointee

Angela Smith-Jones said she does not have a preferred model yet, but said she is considering what is best for students and families and also what state lawmakers would support.

She said she has also not determined whether she would be in favor of a governing body that is elected or appointed.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Officials could soon recommend changing how Indianapolis schools are run. Here are the 4 options.

2025-11-25T18:11:38+00:00

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Indianapolis schools could be on the verge of a seismic shift.

An advisory panel is weighing recommendations that would drastically alter who runs local schools. Several of the options presented at the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s meeting last week would dilute or eliminate the power of the elected Indianapolis Public Schools board. More broadly, they would mean big changes for district-run schools as well as charters.

While an elected seven-member board oversees district schools, charter schools have their own nonprofit boards. Indianapolis charter schools are overseen and authorized by one of three authorizers — the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, Education One at Trine University, and the Indiana Charter School Board. But state law places no limit on the number of charter authorizers, which can also include school boards.

In each of the four models floated by ILEA task forces last week, one authority would oversee both district and charter schools of all types.

The ILEA will meet in the first week of December to narrow down the options for changing school governance. The ILEA will then host public input sessions before voting on the final recommendations to city and state leaders on Dec. 17. The time and location of that meeting has not yet been announced.

Alliance members could change or combine each one as they settle on a final governance model, ILEA consultant Michael O’Connor told Chalkbeat. Members could decide to add more charter authorizers to certain models, for instance.

Each model would also likely have an appeals process for charter schools that seek to open or challenge a decision made by the charter authorizer, O’Connor said.

Separately, the ILEA will also consider suggestions for changing how district schools and charters share transportation resources and facilities.

Of the 54 charters within IPS borders that the ILEA is studying, 25 are part of the IPS Innovation Network of autonomous schools. Fifteen of the Innovation Network charter schools operate in IPS buildings, 12 of them use IPS transportation, and 11 do both. Another 29 charters are independent.

Here is an overview of each of the four governance models the ILEA could consider.

Maintain IPS as an elected board, add charter oversight

In this option, the IPS board would oversee both district and charter schools. While independent and Innovation charters would maintain their own individual school boards, all charters within IPS borders would report up to the school board.

Only the IPS board would have the power to authorize charter schools in district boundaries. Charter schools whose applications are denied by the IPS board — or those that have their charters revoked or not renewed — could appeal to the Office of Education Innovation.

The IPS school board would have the power to levy and collect property taxes. It would also set rules for all schools regarding transportation access and which schools would have access to buildings.

Create an appointed advisory board

Another option would create a “collaborative compact advisory board” to oversee district and charter schools. The board would have the power to levy and collect property taxes for schools, and also serve as the charter authorizer. The Office of Education Innovation could also serve as a second authorizer.

The board would consist of appointees from IPS, the mayor, and charter schools, and would set policy. Exact details on appointees — whether IPS appointees would be chosen by the school board or superintendent or would be school board members themselves, for example — could be determined by state lawmakers. The IPS and charter school boards would report up to the advisory board.

Create an Indianapolis Education Authority

The third option would create an Indianapolis Education Authority overseen by a nine-member policymaking board and led by a secretary of education appointed by the mayor.

The board would be appointed by the mayor, with four members selected from the seven-member elected IPS board. This policymaking board would work with the secretary of education within the authority, which would serve as charter authorizer.

The authority would hire building and transportation staff.

IPS and charter school boards would report to the policymaking board, which would levy and receive tax dollars.

Replace an elected IPS board with an appointed one

Out of all four options, this one would give the mayor the most control over schools. The mayor would appoint all members of the IPS school board, which would oversee district schools. The mayor’s Office of Education Innovation would serve as charter authorizer, while the Indiana Charter School Board would serve as an appealing body for charter schools. Both independent and Innovation charter school boards would report to the IPS school board.

The board would levy and receive property taxes and would set policy on transportation and facilities.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

IPS board members float shrinking district’s boundaries, but getting buy-in could be tricky

2025-11-14T20:58:51+00:00

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Shrinking Indianapolis Public Schools down to the boundaries of Center Township would be a politically challenging feat requiring the consent of at least seven neighboring township school districts to adopt a change affecting over 10,000 students.

IPS school board members have floated the idea as a potential solution to budget woes as the district grapples with a loss of students and a state law requiring more property tax dollars to go to charter schools instead of IPS. The solution surfaced just one month before the state-mandated Indianapolis Local Education Alliance submits recommendations to state lawmakers on how IPS and charters can share transportation and building resources.

If done today, reducing IPS boundaries to only include Center Township — bordered by 38th Street to the north, Emerson Avenue to the east, Troy Avenue to the south, and Belmont Avenue to the west — would remove 47 district and charter schools from IPS borders. It would also shrink the area for the district to draw property tax funds from. District borders currently include most of Center Township at the heart of Marion County, but also reach into seven surrounding townships.

Board members have stressed that the move is not something they would consider without seeking community input. But IPS parents have already expressed concerns, decrying the instability it would bring to an already unstable district that recently closed schools and reorganized grade levels as a part of a right-sizing attempt that began in 2023.

The move would likely require IPS to follow a detailed process outlined in state law mandating buy-in from multiple school districts.

There is a host of other factors to consider, including what state lawmakers might think, said Philip Downs of the Franks School of Education at Trine University.

“The other side of this coin is you, right now, have a legislature who is fine just running roughshod over what the existing codes are and is willing to pass new codes to make things happen quickly,” Downs said.

Changing school district boundaries: What state law says

Reducing IPS to Center Township could mean that surrounding townships annex the parts of IPS that extend into the boundaries of five surrounding townships.

Those areas currently encompass 22 district schools and eight charter schools in the district’s Innovation Network, which collectively enrolled roughly 11,700 students last year, according to state enrollment records. Six of those charters use district buildings.

State law governing IPS has an annexation provision that would require the adoption of a resolution by both the district losing land and the district gaining land. That resolution could allow for students attending school in the annexed area to continue attending school in the district that is losing land.

But voters living within the district set to lose land could object in court by filing a remonstrance — a type of formal opposition.

State law requires the annexing district to assume the obligation for buildings located in the territory it acquires.

Other logistics would have to be ironed out — including what would happen to those charter schools located in IPS buildings as part of their Innovation Network contracts with the district.

Although surrounding township districts could receive more property taxes by acquiring more land, Downs said that township leaders may need to consider the cost of maintaining any acquired buildings.

“The big question is going to be: Is the ground they’re getting from IPS going to help them or hurt them even further?” Downs said, noting that it would likely take years to get this kind of solution sorted out.

Would township districts want IPS land and schools?

It’s unclear whether impacted township districts would be interested in taking IPS territory.

Seven townships — Lawrence, Wayne, Washington, Warren, Pike, Decatur, and Perry — have land that is within IPS boundaries.

In a statement, a Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township spokesperson said the district “has not been part of any conversation, committee work, or formal discussion regarding this matter.”

“Additionally, we have not received any formal proposal from Indianapolis Public Schools on the redrawing of district boundaries,” spokesperson Dana Altmeyer said in an email. “Our focus remains on serving the students and families of Lawrence Township.”

The remaining townships did not immediately respond to a request for comment by deadline.

What could happen next for IPS boundaries?

IPS board member Ashley Thomas said that she personally does not believe shrinking the district’s boundaries would solve its challenges, and does not think the board would push for it. But she stressed that the board values community input on the option, and would want to hear from people who do think it is a good solution.

“Everybody’s got different opinions,” she said. “It’s important for us as a board to have these conversations and find the alignment.”

The IPS school board meets for its regular action session on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at 120 E. Walnut St. The ILEA’s next meeting is on Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. at a location to be determined..

Any agreement between IPS and other districts could ultimately be undone by state lawmakers, who often craft legislation specifically about Indianapolis.

“When it comes to Marion County,” Downs said, “I never underestimate the General Assembly’s desire to want to dip their fingers into it.”

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Mayoral control over Indianapolis schools could untangle big knots — or create new headaches

2025-11-13T12:00:00+00:00

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Should the mayor hold more power over Indianapolis Public Schools and charter schools?

Control over public education in the city is fractured now. An elected board governs Indianapolis Public Schools, where enrollment has been falling and the financial outlook is grim. Oversight of the city’s 50-plus charter schools is spread across multiple authorizers, including the mayor’s office, resulting in a patchwork of accountability. And as school choice has expanded, tensions over money and political power have been rising too.

All that makes the role of the mayor a notable one that could be addressed by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, which has been tasked by lawmakers with recommending systemic changes for IPS and charters.

The state-mandated group must submit recommendations by the end of 2025 on two narrow issues – changing transportation and building use. But it could also make suggestions on other topics like calling for some enhanced form of mayoral control, which would dramatically reshape the hierarchy running schools.

Some groups support this change, which would follow in the mold ofNew York City, where the mayor appoints the schools chancellor, and Washington, D.C., where the mayor appoints the schools chancellor and nominates members of the charter school board.

In its recommendations to the ILEA, Stand for Children Indiana, a nonprofit that mobilizes parents who support school choice, said that school board members appointed by the mayor could bring “experience as educators, or understanding facilities management or accountability systems — so they can add to the elected board’s experience.”

Yet the city-county structure of Indianapolis would create unique challenges. The mayor, a charter authorizer who governs a county featuring 11 school districts, would have sweeping influence over just one.

And consolidating power under one elected office could tie control of schools to the election of just one official every four years who oversees much more than just education.

This month, New York City voters elected a new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, intent on ending mayoral control. And in Indianapolis, some potential Democratic candidates for the 2027 mayoral election support elected school boards and are skeptical of charter schools and support limiting charter school authorizing.

Research into mayoral control over schools has found mixed results when it comes to academic performance and other factors.

A spokesperson for Mayor Joe Hogsett declined to share his thoughts on mayoral control, saying it would be unfair to the “ongoing and important work” of the ILEA. Hogsett is the ILEA’s chairperson.

An executive-driven school system can streamline governance under someone the public clearly recognizes as in charge, said Kenneth Wong, a professor emeritus of education policy at Brown University who has studied mayoral control for over 20 years. Given that IPS is the largest district in Marion County, he said, there could be a case for having mayoral control exclusively over one district facing a “dramatic educational crisis.”

“One could make the argument that because of the complexity and the amount of money involved in IPS, that needs coherence and accountability,” he said in an interview.

But some school board members, parents, and community members have called strongly for IPS to maintain a fully elected school board. They view the idea of having one person pick people to oversee the district as a blow to transparency and democratic control.

“Choosing our own representation is reflective of the community. Appointments would be a step backwards,” said Samantha Douglas, a Far Eastside resident, during a district-hosted town hall earlier this month. “We never hear from folks who are appointed.”

Unigov could complicate Indianapolis school governance changes

Mayoral control doesn’t mean the mayor runs schools like a superintendent. And it isn’t necessarily an all-or-nothing proposition.

A school board partially elected and partially appointed by the mayor could control IPS schools. The mayor’s office could serve as the sole charter authorizer — or as one of a maximum of two, as some groups have suggested. Stand for Children has also suggested a hybrid appointed and elected IPS board that would also act as the sole charter authorizer.

But the 1970 state legislation known as Unigov complicates matters.

Unigov consolidated nearly all city and county services for Indianapolis and Marion County. But school districts were not part of the merger and continued to operate independently.

Today, the mayor represents the city of Indianapolis and a county with 11 school districts: IPS, eight township school districts, and the school districts for Beech Grove and Speedway, two municipalities within the county with their own mayors that were excluded from Unigov consolidation.

Under mayoral control, the mayor would oversee only one out of the 11 school districts. But voters in other school districts — the majority of Marion County — would still cast votes for a mayor.

Through the Office of Education Innovation, the mayor’s office also already authorizes most charters within IPS borders.

In his 2007 book “The Education Mayor,” Wong found that mayor-controlled systems performed better academically than those without mayoral control — particularly in elementary school English language arts.

“While the data is dated, the basic premise remains relevant – mayors, when given accountability, will connect public schools to quality of life improvement,” Wong said in an email. “Mayors tend to focus resources to address the achievement gap.”

But he said one downside is the sentiment that community voices are not heard when mayors control schools.

Chicago highlights arguments from both supporters and detractors of mayoral control.

Mayoral control across three administrations from 1995 to 2020 coincided with increased academic performance in Chicago. Yet decisions to close schools also led to a public uproar and galvanized the teacher’s union to push for state legislation that would end it.

And in 2023, voters there picked an opponent of mayoral control when they elected former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson as mayor. Chicago began phasing out mayoral control this year, and it will end in 2027 when the board will be fully elected.

Several potential candidates skeptical of mayoral control

Mayoral control gained steam in the 1990s and garnered support from Democrats supportive of education reforms like charter schools. But it has drawn criticism from teachers unions and progressive groups.

If Hogsett, a Democrat supportive of charter schools, runs for reelection but loses to a candidate critical of charter schools’ growth, that could disrupt the smooth relationship the charter sector has enjoyed with both Republican and Democratic administrations.

The Mind Trust, an influential local nonprofit that has helped grow the city’s charter sector, called for an IPS board appointed by the mayor and city councilors in 2011. Today, though, it does not have a public stance on who should govern schools.

“We continue to think that that is a worthy conversation,” CEO Brandon Brown said of mayoral control. “We also think it’s one of many questions that need to be answered over the next few months, and we’ve not taken a formal position on it.”

Given the support that charter schools have from local Democrats and statehouse Republicans, Brown said, he does not see future administrations posing a significant risk to charter schools.

Of course, it’s not clear whether state lawmakers would move forward with expanding mayoral control in time to affect the 2026 school board elections or the 2027 mayoral election, even if they are interested.

Other potential candidates have differing views.

Democratic state senators Andrea Hunley and Fady Qaddoura — who are rumored to be mayoral candidates in 2027 but told Chalkbeat they have not yet decided whether to run — said they support an elected school board. Both are skeptical of charter schools and support restricting the number of charter authorizers.

Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears, who’s also weighing a 2027 run, told Chalkbeat that the mayor could play a helpful role in setting an accountability standard for all schools.

“I’m certainly more partial to an elected board,” he said. “But I also think there’s room for what role mayor appointees can [do].”

Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson, who objected to the opening of a charter school in Pike Township and confirmed she plans to run, said she favors elections instead of mayoral control.

“It just seems like it would be a lot of responsibility for mayor, with everything else that we have to contend with within our day-to-day duties as mayor of this city,” she said.

Former IPS school board member Will Pritchard, a charter school supporter who is also considering a run, said mayoral control might be feasible — if the county only had one school district.

“To have the mayor control one district but not the other 10 does not make sense,” he said. “And to have a large portion of the city voting for the mayor while a smaller portion of the city has their school district controlled by the mayor presents an awkward division.”

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Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

IPS and charters are preparing for big changes. A new school rating system could be one of them.

2025-11-10T12:00:00+00:00

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It’s been seven years since Indianapolis schools, and schools around the state, have received a rating for school performance.

In that time, dozens of charters have closed, opened, or taken control of IPS schools. Indianapolis Public Schools, where enrollment is declining, has also closed several schools.

Now, the state has created the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance to rethink the Indianapolis school landscape. And while supporters of charters and IPS schools want different things from the ILEA, one idea has garnered support from both sides: the need for a universal accountability system.

That system could highlight schools in need of intervention, advocates say, and provide important information to parents as they select schools for their children. And in a school landscape that had thousands more seats than students last school year, it could also influence which schools close or merge.

What that rating system would look like — and whether it would simply mirror the state’s new A-F school ratings system to be finalized in December — is unclear. But it could also help clarify which schools are better serving students, during a period when finger-pointing between advocates of traditional public schools and charters has sometimes gotten ugly. A universal rating system could put all schools on the same playing field.

If the ILEA recommends creating such a system to the state legislature, there will be big questions about what it should look like. How should it account for demographics? What should it measure?

The ILEA is due to share its recommendations on how charters and IPS can share transportation and building resources to lawmakers by the end of December. But the law that established the group also allows it to make recommendations on “uniform school performance frameworks” — which member Barato Britt said the group is considering.

“There is at least mutual agreement that trying to get to a framework that does evaluate and hold all of our public schools to similar levels of accountability for performance is, I think, a north star,” he said.

Controlling for school demographics in ratings is complex

Designing a universal accountability system would be a tall order.

There would be thorny questions of who would choose the metrics, and whether those metrics would culminate in a single school rating. There would also be questions about whether those ratings would lead to consequences, like closure recommendations, and what power the district or charter authorizers would be giving up in the process.

One overarching challenge would be how to design a system that fairly controls for differences in demographics and the challenges faced by each school.

Consider two Indianapolis charter schools.

At Liberty Grove at Elder Diggs School 42, all students qualified for free or reduced-price meals, one measure of family income, according to state enrollment records from last school year. About 16% were English language learners. Just 4.5% of its students reached proficiency in both English and math on the state’s ILEARN exam last year.

Two miles away at Herron Prep, roughly 36% receive free or reduced-price meals. Just 5% of students were English language learners. Its combined proficiency rate: roughly 39%.

So what is a fair way to rate these schools that accounts for their different demographics without downplaying academic results?

There are at least three ways that a school rating model can account for those differences, said Chris Domaleski, executive director of the Center for Assessment, which provides support for districts on assessment and accountability.

One is by measuring growth on test scores rather than total proficiency. This can measure a school based on how well its students are progressing year over year, rather than judging a school that historically lags behind its peers based on overall proficiency.

Another strategy is to factor in the performance of student subgroups, he said, such as those from low-income backgrounds. That could also measure how well schools are doing in serving certain populations, rather than judging the school’s performance as a whole.

Finally, a framework can also look at measure improvements over time in non-academic areas, such as chronic absenteeism.

Any rating system should focus on the success of each student subgroup to ensure schools are serving all types of students, said Jasmin Shaheed-Young, the CEO of RISE Indy, a nonprofit with ties to school choice advocates that works in district and charter schools. In the same vein, it should also take into account suspension and expulsion rates, she said.

But a new framework should not immediately dictate which schools would close, she said.

“Before we go directly to closure, we want to stop to figure out intervention, and we also want partnership,” she said. “We want all schools to be able to work together to ultimately serve best practices and consolidate ideas.”

For Morrise Harbour, founder of the Liberty Grove charter school, year-over-year improvement on a test is a more important metric on his school’s success, rather than raw scores alone.

“Comparing yourself to yourself is probably the best — one of the more efficient — ways to really see how effective a school is,” he said.

To him, other important metrics include attendance rate and the retention of students and staff. But what’s less clear to him is how important each of these factors might be in determining a final school rating.

“What weighs more in this report card as opposed to others?” he said. “Does attendance weigh more than proficiency, or does growth weigh more than proficiency?”

Could Indianapolis schools adopt a state rating system?

The state’s previous school ratings measured the number of students passing state assessments, year-over-year growth on state tests, graduation rates, and the number of students taking college-level courses.

The new state school rating system, which the State Board of Education will finalize in December, could be more comprehensive. It would give schools points for elementary school students who are not proficient on a state exam but are approaching proficiency, for example. It would grant extra points for students who meet attendance targets, or for English language learners who are reaching language proficiency.

In high school, the proposed new system would also give extra points for students who complete college and career coursework or 150 hours of work-based learning.

But Shaheed-Young said Indianapolis should have its own framework that considers student subgroup performance, given the diversity of student enrollment in IPS and charters.

Britt, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance member, said he believes the community can agree on a common set of data points that will provide “as much of an apples-to-apples comparison as possible.”

“I just have to believe there is a way we can evaluate schools equitably, meaningfully, and in a way that will ... further inform parents in their decision-making,” he said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Voters in 5 of 6 Indiana communities, including Avon, approve school referendums

2025-11-05T21:30:10+00:00

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Volunteers and district leaders wearing school colors stood outside the Avon United Methodist Church, a popular polling place in the Hendricks County town, handing out information about the only item on Tuesday’s ballot: a referendum for Avon Community Schools to pay for maintaining smaller class sizes, extracurriculars, and competitive teacher pay.

Nearby, members of the Avon High School orchestra played Christmas carols, and a steady stream of people arrived to cast their vote.

One hundred and seventy-three jobs, mostly teachers, were on the line. The vote was six months earlier than planned, due to changes made at the statehouse. And Lt. Gov Micah Beckwith went to Avon less than two weeks earlier to showcase his opposition to school referendums.

Avon Community Schools was one of six school districts with a referendum vote on Tuesday, an election watched by many as a test case for future school property tax measures due to multiple changes by lawmakers.

Unofficial results showed five districts – Avon, Cannelton City Schools, Duneland Schools, Hanover Schools, and Lake Central Schools – passed their referendums, all renewals of previous ones. Northwest Allen Community Schools, the only district with a new referendum, did not.

“We don’t take that support lightly and I’m excited to see all the many ways our students and educators will thrive in the coming years thanks to our community’s support,” Avon superintendent Scott Wyndham wrote in his victory message.

State law allows school districts to seek this additional revenue as a supplement to the local property tax dollars they receive, as well as state and federal funding. Referendums can be for construction, safety, or operating expenses. All six this year were operating referendums meaning they were to fund salaries and programming.

Members of the Avon High School orchestra perform for voters on Tuesday. The school district referendum was the only item on the ballot.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed measures to lower property taxes, which many expect to lower operating revenue for schools, increase how much of that funding some districts must share with charter schools, and restrict referendums to only general statewide elections, rather than during any primary or general election. This year was an exception for school boards that passed a resolution before June 30 to place a referendum on the November ballot.

“Indiana is now a referendum state and it’s only going to become more and more the case,” Wyndham said, adding that school leaders and educators are there to teach kids and provide the best schools possible. “Yet Indiana has put us in a situation where for the last three months we’ve been running a campaign.”

School referendum campaigns are ‘full-time job’

In Avon, the referendum was a renewal of the 2018 referendum, but at a lower rate, and campaign volunteers aimed to share what was at stake with the community.

One example was the orchestra playing outside the polls. Before the 2018 referendum, elementary schools shared teachers for “specials” like art, gym, and music. After the referendum, each school has a dedicated teacher for those classes, and the music program has grown. Avon now has the largest orchestra program in the state with over 1,000 students in grades six to 12 participating, per the district.

While referendum support was generally positive, Avon school leaders said misinformation also caused challenges.

Sarah Parent, an Avon school board member, said the district’s political action committee put in a lot of time and effort, equating it to a full-time job. “And many of us already have full-time jobs.”

Parent, who has three children in the district, added that she thinks referendums are divisive and wants to see more school funding from the state legislature so that schools don’t have to do them, eliminating ”one extra thing that’s dividing the community right now.”

Both Parent and Wyndham encouraged people in Avon to stay involved with the schools and do their research, especially if they have questions about the district or voted against the referendum.

“Win or lose,” Parent said, “there are a lot of big decisions to be made.”

Indiana school referendum election results

Below are unofficial results for the November 2025 Indiana school referendums:

Avon Community School Corporation, Hendricks County: Passed. 64.58% voted yes.
Cannelton City School Corporation, Perry County: Passed. 71.5% voted yes.
Duneland School Corporation, Porter County: Passed. 61.9% voted yes.
Hanover School Corporation, Lake County: Passed. 52.71% voted yes
Lake Central School Corporation, Lake County: Passed. 59.51% voted yes.
Northwest Allen Community Schools, Allen County: Failed. 53.99% voted no.

Chalkbeat Indiana reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this story.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana school referendum elections: Districts seek funding for teacher pay, class size, buses

2025-10-27T14:01:51+00:00

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It’s a quiet election season in Indiana, but voters in six school districts will soon decide whether to support property tax measures that would fund teacher salaries, transportation, and student programming.

Avon Community Schools, Cannelton City School Corporation, Duneland School Corporation, Hanover School Corporation, Lake Central School Corporation, and Northwest Allen Community schools all have operating referendums on the ballot on November 4.

This year’s referendums are a test case in voter support at a time when Indiana is lowering property taxes and increasing how much of that funding some districts must share with charter schools.

Many expect to raise less operating revenue through taxes over the next decade as a result of the caps placed by a sweeping property tax reform law passed earlier this year — a campaign priority for Gov. Mike Braun.

That law, known as SEA 1, also restricted when schools could run referendums to only general statewide elections, rather than during any primary or general election. That’s given districts fewer opportunities to pass a referendum. However, there’s an exception for next month’s local election for school boards that passed a resolution before June 30 to place a referendum on the November ballot.

Superintendents said the results of this election will determine whether their districts can start building new buildings on schedule, and whether they need to make decisions about layoffs in May.

“No one takes joy in doing referendums, but it’s a reality for schools,” said Hanover Superintendent Mary Tracy-MacAulay.

Another new law requires school districts to gradually begin sharing operating revenue — including referendum funds — with charter schools, if at least 100 students representing 2% of the district’s population attend brick-and-mortar charter schools.

Here are the six school districts with referendums on the ballot.

Avon Community School Corporation, Hendricks County

Type: Renewal

Property tax rate: 33 cents per $100 of assessed value for eight years

Total revenue: $14,334,998 annually

Highlights from the spending plan: $8.4 million for maintaining reduced class sizes, $4.8 million for instructional supports and opportunities, $1.1 million for competitive compensation to attract and retain teachers.

Avon schools saw firsthand the effects of a failed referendum in 2011, said Superintendent Scott Wyndham. Staff reductions led to larger class sizes that persisted until the district successfully passed a referendum in 2018.

Now, the district hopes to renew that referendum at a lower rate of 33 cents per $100 of assessed value, compared to 35 cents as passed in 2018, in order to maintain its smaller class sizes and continue funding student clubs and activities at Avon High School.

The stakes are high for this referendum. Without the option to run a referendum in the May primary elections, Wyndham said the district needs to know this year if it will have to make staff cuts before the next school year. If the district were to wait and fail to pass a referendum in November 2026, state law would bar them from filing reduction in force notices until May 2027. That would leave 170 positions without a source of funding.

Wyndham said he’s encouraged by the community effort to pass the referendum — particularly a group of volunteers who have been door-knocking and making phone calls.

Cannelton City School Corporation, Perry County

A spending plan was not available for Cannelton City Schools on the Department of Local Government Finance website. Neither the district — which consists of a single school — nor the Perry County Auditor returned requests for information from Chalkbeat.

Duneland School Corporation, Porter County

Type: Renewal

Property tax rate: 39 cents per $100 of assessed value for eight years

Total revenue: $16,179,502 annually

Highlights from the spending plan: $8 million for maintaining class sizes, $3.3 million for attracting and retaining teachers, $2.4 million for student health and safety initiatives.

Duneland school officials hope a renewal of its operating referendum will help the district mitigate the impacts of SEA 1. A district analysis found it would lose over $1 million in 2026 alone as a result of the new law, said Superintendent Chip Pettit.

The renewal would allow the district to maintain class sizes and various activities, as well as recruit teachers, school resource officers, counselors, and nurses. If it doesn’t pass, the district will try to avoid unilateral cuts, but will have to make reductions, Pettit said.

“I feel very fortunate that the community has supported us in this way, we don’t take that for granted,” he said.

Hanover School Corporation, Lake County

Type: Renewal

Property tax rate: 29 cents per $100 of assessed value for eight years

Total revenue: $5,160,173 annually

Highlights from the spending plan: $2.5 million for managing class sizes, $1.5 million for bus transportation, $759,000 for security measures.

Bus service is potentially at stake in Hanover schools if this year’s referendum renewal doesn’t pass, said Tracy-MacAulay, the superintendent. The referendum would also support teachers, bus monitors, and school resource officers.

Losing the funding would lead to difficult decisions about what cuts to make — especially as the district grapples with the effects of SEA 1, and another requirement to pay for students’ textbook fees.

“In the end, I would have to look at all positions with the board and make decisions to cut,” she said. “We can’t give up SROs, we’re not going to start cutting teachers, we could potentially take away bus service.”

Past Hanover district referendum elections have been close. A 2019 construction referendum failed by 68 votes, leading the district to try another referendum the following year that passed.

Lake Central School Corporation, Lake County

Type: Renewal

Property tax rate: 26 cents per $100 of assessed value for eight years

Total revenue: $17,772,0331 annually

Highlights from the spending plan: $12 million for retaining teachers and staff, $2 million for maintaining class sizes, $1.7 million for student health and safety initiatives.

Lake Central did not respond to a request for an interview.

Northwest Allen Community Schools, Allen County

Type: New

Property tax rate: 0.27 per $100 of assessed value for 8 years

Total revenue: $12,156,914 annually

Highlights from the spending plan: $5.1 million for attracting and retaining teachers, $2.7 million for instructional support staffing at all buildings, $2.2 million for staffing at a new Career and Technical Education facility

This year’s operating referendum is the first for Northwest Allen schools. But it’s been planned for over a year, through focus groups and community feedback about the district’s next decade, Superintendent Wayne Barker said.

One common request the district heard during that process was for more personalized learning, which the district hopes to fulfill through a new career and technical education facility on the high school campus. While the district can build the facility without additional revenue like a capital referendum, it needs the operating referendum to hire teachers and staff, Barker said.

“We do a good job preparing kids for college, but we could do a better job preparing kids for life,” Barker said, characterizing the feedback the district received.

The district hopes to put the building out to bid in November if the referendum passes, in order to open the facility in 2027.

Barker said the referendum is also meant to raise teacher salaries by $3,000 in order to make the district more competitive with neighboring districts, and to add school resource officers to meet recommended ratios.

Northwest Allen receives around $8 million less than the state average in annual funding, according to district data.

“We’ve been doing more with less for a long time,” Barker said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Wayne Township Schools has found its next superintendent

2025-10-07T19:13:29+00:00

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This story was originally published by Mirror Indy.

Shenia Suggs will be the next superintendent of Wayne Township schools.

The Wayne Township school board voted unanimously Monday on a contract making Suggs the westside district’s next top administrator.

Suggs currently serves as assistant superintendent of human resources. She will be the sixth superintendent in Wayne Township’s history. The assistant superintendent will succeed longtime Superintendent Jeff Butts, who’s led Wayne Township schools for 15 years.

Outgoing Wayne Township superintendent reflects on 15 years of leadership

In June, Butts announced his plans to retire from the district and take on a new role as executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. Suggs is expected to start in her new role in January.

“I’m feeling a little overwhelmed right now,” Suggs said as board members introduced her as the next superintendent. “But mostly grateful.”

As the district’s top administrator for human resources, Suggs oversees more than 2,300 employees in one of the state’s largest school districts. Ben Davis High School is the second largest brick-and-mortar school in Indiana, behind only Carmel High School. The district overall enrolls more than 16,000 students.

And, Suggs is someone who knows the large district “from every single angle,” Board President Brandon Bowman said.

Faculty, staff, and friends congratulate Shenia Suggs (center) after she was named the next Wayne Township Schools superintendent on Monday.

She first joined the district in 1992 as an English teacher at Ben Davis. She’s since had roles as a school administrator at South Wayne Junior High School and as a district-level leader in student services and human relations.

Her selection comes following a nearly three-month search.

“She’s certainly got a heart for public education,” Bowman said. “The board exhausted every effort to find the best candidate, and we couldn’t be happier that she was right here in our own house.”

The Wayne Township board approved an initial superintendent’s contract of 2.5 years, with extensions allowed for up to five years.

Suggs will make $221,780 in the new contract. That’s more than her predecessor’s initial base salary of $185,000 — offered to Butts when he first stepped into the role in 2011 — but in line with what other Marion County superintendents make today.

Washington Township’s new superintendent, for example, was offered a $220,000 base salary last October for the position he began this summer.

The Wayne Township compensation package also includes an $11,250 annual auto allowance stipend and a $4,000 technology stipend. Suggs will be eligible for an annual salary increase beginning July 1. The increase would depend on the results of the superintendent’s evaluation and increases offered to other Wayne Township administrators.

Current Wayne Superintendent Jeff Butts congratulates his successor, Shenia Suggs, on Monday.

Suggs took time to thank her family — she and her husband have raised three Ben Davis graduates — as well as her longtime colleagues in the township. Many joined her on Oct. 6 to celebrate her hiring.

“I’ve grown up here,” she said to a full Wayne Township board meeting room. “I have become the educator and leader (I am) because of you.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct that Shenia Suggs is a parent to three Ben Davis High School graduates.

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.

Warren Township schools is considering redistricting. Here’s what it could mean for students.

2025-09-19T20:07:49+00:00

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This article was originally published by Mirror Indy.

Elementary school students in Warren Township could attend a different school next year under a redistricting plan being explored by district officials. And the fifth grade — now grouped in with the township’s three intermediate middle schools — could be moved back to elementary school buildings.

But first, district leaders say they want to hear from the community. Warren Township’s school leaders are having three meetings in late September to explain their vision for balancing enrollment and replicating popular programs across the district.

The plan, in its earliest stages, places middle schools at the center of Warren’s enrollment strategy at a time when more families are choosing other nearby school options. According to state data, the township lost more than 3,000 students living within district boundaries to other nearby public and private schools last year.

“We are competing to retain our families and we are trying to recruit new families,” Marques Clayton, Warren’s chief operating operations, said this summer. “We know we’re getting hit hard in the charter space. We have to compete with charter schools. Period.”

Meanwhile, district officials say the shift could bring academic benefits to fifth and sixth graders.

The two grades are currently sandwiched together in Warren’s intermediate schools that include grades 5-8. That means fifth graders don’t currently get recess, and sixth graders don’t follow a bell schedule like their older peers in the seventh and eighth grades.

“For the principal, they’re running two different buildings,” Assistant Superintendent Tierney Anderson said of Warren’s intermediate schools. “We’re trying to ensure that we’re doing what’s developmentally appropriate for our students.”

Why are Warren Township schools considering redistricting?

It’s been about 15 years since Warren Township shifted its fifth graders into intermediate schools. At the time, the district was preparing to close two elementary schools and needed to redistribute students among remaining schools.

Since then, district leaders say they’ve learned a few things. While districtwide enrollment has ebbed and flowed over the years, a more recent concern has been a loss of students at the middle school level — specifically in the transition from fourth to fifth grade.

“During those transitions, we know that’s when, statistically, you lose the most students,” Clayton said in a recent presentation to the Warren school board. Administrators also hope to make sure the nine elementary schools have similar enrollment.

Pleasant Run Elementary, for example, has more than 540 students, while Eastridge has just over 400. School capacity across the district’s elementaries sits at about 650.

A student participates in Bridget Hand’s second grade class at Lowell Elementary in Indianapolis on Sept. 25, 2024.

District leaders also think the change could allow them to replicate and grow high-ability programs.

Currently, only three Warren elementary schools offer the advanced classes. School board members said this summer that some students lose as much as 30 minutes of instructional time busing over to their nearest high-ability school.

“Imagine going to your home school and then waiting for another bus to pick you up to transport you to a second school,” Clayton told the Warren school board recently. “If we’re going to reintegrate fifth graders back, then we have to make sure that we create equitable opportunities at all of our buildings.”

There’s also been talk of using the opportunity to build up more college-and-career-readiness programs at the middle school level. Administrators hope the idea can give Warren a competitive edge over other nearby districts or charter schools.

It also comes at a time when student enrollment, which is tied to funding, is particularly important for Indiana schools. Many districts are expecting to bring in less revenue than anticipated this year as the state implements new property tax rules.

“This is a concerning problem that we have that collectively we have to address,” Clayton said this summer. “We believe that this provides an opportunity for us to stabilize not only our population, our enrollment, another year — but it’s providing time for us to become more creative in that 6-8 space.”

What has Warren Township done so far?

School officials began their public discussion of redistricting over the summer.

In July, school board members approved a maximum budget of $75 million for school renovations across the district to be paid for through bond financing. The district anticipates some of its current debt falling off in the near future and that new debt would not affect property tax rates.

Administrators stress that $75 million is a maximum budget, and that they’re required to seek additional approvals from the Warren school board before projects could begin.

They plan to weigh construction costs and the effect of property tax reform on the district’s budget when deciding the scope of work Warren might consider taking on in coming years. The district has already engaged architecture and engineering firm Schmidt Associates and CSO Architects to study facility needs at the middle and high school levels.

In July, Warren Township CFO Matthew Parkinson said all of the district’s middle schools would likely see improvements of some kind. The district is also pursuing funding from the Lilly Endowment to help build out new Journey of a Graduate centers in the middle schools.

“To me, it’s really capitalizing on what I think is a core strength of our brand here in Warren Township, which is the Walker Career Center,” Parkinson said in July. “It’s infusing the strength of the Walker Career Center and the principles that we’re able to introduce to our students in a more advanced way at the middle school level.”

It comes at a time when Indiana has changed its high school graduation requirements to incentivize more work-based learning experiences, such as out-of-school internships and apprenticeships.

The effort has led some districts to introduce career-focused programs to students even earlier during the middle school years.

“We also have to think outside the box in terms of, ‘What can we do to ensure that our students are prepared?’ and that we’re helping them navigate that educational journey?” Clayton said. “How are we going to prepare them for high school? How are we going to prepare them for the workforce? How are we preparing them for higher education?”

The school board has also approved a $165,000 contract with a demographer to study enrollment trends and forecasts for Indianapolis’ eastside neighborhoods.

Administrators say the demographers would take into account birth rates and homebuilding trends, and could help the district plan for the next decade or so of school enrollment. They also say the firm, Woolpert, will help the district review elementary school boundary assignments.

“This is what parents want to know — what do these boundaries look like?” Clayton said. “We know what they’ve looked like for the last 15 years, but changes are coming. This is what this study is going to help us identify.”

Students move through the hallway at Pleasant Run Elementary School on Sept. 9, 2024, in Indianapolis.

What comes next for redistricting?

The district is having a series of community engagement sessions at each of its middle schools.

School officials say they’ll talk about their ideas for redistricting and ask families to share their feedback. Spanish translation will be available at each meeting.

A survey is also live on the district’s website. Both English and Spanish versions are available. Administrators say they plan to keep the survey open throughout the redistricting process.

District officials say redistricting recommendations could be brought to the school board for approval in December. Changes to school assignments would not take place until the start of the 2026-27 school year.

Renovation projects, if approved by the board, wouldn’t begin until at least the fall of 2026.

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.

Wayne Township schools will have new superintendent for first time in 15 years

2025-09-02T18:06:38+00:00

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This story was originally published by Mirror Indy.

“Dr. Butts, will you be part of my anchor spot?” 17-year-old Hannah Waltermire jumped to ask when her superintendent dropped in.

It was the first week of school and seniors in Dennis Goins’ BDTV classroom at Ben Davis High School were working on their first newscast of the new year. The teens’ reaction to their superintendent’s unannounced visit was typical, according to people who’ve worked closely with Butts.

He’s made getting to know students and their teachers a priority over his 15 years leading Wayne Township schools. And, his backing of programs like BDTV — which give students firsthand experiences and prepare them for life after high school — doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Because of his support, we’ve been able to give them state-of-the-art equipment,” Goins said. “That’s the thing about Dr. Butts. He’s always been supportive.”

The 20-year Wayne Township veteran, who spent the first five years as an assistant superintendent, announced in June that he plans to retire from the district this winter. He’ll begin a new role as executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents in January.

For Butts, 55, the BDTV classroom is where things all began. It’s where he first workshopped with students the district’s popular mantra: We Are Wayne. It was also where the superintendent laid the groundwork to improve communication and incorporate student voice.

“I can remember 20 years ago, I was talking about how do we make a big school small?” Butts said. “How do we make sure that every student has a connection to the school?”

The superintendent said he worked hard over time to foster those connections. It took getting to know a once-unfamiliar community and building up the support of a publicly elected school board to usher in the Wayne Township that students know today.

Getting to know Wayne Township and its schools

Butts knew he wanted to be a superintendent since he was a junior in high school. Before joining Wayne Township as an assistant superintendent in 2006, though, he wondered if his background would be too different from the district he was walking into.

Butts is from rural Illinois. Like his family, he grew up training standardbred horses. He was a teacher, bus driver, and principal in a couple of smaller school districts before moving to Indiana.

“I really had to ask myself when I was applying for this assistant superintendent job, ‘Am I a good fit?’” Butts said. “I grew up differently than many of the children in our district. My lived experiences are different than what a lot of our children are going through.”

One of the biggest differences is the sheer size of the district. Wayne Township today serves more than 16,000 students across 25 facilities, operating 130 buses as well as two nonprofits. Ben Davis is the second largest brick-and-mortar school in Indiana, behind only Carmel High School.

Wayne Township Superintendent Jeff Butts, left, looks at Quintin Gildon’s new setup for reporting the weather on Aug. 5, 2025, at Ben Davis High School’s broadcast studio in Indianapolis.

Once hired, the young assistant superintendent said he made a handshake deal with his boss — former Wayne Township Superintendent Terry Thompson — that he wouldn’t look at any other districts before applying to one day lead Wayne. Butts was just 40 when he became the district’s fifth superintendent.

He made a point of meeting with westside groups early — the West Side Chamber of Commerce, the Girl Scouts and Lions Clubs of the west side, and any church that would have Butts and his wife for service on Sunday.

“We’d go in, we’d set up a table, we’d go to service and have the pastor introduce us,” Butts said. “The beginning of the school year was always kind of the church tour for us.”

Gaining community trust, however, wasn’t without its learning moments.

Learning from school board members saying ‘no’

The superintendent recalled his only lost vote from a school board. It came during a proposal to move to a balanced calendar with shorter summers and longer breaks during the school year.

The idea drew the ire of some parents who feared the calendar would affect summer camps and force some families to look for short-term child care at unusual times of the year.

The Wayne school board at first voted the idea down, but later approved it after the superintendent went back to families, scheduling additional meetings to explain the idea and answer questions.

“That was a humbling experience,” Butts said. “I was too early in my superintendency and not understanding kind of what my role as a superintendent was with the board. I thought, ‘I’m gonna propose it and they’re going to pass it.’ They reminded me that that’s not how this works.’”

It was an early test for far larger challenges that would come throughout the superintendent’s 15 years.

Allowing student voice to drive change

When Butts first stepped into his role as superintendent, Wayne was grappling with big changes in school funding.

Tax reform that capped the amount of money districts could collect from homeowners led school corporations across the state to tighten up their spending. Under Butts’ leadership, Wayne Township experienced multiple rounds of budget cuts and passed two successful tax referendums, which allows the district to collect more money from homeowners beyond the state-imposed caps.

When Mike and Carla Moulton sent their kids through Wayne Township schools, they initially worried about the district’s large size. But, the parents said Butts’ presence across the district quickly put them at ease and showed students that even the educators at the very top care.

“He was always there,” Carla Moulton said. “He shows up to the ball games, all kinds of events. The band stuff. He supports all the kids no matter what they’re doing.”

Butts and district leaders have thought outside of the box too. When a group of students in the district’s Area 31 Career Center conducted an analysis of Wayne Township’s energy use, administrators used some of the teens’ recommendations to create a new energy plan.

The district installed new LED lighting and solar panels, put lights on sensors, and invested in propane school buses. Wayne Township currently saves about $1.2 million through its energy savings projects.

There’s been other student-driven changes, too. The west side’s shifting population has led Wayne Township to invest in immigration welcome center classes and adult education programs that help both students and their families learn English and adjust to a new community.

Wayne Township’s English language learner student population has more than doubled since Butts began as superintendent. Today, more than one in four Wayne Township students are English learners.

“Those kinds of things are really, really important because our families don’t always know where the resources are,” Butts said. “They don’t know how to navigate some of our systems, and so we just need to try to make that easier for them.”

One of Butts’ greatest challenges, however, came through navigating the coronavirus pandemic.

Pandemic years ‘the hardest period’

After schools closed in the spring of 2020, the district leader set up a home command center at his dining room table. Butts said he found hope in the staff who delivered meals on school buses and from the families who sewed masks for their neighbors.

Jeff Butts has been the superintendent of Wayne Township Metropolitan School District since 2011.

But, anxiety grew for some when it came time to reopen schools. Some teachers expressed concern about returning to an unknown environment and, Butts said, guidance from public health officials changed faster than administrators could keep up.

Wayne schools returned in a hybrid setting at first, with mandatory coronavirus testing and quarantines. The superintendent still has the screenshots of weekly COVID-19 cases confirmed in buildings after the district came up with a public-facing dashboard to help families at home navigate the ever-changing state of their child’s school.

“People lost contact with other humans and we lost a little bit of how to engage with each other,” Butts said. “It was probably the hardest period of time.”

Despite the challenges, Butts said students are now back on track academically.

Wayne Township’s third grade reading scores have nearly returned to their prepandemic levels. And, Butts said, Ben Davis University just celebrated for the first time all of its graduating seniors earning an associate degree while in high school.

“Our kids are doing remarkably well,” Butts said. “We quit mentioning the pandemic a while ago. It’s no longer an excuse. It can’t be utilized as a crutch.”

This success, in part, helps Butts leave Wayne Township feeling the district is in a good place as he prepares to leave.

What’s next for Jeff Butts and Wayne Township?

There’s still a few things the superintendent plans to wrap up before he leaves in January: adopting a new strategic plan, passing a balanced budget, and putting in an application for a large grant from the Lilly Foundation.

With those details accounted for, the superintendent says, his successor can have a little time to get settled.

“I’m probably a little biased, but nothing is broken today,” Butts said. “And nothing needs to be fixed right away.”

Wayne Township launched a search for its next superintendent shortly after Butts announced his plans to leave the district. An application window was open through mid-August, and board members have met several times this month in executive sessions.

An announcement on the board’s selection could come as soon as Oct. 6.

Hannah Waltermire records a segment for Ben Davis Television with Butts at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.

In his next position, Butts said he’s excited to advocate on behalf of superintendents across the state. According to the Indiana School Boards Association, more than half of Indiana’s superintendents have turned over since the coronavirus pandemic, making mentorship for new district leaders one of Butts’ early priorities.

It’s not an unfamiliar role for him. Butts has already served as a president, committee chair, and mentor for the association he’s set to lead next year.

He said he expects to spend a lot of time at the Indiana Statehouse during the legislative session — but he plans to avoid taking neighborhood streets during his commute.

“My route downtown will be down Ronald Reagan to I-70 and across just a little bit so I’m not driving by the schools and by the office,” Butts said. “I think it’s fair for the next superintendent that I not be holding court at the grocery store.”

At the same time, he says the next superintendent will have the full support of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents.

“I hope that some of the things that I’ve done over the last 15 years as superintendent have made this a better place for children and a better place for our employees,” Butts said.

“I want to leave Wayne better than when I arrived.”

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.

IPS denies Cold Spring’s bid to become a charter school, cites ‘guiding principles’

2025-07-03T11:00:00+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools rejected an attempt last month by a school in its Innovation Network to convert into a charter school, citing an education policy landscape in the city that’s in flux.

The K-8 Cold Spring School, which is known for its competitive robotics team and STEM programs, had sought to amend its Innovation Network agreement with IPS so that, for the final two years of that agreement, it could operate as a charter.

Schools in the Innovation Network are independently run but receive services such as transportation and food from the district. Some innovation schools have charters, while others, like Cold Spring, do not. Schools without charters have a much closer relationship with IPS, relying on the district to provide special education and English as a Second Language services.

The decision by IPS comes amid a heated debate over how IPS and charter schools should share resources. Recent state policy changes have also shifted the balance of financial power between the two types of schools, and there has been significant tension between the two sectors in recent months.

Cold Spring primarily sought to become a charter school for financial reasons. The conversion would have afforded Cold Spring an additional $400,000 per year in funding, Chief Operating Officer Cody Stipes said. That money would have paid for a K-8 foreign language teacher, a second middle school math teacher, and a school resource officer, the school said.

Cold Spring successfully applied for a 15-year charter in May and was simply waiting on the go-ahead from IPS. School officials had spent months discussing the conversion with IPS leadership and assumed the board would approve the amended agreement. But in an email to Cold Spring leadership on June 23, the board announced it would not approve the change. The board’s decision did not involve a public vote.

In response to the crowd of Cold Spring supporters who protested the board’s decision at the June meeting, IPS board members highlighted the uncertain impact of recent policy changes on issues like property taxes, as well as a desire to limit new charter schools in the district.

“Our answer is not never, it is simply not now,” Board President Angelia Moore said. “We remain committed to partnership and leadership.”

IPS school seeks charter status for financial reasons

As a charter school, Cold Spring would be considered its own local educational agency by the state. And it would receive money directly from the state rather than through IPS’ per-student funding model, even as it remained in the Innovation Network. That and other factors would give the school a financial edge.

For the 2025-2026 school year, the IPS budget has allocated approximately $8,250 in state funding per student. But if Cold Spring were to become a charter, it would receive about $8,500 per student in basic tuition plus $1,400 per student from the Charter and Innovation Network Grant, according to Stipes.

As a charter, Cold Spring would also be eligible for many more grants, such as the federal Charter School Programs grant.

“That’s real funds that would have been able to be reinvested into Cold Spring to add a foreign language teacher, additional staff to support academic learning, and many, many more things going to students in their classrooms,” said Stipes at the June board meeting.

Other significant changes are on the way for local school funding.

Districts in Marion County are expected to lose a total of $40.4 million in local property tax revenue in 2026 and 2027 due to property tax relief pushed by Gov. Mike Braun. Changes to state tax rules will also require traditional public schools to share property tax revenue with charter schools beginning in 2028, a measure that was hotly contested.

At the same time, IPS has sought to slow the spread of charters. In the last several years, IPS enrollment has fallen while charter enrollment has risen. After IPS called for a moratorium on new charter schools in February, state lawmakers agreed to prohibit the creation of new charters within IPS borders between July and December, except for those approved by the mayor’s office.

In addition, a new advisory body, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, met for the first time in June to discuss how IPS and charters can effectively share resources.

Cold Spring leadership and families said granting their request wouldn’t violate IPS’ stated priorities.

Conversations about converting Cold Spring into a charter, they say, date back to February 2024, roughly a year before IPS sought the charter moratorium.

Several parents said they believe the opposition to a Cold Spring charter has become needlessly political, caught up in the debate that often pits traditional public schools against charters. In fact, making Cold Spring a charter, Stipes said, would likely benefit IPS because it would save the district costs related to special education and English as a New Language services.

Stipes said it was important to many of the families at Cold Spring that they remain in partnership with IPS. In parent town hall meetings, many asked how the move would affect the district and expressed their desire to help IPS succeed.

“This is not about walking away from IPS,” said Cold Spring parent Christine Wise. “It’s about letting a strong school grow into its next chapter.”

Nevertheless, Moore, the IPS board president, cited the district’s “guiding principles” and its desire to “remain consistent with our advocacy” when explaining its decision to reject Cold Spring’s request.

Samantha Camire is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Samantha at scamire@chalkbeat.org.

IPS school board approves new plan for shuttered John Marshall school

2025-06-27T00:45:42+00:00

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Over seven years after the John Marshall school building closed, Indianapolis Public Schools has a new plan for the nearly 40-acre site on Indianapolis’ east side.

The school board voted unanimously Thursday night to divide the property into three separate parcels. One parcel will be sold by IPS, one parcel will be redeveloped in partnership with Indy Parks and Recreation, and the third parcel’s fate will be decided by a task force.

“It’s a win for the far east side community and I think it’s absolutely a win for Indianapolis as a whole,” said IPS Commissioner Gayle Cosby.

The John Marshall task force, made up of community and business leaders, met over several months before making the recommendation that the board adopted.

The largest parcel of land, the 16 acres containing the 342,000-square-foot building and adjacent parking lots, will be put up for sale. The board plans to review and approve the purchase agreement for this parcel sometime in August or September.

The southern parcel of land contains the old track and football field, a baseball field, soccer fields, and four tennis courts. IPS will work with Indy Parks to include that parcel in the Grassy Creek Regional Park master planning process.

Indy Parks and Recreation Principal Park Planner Andre Denman said he hopes the final master plan for the park, including the new piece of land from John Marshall, will be approved by March 2026.

“Parks are essential to community access,” said Commissioner Allissa Impink. “They contribute to the vibrancy, health, and happiness of our neighborhoods and this step demonstrates our shared commitment to monitoring the legacy of the site while investing in the well-being of our communities for generations to come.”

Finally, the future of the eight-acre parcel of land on the east side of the property remains undecided. The task force will continue to meet to develop a plan, which could involve adding the land onto plans for one of the other parcels, or a separate development.

The property has a tumultuous history. John Marshall opened as a high school in 1967 before closing in 1986 due to declining enrollment. After re-opening in 1993, the school flip-flopped several times between serving as a middle school and as a high school. The school closed permanently in 2018 due to academic struggles and facility disrepair.

Following the school’s closure, IPS offered the property to charter schools and higher education institutions under a state law requiring school districts to offer abandoned properties for the price of $1. No one wanted it.

The next plan for the site involved its conversion into a community hub. The John Marshall Opportunity Hub would have included up to two dozen “opportunity providers,” including Ivy Tech Community College, Gleaners Food Bank, and Eskenazi Health, as well as employment support services. The city of Indianapolis would have worked with a group called the John Marshall Collaborative to get the community center off the ground.

But the plan fell through when the city declined to purchase the school, citing over $18 million in deferred maintenance costs.

Corrections and clarifications: This story has been updated to include the correct opening year for John Marshall High School.

Samantha Camire is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Samantha at scamire@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance emphasizes collaboration, data collection, and student focus at first meeting

2025-06-26T01:26:00+00:00

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The first meeting of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance set the stage for the group’s work, emphasizing collaboration and maintaining focus on students and their experiences while also keeping historical context and accountability in mind.

“We are here tonight to begin a new chapter of collaboration for the future of education in the city of Indianapolis,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett, chair of the ILEA, at the beginning of the meeting.

The nine-member ILEA was created by state lawmakers earlier this year and could shape the future of charter and traditional public schools in Indianapolis. The group is tasked with examining solutions for facility and transportation management across Indianapolis Public Schools and the charter schools within its borders, as well as addressing school governance structure and efforts to increase efficiency.

The group includes Hogsett and IPS superintendent Aleesia Johnson as well as their appointees and must provide a set of recommendations to IPS, city, and state leaders by the end of 2025.

The recommendations will be a “data driven and actionable plan” that will lead to a “more rational, more equitable, and more sustainable system of school facilities and transportation that benefits all students in Indianapolis,” Hogsett said.

He said the plan will be a roadmap for collaboration between schools and could include ideas such as co-locating, sharing services, and consolidating.

The ILEA will start its work with data collection and members made several requests for data during the meeting. The group could also issue a request for qualifications for an outside firm to help with that work in addition to those from IPS and the mayor’s office already working on data collection, Hogsett said, adding there would be more details about that process at the next meeting.

Johnson stressed the need to also look beyond the data to the historical context and the impact of policy decisions over decades.

“As we are collecting data and doing those things, I don’t want us to lose sight of what has happened over 50 years ago to bring us to this place today,” she said, adding that she also wants to keep in mind the collaboration that has happened.

Wednesday’s meeting included a presentation from Andrew Strope, IPS deputy superintendent, and Shaina Cavazos, director of the Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, that gave an overview of the history and the policies shaping education in the city such as the creation of Unigov in 1970, which intentionally left school districts out while unifying city-county government and the 2001 state law allowing for charter schools.

After spending the summer collecting data, the plan is to dive into the data in the fall and then spend late fall working on and refining recommendations before they are proposed by the end of the year, Hogsett said.

The introductory ILEA meeting follows a tense legislative session where the group was created, as well as a proposal aimed to dissolve IPS and replace it with charters. That bill ultimately failed, and a successful plan to redirect some property tax revenue from IPS to charters was approved. Starting in 2028, charter schools, which have grown in enrollment as IPS enrollment has dipped, will receive a portion of property tax funding that has been for traditional public schools in the past.

Money from property taxes is used by traditional school districts for operations including transportation and building maintenance. Charter school advocates have argued that the lack of property tax funding contributes to their struggle to offer transportation to students who want to attend.

And charters are tasked with finding buildings to open in. The $1 law allows charters to buy or lease vacant school buildings for $1, but is often formally challenged when schools try to use it.

During the legislative session, IPS called for a moratorium on new schools in its boundaries, and lawmakers prohibited new charters from July to December of this year, except for those schools approved by the mayor’s office.

On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Charter School Board approved Legal Prep Charter Academy to open in 2026, meaning it would be the first new school to open in Indianapolis since the end of the legislative session.

At the ILEA meeting on Wednesday, a dozen people spoke during public comment, urging the ILEA to make sure all children in Indianapolis have good schools to attend, regardless of the type. Speakers also stressed that a lack of transportation can limit school choice, asked the group to look at school collaboration models that are working, and called for greater school accountability, largely for charter schools.

They told the group it had the opportunity to change the competitive school choice environment in Indianapolis and collaborate in a way that benefits all students.

“You all are going to be asked to make some impossible decisions that will likely upset a lot of people, so thank you all for taking on that burden,” said Arion Clanton, who said he’s worked as both a teacher and a coach.

Clanton told the ILEA that solutions need to be longstanding and not one-size-fits all. He also urged the group to keep in mind the kids and families affected by the systems it is addressing.

Additional public comments submitted online were shared with the ILEA members and will be posted online, Cavazos said.

The ILEA is exempt from the state’s Open Door Law, which requires public agencies to make meetings open to the public; however, it does plan to have multiple public meetings like Wednesday’s. State law requires the group to meet publicly to vote on the final recommendations.

The next public meeting of the ILEA is 6 p.m. July 23 at the City County Building at 200 E. Washington St. A calendar of meetings and agendas is on the ILEA website.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members announced by mayor and IPS

2025-05-23T21:09:32+00:00

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Mayor Joe Hogsett along with the Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and the IPS school board announced the members of the new Indianapolis Local Education Alliance on Friday.

The nine-member board, led by Hogsett, was created by lawmakers in this year’s legislative session and is tasked with examining the potential for IPS and charters to share buses and buildings as well as other “topics such as governance structure and increasing efficiency.”

“The goal of the alliance is to deepen collaboration across traditional public and public charter schools and support a strong academic experience for all students,” per the announcement from Hogsett’s office.

The creation of the board occurred during a legislative session that also included a proposal to dissolve IPS and replace it with charters that ultimately failed, and a successful plan to redirect some property tax revenue from IPS to charters.

According to the announcement, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members — in addition to Hogsett and Johnson — are:

Bart Peterson, former mayor; former CEO of Christel House International; former senior vice president of corporate affairs and communication for Eli Lilly and Company (mayoral appointee).
Maggie Lewis, majority leader of Indianapolis City-County Council; CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis (mayoral appointee).
Angela Smith-Jones, associate vice president for state relations, Indiana University; former deputy mayor of economic development; former general counsel for the Indy Chamber (mayoral appointee).
Tobin McClamroch, managing partner, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum; chair of the Marian University Board of Trustees, (mayoral appointee).
Barato Britt, President/CEO, Edna Martin Christian Center (IPS Board President appointee).
Tina Ahlgren, teacher, H.L. Harshman Middle School; Hoosier Educator of the Year, 2024; IPS Teacher of the Year, 2014 (IPS district-managed school parent appointee).
Andrew Neal, CEO, Outreach Indiana; former Chief Operating Officer, Brookside Community Development Corporation (IPS innovation school parent appointee).

The group is not subject to the state’s open meetings law.

Hogsett called the members “accomplished civic leaders” and said he’s confident the group “will create a plan that ensures a stable, sustainable and collaborative path forward for our schools.”

Johnson added that the ILEA is an “opportunity to hear the diverse perspectives” of Indianapolis leaders as they create recommendations about the future of the city’s schools.

“We remain committed to advocating for our families, students, and staff throughout the course of our engagement with the ILEA,” she said in the release.

The organization is required to meet for the first time before July 1 and details about the meetings will be shared “in the coming weeks,” per the mayor’s office.

The announcement also noted that “opportunities for public comment and community input will be made available.”

The ILEA must submit recommendations to the state education secretary and legislators for consideration by the end of the year. The Friday announcement also noted that the group will report back to the city and district.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Wayne Township schools ends diverse-business policy following Trump guidance

2025-04-22T16:33:50+00:00

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This article was originally published by Mirror Indy.

Wayne Township’s school board voted unanimously last week to repeal the westside district’s policy incentivizing “minority and local business participation.”

It comes in response to federal officials’ recent instructions to remove references to race in school admissions, hiring and scholarship decisions, or face a loss of funding.

“The word minority right now is a hot button,” Superintendent Jeff Butts said during an April 14 board work session explaining the proposed policy change. “We’re trying to eliminate lightning rod terminology without eliminating being rational and reasonable in what we’re trying to do.”

The decision comes at a time when the Trump administration’s calls for the removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have pushed some schools to minimize the presence of certain programs.

It’s been particularly significant in the higher education landscape where federal funding has already been cut. Many K-12 schools have started wondering if they could be next.

School board members in Wayne Township grappled last week with how to handle their longstanding policy while still signaling to Indianapolis’ diverse westside neighborhoods that their business is welcome.

“This is just the beginning of these types of decisions,” Butts said April 14, “that we’re going to be faced with as we get more and more guidance and more and more direction from our federal department and legal counsel.”

Trump administration pushes against DEI in schools

Wayne Township had the policy for more than 30 years. The board revised its policy in 2014 and reviewed it in 2019.

The policy was meant to encourage companies bidding for work with the district to seek out these businesses as subcontractors.

It defined a business qualifying under the policy as one where ownership was at least half-controlled by a U.S. citizen who belonged to at least one of the following groups: African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, women, Americans who are disabled, and military veterans.

However, in a recent guidance letter, officials with the U.S. Department of Education informed schools that they must cease using racial preferences in admissions, hiring, and other decisions.

The letter comes following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2023 that found Harvard College’s race-conscious admissions policy was unconstitutional. And, shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order taking aim at diversity and equity programs.

Federal education officials said in their letter this spring they’ll take a broad interpretation of the Supreme Court case, applying its findings to all considerations of race across school types — preschool through college.

State education officials have also indicated they’ll follow the Trump administration’s lead.

Gov. Mike Braun also signed an executive order just after taking office that said Indiana agencies should not use state funds to support programs based on race. And Chalkbeat Indiana reported this month that state education officials will collect signed forms from schools saying they’ll comply with the Trump administration’s directive.

Federal funds support 14.5% of Wayne schools budget

The Wayne Township board considered keeping their policy, but at least one member felt the changes proposed by their legal counsel would be limiting. With race removed, the board’s policy would only apply to companies managed by women, Americans who are disabled, and military veterans. Their alternative was to scrap the policy altogether.

Board members wrestled with the decision during a brief public work session before their regularly scheduled meeting April 14. Some board members suggested tweaks to language that could keep the policy on the books.

“Personally, I hate to take it out altogether because I feel like our community needs to know that we’re open to minority business,” Vice President Susan Graves said during the work session.

But, the board also weighed the risk of lost federal funds and potential legal challenges should their changes not fully address the intent of changing state and federal orders.

Wayne Township schools receive federal funding to support a range of educational needs. Programs for students of low-income families, students who have disabilities, English language learners, and students experiencing homelessness are all supported by federal funds. There’s also federal support for adult education, career and technical education programs, Medicaid reimbursements, and professional development.

All told, Wayne Township schools received $24.5 million in 2024 to support those programs, making up 9% of the district’s overall budget. Federal child nutrition programs also make up a significant share of federal support, bringing the district’s total federal funding to more than $40 million, or 14.5% of the overall budget.

“The other thing we run into is every single bid that we award could be requested and scrutinized,” Butts said. “We have people that are upset when they don’t get a project and so if they believe that they’ve been discriminated against because the business that we awarded to was minority owned, then actually they can probably do a civil rights complaint and lock us up in civil rights investigations.”

Wayne board took quick action on policy change

Ultimately, the school board moved quickly and unanimously to make the change. They exercised another policy used in cases of “unusual urgency” to bypass multiple readings of the recommended policy removal.

And, though it was Wayne Township’s board making the decision this week, it’s something that could be considered by more districts as federal priorities shift under the Trump administration.

Lisa Tanselle, an attorney from the Indiana School Boards Association, said her organization has gotten a few calls from districts seeking guidance on changes at the federal level, particularly when it comes to serving immigrant students.

The association has not come out with its own guidance specific to diverse hiring, but Tanselle advises schools to consult with their local legal counsel when considering what to do next.

Wayne Township’s decision came during a meeting sparsely attended by the public. Board President Brandon Bowman acknowledged during the April 14 work session the district’s role in helping the public understand the change.

“If there’s feedback from the community,” Bowman said, “then there’s an opportunity to educate folks on what we’re facing and why the decision was made.”

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.

IPS students leave for Washington Township following rocky Broad Ripple Middle School opening

2024-11-26T17:37:09+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

Sumitra Ghate was excited to send her two children to the new Broad Ripple Middle School. She was involved in the planning and attended the district board meetings. Her kids, in sixth and eighth grade, were enthusiastic too.

When her children came home after the first few days of school, they shared concerns about fights between students and teachers struggling to maintain control in class. By the third day, her son thought one teacher was just too overwhelmed by it all.

Ghate felt the chaotic environment was overshadowing the quality of education her children were receiving — especially since her sixth grader seemed to have excellent teachers. But it was the lack of communication from school staff that made it harder for her to see how the issues were being addressed, which ultimately pushed her to look outside the district.

“I mean, we’re all really committed to public schools and our public school system and having a neighborhood school, so there’s a lot that we’re willing to put up with,” Ghate said. “So I think even despite all of these things, you know, if we knew that there was progress being made, and they had a plan, and we’re all holding hands, working through it together, it could have still worked. But it was just radio silence.”

Ghate’s children were among more than 130 students who left Broad Ripple since the start of the school year.

Broad Ripple Middle School was launched at the former Broad Ripple High School building that was closed in 2017 in face of community opposition. The building was reopened this year after renovations as part of the district’s plan to restructure elementary and middle schools, known as Rebuilding Stronger.

The initiative aims to address long-standing inequities by redistributing resources and standardizing academic offerings. IPS leaders said the changes would give students access to the same type of academic programs no matter their ZIP code.

However, the struggles at Broad Ripple Middle School highlight the challenges of implementing new middle schools as part of the restructuring plan.

At the end of August, about a month into this academic year, 753 students attended Broad Ripple Middle School. But as of early October, the number fell to 621 students, according to the district. At Thomas Carr Howe Middle School, the district’s other new middle school, only about 10 students had withdrawn in the same timeframe, the district said.

For families like the Ghates, the decision to leave was driven by dissatisfaction with communication and chaotic school environments. It’s unclear if their departure reflects a broader trend impacting schools that underwent grade configurations as part of the Rebuilding Stronger initiative.

IPS officials declined to provide WFYI with enrollment data of schools directly managed by the district. But area school district and charter school leaders tell WFYI they are seeing an increase of former IPS students enrolling at their schools in the past three months.

Washington Township Schools report enrolling dozens of students. And Scott Bess, president and CEO of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center, said Indianapolis charter schools are also experiencing a significant increase in enrollment compared to previous years.

All of that could lead to a negative impact for IPS. When students leave IPS for another district or enroll at a non-managed district school, money follows the student. So a cut in enrollment means less funding for district managed schools to cover academic programs and teacher pay.

The state is expected to release K-12 enrollment data for all public schools next month.

Some IPS students leave for Washington Township

At an Indianapolis Public Schools Board meeting in late August, several parents raised concerns about behavioral issues, broken lockers, and poor communication from staff. Dozens of parents and students spoke or submitted public comments, including Ghate, requesting more behavioral support staff and better communication from administrators. Many were upset that the Broad Ripple principal didn’t attend the meeting to hear the concerns.

A week later, Ghate and her children toured Northview Middle School in the MSD of Washington Township.

“It was just a different feeling and a different message and a different type of leadership and organization than what we had seen,” Ghate said.

The Northview principal invited the principals of the other middle schools in the district to speak with Ghate and her children.

“So I don’t think it was fully a push out of Broad Ripple as much as maybe, like we were kind of disappointed in how the school went,” Ghate said. “But then we see this and see what great leadership is.”

Other families followed the Ghates to Washington Township.

As of Nov. 19, 71 students from Broad Ripple Middle School transferred to Washington Township schools. Forty-eight of those students are at Eastwood, 21 are at Northview, and two are at Westlane, according to district communications manager Ellen Rogers.

Due to the influx of students, the district closed non-resident enrollment on Sept. 30. Students from other districts can now enroll in Washington Township for the spring semester. Rogers said a handful of spring applicants are IPS students, but not necessarily from Broad Ripple Middle School.

The township also proposed changes to school boundaries due to an influx in enrollment.

Changes at Broad Ripple show improvements

School leadership shifted at the end of September, when principal Tiffany Robinson went on medical leave for the rest of the school year. Jeremy Baugh, who was appointed as an administrator on special assignment, took over.

Baugh has been a principal in IPS for nearly 10 years, most recently at Brookside School 54. He was the founding principal of the K-8 charter school George and Veronica Phalen Leadership Academy in 2013.

“The children are smiling,” Baugh told WFYI during a recent tour of the school.

He said the difference in the school now compared to when he arrived in late September was “like night and day.”

One of the first changes Baugh implemented was a staggered bell system to reduce hallway congestion. Now, instead of 600 students in the halls during the four minute passing periods, it’s separated by grades.

“It just drastically improved all the things that happen in a passing period of a middle school, which is just a loud volume, stressful situation because there’s a ton of people in a smaller space,” Baugh said of the change.

“Parents are telling me that they’re happy and they are starting to make new friends from different schools,” Baugh said. “They’re starting to identify with people they’ve never known before, and they’re starting to see them come over to do things after school hours, and so that kind of makes my heart happy that kids are really merging and doing a great job.”

Baugh addressed morning tardiness by changing how breakfast is offered to students. It is now eaten in first period classrooms instead of in the cafeteria.

Students also wear color coded lanyards that indicate what grade they’re in to make it easier to tell if they are where they’re supposed to be. He also helped enforce the already existing “no cell phone” policy, which Baugh and parents have said made a big difference.

“We still have a ways to go,” Baugh said. “I mean, we’re very much in the beginning of the school, and we have big visions and high expectations, but it is definitely a very positive place now.”

Ariel Stilwell, president of the Broad Ripple Parent Teacher Student Association, said positive changes are underway. Her eighth grader and his friends attend the school, and she says he’s happy there.

“He likes his school, he likes his school day. He likes his classes. He was telling me all the things they were doing in art yesterday,” Stilwell said. “Like, in general, he feels like he’s learning. There is some wonderful academic rigor happening in his classes.”

Her son has told her how much he likes what he’s learning in his algebra class, but doesn’t like his honors biology class as much because it’s hard. Stilwell sees that as a good sign.

“I think I’m pleased with that. Because he’s learning that he has to study and he has to read the things that the teacher talks about in order to understand them,” Stilwell said. “And those skills I see him learning, I’m thrilled for.”

Stilwell was involved with planning the school since last December, but she said there were a few things that people just didn’t think about — like working locker combinations, or how to manage the intermixing of hundreds of kids from different schools.

There was a lot of problem solving that needed to happen on the fly, Stilwell said, and no one was prepared for that. She also said that teachers and staff fell short on communicating to parents on what was being done. That created an atmosphere of feeling unprepared and disorganized.

But that scattered environment has since eased up, she said.

“I do feel like if a lot of these families that just decided to pull their kids after like, three weeks, if they could have just stuck it out a little bit and been willing to maybe hear some of the problem solving, I think they would have been a lot happier with how things were going like now versus the beginning of the year,” Stilwell said. “It definitely seems like a much more stable situation.”

IPS stands by Rebuilding Stronger

IPS board member Will Pritchard has said in the last several weeks, the amount of complaints he’s received about Broad Ripple and Howe middle schools are down significantly. Whether that’s because dissatisfied families have left, or because most of the problems have been solved, is unclear to him.

He says a tumultuous first few weeks at a new school was to be expected.

“It’s not easy,” said Pritchard, whose term on the board ends next month. “But I think IPS has two very capable leaders in both schools. They just need time to bring this all together.”

In a statement to WFYI, the district spokesperson said IPS supports families’ educational choices and remains committed to delivering Rebuilding Stronger and exceptional experiences for all students.

“Parents have raised valid concerns this school year, and we are listening. When problems arose at Broad Ripple Middle School, our school leadership team took immediate action,” the district said in a statement. “They met directly with families to understand their perspectives and swiftly implemented meaningful changes. As we build our new community at Broad Ripple, we are committed to fostering an environment where every student feels supported, respected, and empowered to succeed.”

WFYI education reporter Sydney Dauphinais covers Marion County schools. Contact her at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.

2024 unofficial election results: Voters poised to approve one district’s referendum, reject two others

2024-11-06T14:17:50+00:00

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Three Indiana school districts are seeking approval from voters for new or renewed property tax increases that will help support teacher pay, bus transportation, and academic programs.

Early unofficial results Tuesday night showed voters were poised to approve the referendum in Lake Station Community Schools and reject referendums in Kokomo School Corporation and Twin Lakes Community Schools.

It’s the first time that Kokomo and Twin Lakes schools have sough referendums, while Lake Station Community Schools asked voters to approve an extension of its 2017 tax rate. At least one district — Twin Lakes — says it would face teacher and staff layoffs if its referendum fails.

Operating referendum revenue supplements state funding for the costs of staffing schools and running programs and transportation. Other kinds of referendums are available for construction and for school safety initiatives, but no districts are seeking these this year.

Notably, Lake Station is subject to a 2023 law requiring certain districts to share property tax revenue with charter schools. If its referendum passes, Lake Station will share around $28,000 with charter schools.

We’ll update this story again with the results of each district’s referendum. Polls closed at 6 p.m. Eastern Time Nov. 5.

Kokomo School Corp.

Property tax rate: 0.26 per $100 of assessed value for eight years.

Annual revenue: $6,166,000

Total revenue over eight years: $49,328,000

Unofficial results as of 9:15 a.m. Wednesday:

Yes: 4,930

No: 10,262

Lake Station Community Schools

Renewal of a property tax rate previously approved in 2017: $0.54 per $100 of assessed value for eight years.

Annual revenue: $1,412,824

Total revenue over eight years: $11,302,592

Unofficial results as of 9:15 a.m. Wednesday:

Yes: 1,586

No: 1,051

Twin Lakes School Corp.

Property tax rate: $0.25 per $100 of assessed value for eight years.

Annual revenue: $3,500,000

Total revenue over eight years: $28,000,000

Unofficial results as of 9:15 a.m. Wednesday:

White County

Yes: 1,743

No: 3,350

Carroll County

Yes: 447

No: 958

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Washington Township school board names next superintendent

2024-10-17T19:29:02+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

The Board of Education of the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township unanimously approved Sean Taylor as the superintendent of schools beginning July 1, 2025. Taylor currently serves as the associate superintendent for Washington Township Schools.

Earlier this year, the district’s longtime superintendent Nikki Woodson announced she would retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. In her 13 years as superintendent, Woodson oversaw multiple construction projects, including a new middle school and athletic upgrades.

Taylor will be paid a base salary of $220,000 with the opportunity for board approved raises every year. He will also receive an additional car and cell phone allowance of $1,250 per month. Woodson’s 2023 salary was $225,348 and her total compensation was $390,457, according to state data.

Taylor has been with the district for the past 16 years. He was hired as associate superintendent in 2020 after serving as principal of middle and elementary schools in the district.

“I am so excited to continue the team based approach that we’ve had in Washington Township,” Taylor said at the Wednesday night board meeting. “The job is way too big to do individually, and the stakes are too high, and our kids matter too much. And so that team based approach will sustain into this transition.”

Board member Tracey Horth Krueger said during the meeting that Taylor’s vision for the future of the district was the “most exciting thing that we had heard.”

“We were very pleased, and all of a sudden, there was no concern anymore. We feel like we have been in good hands. We feel like we will continue to be in good hands,” Krueger said.

Taylor earned a doctorate in executive educational leadership from Indiana University.

Washington Township Schools has an enrollment of around 10,500 students, and more than half qualify for free or reduced lunch. About 40 percent of students are Black, and 22 percent are Hispanic. In recent years, the district has struggled with racial disparities in test scores. Last school year, 97 percent of white students in the district passed the IREAD exam compared to 81.5 percent of Black students.

These disparities raised concerns about the district’s ability to teach Black and Brown students. In response, charter school network Paramount Schools of Excellence earlier this year opened a K-8 all-girls school in the district, Girls IN STEM Academy. Many district officials and community members pushed back on the need for another school in the district.

The district is holding a reception for Taylor on Nov. 4. The district’s last day of classes for this school year is May 23.

Contact WFYI Marion County education reporter Sydney Dauphinais at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.

3 Indiana school districts say teacher pay, academics, buses at risk if voters reject referendums

2024-10-15T17:41:41+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

Three Indiana school districts are asking voters to approve or renew a local property tax referendum on the November ballot to increase or maintain funding for teacher pay and student academics.

Enrollment decline over the last decade has made it difficult for these districts to maintain competitive compensation and pay for other classroom expenses.

Kokomo School Corporation and Twin Lakes Community Schools are seeking their first ballot initiatives. But Lake Station Community Schools is asking voters for the second time in a year to renew the tax rate approved in 2017. Voters rejected the extension in November 2023.

Schools are funded by the state through a per-student formula to pay for teachers, staff and academic programs. If enrollment drops, the total amount of funding a district receives proportionally decreases, reducing the overall budget available for teacher and staff salaries, academic programs and operations.

A voter-approved increase to local property taxes is one of the only ways a district can increase general funds and ensure its stability for eight years. The election is Nov. 5 and early voting is underway.

Transportation, teacher pay on the line in Lake Station

The defeat of Lake Station’s referendum last year led to dozens of staff layoffs, including all of the district’s paraprofessionals who support teachers in the classrooms. Transportation services in the northwest district were also cut, forcing students to stay home twice a week for remote learning instead of going to school.

“The state of Indiana is not properly, appropriately, whatever term you wish to use — funding public education,” Superintendent Tom Cripliver said during an Oct. 9 meeting about the referendum. “That is the number one issue.”

Lake Station’s proposed levy renewal would generate $1.4 million a year. Almost $700,000 is planned for teacher pay, recruitment, and academic programs. Nearly $485,000 would go toward bus transportation.

If the ballot initiative is turned down by voters, it would cause the district to end transportation for nearly all students and stop summer programs and after-school clubs. Teachers are expected to leave and mental health services for students will be reduced, according to the political action committee advocating for the referendum.

Enrollment in the district has dropped by about 23 percent since 2014, according to state data. Last year, 1,144 students were enrolled.

School choice appears to play a role in the enrollment changes, according to a WFYI analysis. During the 2023-24 academic year, the district had a 13.4% net loss of students who live in the district but chose to attend another traditional public or charter school, or use a voucher to enroll at a private school.

If the referendum passes, Lake Station will be required by a 2023 law to share a portion of the property-tax revenue with charter schools. Charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently managed, don’t typically receive property tax revenue in Indiana.

The district estimates it would pay out a total of $27,845 to three charter schools that enroll students who live in Lake Station.

Twin Lakes referendum asks for teacher pay support

Shrinking enrollment led leaders at Twin Lakes Schools to approve the closure of two elementary schools as part of a consolidation plan. Enrollment fell nearly 11 percent in the past 10 years. Last year, the north-central Indiana district enrolled 2,183 students.

Fewer students enrolling caused a reduction in state funds. As a result, the district’s early career teachers and educators with 20 years experience are paid $3,500 to $5,000 less than similar teachers at nearby districts, according to Twin Lakes Schools.

Twin Lakes’ proposed levy would inject $3.5 million a year into the district’s general fund. But there’s organized opposition to the plan on social media and a yard sign campaign urging a no vote.

A referendum loss would result in staff layoffs, the district said.

Kokomo referendum to pay for teachers, professional development

Kokomo’s levy would raise $6.16 million per year. The majority of the money — $4 million — would go toward retaining and recruiting teachers, plus professional development aimed at improved student outcomes.

The district enrolled roughly 5,400 students last academic year. That’s a nearly 20% decline in the past decade, according to state data. A majority of Kokomo students — 62%— qualify to receive free or reduced price meals

School choice also appears to have impacted Kokomo’s enrollment. Last year, the district had a nearly 26% net loss of students who live in the district but opted for other school options supported by state funds.

How does a property tax referendum work?

Many school districts rely on additional funds from local property tax referendums to consistently finance teachers, staff, and academic programs. This follows a change by state leaders in 2009 to primarily fund schools through state revenue generated by sales taxes, individual income taxes, and other levies.

Indiana imposes caps on property taxes based on assessed value rates according to property type: 1% for owner-occupied homes, 2% for other residential properties and farmland, and 3% for all other properties. However, if voters approve a local referendum, property tax bills can exceed the cap, with the additional revenue directed to the local school district.

Here are the local public questions for school referendums on the Nov. 5 ballot. The totals for operating levies are based on the net assessed valuation of taxable property in the district boundary earlier this year. The value can change.

Kokomo School Corp.

Property tax rate: 0.26 per $100 of assessed value for eight years.

Total revenue over eight years: $49,328,000

How $6,166,000 of annual revenue will be spent: Retention, attraction of teachers, staff and professional development ($4,000,000); academic, educational programs ($1,166,000); updates to technology infrastructure ($1,000,000).

Lake Station Community Schools

Renewal of a property tax rate previously approved in 2017: $0.54 per $100 of assessed value for eight years.

Total revenue over eight years: $11,302,592

How $1,412,824 annual revenue will be spent: School bus transportation ($484,743); retention, attraction of teachers and staff ($346,245); academic, educational programs ($346,245); student safety, school security ($138,498); other education needs ($69,248); required distribution to charter schools: Neighbors’ New Vistas High School ($13,317), Discovery Charter School ($13,317) and 21st Century Charter School of Gary ($1,211).

Twin Lakes School Corp.

Property tax rate: $0.25 per $100 of assessed value for eight years.

Total revenue over eight years: $28,000,000

How $3,500,000 of annual revenue will be spent: Retention, attraction of teachers and staff ($1,500,000); academic, educational programs ($1,250,000); student safety, school security ($750,000).

Eric Weddle is WFYI’s education team editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow on X at @ericweddle

Election 2024: What candidates for IPS school board said about charter schools, literacy, and more

2024-10-09T17:27:43+00:00

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The district’s sweeping reorganization plan and the influence of outside groups loomed large over Tuesday night’s forum featuring candidates for the Indianapolis Public Schools board.

All eight candidates for four seats on the IPS Board of School Commissioners, attended the forum at the Indianapolis Public Library’s Central Library. The event was co-hosted by Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI. Races for District 1, District 2, and an at-large seat are contested. The candidate for District 4, Allissa Impink, is unopposed.

At-large board member Kenneth Allen is the only candidate seeking reelection. He is being challenged by Carrie Harris and Deandra Thompson. The race for District 1 is between Alan Schoff and Ashley Thomas. Former board member Gayle Cosby is in the District 2 race against Hasaan Rashid.

This election season comes as IPS continues the rollout of Rebuilding Stronger that’s designed to overhaul the district in response to enrollment pressures and an increasingly competitive school choice landscape. The district is also trying to improve student academic performance following the pandemic.

Asked to assign a letter grade to Rebuilding Stronger so far, several candidates said it was too soon to tell. The candidates did seem to agree that while the plan was a good idea, its implementation has been rocky.

Candidates were also asked to list their endorsements, which ranged from labor unions to education advocacy organizations. Financial contributions from outside groups that favor IPS collaboration with charter schools and other reforms have played a key role in board elections for more than a decade.

In the election four years ago nearly $600,000 was raised by 10 candidates seeking the same seats as in this election. One of those candidates was Allen, the only incumbent running for reelection, who wore a “not for sale” T-shirt to the forum.

Other candidates also stressed they couldn’t be bought by outside interests, and criticized the role groups like Stand for Children and Rise Indy play in the board elections. Both groups use political action committees to pay for ads, mailers, and other campaign support.

But Thomas defended Stand for Children’s advocacy with parents and her own previous work with the organization.

Chalkbeat and WFYI reporters also asked the candidates about topics including charter school partnerships, literacy, building community relationships, student mental health, and chronic absenteeism.

Watch the full forum below. Spanish subtitles are available in video settings.

Read our full voter guide for the IPS school board election here.

Early voting is underway at the Indianapolis City-County Building at 200 E. Market St. Additional early voting sites open on Oct. 26 and can be found online. On Election Day on Nov. 5, Marion County residents can vote at any of the county’s voting centers, which can be found online.

This article was updated on Oct. 15 to include how to find the Spanish subtitles on the forum video.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Eric Weddle is the WFYI education team editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org.

Perry school board election: Who’s running and how to vote

2024-10-01T13:07:34+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

This voter guide was co-published by Chalkbeat Indiana, Mirror Indy and WFYI as part of a partnership to increase coverage of township school districts in Marion County and cover the 2024 school board elections.

Just three candidates are running for four open seats on the Metropolitan School District of Perry Township school board, including two incumbents, Emily Hartman and James Hernandez.

But there is likely to be one new face on the board: Assuming that she receives at least one vote, newcomer write-in candidate Astin Vick will also win a seat, according to the Indiana Election Commission. Notably, Vick’s name will not appear on the ballot.

That leaves one final seat open for appointment or for a current member to “hold over.”

Election won’t be last word on board seats

The current board must meet by the end of the year to decide which member — Ken Mertz or Steve Johnson — will be eligible to hold their seat. No decision has yet been made over whether a board member will choose to hold over their seat, according to the district.

As with other districts, the Perry board is in charge of adopting policies and approving the annual budget at the 16,000-student district in south Marion County, as well as hiring and evaluating the superintendent, Patrick Spray.

The district is in the second year of a major redistricting effort aimed primarily at improving transportation routes and balancing the student populations at its elementary schools.

Over the last year, Perry has also unveiled a number of new initiatives aimed at supporting the district’s large population of immigrant and English learner students. Among them are heritage language classes for Chin students and career-focused graduation pathways for English learner students.

Who votes and how to vote

Voters can vote for all the at-large candidates.

Voter registration is underway and ends on Oct. 7. Marion County residents can register to vote at indianavoters.in.gov.

Early voting begins on Oct. 8 at the Indianapolis City-County Building at 200 E. Market St. Additional early voting sites can be found online at https://vote.indy.gov/early-voting/.

On Election Day on Nov. 5, Marion County residents can vote at any of the county’s voting centers, which can be found at https://vote.indy.gov/.

Meet the candidates

Emily Hartman, at-large seat

Incumbent candidate Emily Hartman has served on the board since January 2017 and is currently the board president. According to the board website, she is a lifelong Perry Township resident and 1996 graduate of Perry Meridian High School who has also served in various capacities in the Burkhart Elementary PTA. She is married to a fellow Perry Meridian graduate and has four school-aged children. Her biography is available at the Perry board website.

James Hernandez, at-large seat

Incumbent candidate James Hernandez has served on the board since 2019. According to the board website, Hernandez is from Gary, Indiana, and moved to the Indianapolis area to attend the Indiana University School of Law. His two sons attended Perry Township schools, and he has served in various capacities in youth sports. His biography is available at the Perry board website.

Astin Vick, at-large seat, write-in candidate

Astin Vick, who also ran for the board in 2022, has worked for Perry schools as a substitute teacher, special education teacher’s aide, and an assistant track and field coach at Perry Meridian High School. She holds a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certification and a Ph.D. in sports management.

In 2022, she told Chalkbeat that her goals as a board member included raising the standard for excellence and increasing feedback and engagement from teachers, parents, and the community. She also said she’d like to evaluate the programs the district is using and ensure the transparency of its board meetings by offering easily accessible board minutes, notices of meetings, and decisions explained in lay terms and multiple languages.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Election 2024: Meet the 8 candidates vying for 4 seats on the Indianapolis Public Schools board

2024-09-26T16:16:24+00:00

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This article was co-published by Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI as part of a collaboration for the 2024 IPS school board elections. Join us to hear from candidates for IPS school board at a forum at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Indianapolis Public Library, Central Branch. RSVP and submit questions here.

Eight candidates are running for four seats on the Indianapolis Public School Board in the November general election.

Only one incumbent, at-large member Kenneth Allen, is seeking reelection. No matter which candidates win, the election will remake the seven-member board charged with overseeing major changes and solving ongoing challenges.

The district is in the early stages of reshaping curriculum offerings and school options for all elementary and middle school students through its Rebuilding Stronger plan. At the same, hundreds of millions in federal COVID relief is going away, and school choice advocates continue to pressure the district for increased collaboration to address the ongoing achievement gap facing students of color.

Allen seeks a second term for his at-large seat in the most congested race of the board election. He faces two challengers: Carrie Harris and Deandra “Dee” Thompson.

Election 2024: See the districts for IPS school board

The race for District 1, which includes the east side and near southeast, is between Alan Schoff and Ashley Thomas. The winner will take over for one-term board member Will Pritchard.

Former board member Gayle Cosby is in the District 2 race against Hasaan Rashid. The district includes the Massachusetts Avenue passageway northeast of downtown. Incumbent Venita Moore, elected in 2016, is not seeking reelection.

One race is uncontested — Allissa Impink for District 4, which includes the areas south and west of downtown. Impink will replace the board’s longest serving member Diane Arnold, who was first elected 20 years ago.

Voter registration is open until Monday, Oct. 7. To register to vote or to check your status, go here.

Early voting begins on Oct. 8 at the Indianapolis City-County Building at 200 E. Market St. Additional early voting sites can be found online.

On Election Day on Nov. 5, Marion County residents can vote at any of the county’s voting centers, which can be found online.

Update, Oct 7: The link to districts for IPS school board was updated after Mirror Indy found an error in the map from IPS.

Eric Weddle is the WFYI education editor Email him at eweddle@wfyi.org.

WFYI education reporter Sydney Dauphinais covers Marion County schools. Contact her at sdauphinais@wfyi.org.

Chalkbeat Indiana Bureau Chief MJ Slaby contributed to this article. Email her at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Some Indiana districts require permission when parents want to record meetings. Is that legal?

2024-09-16T11:00:00+00:00

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For years, Erin Moon-Walker recorded parent-teacher meetings, both for her own children and for other parents as part of her work as a special education advocate.

In her experience, Moon-Walker said recordings serve as a memory aid. They can also help family members who can’t attend an in-person meeting, and settle disputes.

So she was alarmed when her school district, West Lafayette Community Schools, brought forward a policy to increase restrictions on the practice. The proposed policy increased notice for recording from two to three days, required permission from the superintendent to record all parent meetings — and, most concerningly, specified that parents who didn’t comply could be removed from school grounds and even face a trespassing violation.

Such rules appear to run afoul of Indiana law’s one-party recording laws, which allow conversations to be recorded if only one party consents.

The outcry about the broader proposal led the West Lafayette school board to table it until community concerns could be addressed. But a Chalkbeat survey found restrictions on recording parent-teacher meetings are in effect in at least eight other school districts — and legal experts question whether the policies are lawful and enforceable.

“You can’t penalize someone for something that is not illegal, that they have a right to do,” said Julie Slavens, senior counsel and director of policy service at the Indiana School Boards Association.

Attorneys with the law firm hired by these districts to craft the policies say they’re necessary to protect student confidentiality. Furthermore, they said notice can help staff prepare and preempt parent concerns in meetings about things like individualized education programs, or IEPs.

The tension between Indiana law and districts’ concerns isn’t just theoretical. In one recent case, a district barred a parent from her daughter’s school campus after the parent posted a recording of her meeting with a principal about a school bus safety issue. The district, Whitley County Consolidated Schools, said recording her meeting with the principal without permission violated a board policy.

Moon-Walker expressed concern that parents who inadvertently violate such a policy — especially if they share a recording in a special education due process hearing — could find themselves in legal trouble down the line.

“Your child is the most important thing in the whole wide world. Maybe they’re in conflict, or they’re not getting the services they need, but it’s hard to think and plan and judge in the moment,” Moon-Walker said. “Recording allows you to recall all the details because during the meeting, you’re managing those emotions.”

Is parent distrust leading them to record meetings?

Recordings of heated exchanges between members of the public and school leaders, largely at school board meetings, have drawn significant attention and polarized reactions in recent years.

But the Indiana School Boards Association said there’s been no associated increase in distrust between parents and schools that would necessitate more stringent rules about recording parent meetings.

Terry Spradlin, director of the association, said that he has not heard of any conflicts over recording policies in the last five years.

“This is not all of the sudden a confrontational issue between districts and parents,” Spradlin said.

It’s possible some districts are seeing more parents who want to maintain their own records over fears that schools will edit their copies of recordings, Slavens said, especially in cases of previous conflicts between a school and an individual family.

Other districts that have also adopted policy language drafted by the law firm Church Church Hittle and Antrim (CCHA) require parents to give notice they plan to record and get authorization. The policies include consequences for violating it, including trespassing.

Chalkbeat found the same language about recording in the board policies of Blue River Valley, Westfield Washington, Mount Vernon, Delaware, Franklin, Noblesville, Muncie, and Hamilton Southeastern schools.

None of the districts Chalkbeat contacted indicated that there had been issues that led them to seek stricter recording guidance.

Spokespeople for Noblesville and Westfield Washington schools confirmed that the districts had recently worked with CCHA on revised recording policies.

School board worries recordings increase tension in meetings

So why put such a policy in place?

A spokesperson for Muncie schools said the district has had a policy on the recording of meetings on school property for several years “to make clear the boundaries in place for different kinds of meetings.”

“It is consistent with state law and, from all accounts, has been working fine,” Muncie spokesperson Andy Klotz said in an emailed statement.

West Lafeyette’s current recording policy applies only to IEP meetings. It requires parents to give two days’ notice and receive approval for recording the meetings, which they can only do if it’s necessary “to meaningfully participate in the IEP process.” The proposed update would have applied to all parent-teacher meetings, in addition to extending the minimum time required for parents to notify schools about their intent to record.

In discussing the revised policy, CCHA attorney Amy Matthews told the West Lafayette school board at a May meeting that requiring parents to give notice can signal to staff that the parent has concerns.

“That can prompt the school not to get them to not record, but to work through what are the potential concerns of why they need to record and how can we make it collaborative,” Matthews said.”

Board member Rachel Witt agreed, saying that unexpected recordings can “raise the fuel level” of a meeting. And Superintendent Shawn Greiner said if there is mistrust, he would want the district to record as well.

The West Lafayette board hired CCHA to update its policies in January after the firm proposed a $16,000 flat fee or an hourly fee option to write new legally mandated policies, and policies for issues that the district would be likely to be sued over, among other things, according to board documents.

Parent recordings: What the law and experts say

Andrew Manna with CCHA said the firm does not see the policies as counter to Indiana recording law. He said they’re similar to how a doctor’s office will try to protect a patient’s privacy.

“A school is obligated to protect the confidentiality of student information. In an attempt to manage that responsibility, which is a mandate by federal law, this policy language informs visitors how recordings can work on school property,” Manna said in a statement.

Matthews, the CCHA attorney, explained to West Lafayette board members in May that a trespass violation was the only authority that a school held over parents. And Manna said despite the language about trespassing, there “is no criminal penalty against the school visitor and there is really not anything that a school might do other than consider asking the parent to comply.”

Still, the West Lafayette board ultimately tabled the proposal after some community members expressed concern about it.

Selene Almazan, legal director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which advocates for the civil rights of students with disabilities, said she would not advise schools to use the threat of a trespassing violation to enforce their recording policies.

“It is a parent’s right to participate in an IEP meeting. Any threat might impede parents participating in a meaningful way,” she said.

Yet Almazan also said she would not advise parents to record surreptitiously.

No federal law specifically bars parents from recording audio school meetings, nor does one explicitly grant them that right.

Federal special education law does encourage states to adopt rules governing the process of institutions recording meetings about IEP and 504 plans.

In contrast to Manna’s comments about district policies protecting student privacy, Slavens said the federal law governing student privacy applies to recordings made by institutions, not parents.

Slavens has advised districts that parents have a right to record meetings without telling all the participants. At the same time, she said schools may want enough notice to make their own records in case of questions or legal issues.

A trespassing violation should not apply when a parent has been invited to a school for a meeting as long as they’re not being disruptive, said Slavens.

“I don’t know that recording a meeting without telling them would qualify,” Slavens said.

Indiana law is ultimately clear on the legality of one party recording another without the other’s consent, said Kris Cundiff, an attorney with the Reporters Committee Local Legal Initiative.

“I’m not convinced that parents and guardians need to worry about ending up in court over noncompliance with a school district’s recording policy,” Cundiff said in an email.

Nonetheless, Cundiff — along with Slavens and Almazan — said ideally schools and parents would agree on how and when to record a meeting.

“It makes sense for parents and school officials to work together to balance their respective interests,” Cundiff said.

Before the West Lafayette policy returns to the board, Dacia Mumford, a West Lafayette school board member, said she wants to see a policy committee made up of community members draft the policies first before they go to legal review.

“That’s where it should start,” Mumford said, noting that she was speaking for herself and not the board. “These policies are about our community, what works and is best for them.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Cell phones, reading, state testing: See what’s new as Indiana students head back to school

2024-07-24T10:00:00+00:00

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

Across the state, students are heading back to school soon. Students in Beech Grove and Warren Township start classes this week, followed by the rest of Marion County’s districts next week.

With a new school year comes new rules about cell phones in classrooms, a new pilot program for shorter but more frequent state testing, and a new policy on holding back students who can’t read based on third grade reading exams.

Read more about these changes and others you’ll notice this school year:

Check for school bans on cell phones

A new Indiana law requires school districts to ban cell phones and “any portable wireless device” from class time.

The ban covers phones, tablets, laptops, and gaming systems, as well as any other devices that can provide communication between two parties. But it’s up to each school district to decide on the exact policy.

There are some exceptions for educational purposes (including Individualized Education Programs), emergencies, and health care.

Some students will take more, shorter state tests

The Indiana Department of Education is piloting a checkpoint-based ILEARN this school year as an alternative to one high-stakes exam at the end of the year. More than 70% of schools opted into the pilot program, the department said.

The aim is to make the data more actionable throughout the school year for students, families, and teachers, instead of having to wait for results at the end of the year.

The pilot program will have three checkpoints throughout the year and a shortened summative assessment at the end of the year, per the department. The change is expected to be made for all students in the 2025-26 school year.

Schools and parents must meet about chronic absenteeism

Parents of chronically absent students in kindergarten through sixth grade will be required to meet with schools to create a plan and receive wraparound services to improve attendance, under a new law on truancy prevention.

The law also requires school officials to report truant students to the prosecutor’s office, and requires prosecutors to tell parents that they could be held legally accountable for their children missing school.

More students could be held back

More students could have to repeat the third grade, due to a new law that tightens the state’s policy for remediation. The policy doesn’t start until the 2025-2026 school year, but will be based on test results from the coming school year.

Retention has long been part of Indiana policy. It’s become less common in recent years, with thousands of students “socially promoted” over the years. But now, students have to pass the IREAD-3 to move to fourth grade.

There are some exemptions including for some students with an IEP and some English learners as well as students who pass the math portion of the statewide exam.

Additionally, parents have an opportunity to appeal a remediation recommendation if they believe their student meets one of the exemptions.

COVID relief funding ends for schools

Schools have until September to commit the third and final round of federal COVID funding — known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER. This means districts may already be looking for new ways to fund programs and positions supported by these dollars.

The state spending tracker shows the state has reimbursed schools for about 87% of available federal relief funds as of July 19. However, the tracker doesn’t capture schools’ expenditures in real time.

Chalkbeat Indiana Reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. She also covers access to higher education and Warren Township Schools. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

IPS announces new principal at School 87 after fallout from abuse allegations against teacher

2024-07-08T20:49:06+00:00

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Indianapolis Public Schools has hired a new principal at George Washington Carver School 87 following an outcry over the school’s culture and administrators’ handling of allegations that a former teacher encouraged abuse of a student with a disability.

Elizabeth Krutz, former principal of La Porte Middle School and coordinator of special programs at the La Porte Community School Corporation, will start after her hiring is confirmed by the IPS board at the end of July, per an IPS news release.

“Elizabeth brings an amazing skill set that includes celebrated relationship-building expertise and a proven ability to close achievement gaps through strategic planning and data-driven practices,” IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in the Monday press release. “We look forward to the positive impact she will have on our students and the community.”

School 87 came under fire earlier this year, when a widely circulated video showed one student beating another. A lawsuit filed on April 16 by the mother of a 7-year-old student says the video includes audio of the child’s teacher at the time, Julious Johnican, encouraging the physical attack. (Johnican resigned from his position last year and no longer works for IPS.)

After extensive media coverage of the video, parents raised concerns about the school’s overall climate and lack of transparency. The mother’s lawsuit said Johnican used a “fight club” style of discipline, and alleges school administrators dismissed claims of physical assault related to the incident. The lawsuit is ongoing and is in federal court.

In the wake of the video and the criticism from parents, IPS announced in April that it would create a Mental Health and School Culture Task Force, as well as a task force dedicated to student safety.

The hiring announcement did not reference the incident or parents’ complaints. After an investigation into the video, IPS announced in May that it would hire a new School 87 principal and assistant principal, who would replace Principal Mary Kapcoe and Assistant Principal Finae Rent.

IPS emphasized Krutz’s support for Montessori practices, which prioritize student independence and self-directed learning.

In its statement, IPS said she is enrolled in a course for Montessori fundamentals for school leaders, and that Krutz will be mentored by Christine Rembert, principal of IPS Montessori James Russell Lowell School 51.

Krutz received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and also received a license in Educational Leadership and Administration from Indiana State University, according to her LinkedIn profile. She said her four children attend Montessori schools, and that she is a “firm believer in the Montessori philosophy.”

“I am committed to ensuring that George Washington Carver offers the best Montessori program for all students,” Krutz said in the release.

Haley Miller is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Haley at hmiller@chalkbeat.org.

IPS approves charter school collaboration resolution amid uncertainty over community desires

2024-06-28T16:16:06+00:00

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The Indianapolis Public Schools board adopted a resolution Thursday reaffirming its commitment to working with schools of all kinds, including charters, to improve student performance and support racial equity.

The resolution passed 7-0 after a half hour of debate and public comment. The board debated the resolution at a meeting last month, and the extent to which there is — and should be — tension between different school models is a longstanding issue in the city.

Still, commissioners expressed mixed feelings about whether the community at large genuinely desires charter models, or if pro-charter groups have skewed the conversation.

“I can have a conversation with a parent and ask them direct questions about what they want,” IPS Commissioner Nicole Carey said. “And they’ll say one thing, and then they’ll come here, and they’ll say something completely opposite.”

Charter supporters and skeptics have demanded solutions for academic inequities across the district. For example, the ILEARN proficiency rate in 2023 for white students in traditional IPS schools was around 31 percentage points higher than for their Black peers, and 28 percentage points higher than for Hispanic students. Meanwhile, Black and Hispanic students in independent charters outperformed their peers in both traditional IPS schools and Innovation charters on the ILEARN last year.

Under Resolution 8020, the board acknowledged the need for “greater coherence, clarity, and collaboration” between traditional public, Innovation Network, and independent charter schools. Innovation schools officially belong to the IPS portfolio but largely have autonomy over their day-to-day operations. Twenty-four of the 30 Innovation schools during the 2023-24 school year were charters.

Three community members, all affiliated with the charter advocacy group Stand for Children, expressed support during Thursday’s public comment period for charter models and their desire for the resolution to contain stronger pro-charter language. They used previous calls to action for the district to replicate “data-proven models” to close the “opportunity gap.”

“I really want to make sure that this board understands the importance of serving kids that look like mine and partner with school models that work for students of color,” Stand for Children advocate and IPS parent Irma Perdomo said through an interpreter.

One traditional public school advocate spoke against the resolution. Christina Smith of the Indianapolis Education Justice Coalition pushed for IPS to focus on its Rebuilding Stronger plan — which is reconfiguring schools and revamping academic offerings — rather than seek out more charter collaboration.

“IPS needs to be focusing on schools that are already under the IPS umbrella,” Smith said. “The administration, educators, staff, students, and families, and honestly all of Indianapolis need a chance for the massive district overhaul that is Rebuilding Stronger to come to fruition.”

In the resolution, the board directed IPS administration to deliver action items starting with the upcoming school year, including:

A public update by this August on Innovation Network partnerships and the application process for schools to join the network.
A monthly report on efforts to ensure every student has the support they need to reach literacy.
A quarterly update on the “climate and culture” of schools across the district.

Some commissioners and members of the public shared concerns about the resolution’s tight timeframe, including the August deadline to develop an application process to join the Innovation Network. (The resolution doesn’t include an exact date for that deadline.)

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said the district will be responsive to feedback on the public updates and reports.

“When I think about what is perhaps produced in August, I think it does need to be informed by what we’ve heard from community and needs to continue to hear,” Johnson said. “I’m under no pretense that that will be a final product.”

Haley Miller is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Haley at hmiller@chalkbeat.org.

800 school board seats are up for election in Indiana. The filing deadline for candidates is June 20

2024-06-13T15:19:19+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

There are more than 800 seats on school boards across Indiana up for election in November. Incumbents and challengers have until June 20 to file paperwork to get on local ballots.

A 2023 law extended the time between the deadline for candidates to file and election day by around 60 days. In past general election cycles, voters typically found out by the end of August who was running for their school board.

“We do hope that will help with voter education, about school board candidates, about who they are and what the candidate stands for,” said Terry Spradlin, executive director of Indiana School Boards Association, an organization that supported the 2023 legislation. “So we hope it has positive benefits.”

Interest and vitriol around school boards and elections of members surged since 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice protests. Some community and outside groups pushed back on boards requiring masks to be worn, how teachers discussed racial identity and racism in the classroom, student mental health initiatives, and other real or perceived issues.

Who is on the 2024 ballot?

There are 1,686 school board members across all 290 school corporations, according to ISBA. And about half of those seats will be up for election this November, Spradlin said.

Most school boards have five or seven members and the election of members is staggered every two years. Most members are elected by the public and a small number of boards are appointed by local officials.

Members serve for four-year terms and represent residents in the entire corporation boundary, a certain district or a township. Board members can each be compensated up to $2,000 a year plus meeting stipends, according to state law.

What do school board members do?

School boards have four core duties: adopting policies, such as creation of the student handbook and integration of state and federal regulations; hiring and evaluating the superintendent; approval of the annual budget and overall fiscal oversight; and strategic goals for the district.\

Boards also hold public meetings where they accept public comment and vote on everything from the cost of textbooks, to the permanent closure of a school, to seeking a voter-approved property-tax referendum to increase local funding.

Spradlin urges board members to not get involved in day-to-day operations, or administrators’ decisions to hire or fire school staff. Leave that to the superintendent, he said. Boards do vote on personnel recommendations from the superintendent.

“We’ve been talking a lot about literacy, graduation rates, attendance rates. So we want boards to be very engaged in monitoring progress on student achievement outcomes, and setting goals,” Spradlin said.

Politics in the 2022 school board elections

School board members are non-partisan elected positions. Candidates can choose to volunteer political affiliation in their campaigns. In the 2022 election, politics played a large role in some races where candidates stressed their party affiliation through messaging or endorsements from politicians.

Indiana’s Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita and U.S. Sens. Todd Young and Mike Braun endorsed three self-described conservative candidates running for the Carmel Clay school board. One of the candidates won. Braun is now running for governor.

That same year, GOP state Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City) authored a bill that would require school board candidates to identify with a political party and include that designation on the ballot. The legislation did not gain traction.

In the 2022 general election, 70 percent of incumbent school board members ran for reelection, according to the ISBA. Of those incumbents, 85 percent of those who filed for reelection won.

How to run for a school board seat

Candidates must be at least 21 years of age and not be employed as a teacher or staff member of the school corporation they are seeking to represent. Candidates are required to live in the township, district or corporation the board seat represents.

In most community school corporations, the petition of nomination and consent must be signed by the candidate and 10 registered voters who live within the boundaries of the school corporation.

Spradlin recommends candidates check with the local voter registration office to confirm requirements. The ISBA offers information for candidates on its website, and will host a free webinar Thursday for people considering filing to run.

Eric Weddle is the WFYI education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org.

Indiana election results: Pike Township schools referendum passes

2024-05-08T14:49:05+00:00

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Updated: 10:45a.m. May 8

Voters gave their approval for Pike Township schools to raise property taxes in order to fund district operations and programs that had relied on federal COVID relief funding.

With the measure passing, the district will become the first to share some of its property tax revenue with eligible charter schools as mandated by a 2023 state law.

Unofficial results as of 10 p.m. Tuesday in Marion County show around 59% of voters approving the Pike tax referendum. The vote tally was 5,417 in favor and 3,799 against, with 100% of county vote centers reporting.

Three other districts in Indiana had tax referendums on the ballot during Tuesday’s primary election.

According to unofficial results, around 52% of voters approved a referendum from Fremont Community Schools, with a vote tally of 935 to 874 as of Wednesday morning.

And around 55% of voters approved a referendum from Brown County Schools 2,122 to 1,754.

Meanwhile, around 83% of voters rejected a referendum from Blue River Valley Schools in Henry County. The vote tally was 884 to 179 as of 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Districts can seek ballot measures to raise tax revenue to fund operations and construction, as well as school safety. Each district with a referendum this year hoped to use at least some of the dollars to attract and retain staff, as well as fund programs, and more.

The referendums need a simple majority to pass.

We’ll keep updating this story with results as they become available.

Metropolitan School District of Pike Township

Property tax rate: $0.24 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years

Estimated annual revenue: $14.5 million

If approved, the district could have to share some funds with eligible charter schools.

Unofficial results:

Yes: 58.8%

No: 41.2%

Blue River Valley Schools

Property tax rate: $0.19 per $100 of assessed value for eight years

Estimated annual revenue: $359,594

Unofficial results:

Yes: 16.8%

No: 83.2%

Brown County Schools

Property tax rate: $0.10 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years

Estimated annual revenue: $1,879,051

Unofficial results:

Yes: 54.7%

No: 45.3%

Fremont Community Schools

Property tax rate: $0.15 per $100 of assessed property value for eight years

Estimated annual revenue: $2,384,719

Unofficial results:

Yes: 51.7%

No: 48.3%

Correction: May 7, 2024: A previous version of this story gave an incorrect figure for the annual revenue that Brown County schools’ referendum would raise. It would raise around $1.9 million.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Washington Township’s longtime superintendent Nikki Woodson to retire in 2025

2024-05-06T18:51:31+00:00

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This article was originally published by WFYI.

Nikki Woodson, the longtime superintendent of Washington Township Schools, announced she will retire from the district at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Woodson has led the district for 13 years, a period of increased racial diversity in the student body and also enrollment fluctuations. Last year’s graduation rate was nearly 85 percent for students who did not receive a waiver from a requirement, and 91 percent for all students who earned a diploma.

Woodson also oversaw more than a dozen construction projects to improve and rebuild facilities for students. This was possible due to the passage of two capital referendums, including the largest in state history, which paid for a new middle school, early learning center, athletic upgrades and more.

“During this time, the district has transformed by overcoming complexities and challenges, embracing increased diversity of our students, raising achievement resulting in a double-digit increase in graduation rate, successfully passing two major referendum campaigns and the deployment of their plans, as well as guiding the school community through a global pandemic,” Woodson said in a statement Friday.

Woodson joined the district in 2009. In 2011 she was the assistant superintendent when the school board appointed her as the district leader, making her the first Black woman superintendent in Marion County.

Woodson’s 2023 salary was $225,348 and her total compensation was $390,457, according to state data. Her last day at the district is June 30, 2025.

The school board will start a search process to pick the next superintendent and announce the finalist this fall, according to a district statement.

When Woodson became superintendent, enrollment was at 11,155 students. This year, the northside district enrolls around 10,700 students. According to state data: 40 percent of students are Black, 28 percent are White, 22 percent are Hispanic, and 51 percent identify as low-income.

The district faces ongoing concern over the academic achievement of students of color. Only 9.8 percent of Black students and 10.4 percent of Hispanic students in grades 3-8 passed both the math and English Language Arts portion of the 2023 state exam — compared to nearly 57 percent of their White classmates.

These inequities became a focus in the fight over an all-girls charter school opening in the township. The charter operators argued they could offer a higher quality education than what is available in Washington Township for economically disadvantaged and Black students. District leaders sought to block the school but final approval was given by the City-County Council.

Woodson plans to focus on “equitable achievement,” among other issues, during her final year, the district statement said.

Woodson also led two referendum campaigns that won strong support from local voters.

In 2020, voters approved a $285 million construction referendum and an eight-year $128 million operating referendum. In 2016, voters also supported two district referendums. The local property tax increase supported teacher pay and the cost of major facilities, such as the new Northview Middle School, a fieldhouse at North Central High School, and an Early Learning Center.

“The board understands that this is a critical position that will shape the future vision of WTS,” Deirdre George Davis, school board president, said in a statement. “Equally important to the selection process will be a transition between Dr. Woodson and her successor. We will develop a strategic timeline so that district operations and focus on equitable achievement remain uninterrupted.”

The district’s last day for students to attend class this academic year is May 23.

Eric Weddle is the WFYI education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org

Perry schools will offer pay raises to attract and retain bus drivers

2023-10-26T21:18:16+00:00

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Perry Township Schools is raising wages for new and current bus drivers as the district continues to face staffing strains, even though it redrew some school enrollment boundaries earlier this year to try to ease the problem.

With a recruitment event coming up Saturday, the Perry school board this week approved a 5% pay increase for all current drivers that will be retroactive to the start of the school year. Additionally, drivers who have been with the district since at least since March will be eligible for a $500 retention bonus if they stay until January 2024.

Starting pay for new drivers will rise 2.5% to $23.57 per hour.

All other support staff, like cafeteria and custodial workers, will also get the same pay rate increases. Administrators, meanwhile, will receive a 4% base pay increase.

Like districts across the country, Perry faced struggles throughout the pandemic to keep its bus routes staffed. Ahead of this school year, Perry redrew elementary school enrollment boundaries to shorten and consolidate bus routes and ensure each route had its own regular driver in place, rather than a substitute. All the routes still have a regular driver, said district spokesperson Elizabeth Choi.

The change has improved the district’s busing issues, Choi said. But buses sometimes still arrive late because of staffing problems.

For example, on Monday, the first day after the district’s two-week fall break, a large number of drivers were absent, Choi said. In cases like that, the district will first turn to substitute drivers to fill the routes, then to licensed office staff and mechanics.

If there’s still a need, the district sends drivers back to cover additional routes — though this can mean some students arrive well after the school day has begun.

“Lack of drivers has a domino effect on the rest of the school day for our students,” said Board President Emily Hartman in a district press release, calling the pay increases a “necessary decision.”

Since January, 25 bus drivers have left the district, including 10 who retired, said Choi. The district has an 80% driver retention rate, she said.

The district is hosting a recruitment event on Saturday that will allow would-be drivers to test drive a bus, talk to current drivers, and ask questions. The event will take place at Jeremiah Gray Elementary from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Students’ mental health needs are growing. Here’s how one district is asking taxpayers to help.

2023-10-17T11:00:00+00:00

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After nine guns were found at Fort Wayne schools during the 2022-23 school year, a group of community members approached district leadership with an urgent request: Make schools safer.

Together with the district, a new safety committee made up of law enforcement, mental health professionals, and teachers compiled a list of recommendations to do so. Campuses needed technology updates and more school resource officers. But the group also recommended hiring additional staff to support students’ well-being.

Now, they’re asking voters to support the efforts by approving a property tax increase earmarked for school safety in the November election. At a rate of $0.10 per $100 of assessed value, the safety referendum would generate up to $12 million annually for eight years toward mental health staff and school resource officers, security improvements, and a program that teaches students nonviolence.

If passed, the referendum would create dozens of new positions at Fort Wayne schools working in tandem to address two major safety concerns schools are facing nationwide: An increase in gun violence and the number of weapons found at schools, as well ongoing strains on students’ mental health as a result of the pandemic.

Indiana schools have long relied on property tax increases to fund operations and construction. But in 2019, lawmakers also made it possible for districts to improve safety and security using tax dollars.

Only two districts have asked voters to approve safety referendums since 2019, and just one — Carmel schools — has been successful. Schools generally asked voters for fewer tax increases in the immediate aftermath of COVID, but the number has slowly risen since.

A tax referendum was a logical avenue to secure the funding needed for the committee’s recommendations, said Matt Schiebel, the district’s executive director of safety and community partnerships.

“Technology and security measures are important, but the well-being of students is as much or even more important to improving safety,” Schiebel said.

Referendum funding focuses on mental health staff

Fort Wayne schools, along with Bluffton Harrison schools in Wells County, are seeking to pass safety referendums this year in Indiana.

Bluffton Harrison schools intends to spend just over half of its estimated $445,000 in annual revenue from its referendum on additional school resource officers, and another one-quarter on student mental health supports.

Fort Wayne plans to use two-thirds of its total proposed funding for student mental health supports, like therapists, third-party counseling services, and positions known as student advocates, according to its spending plan.

Another one-quarter of the funding is planned for technology, including over $1 million next year for a weapons detection system. And the remainder is earmarked for more security personnel, including 12 additional school resource officers.

The average Fort Wayne taxpayer would pay a maximum of $76 more annually, though the bill would be less next year as the district intends to use only around $7 million of the available funds, Schiebel said.

Schiebel said the district has already leveraged other funding sources for safety, like its facilities referendum for building improvements, emergency funding for student mental health positions, as well as $100,000 from the state-funded Indiana Secured School Safety grant for a school resource officer. It also partners with the Fort Wayne Police Department and the Allen County Sheriff’s Office to place school resource officers in its middle schools.

But a safety referendum would offer more.

“Safety has always been a priority and we have always used any means necessary to do all we can,” Schiebel said.

The largest proposed expenditure — over $4 million — would go to hiring student advocates, adults who monitor hallways, parking lots, and bathrooms. They also may be responsible for de-escalating situations, but not disciplining students.

Their most important task is building positive relationships with students by serving as another adult to turn to when conflict arises, Schiebel said.

The district has already piloted the role at South Side High School through the use of federal emergency funding, which is now coming to an end, Schiebel said. Through referendum funds, the district hopes to sustainably expand the program and place two student advocates in each of its high schools, as well as one in each elementary and middle school, or 56 total.

They would join other new staff, including 18 new mental health therapists slated to serve middle and high schools.

Data indicates that students need these mental health supports more than ever, with nearly half of all Indiana students reporting feeling persistently sad or hopeless in 2021.

“Being in-person gives students the opportunity to learn social skills, to cope with people with varying viewpoints,” Schiebel said. “Our kids were isolated for 18 months. When students came back, we had to re-learn those skills.”

Expanding a student-led nonviolence program

The advocates and therapists would also work alongside students through a program known as the Peacemaker Academy, which trains high schoolers in the principles of nonviolence espoused by Martin Luther King Jr.

The district hopes to use a share of the referendum funds to expand the program, which is operated by the faith-based nonprofit Alive Fort Wayne. The pilot program has focused on South Side High School students, but the additional funding would allow the nonprofit to place coordinators in each of the five schools as well as hire a director.

Angelo Mante, executive director of Alive Fort Wayne, said the goal of the program is to teach students King’s principles of nonviolence to help them identify and address issues at their schools.

One project involved students beautifying the campus to improve school culture. Another student initiative keeps a “Peace Count” — tallying the number of days that the school has gone without seeing a fight between students. For every 10 days without a fight, students earn an extra minute for their passing period between classes.

Mante said that the combined efforts at South Side High School — of the Peacemakers, student advocates, and other security measures — have already led to a 40% reduction in violent incidents compared to this time last year, as well as more collective awareness of violence.

Students have earned their extra passing period minute twice this year compared to just once by October of last year.

“It’s highly beneficial to have all of these pieces working together,” Mante said.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

A teachers union wanted to bargain over pay. Its president ended up barred from the classroom.

2023-10-16T11:00:00+00:00

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What started as an Indiana district’s proposal to retain teachers has led to allegations of unfair labor practices, public anger at school board members, and officials’ decision to bar the teachers union president from the classroom.

In May, Richmond schools announced one-time bonuses for teachers in an effort to staunch turnover rates of more than 25% in some buildings. All teachers in good standing would receive supplemental payments of $525. The district targeted additional money at mid-career teachers whose compensation hadn’t increased in line with their experience.

But the Richmond Education Association argued that the plan affected compensation, and thus would need to be discussed during the fall bargaining season that began Sept. 15, per Indiana law. It filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the district.

In the months that followed, the union said the district retaliated by disinviting its representatives from a back-to-school event before eventually placing president and longtime educator Kelley McDermott on leave and threatening to cancel her teaching contract. Union representatives also say teachers have been instructed to inform the superintendent if they want to speak to school board members.

The situation in Richmond is unfolding against a long history of the winnowing of teachers’ collective bargaining rights in Indiana, in addition to an ongoing shortage of educators in certain fields and classroom subjects. Over roughly the past decade, the number of people entering the teaching profession has dipped in Indiana, while the number of people leaving it has risen, the state reported last year; enrollment also fell over the same period. And across the nation, more teachers than usual left the profession after the 2021-22 school year, a Chalkbeat analysis showed.

A state law enacted this year and sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Raatz, a Richmond Republican, nixed a requirement for school districts to discuss changes to working conditions with union representatives at monthly meetings. Advocates said the change would reduce red tape — observers say it has hurt teacher morale. (Raatz did not respond to a request for comment.)

Representatives of Richmond schools did not respond to Chalkbeat’s requests for comment on the situation. Both the district and the union have said they want to keep classrooms staffed by experienced teachers — but they remain at an impasse on the best way to do so as bargaining officially begins.

What must school districts negotiate with teachers unions?

Lawmakers stripped Indiana teachers of the right to collectively bargain over working conditions like class sizes and schedules under a 2011 law. The topics that teachers can bargain over during the fall bargaining window are salaries, wages, and benefits, including pay increases.

That put Richmond’s compensation plan squarely in the union’s territory, representatives said.

The district’s plan delineated the amount teachers would receive in one-time supplemental pay on top of the $525 bonus based on their current salary, their years of experience, and their education. For example, a teacher with eight years of teaching experience and a bachelor’s degree whose base salary is $44,000 would receive a supplemental payment of $4,750.

But the union said that passing this plan to boost the pay of around 60% of teachers left less district funding to negotiate raises for the remaining teachers when bargaining began in the fall. Moreover, the board approved the plan without talking to the union, representatives said.

“We’re not opposed to fixing this problem,” McDermott said to the board. “What we are opposed to is stripping the association of its collective bargaining rights, which are legally protected.”

Board members argued that Indiana law also gave them the flexibility to offer supplemental pay in order to retain teachers, or to reduce the difference between minimum and average salaries in the district, without input from the Richmond Education Association.

“It has been a problem without a solution for a very long time,” board President Nicole Stults said at the May board meeting. “This does provide us with a solution that addresses the immediate bleed, so to speak, the immediate retention issue that we have.”

District representatives said offering supplemental pay was critical in order to stop losing teachers to neighboring districts. Data indicated that Richmond teachers have to work for 13 years in order to make the starting salary of a neighboring district.

“The consistency that students see is important, those relationships that students build with their teachers is critical to academic success, so the retention of teachers is critical to their academic success,” board member Pete Zaleski said in May.

‘This will lead to educators leaving the profession’

A September board meeting drew a large crowd of union members and supporters outraged over how the district has handled the pay issue and McDermott’s teaching contract.

By keeping McDermott out of the classroom, the district has left her students without a consistent teacher, speakers said — the opposite of its stated goal.

“Look at how many teachers are leaving and how many teaching openings there are each year. Please think this through and return the teacher to her teaching position, where she is needed to teach the youth of Richmond,” one speaker said. “Make this again a place to be proud to teach, not a temporary step along the way.”

McDermott could not be reached for comment. She remains on administrative leave after the district announced it would consider canceling her teaching contract, according to union Vice President Jay Lee.

Lee said that talks with the district have never been so contentious in the past.

The union opted to wait to begin bargaining until after Oct. 2, when schools will tally up how many students they’re educating in the fall semester — an event known as Count Day — in order to understand how much funding would be available.

“This is a Band-Aid,” Lee said of the district’s pay plan.

In a video posted to the district’s YouTube channel after the September board meeting, Richmond board president Stults said neither the district nor the board could comment on the personnel situation regarding McDermott. She said that apart from that issue, “relationships among the board, administration, and teachers are quite positive and stronger than they have been in recent years.”

She cited positive feedback from teachers regarding the supplemental pay, as well as a series of meetings throughout the year between district employees and upper administration.

Finally, she said the district has tried to implement the new law ending monthly discussions between administrators and union members positively, “allowing for a more focused approach to building level issues.”

Jennifer Smith-Margraf, vice president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said it’s not clear why Richmond schools did not do what it did in previous years and wait for the bargaining season to discuss compensation this year.

But the cumulative effect of the unilateral changes to pay and the new law that lets districts avoid discussing working conditions with unions have made the situation worse, she said.

“The two main reasons people leave education are low pay and benefits, and not having their voices heard,” she said. “In the long run, this will lead to educators leaving the profession.”

It’s not clear if lawmakers will make further changes next session — but Smith-Margraf said the union supports the right to bargaining and discussion.

“Places that do both bargaining and discussion are doing a much better job of retaining educators,” Smith-Margraf said. “Where there is a clear indication that my voice doesn’t matter causes people to leave and go other places.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

IPS superintendent highlights ‘excellent choices for everyone’ in State of the District speech

2023-09-21T01:20:55+00:00

Aleesia Johnson, superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, said she’s never been as excited for the State of the District speech as she was on Wednesday, when she invited all Indianapolis families to see the options IPS offers.

Her speech touted options available to students, largely through Rebuilding Stronger, the district’s overhaul plan, as the district aims to attract students and families.

The plan was unveiled at the State of the District last year, and this year’s speech is about keeping those promises, she said.

Johnson expressed her gratitude to the Indianapolis community for answering requests from the district including passing a capital referendum, sharing ideas, and giving the district grace and patience as changes were implemented, which included closing and merging some schools.

Johnson called the offerings now available to students “historic.”

“For as long as I can remember, our most exciting and comprehensive offerings were concentrated in neighborhoods that were whiter and wealthier,” she said. “Now, for the first time, every family in our city can access our best stuff. What was once a privilege is now a right.”

Here’s what to know from Johnson’s speech:

IPS is ‘making up ground’

Johnson highlighted the district’s recent academic gains. In 2023, a greater share of the district’s students scored proficient on both the reading and math sections of the state ILEARN test than before the pandemic in 2019. (Passing rates on IREAD declined from 62.8% last year to 60.6% this year.)

“While much of the country is still experiencing major academic setbacks, we at IPS are already making up ground. We now have a greater share of students at or above pre-pandemic performance in both reading and math, and we’re the only district in Marion County that can make that claim,” she said. “This is a nationally significant achievement.”

Additionally, Johnson said the graduation rate has grown to 80%, which cut in half the gap between IPS and the state graduation rate, which was 86.61% in 2022.

That is “a direct reflection of the work our team began in 2018 to reinvent our high schools and transition to college and career pathways,” she said.

District extends an invite to ‘every family in Indianapolis’

Every family with school-age children will receive an invitation in the mail, Johnson said. That invitation, expected in two weeks, asks families to “choose your IPS” that is “tailored to your child’s needs, interests, and hopes.”

In addition to the mailer, Johnson said IPS will have a “showcase of schools” in early November where all schools will be open for families to visit. Plus, school staff will reach out to current families to answer questions; there will also be open houses and information sessions.

This “whole new chapter” is the payoff for doing hard things as part of the district’s reorganization, she said. And it’s ending ways that “reinforced old patterns of haves and have-nots, of segregation, of intentional disinvestment.”

“Every family in Indianapolis is invited,” she said. “Every family.”

Offerings reflect that students’ ‘talent is everywhere’

Johnson said options available to students previously varied from neighborhood to neighborhood, meaning some students and families were left out.

“The way we did it before would have made perfect sense — if all the future violinists were born in one neighborhood, and all the computer coders in another,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure talent is everywhere so we need to make sure opportunity is as well.”

The new approach includes more pre-K options and more high-demand instructional models for elementary school such as Montessori, dual language immersion, and others. For older kids, all middle school students now have access to band and orchestra, world language, algebra I, computer science, and music, she said. This is a change from the past, when not all schools offered these programs.

At the high school level, options continue, Johnson said, listing choices from “Law and Public Safety to Media Arts and Design to Computer Science and Advanced Manufacturing.”

Plus, she said programs in health care, IT and cybersecurity set students up for internships, industry certifications, and dual credit programs.

Beyond academics, Johnson said athletic offerings are expanding, including girls flag football at all four district-managed high schools as well as more elementary and middle school sports camps and clinics next year.

Investments also include updated buildings – by the end of September, 30 schools will have updated HVAC systems and design work is underway for other buildings, she said.

Nearly $100 million of capital referendum projects will be facilitated by a minority-, women-, or veteran-owned business, she added.

Johnson looks to the future needs

While Wednesday’s speech largely centered on touting exciting parts of the future, Johnson said she knows she’ll likely have speeches where she’ll have to make tough asks.

She also acknowledged that she’d likely have to make more tough requests of the community. And she called for the community to come together more for students.

She noted that resources are needed for students who are non-native English-speaking learners, students with disabilities, and 3- and 4-year-old early learners.

“We can invest in solutions that make it possible for working parents to support their families while their children learn,” she said, adding that investing in students is also investing in a strong economy of the future.

“It’ll take all of us, fighting for what our students need. But there are solutions and, together, we have them,” Johnson said. “Indianapolis has shown me that time and time again.”

Chalkbeat reporter Aleksandra Appleton contributed to this article.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Seclusion, restraint of Indiana students not accurately reported, audit finds

2023-08-17T16:02:34+00:00

This article was originally published by WFYI.

Audits conducted by the Indiana Department of Education show some schools do not accurately report how often they forcibly isolate and restrain students. The findings confirm a WFYI investigation published in June that found similar discrepancies.

Indiana lawmakers approved legislation a decade ago that was intended to regulate and curb the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. The law states these interventions should be used rarely, and only as a last resort in situations where the safety of students or others is threatened.

But the WFYI investigation found the state’s lack of oversight means it’s unclear if the law had its intended effect.

Seclusion and restraint are used thousands of times per year in Indiana schools, and the interventions carry the risk of injury and can harm students’ mental well-being. Students with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to these measures.

The IDOE began conducting audits — which are required under a state rule — following inquiries from WFYI. The agency had no record of an audit being conducted prior to this year.

The audits were quietly published as part of the Indiana Commission on Seclusion and Restraint’s agenda for a public meeting Wednesday. Commission members discussed the findings during the meeting — the first time they’ve met this year.

Audits find discrepancies in number of incidents

Most of the schools audited were able to provide the department with records that matched their data reporting. Still, each of the three audits identified discrepancies between the number of incidents of restraint and seclusion reported to the state, and the number of records of those incidents kept by several schools.

In each of the audits, the IDOE concluded a need for “enhanced record keeping” by schools and “improvement” on how incidents are reported to the state.

Schools are required to report how often they seclude and restrain students to the IDOE. The department selected at random 3 percent of schools that reported at least one incident of seclusion or restraint, and then it asked those schools to provide the reports associated with the incidents they reported to the state.

In the audit for the 2020-21 school year, nine of the 21 schools included failed to provide IDOE with records of seclusion and restraint incidents.

For example, Clarksville Elementary School — located just outside Louisville — reported 51 incidents of seclusion to the IDOE. But they could not provide the state with any records of those incidents.

Similarly, South Side Elementary School — part of the East Noble School Corporation located north of Fort Wayne — reported 40 incidents of restraint and 76 incidents of seclusion that year, but they could not provide the department with a single incident report.

Members of the state’s Commission on Seclusion and Restraint expressed concern about the lack of records to IDOE staff.

“We had heard from a couple of different schools across the three years that it was a product of one person kept the records, that person was no longer with the school and nobody could find or access those records,” said Stephen Balko, an IDOE employee and chair of the commission.

Kim Dodson, a commission member and CEO of the Arc of Indiana — an advocacy organization for people with disabilities — told WFYI she wasn’t satisfied with that explanation.

In the 2021-22 audit, officials at three unnamed schools told the state they were missing records. And employees at another school submitted incident reports that did not match the data that was reported to the department.

In the audit for the 2022-23 school year, five of the 27 schools audited by the IDOE failed to submit documents that aligned with what they reported to the state. The IDOE did not identify the five schools.

But the audit shows that Harrison Parkway Elementary School — part of the Hamilton Southeastern School Corporation — reported 244 seclusion incidents and 205 restraints to the IDOE for the 2022-23 school year. The school submitted only 255 incident reports to the state.

DATABASE: Students secluded and restrained in Indiana schools

Rachel Deaton, a commission member and director of training and legislation for the Autism Society of Indiana, expressed concern that children had been secluded and restrained hundreds of times at one elementary school.

“That’s an incredible number there,” Deaton said. “Why do they have such a huge number? And how is it compared to other schools? I would think that that would have to be looked into a little bit more.”

The audits did not address hundreds of schools that reported zero incidents of restraint and seclusion; only schools that reported at least one were considered for the review.

Commission member Nicole Hicks said she continues to doubt the veracity of this data.

“I still think that there is… a miss in whatever way of getting schools to understand the need to capture this data, and to report it correctly,” she said. “I do think that these numbers are not accurate. Still.”

More training for schools, more state review

Commission members agreed that local school administrators need additional training on what constitutes a seclusion or a restraint, and their obligation to report these incidents to the state. Balko said the department would look into training resources and whether the commission could create a model form that schools could use to document these incidents.

Balko and other members also agreed that they need to meet more often than the statutory requirement of once per year.

“I’m not saying we’re starting over. But it does seem like we’ve hit a low point in awareness of all this, the process,” Hicks said. “And it would be nice to just revamp that.”

Since WFYI published its investigation, several state lawmakers have called for solutions and increased accountability for schools.

In an interview after the commission meeting, Dodson said she’s pushing for legislation to clarify the state definition of seclusion and restraint and ban the use of these practices in any situation other than a real emergency.

“We also need to make sure that [schools] have the tools to be more proactive in helping students not get to the point that they’re doing something that the school feels they need to be secluded or restrained,” Dodson said.

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Township schools in Marion County: Tell us what you want to read about them

2023-07-26T11:00:00+00:00

Roughly 100, 000 students attend township school districts across Marion County, and we want to tell their stories.

What challenges do they face? What successes are they celebrating? How are schools providing for them?

This year, Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI are partnering to expand coverage of the township school districts in Marion County.

As small newsrooms, it can be challenging to cover all of the school districts and charter schools in Marion County. But we know there are important stories going uncovered, and we know you want to read those stories — you’ve told us.

So Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI will be co-publishing coverage of Marion County township school districts, as a way to increase the number and quality of stories we can tell about the students and educators in those districts. We plan to start by focusing on these townships: Lawrence, Perry, Pike, Warren, Washington, and Wayne.

That means we want to know your thoughts on our plans and your story ideas. Let us know what you think in the form below. And if you can’t see the form, click here.

MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief and covers higher education. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

Eric Weddle is editor of the WFYI education desk. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or text at 317-426-7386.

Indiana isn’t holding schools accountable for forcibly isolating and restraining students

2023-06-06T16:48:45+00:00

This story was originally published by WFYI. It is the first installment of “Uncounted,” a two-part series on the use and reporting of seclusion and restraint in Indiana schools. The second installment publishes Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

An 11-year-old boy was isolated inside a room inside his school for roughly 12 hours over the course of two days early last fall. The boy is on the autism spectrum. And it wasn’t the first time he was removed from his class and forced into seclusion.

The boy was secluded for roughly 15 hours over the course of about 13 school days between mid-September and early October of last year, according to records from his Indiana elementary school. His mother, Suzi Swinehart, said the total amount of time her son was isolated is likely closer to 26 hours.

While in seclusion, he completed a standardized test, fell asleep multiple times and, in one seclusion incident in March 2022, school staff wrote that they believe he may have had an absence seizure — a brief seizure that causes a lapse in awareness — according to school records. The boy is diagnosed with epilepsy, but Swinehart said school employees never notified her about the suspected seizure.

“It’s heartbreaking. I feel like I’m failing him,” Swinehart said while fighting back tears during a recent interview. Swinehart learned of the suspected seizure months later and only after getting school records. “You’re supposed to be able to trust that your school is a safe place to be.”

Swinehart’s son attends Warsaw Community Schools, a district in north central Indiana. WFYI is not publishing his name because he is a minor.

Swinehart said her son loves to learn — he’s especially interested in math and science — and had done well with a former teacher. But when that teacher left, his behavior deteriorated and school district officials transferred him to a special education program at Claypool Elementary School.

After repeated bouts of seclusion and physical restraint by Claypool staff, he now dreads going to school.

“He would cry and just say over and over again how much he hated school,” Swinehart said. “[The seclusions and restraints] had a horrible effect on him. He’s traumatized. He can’t sleep in his own bed. I don’t think he’ll ever like school again.”

Swinehart’s son isn’t the only student in Indiana traumatized through the experience of seclusion and restraint in schools.

Students across the state are secluded and restrained thousands of times each year, according to data provided by the Indiana Department of Education.

The state defines seclusion as the confinement of a student alone in a room or an area from which they’re physically prevented from leaving. Physical restraint is defined as physical contact between a school employee and student that involves the use of a manual hold to restrict freedom of movement of all or part of a student’s body.

Indiana lawmakers approved legislation a decade ago that was intended to regulate and curb the use of restraint and seclusion in schools.

The law states that these interventions should be used rarely, and only as a last resort in situations where the safety of students or others is threatened.

But a lack of oversight from the Indiana Department of Education (DOE) means it’s unclear whether the law has had its intended effect.

The DOE collects district-reported data on the number of incidents of seclusion and restraint in schools.

But a WFYI investigation — based on public records, court documents, internal school logs, audio recordings of state-level meetings, and parent interviews — found that some schools do not accurately report incidents of restraint and seclusion to the state.

The DOE is also required to conduct an annual audit of seclusion and restraint data reported to the agency by school districts, according to a rule that took effect in 2018.

But the department has no record of an audit ever being done for the previous four school years, according to a spokesperson for the agency, Christina Molinari.

“Personnel changes over the last year led to a shift in responsibilities over the commission, which has delayed an audit,” Molinari wrote in an email. In response to WFYI’s inquiries, Molinari wrote that the DOE is now conducting audits for the last two school years and will conduct an audit for the current school year.

State has requirements, but no enforcement

School districts, charter schools and accredited private schools are required by state law to adopt a restraint and seclusion plan.

Interviews with parents across the state also show that schools are not always following their own policies. Children have been injured during seclusion and restraint incidents, leading some to remove them from school out of a concern for their safety.

Every school’s restraint and seclusion plan must stipulate that:

Restraint and seclusion must only be used as a last resort and in situations where there is an imminent risk of injury to the student or others.
It should only be used for a short period of time, and be discontinued as soon as the risk of imminent injury has passed.
Every incident must be documented and reported to a student’s parent or guardian before the end of the school day or as soon as practical.

Some districts — including Warsaw Community Schools where Swinehart’s son is enrolled — have adopted plans that go beyond what’s required, by including a statement that seclusion and restraint shall never be used as a form of punishment or as a matter of convenience.

But Swinehart’s son was secluded for not following directions. And, on one occasion, he was secluded for roughly six hours because he threw a piece of paper on the floor, stabbed a water bottle with a pencil, tapped his pencil on a desk, and attempted to leave the seclusion room, according to school records.

A WFYI investigation has found that the DOE hasn’t held schools accountable for violating their restraint and seclusion plans.

Molinari wrote in an email that the DOE does not have the power to make schools follow these plans.

Special education advocates have long been concerned about the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. Nationally, students with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to these practices: 77% of students secluded and 80% of students restrained during the 2017-18 school were receiving special education services, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.

While these interventions are used tens of thousands of times per year in schools across the country, they carry the risk of injury and, in rare instances, death.

The federal government doesn’t track deaths or injuries related to seclusion and restraint, and there is no federal law governing their use in schools.

State commission tasked rule-making is ‘stagnant’

The Indiana Commission on Seclusion and Restraint, established by the 2013 law, was tasked with drafting rules and creating a model plan that details how schools should report and use these interventions.

But now, two commission members say the body has lost focus. Commission members debated their purpose and intended role during meetings between 2019 and last year.

The DOE did not respond to multiple requests for an interview with Stephen Balko, an employee at the department and chairman of the Commission on Seclusion and Restraint. Six current members of the commission declined to comment or did not respond to an interview request.

Kim Dodson, CEO of the Arc of Indiana — an advocacy organization for people with disabilities — has served on the commission since its inception, and she was one of the advocates who pushed legislators to pass the 2013 law. Dodson said she routinely received calls from parents who were upset about their children being restrained and secluded in school. Since the law took effect, she said the volume of calls has decreased.

“But that doesn’t necessarily make me feel good and make me believe that it’s not happening,” Dodson said. “I just think that parents don’t know that it’s happening. And I still think that schools are utilizing it far too much to take care of what they think are disruptive students.”

The commission drafted rules on how these interventions should be used — with an emphasis on decreasing the use of seclusion and restraint in schools — including the requirement that schools report the number of incidents of restraint and seclusion by both employees and school resource officers in their annual performance report.

Dodson said the commission “put forth some very strict guidelines.”

John Elcesser, a founding commission member, said “they took seclusion and restraint to the front burner for many schools.”

But Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, said the commission has struggled to find its objective in recent years.

“I do think that the commission served a really good purpose at the front end in creating templates for how to create a seclusion and restraint plan,” Elcesser said. “I think we probably have not been as good in terms of the data issue.”

Elcesser and Dodson point to staff and administration turnover, as well as a lack of ownership of the commission by the DOE, to explain why problems in data reporting and a lack of accountability for seclusion and restraint at the district-level continue to exist.

The commission has existed during the elected terms of two former Superintendents of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz and Jennifer McCormick, and now under Gov. Eric Holcomb’s appointed Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.

“The commission right now is just stagnant and not getting utilized the way that we want and should be getting utilized,” Dodson said.

WFYI requested comment from the DOE regarding Dodson’s characterization of the commission. They did not respond.

The commission has no enforcement power to ensure districts are accurately reporting incidents and following their restraint and seclusion plans.

Schools inaccurately report seclusion time

Just a few days into the August 2018 school year, Emme got a call from her son’s school nurse. She was told her kindergartner had fallen and hurt himself after being placed in a room alone.

WFYI is withholding Emme’s full name to protect her family’s privacy and because she fears retaliation from her son’s school district.

Emme’s son attended George L. Myers Elementary School — part of the Portage Township School system in northwestern Indiana. Her son is on the autism spectrum and has ADHD, among other conditions. Emme said he was placed in a classroom at the elementary school with children who had a variety of behavioral issues and needs.

Emme said her son has impaired language and memory skills, and will sometimes experience episodes of screaming outbursts.

“But he wasn’t a fighter, like that’s never been him,” Emme said.

Emme said she was told that school staff had removed her son from his classroom and put him in a separate room by himself because he was pacing. She said school staff didn’t clearly explain how her son injured himself while alone in a room.

“They said he paced and slammed his face against a wall,” she said. “It just made no sense.”

Emme took her son to a hospital because his nose wouldn’t stop bleeding. He was diagnosed with a nasal fracture, according to medical records reviewed by WFYI.

Due to concerns for his safety, Emme pulled him from the school and enrolled him in a virtual school.

Superintendent of Portage Township Schools Amanda Alaniz said in an email that she is unable to comment on “individual cases of student discipline.” She wrote that seclusion is not a common practice in PTS, and that staff have been advised to only use it in the “most extreme cases to preserve student and staff safety.”

Alaniz wrote that school employees are “instructed to follow a process of reporting to their building principals for input into our district’s student information system,” and that information is reported to the state.

Emme eventually enrolled her son in another school within the same district.

“I’m always dreading and terrified that something’s going to happen, that he’s going to end up put in there, like put into a seclusion room again,” she said. “It’s sad. It scares me.”

Schools with no incident reports cause worry

Portage Township Schools — a district that serves roughly 1,200 students with disabilities — reported zero incidents of seclusion to the DOE for the last five school years, including for the 2018-19 school year when Emme’s son broke his nose after being placed in a room by himself.

Emme believes that PTS failed to report her son’s seclusion to the DOE.

It’s a worry that’s shared by multiple members of the state commission. Since at least 2019, commission members have expressed concerns to DOE staff that schools are not accurately reporting seclusion and restraint incidents, according to recordings of commission meetings provided by the DOE.

“We really wanted the Department of Education to take a strong interest in this and to really be the people policing the data,” Dodson of the Arc of Indiana said in an interview. “Our intent was: let’s look at trends, do we see high incidents of seclusion or restraint in a certain school, and then can we get more training to that specific school.”

But Dodson and other commission members believe there is significant underreporting of seclusion and restraint by schools. She said the data collection is “clearly not working, and I think we need to revisit that. And perhaps that needs to be revisited legislatively.”

Roughly 69% of school corporations and charter schools reported zero incidents of seclusion and about 46% reported zero incidents of restraint last school year. The share of schools reporting zero incidents of seclusion and restraint have remained relatively steady since the 2017-18 school year.

During a recorded meeting of the Commission in March 2022, chairman Balko presented seclusion and restraint data for the school years 2017-18 through 2020-21.

“When you guys get that information, is there anything that you guys do once you look at the data,” Dodson asked.

“Not really,” responded a DOE staff member. “Because I don’t have the time to actually sift through and go through that.”

Nicole Hicks, a member of the commission and IN*SOURCE employee — an advocacy organization for families of children with disabilities that is affiliated with the state — also expressed concern about the data.

“I’m more worried about the zeros. Because I know there’s an uptick [in seclusion and restraint incidents]. And I know, I mean, I’m hearing, you know, on the ground, and there’s a lot of challenges going on,” Hicks said.

Hicks said she was concerned that schools might not understand what constitutes a seclusion or restraint and that’s why the numbers are so low.

The meeting concluded with no clear resolution.

Dodson said in an interview that it’s been difficult to keep the DOE focused on seclusion and restraint.

“And it’s concerning, specifically when we know that the data that is being reported is incorrect,” she said. “And schools are not following the law the way that they need to be following the law.”

Molinari, a spokesperson for the DOE, wrote in a statement that the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act gives the department the authority to investigate seclusion and restraint incidents, but only if a parent files a special education complaint that alleges that the student was denied a free, appropriate public education.

Parents and guardians can submit general complaints to the department by filling out a form titled “Reports Related to the Use of Seclusion & Restraint.”

But Molinari wrote that the DOE has no power to investigate general complaints from parents regarding seclusion and restraint, because they fall outside the department’s authority.

A seclusion room at an Indiana elementary school.

Data issues on seclusion are national problem

Underreporting and misreporting of seclusion and restraint data is not unique to Indiana. Federal government watchdogs, advocates for children with disabilities and researchers agree it’s a nationwide problem. But there are solutions.

Schools are required to report incidents of seclusion and restraint as part of the Civil Rights Data Collection, a program administered by the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education.

But an analysis of the 2015-16 CRDC seclusion and restraint data concluded that “it is impossible to accurately determine the frequency and prevalence of restraint and seclusion among K-12 public school students” due to “significant data quality problems,” according to a 2020 report from the Government Accountability Office.

That’s a problem, because when federal data is misreported, it’s not a reliable source of information to inform policy decisions or determine if use of these measures is discriminatory, excessive or both, according to the GAO report.

School districts were entering zero incidents of seclusion and restraint “when they didn’t actually have zero incidents,” said Jackie Nowicki, director of K-12 education at the GAO. Nationwide, 70% of school districts reported having zero incidents of seclusion and restraint during that academic year.

The GAO found that the CRDC did not have data quality controls to flag potentially erroneous zeros; the office had a rule that required verification of zeros, but it only applied to 30 of the nation’s roughly 17,000 school districts.

The GAO issued six recommendations to the OCR to fix the data reporting issues. Five of these recommendations have been implemented by the U.S. Department of Education, while one — identifying factors that cause underreporting and misreporting of the data — is still in process.

“[The Office for Civil Rights] really had no clear understanding of why so many school districts were under-reporting and misreporting. And so we felt, you know, that without understanding that more fully, that they really wouldn’t be able to help districts improve the accuracy and utility of their data,” Nowicki said.

As a federal watchdog agency that provides nonpartisan, fact-based information to Congress, the GAO does not have the power to make recommendations to state agencies. But many of the recommendations included in their report could be used to improve data collection at the state level as well.

The Indiana DOE did not respond to questions about whether the department will make changes to its seclusion and restraint data collection practices.

Parents forced to hold schools accountable

In Indiana, Tom Blessing said it’s up to parents to try to hold schools accountable for violations of restraint and seclusion policies, because the state won’t.

Blessing, a special education attorney for 13 years, said school districts routinely violate their own seclusion and restraint plans.

“It has been happening the whole time I’ve practiced special education law,” Blessing said. “And it continues to this day.”

Blessing is representing Swinehart in a lawsuit against Warsaw Community Schools. The suit alleges that school employees discriminated against her son on the basis of his disability, and that they used the seclusion room as a form of punishment or as a convenient way to address his disruptive behavior.

Warsaw Community Schools issued a statement to WFYI that said the district’s policies governing the use of restraint and seclusion are designed to protect students from harm, and the district is confident it “followed the proper laws and protocols in handling this disruption.” WSC addressed a specific incident in their statement, but provided few details.

“Due to the privacy interest of all students impacted, WCS cannot comment further on the pending litigation except to commit that it will continue to ensure all students will be provided with a safe and educational environment,” the statement reads.

Blessing said schools will often use euphemisms for seclusion rooms, like “the break room, the calming area, the time out room.”

School records indicate that Claypool staff — the elementary school where Swinehart’s son is enrolled — called it “the calming room.” But school records indicate that her son would sometimes hyperventilate, bang his head against the wall, hit himself, scream, and curl up in a fetal position while in seclusion.

Blessing said often the only way for parents to get these practices to stop is to sue.

He said it’s up to parents to demand documentation and maintain communication with teachers.

“These parents are forced to become sort of a private attorney general, to enforce the laws which the state of Indiana should be enforcing,” Blessing said.

Swinehart said she’s made a point to spread awareness about the issue. She shares her family’s story with parents of children with disabilities, and recommends they ask school employees about behavior interventions and about seclusion and restraint practices.

But Swinehart is frustrated the state hasn’t done more to hold schools accountable.

“That’s upsetting, extremely upsetting,” Swinehart said. “What good is this policy if no one’s following it, and if there is no accountability?”

Eric Weddle edited this story for broadcast and digital.

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.

Washington Township schools settle sexual harassment, abuse lawsuit as North Central gets interim principal

2023-03-23T00:26:15+00:00

The Washington Township school board approved a $245,000 settlement for a federal lawsuit involving alleged sexual harassment and predatory behavior by a staff member at North Central High School in a meeting on Wednesday. The district also announced former Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene White as the school’s interim principal.

White will lead the district’s only high school, which was also the subject of the lawsuit that families filed against the district last May. The district will continue its search for a permanent principal.

Principal Evans Branigan III had announced his upcoming retirement earlier this school year. But he was placed on a leave of absence in the past week following allegations involving verbal misconduct and a failure to implement district protocols regarding a student discipline matter, the district said this week in a message to families. The district did not provide more information on the matter, citing an ongoing investigation.

“We understand that during a process such as this, staff and families may feel in the dark, but please know that we are following proper procedures and protocols to protect the integrity of the investigative process,” the district said in the message sent to families on Monday. “Although perhaps frustrating, we must honor the investigative process and adhere to legal requirements.”

Branigan could not be reached for comment.

The administrative change follows a challenging couple of years for North Central.

In September 2021, one student was arrested after allegedly stabbing another with a knife in a fight that stemmed from tensions on Instagram, according to court documents.

Eight months later, four North Central students sued the district in federal court. The filing alleged that a “key feature” of how former theater director Nathan Shewell “ran his theater programs involved grooming his female students for sexual abuse.”

In a settlement approved Wednesday, the district will pay $245,000 to the four plaintiffs in individual payments ranging from $20,250 to $87,000. In exchange, the plaintiffs agree to drop all claims against the district. The plaintiffs also agree not to disclose the terms of the agreement and not to publicly disparage the district.

A district spokesperson said officials would not comment on the settlement agreement. The agreement states that the district continues to deny any liability toward the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit said the four theater students “left North Central broken” and described the alleged sexual harassment and psychological abuse they experienced.

“Shewell preyed on these young women, grooming them from age fourteen to become sexual partners,” the complaint stated.

The lawsuit claims Shewell would reenact students’ trauma through what he called an acting technique. Shewell, whose employment with the district was terminated in 2020, took two of the student plaintiffs into a closet to simulate a past sexual assault through this routine, the complaint alleges.

An attorney for Shewell, James Austin Anderson, declined to comment on the lawsuit or the settlement.

The lawsuit also alleges that Branigan and other school officials knew about Shewell’s alleged misconduct with female students and did “absolutely nothing” to prevent Shewell from continuing to abuse the female students.

When the parents of one anonymous student, named as Jane Doe 1 in the lawsuit, met with Branigan to discuss Shewell’s inappropriate relationship with female students, Branigan did not offer any resources or assurance that North Central would take steps to ensure the safety of students, the lawsuit claims.

Instead, the principal “told Jane Doe 1’s parents that the one thing he knew at North Central was to ‘leave the theater program alone,’” the complaint states.

Jeff Gibson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on the settlement.

In the letter to families sent earlier this week, the district said the search for a permanent principal began in December and will continue through April.

White will begin leading the school on Thursday to provide “optimal leadership support,” Superintendent Nikki Woodson said at the meeting.

White previously served as the superintendent of Washington Township schools and as the North Central High School principal.

The district said in its message to families that community members gave feedback on a survey for the new principal search and are participating in four rounds of interviews.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Perry Township eliminates school choice for elementary students

2022-12-13T02:39:00+00:00

The Perry Township school board voted on Monday to end school choice for elementary students effective next school year to help alleviate a severe bus driver shortage, despite significant opposition from parents.

The 6-0 vote will establish new elementary boundaries for each of the district’s 11 elementary schools, which serve either the east side of Southport or the west side of Perry.

The change means that elementary students will no longer get free transportation to any school in the area where they live. Instead, each student will be assigned to a school within new elementary boundaries redrawn to enable more efficient bus routes. The district reported having only 102 bus drivers for the 140 staff and substitute positions it had as of Dec. 5.

The district also will create attendance boundaries for two schools, Jeremiah Gray Elementary and Rosa Parks Elementary, which will no longer receive students from other neighborhoods.

Families can still choose to send their children to a school outside of their attendance boundary, but only if there is space and if they provide their own transportation.

Officials estimate the plan, one of four options presented to the board, would eliminate the need for 15 to 36 bus routes and would require roughly 2,300 students to change schools.

The Perry Township school board approved new boundaries for its elementary schools on Monday, ending the district’s choice program.

Board members acknowledged that the decision did not satisfy everyone.

“Nothing’s going to be perfect; we’re a massive, massive district and decisions are often difficult and complicated,” board member Hannah Dale said. “But I know how much we’ve all listened and will continue to listen.”

District officials hope to outline in January rules for the application process for student transfers. Superintendent Patrick Mapes said he hopes the district will process applications and notify students by the March spring break about school assignments for next school year.

“Then we’ll start doing the open houses at those schools to invite the students who currently aren’t there to come into those buildings,” he told reporters after the vote.

Students who attend a choice school or a school outside of their attendance boundary will be given priority to stay at their current school if there is space and families provide transportation, Mapes said.

Parents and students pushed back against the plan before the vote on Monday, arguing that the change would be unfair to students who love their school communities.

Leanor Formo, a third grader at Rosa Parks Elementary, described the challenge of leaving her friends at school when she was diagnosed with cancer before the pandemic.

“What you are doing makes me feel helpless again,” Leanor said. “I don’t want to be scared about starting over without my teacher.”

Parents also urged the district to find another solution to the driver shortage, arguing that the plan does not fix the problem and further disrupts children’s learning after a rough few years from the pandemic.

“This proposal is a loose Band-Aid that will not serve Perry Township’s transportation issues,” said McKenna Allen, whose daughter attends Rosa Parks. “Quite frankly, our children deserve better than a loose Band-Aid.”

Officials said the current choice program creates an inefficient transportation system that leaves some buses underutilized even as the district can’t find enough drivers for all its buses.

Transportation issues have plagued districts across the state and country as schools grapple with a bus driver shortage.

“We’ll be able to reduce the number of students that we’re getting home an hour late from school currently, and we’ll be able to really be more efficient with how we load our buses,” Mapes said. “We have some buses right now that only have 25 to 30 students on them, and we’ll be able to put a lot more students on the buses and be more efficient with our tax dollars.”

Special education students will still receive free transportation to school, as required by law, under the new attendance boundaries.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Perry Township parents oppose plans to ease bus driver shortage by ending school choice program

2022-12-06T19:33:53+00:00

Parents in Perry Township are pushing back against proposals to eliminate or restrict school choice for elementary school students as a solution for the district’s acute shortage of bus drivers.

The four proposed redistricting plans, which the school board will consider next week, would end guaranteed transportation for students who attend schools beyond their attendance boundaries by eliminating bus routes and reducing the number of required drivers. The number of routes that the different plans would cut ranges from 15 to 36.

But three of the four plans would require about 31% of its elementary school students to change schools because of a change in attendance boundaries. The plans would also affect the options and transportation offerings for more than 300 students who participate in the district’s elementary school choice program.

District officials say the goal is to alleviate an inefficient system that creates long wait times for students and increased work loads for bus drivers. But parents, including those who spoke at a public comment session at a Monday school board meeting, say that gutting the choice program would be unfair to families who choose schools that are the best fit for their child or their schedules.

Across the country, from Chicago to Colorado, schools have struggled to hire bus drivers and other staff, amid intense competition in the labor market. In May, Perry Township voters approved an operating referendum that included $1.5 million for district transportation costs. That funding helped increase hourly bus driver pay from $19 to $23.

But transportation problems have persisted this year. Out of 140 drivers or substitute drivers the district says it needs, it has just 102. And even with patchwork fixes, transportation for hundreds of students is delayed by more than an hour in some instances.

“We’re not getting our kids home in a timely manner,” Associate Superintendent Chris Sampson said in an interview before the Monday meeting. “We’re getting way too many kids home at 5:30, six o’clock at night because they’re waiting on a bus.”

The Perry Township school board will consider changing attendance boundaries to match the new map shown above.

But roughly a dozen parents and their children argued in a public comment session on Monday that it would be better for the district to improve recruitment efforts rather than force hundreds of students to attend a new school next year.

Heather Pease, whose child attends Jeremiah Gray Elementary through the school choice program, said that while she doesn’t blame Perry Township for the challenge in hiring drivers, the district should think carefully about forcing students to shoulder the burden of the “adult problem” of staffing.

“I don’t think it’s fair that I should change schools,” said Lyla Wells, a second grader at Jeremiah Gray Elementary. “I’ve only had one normal year at Jeremiah Gray. I want to have more experiences there until I leave fifth grade.”

Families face bigger school transportation burden

The changes could significantly alter the landscape of Perry Township, which is split into two main attendance areas: the east side of Southport and the west side of Perry.

Elementary students are zoned for a neighborhood school, but can choose to attend any of the schools within the east or west side in which they reside with guaranteed transportation. Two schools, Jeremiah Gray Elementary on the Southport side and Rosa Parks Elementary on the Perry side, operate as choice schools for each side and welcome students from each of their respective attendance areas.

But the setup leaves the district with an inefficient transportation system that leaves some buses underutilized, Sampson said.

The district has tried to adapt to its shortage in several ways. Office workers in the transportation department have pitched in and driven buses. Bus drivers take on extra students if a fellow driver does not show up. And students have waited at school after hours for their bus drivers to finish dropping off one group of students before heading back for a second group. But those stopgap measures have only gone so far.

The district is considering four proposals to address the issue.

The first plan would create new attendance boundaries for all elementary schools, end school choice, and require students to attend the school within their attendance boundary.

The second plan would also create new attendance boundaries, but would allow students to attend schools beyond their zoned attendance boundaries if space is available at those schools. In those cases, families would be required to provide their own transportation.

The third option would continue the district’s choice program and would not change attendance boundaries, leaving Jeremiah Gray and Rosa Parks as choice schools. But families attending those or any other schools outside of their assigned boundaries would also still need to provide their own transportation.

The fourth proposal would give students school choice, but within a smaller territory dictated by where students attend kindergarten.

Special education students would still be given transportation to their out-of-boundary programs under these proposals.

The district explored other solutions to the driver shortage, Sampson said, like hiring an outside entity to provide bus services like Indianapolis Public Schools does. But Sampson said those vendors don’t have enough drivers themselves and therefore aren’t taking on new clients.

A new state law passed earlier this year attempts to alleviate the driver shortage by allowing districts to use smaller vehicles such as vans to transport students, and letting them hire drivers without commercial driver’s licenses.

But Sampson said the laws regarding where to pick up children on the street still require drivers of smaller vehicles such as vans would need to pull into the driveways of individual houses, for example, to safely pick up students.

Still, parents urged the district to think of other solutions, noting the change would disrupt families’ schedules in other areas also affected by shortages.

“I understand there’s a bus driver shortage and choice is costly to the district, but there’s also a shortage of child care and affordable child care in our county and our state and in our country,” said Danielle Rhodes, whose children attend Rosa Parks Elementary.

The school board will consider adopting one of the four proposals on Dec. 12.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Interest in running for Indianapolis school board drops to new low

2022-11-04T19:53:45+00:00

This article was co-published by Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI as part of a collaboration ahead of the 2022 school board elections. Miss Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI’s IPS school board candidate forum? Read the recap here and watch the event here.

Vying for a seat on the Indianapolis Public Schools board of commissioners is usually a heated battle.

In 2012, 10 people raised more than $200,000 combined to win one of four open seats on the IPS board of commissioners — elected officials who have the power to vote on the district’s budget, set strategic goals, and oversee other priorities.

In 2018, eight other candidates collected more than $192,000 competing for three seats. And in 2020, nearly $600,000 was raised by 10 candidates seeking four open seats.

But this year, interest in leading IPS has dropped to the lowest level in at least the past decade — just four candidates have filed for three open seats. Only the race for District 3, which encompasses parts of midtown Indianapolis, is contested. The three incumbents are not seeking reelection.

Why are fewer people stepping up to govern the state’s largest school district? The answers people give range from polarizing politics to the daunting task of raising big campaign donations.

The waning interest comes right as the district embarks on its Rebuilding Stronger plan, a major overhaul to address declining enrollment and an impending fiscal cliff. The superintendent is proposing the closure of seven schools and the creation of standalone middle schools, among other things.

VOTER GUIDE: Meet the four candidates seeking three seats on IPS school board

IPS board members, including the three who chose not to seek reelection, are expected to vote on the plan in November.

“The district’s going through some huge changes right now, and it’s interesting to me that the people who are on the board now are going to vote on those changes and then go off,” said Jim Grim, Director of University and Community School Partnerships at IUPUI who lost a bid for school board in 2016. “So the people who come on are going to have to deal with those changes.”

Why are potential IPS school board candidates walking away?

But the decline also comes after years of school board races in which certain candidates received tens of thousands of dollars from political action committees. These PACs and other out-of-state donors have strong ties to the charter school movement, and support education policies that traditional public school advocates say are harming IPS.

That money has ultimately deterred people from running a race they won’t win, argued Jim Scheurich of the IPS Community Coalition, a nonprofit group consistently critical of the district’s partnerships with charter schools.

ELECTION FORUM: Candidates for IPS school board would vote no on Rebuilding Stronger

“To me, they basically ended local democracy,” Scheurich said of PACs associated with local nonprofits Stand for Children Indiana and RISE Indy. “The amount of money they have is so huge.”

Both organizations say their campaign support and community engagement efforts push education issues to the forefront of what’s at stake on the ballot.

Since 2012, large-scale campaign donations have also come from groups like the Indy Chamber’s Business Advocacy Committee and the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors PAC.

The PAC of the state’s largest teachers union has also boosted candidates with more cash than some opponents.

The race to raise big donations may certainly be deterring potential candidates from running, said Rebecca Jacobsen, co-author of the book “Outside Money in School Board Elections,” which studied the influence of campaign contributions in Indianapolis and four other cities.

“Some of the candidates that we spoke to when we were doing this research actually joked that it would have been cheaper, would have required less money, to run for state legislature,” said Jacobsen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University. “Because the elections were getting so focused on [the fact that] you really had to raise quite a bit of money in order to be a viable candidate.”

But campaign finance may not be the only reason for the low turnout.

School board officials in Indiana and across the country have faced increased scrutiny, anger, and even threats over a range of issues, from COVID-19 protocols to curriculum during the pandemic. And the highly charged atmosphere has made some question if they would remain on their board.

Even though IPS has largely escaped such problems, that overall political environment might still be depressing interest from possible candidates.

“The current climate and the rhetoric that we’ve seen, and the coverage that we’ve seen of school boards, I think is probably making many people pause when they think, ‘Well, A) Do I really want to do this?’ and then ‘B) Do I have the means to do this?’” Jacobsen said. “And the combination of those two might mean a lot more people are saying no.”

The growing cost of school board campaigns

Elizabeth Gore remembers running her first election for Indianapolis school board in 2008 with just a few hundred dollars.

But things started to change in 2012, the year money from PACs and outside donors began to flow to Indiana.

Stand for Children Indiana, a branch of the national K-12 parent advocacy nonprofit based in Oregon, spent an unknown amount from its national parent. Its status as a social welfare organization allowed the group to avoid disclosing detailed expenses on individual candidates.

But some of Stand’s spending was visible in the form of things like glossy mailers targeting voters. Stand now discloses its spending through a political action committee.

Voters cast their ballots at the Indianapolis City-County Building in the 2020 election. Advocacy groups such as RISE Indy say they have helped increase voter turnout by increasing community engagement.

In the coming years, Gore won and lost against candidates financed with direct and in-kind support from Stand and later RISE Indy. RISE, a nonprofit formed in 2019, describes itself as drawing attention to issues around student achievement and equity in local schools. Some of its board members are high-profile charter school advocates.

Gore pulled off a major upset in 2016 against one such candidate, Sam Odle, who raised $40,011 in comparison to her roughly $1,000.

But in 2020, multiple PACs and individual donors flexed their financial muscle and provided a combined $266,052 for Kenneth Allen, Gore’s opponent. Hoosiers for Great Public Schools, a Carmel-based committee that supports “educational opportunities for all students,” donated $80,000 of that amount to Allen.

The PAC is run by Bart Peterson, who is a RISE board member, president of the educational non-profit Christel House International, and a former Indianapolis mayor. In 2020, it was funded by two donors outside Indiana: Netflix CEO Reed Hastings contributed $700,000 and Texas philanthropist John Arnold gave $200,000.

During the election, Stand for Children Indiana and RISE Indy also contributed more than a combined $100,000 to Allen in direct cash and in-kind support, like telemarketing.

Yet Gore, who raised around $22,000, lost by just two percentage points.

“There are a lot of things that go on that you need money for,” Gore said of running a campaign. “And if people have more than you, it might make a difference.”

Within IPS circles, Gore’s story is used both to support and refute the argument that money can buy school board races.

And organizations like Stand and RISE aren’t the only entities that have shelled out big dollars in recent years. The Indiana Political Action Committee for Education, or I-PACE, the political arm of the Indiana State Teachers Association, has financed candidates to serve as formidable opponents to the reform movement.

State campaign finance filings show that in 2018, I-PACE gave a total of $68,400 for three races, including $28,500 to Taria Slack to unseat Dorene Rodriguez Hoops, who was backed by the Indy Chamber and raised a total of $40,724. Slack won.

Susan Collins also defeated a candidate with more money. I-PACE donated $15,000 to her campaign.

In 2020, I-PACE supported Gore with $18,200 and Brandon Randall with $11,000 in their failed races.

But is money deterring people from running at all?

“It takes a lot of time if you are going to run a campaign properly,” said Deborah Heath, a former member of I-PACE, which makes decisions on endorsements and contributions using recommendations of local association members like the Indianapolis Education Association. “And there’s the potential overhaul of the district. If that passes the board, the incoming people in January that are going to be part of the implementation. If you read through the district website — that is a really huge overhaul.”

So to Heath, a 24-year IPS teacher and IEA secretary, there are a multiple reasons, including cost.

“I don’t think any amount of money raised through Stand’s committee will prevent them from running,” said Justin Ohlemiller, executive director of Stand for Children Indiana.

Ohlemiller said he hasn’t seen such low candidate filings during his 10 years in this position. But he disputes the notion that specific factors, like more finances, contribute to someone’s ability to win an election.

“It’s hard to say what factors contribute to a candidate winning or losing,” Ohlemiller said. “In fact, there’s really no data that kind of show what those factors are.”

But over the past decade, 14 out of the 17 candidates who raised more money than their opponent ended up winning their race.

Still, these advocacy groups point to positives they’ve had on the political school board landscape — Ohlemiller believes the increase in parent advocates leading text and phone banks has helped increase the number of voters.

“What is a largely sort of down ballot, low-information race for school board has certainly, I think, garnered more attention” over the last several years, Ohlemiller said.

Jasmin Shaheed-Young, founder of RISE Indy, also credits her organization with helping improve voter turnout in the 2020 election.

Successful candidates have strong community ties and have “a history of being focused on issues around educational equity,” Shaheed-Young said.

She also noted that three of the candidates this year for each seat — Hope Hampton, Angelia Moore, and Nicole Carey — are Black women, notably higher than in previous school board races.

“That to me is the evidence of power shifting to community members,” she said. “So regardless of what’s being spent in elections, the fact that we have three Black women that have been steeped in community and prioritizing students is, is an incredible victory for IPS and our city.”

What more money means for IPS school board elections

Scheurich, however, feels differently about the state of the school board.

The leader of the IPS Community Coalition, a grassroots group of parents and other organizers, believes it’s not worth the effort to run.

Unless candidates have major financial backing from groups like Rise and Stand, Scheurich said, they are entering a losing battle: “To me, it makes no sense to run. You can’t run. You have no legitimate chance to win.”

His coalition has thrown support behind various candidates in the past, people who would more likely oppose or at least question the charter school growth.

This year, Scheruich said, the group tried and failed to recruit candidates.

“People are not dumb. They see the amount of money that’s being spent,” he said. “And even if they’re considering it, you’ve got to tell them, ‘Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent against you. They’ll have as much money as they need. They’ll have more than they need. And the best you’ll get is union support for maybe $20,000.’”

Money in school board elections has played both a positive and negative role, Jacobsen said.

More money brought increased attention to elections, enabling candidates to run more professionalized campaigns that potentially made them more informed of the issues.

But education reform money also shifted policy conversation towards nationalized issues — such as teacher unionization and charter schools — leaving little attention to localized issues uniquely important to the community, Jacobsen said.

“It does narrow, then, the agenda of what issues are being talked about,” she said. “And I think that for many people it becomes out of reach, when you are thinking you have to raise $80,000 to run for a school board when there often is no pay or very little pay.”

2022 is a quiet election year for IPS school board races

This year, at least, IPS school board races will likely be sleepy.

Stand for Children Indiana and RISE Indy endorsed the two unopposed candidates, at-large candidate Angelia Moore and District 5 candidate Nicole Carey.

Both groups also endorsed Hope Hampton for District 3 over Kristen Elizabeth Phair.

Whether that endorsement will come with funding — and if so, how much — is unclear. Pre-election campaign finance reports are due Oct. 21.

Hampton, the mother of IPS students, graduated from RISE Indy’s Circle City Leaders program, which has produced two other school board members elected in 2020, Will Pritchard and Kenneth Allen.

Ultimately, many education advocates said the disputes over politics and campaign strategies aren’t what matter most.

“Students that have been failed by the system really don’t care about what’s going on with IPS school board elections,” Shaheed-Young said. “But [what] they do care about is ensuring that they have folks that are on that board that are in urgency in ensuring that we make changes for a system that has been broken.”

Early voting at the City-County Building opens on Oct. 12. The November midterm election is Nov. 8.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Elizabeth Gabriel covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for WFYI. Contact Elizabeth at egabriel@wfyi.org

Cam Rodriguez is a data and graphics reporter on Chalkbeat’s data visuals team. Get in touch with Cam at crodriguez@chalkbeat.org.

Some Indiana schools may be failing to meet staffing rules for English learner students

2022-11-03T12:00:00+00:00

When Sara Holmes works with students, she takes them outside to observe the weather. Or she brings in objects from outside the classroom, like shells from the beach, to describe and discuss.

As an English language collaborative teacher at North Elementary in Noblesville, she’s responsible for helping around 20 English learner students develop their language skills — a role now required in every Indiana district.

But three years after new staffing guidelines were first announced, it’s not clear if there are enough teachers like Holmes. In fact, in the 2021-22 school year, one-third of districts and two-thirds of charter schools statewide reported not having any licensed English learner teachers.

It’s a critical deficit in a state that this summer reported an 8.5 percentage point drop in reading scores among third-graders who are learning English, while scores for most other groups rose or stayed flat. The population of English learners in the state has also grown dramatically in recent years, increasing by 52% between 2017 and 2022 to around 72,000 students.

Hampering schools is a larger staffing shortage in the state that makes it difficult to fill open teaching positions. Some districts also point to funding shortfalls keeping them from hiring enough teachers to meet the recommended ratios of English learner teachers to students.

And COVID-related upheaval threw a wrench in the works at schools that could find both teachers willing to get certified to teach English learners, and the funding to pay for their coursework.

But the Indiana Department of Education cautions that schools that don’t meet the requirements could be found out of compliance with federal law — and risk losing their federal funding. That could mirror the state’s struggle to comply with special education staffing requirements last year.

Most importantly, students who attend schools without enough teachers may get a worse education, with less instructional time and individualized attention from teachers who must travel between schools and teach to larger-than-recommended groups.

Federal rules for English learner staff

Under federal law, all schools have an obligation to adequately staff their English learner programs, which includes hiring trained teachers or training their existing staff to work with English learners.

The teachers are responsible for a student’s English language development, either directly, or through coordination with other teachers. They develop the weekly instruction that students are required to have and analyze how students progress on their goals.

Beyond their day-to-day responsibilities, the teachers serve their schools as experts on language acquisition, said Kathryn Brooks, a professor at the College of Education at Butler University.

“It’s useful not just for multilingual students but all students developing language skills,” she said.

But Indiana has struggled with this obligation. A 2019 memo from the Indiana Department of Education reported that half of Indiana districts had no “English as a New Language” teacher on staff during the 2018-19 school year, while more than 90% of districts had at least one English learner enrolled.

The memo rolled out new staffing rules requiring all districts to hire an English as a New Language Teacher of Record — an educator responsible for overseeing students’ English language development. Schools had until Sept. 1, 2022 to meet the requirement.

They could do so by hiring a licensed teacher, or a teacher to fill the role on an emergency permit. They could also identify a teacher with experience in English learner education to serve in the role under a state-issued rubric.

And districts with low populations of English learner students could share a teacher between them, if the teacher could still provide each student at least 30 minutes of English language development four to five days a week — a baseline requirement from the federal Office for Civil Rights.

In order to meet this requirement, the state education department recommends that teachers have no more than 30 students. That’s a suggestion some teachers would like to see codified into law.

There is no exception to the staffing rules for districts that don’t have any English learners enrolled, according to the state, because an English learner student may enroll in the future and schools must be prepared to teach them.

What state data shows now

A Chalkbeat analysis of state data from the 2021-22 school year found that the vast majority of English learner students at district schools in Indiana — 98% — had at least one licensed English learner teacher in their district. Two-thirds of all districts statewide report having at least one such teacher.

But school-level data indicates these teachers might be stretched thin. Half of all district schools report not having an English learner teacher, which could show that some teachers are traveling between schools to see all students.

In practice, teachers say this can cut into their teaching time, and require them to meet students in large groups that don’t allow for individualized instruction based on the student’s language level.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of Indiana’s charter schools reported not having an English learner teacher. Around 55% of English learners at charter schools are at schools that have at least one English learner teacher.

While both district and charter schools report having English learner teachers on emergency permits as well, all of those instances are at schools that already have a fully licensed English learner teacher.

The available data doesn’t tell the whole story. Some teachers may be shared by districts through interlocal agreements, expanding their reach.

And some schools and districts may be meeting the staffing requirements via the state rubric option — but those numbers are still being collected by the state and won’t be available until December.

Many of the state’s bilingual immersion schools meet the staffing requirements via the rubric option, according to the state department of education, recognizing their teachers’ years of experience.

A statement from the department said the number of educators holding an English as a New Language license has grown 38% from 2019 to 2021, with a total of 2,289 such educators in the state in 2021.

Numbers for 2022 will be released later this year.

COVID disrupts a district’s progress

When the state first announced new staffing guidelines, Portage schools took advantage of a state grant that allowed their staff to earn additional certification to teach English learners.

By January 2020, Linda Williams, the district’s director of grants and assessments, had identified 10 candidates to take Purdue University coursework, with the state education department paying the bill. One of the draws is that completing the program gets them halfway through a master’s degree, she said.

But COVID-related school closures in March meant that those teachers suddenly had more on their plates and less time for the additional classes. The pool of 10 eventually shrunk to three, Williams said.

In 2021, another four teachers in the district completed the program. But by this year, the state grant had expired, and Williams had to find the funding for nine more candidates to go through the Purdue program herself.

The cost is around $6,600 per teacher, funded through a combination of other state and federal grants, she said.

Still, the district’s efforts have brought it close to the state-recommended ratio of one teacher for every 30 students.

“But that’s only one piece of the puzzle,” Williams said. “The math works out. But kids are spread across different buildings. I’d like to have at least one [English language learner] licensed teacher at every building.”

Reinstating the state education department grant would help the district fund more teachers, Williams said. In a statement, the department said it’s evaluating whether to revive the grant.

Other districts like Fort Wayne told legislators earlier this month that chronic under-funding of English learner education has left them unable to meet recommended staffing ratios.

But Williams added that even with the juggling she’s had to do with grants, funding is less of a challenge for Portage than recruiting teachers.

Fewer teacher candidates mean hiring challenges

The rate of teacher retirements in Indiana has accelerated recently, while fewer candidates are entering teacher preparation programs. Among other things, that’s led to fewer teachers in high-need areas like special education and English learner education.

“I have school districts calling me to ask, do you have anybody available?” said Brooks, of Butler University. “But they’ve already found jobs in March and April.”

Brooks said Butler’s licensure program for teachers of English learners has added around 90 teachers to the workforce over the past five years. Candidates typically have teaching licenses and are looking to add on an English as a new language component.

Around 20% to 30% of candidates in the program have some prior experience with English learner students, or have served on emergency permits in schools and are seeking their full licensure, she said.

And most graduates go on to work as English learner teachers, Brooks said. But some are subject-area teachers seeking only to get better at teaching their multilingual students, she added, and don’t want the additional licensure for fear that they’ll be required to step in as teachers of record.

Ultimately, there’s a critical need not only for more English language learner teachers, but for a broader understanding of the needs of students who are learning English, Brooks said.

‘Everyone is a language learner’

Without English learner teachers on hand, schools may make curriculum decisions that aren’t backed by research, she said, and multilingual students might end up working with educators who are unprepared to teach them.

Even when schools use research-based practices — like Indiana’s push to implement the “science of reading” — studies have shown there are additional factors that affect English learners’ success, such as whether they learned to read in their first language, Brooks said.

Those students may also need extra time to become familiar with phonetic sounds that aren’t present in their first language, for example.

“A trained teacher will add or modify curriculum to target the needs of multilingual learners,” Brooks said.

Holmes, the Noblesville teacher, said one of the biggest changes she’s seen in her decade of teaching is in the emphasis on training all teachers on how to work with multilingual students. Part of her job includes leading professional development for her colleagues — and keeping up with changing research herself.

For example, although she once pulled her students out of their classrooms for small group intervention, she now follows the recommended method of teaching alongside a classroom teacher, she said.

“What we’re trying to get everyone’s mindset to switch to is that everyone is a language learner,” she said.

Holmes credited Noblesville schools with incorporating co-teaching, meeting staffing requirements, and embracing books with diverse characters that are meaningful to her students. But she said she worries for students and teachers at districts that haven’t done as much.

“I think the districts that have taken it seriously and have done it well have invested in hiring staff and making sure their staff is trained,” Holmes said. “Teachers want to know what to do. They want to know: How do we best reach these kids?”

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Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Referendums could fund more teachers and new buildings. Why school leaders worry voters will say no

2022-10-25T12:00:00+00:00

This article was co-published by Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI as part of a collaboration ahead of the 2022 school board elections.

Eight school districts across Indiana are asking voters to approve an increase to their property taxes or continue a referendum tax levy.

Most of the funding requests would go to paying teachers and other staff, according to the spending plans filed by each school corporation. Without approval for these new levies, suburban and rural districts alike say they will be forced to cut staff and likely see an increase in the number of students in a classroom.

“If the community votes no to supporting our schools, we will be forced to significantly reduce programing and services across our academics, the arts and athletics,” said Brown County Schools Superintendent Emily Tracy in a public message about the $15.1 million operating referendum on the November ballot for the district that serves 1,569 students. “We will be forced to freeze salaries and wages for our staff and cut positions across the entire district.”

School districts are also voicing concern that voters may misunderstand the public question on the ballot of whether to approve a property tax referendum. Last year, a law was enacted that requires the ballot question include the estimated average percentage of property tax increase paid to the school district if the levy is approved.

For the Metropolitan School District of Wabash County, the estimated average percentage increase is listed as 124.5% on the public question. School leaders worry voters will take that estimated amount for the much lower increase to their own property tax.

“The referendum question on the November 8th ballot is misleading!” reads material from Wabash County schools.

The district is seeking a $115 million capital referendum to fund a new high school that could serve up to 600 students, among other facility renovations. If approved, homeowners will see their property tax rate increase by 61.44% — that’s a rate of $0.83 raising to $1.34 per $100 of assessed value.

Westfield-Washington Schools described its $61 million referendum question in Hamilton County as “very misleading” because the tax rate of the current levy would be reduced by $0.03.

Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, agrees with the districts.

“We do believe the language is confusing and certainly misleading to taxpayers,” he said, noting that most voters would be paying far less in new taxes on an approved levy than the amount of the estimated average increase listed on the ballot question.

“We think there’s better language, more appropriate or suitable language that could be put on the ballot,” he said.

Spradlin said his association and others will push for a change to the law in the legislative session next year. He’d rather the question include a precise dollar amount of a proposed property-tax increase based on the median home value in the school district community.

Indiana’s property taxes are capped at assessed value rates based on the type of property: 1% for owner-occupied homes, 2% for other residential properties and farmland, and 3% for all other property. But if voters approve a local referendum, a property tax bill can exceed the cap and the extra taxes go to the local school district.

School referendums on November 2022 ballots

Here’s the local public question for school referendums on November ballots. The totals for operation levies are based on the net assessed valuation of taxable property in the district boundary earlier this year. That value can change.

Construction

MSD of Wabash County, Wabash County

Property tax rate: $0.8300 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for eight years

Project total: $115,000,000

For: Build a new 165,000-square-foot high school at a cost of more than $72 million for students in grades 9-12 to open for the 2027-28 academic year. Major renovations at Northfield Jr./Sr. High School and Southwood Jr./Sr. High School to become buildings for preschool to grade 8 students. Find out more at the district website here.

Operating

Brown County Schools, Brown County

Property tax rate: $0.1200 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: $15,140,096

For: An operating referendum approved in 2016 is coming to an end. This new levy would increase the current tax rate by $0.04 per $100 of assessed property value. The majority of the new funds will go to teacher and staff salaries. Without it, the district says it will be forced to cut $1.2 million from the annual budget, lay off some staff and freeze wages. Find out more at the district website here.

Delphi Community School Corporation, Carroll County

Property tax rate: $0.2032 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: $9,598,120

For: Funding daily educational operations, academic and support programs ($4 million), attracting and retaining teachers ($2.4 million), and managing class sizes ($1.6 million) and other expenses. Find out more at the state website here.

Medora Community School Corporation, Jackson County

Property tax rate: $0.50 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: $1,554,000

For: Transportation of students ($652,400), attracting and retaining of certified teachers and classified staff ($1 million), and other academic needs. Find out more at the state website here.

Monroe County Community School Corporation, Monroe County

Property tax rate: $0.1850 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: MCCSC did not respond with the annual amount that would be generated by the referendum by deadline.

For: Nearly all the funds will go toward teacher and staff pay. If approved, teachers will get salary increases of $4,500 and support staff wages will increase by $2.25 per hour. Find out more at the district website here.

MSD of Southwest Allen County, Allen County

Property tax rate: $0.15 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: $51,245,496

For: A renewal of a referendum approved first in 2009 and renewed in 2016. The levy would fund district staff, including dozens of current teachers, guidance counselors and a school resource officer ($33.1 million). It would also fund approximately 14 new classroom teachers ($9.1 million), two security personnel and seven guidance counselors/social workers ($6.1 million), among other academic needs. Find out more at the district website here.

Southern Wells Community Schools, Wells County

Property tax rate: $0.127 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: $4,241,584

For: A renewal of a referendum approved first in 2016. It would fund the current salaries of six teachers, two instructional assistants and a custodian, plus cover the expenses for career and technical education classes at the high school. Find out more at the district website here.

Westfield Washington Schools, Hamilton County

Property tax rate: $0.17 per $100 assessed value for eight years

Project total: $61,038,144.00

For: A renewal of a referendum approved first in 2016 but at a rate reduced by $0.03. It would fund retaining and attracting teachers and staff ($40 million); managing class sizes ($16 million), and funding academic and educationally related programs at current levels ($5 million). Find out more at the district website here.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly included that Fremont Community Schools would have a referendum on the November ballot. The district missed a deadline for a referendum question to appear on the 2022 ballot. The district intends for the referendum question to appear on the spring 2023 ballot. The article has been updated to reflect which districts do have a referendum in 2022, changing the total to eight districts.

Contact WFYI education editor Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.

Hope Hampton outraises Kristen Phair in Indianapolis Public Schools District 3 race

2022-10-24T12:00:00+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools board of commissioners candidate Hope Hampton has a significant lead in fundraising over her opponent Kristen Phair in the race to represent District 3.

Hampton, a small business owner who previously worked as a dean and school counselor, raised roughly $85,100 since Aug. 18, according to campaign finance reports due Oct. 21.

The majority of that funding, about $75,000, comes from political action committees for Stand for Children Indiana and RISE Indy — both organizations friendly to charter schools — and the Indy Chamber Business Advocacy Committee.

Hope Hampton is one of two candidates in the Indianapolis Public Schools board race for District 3.

RISE Indy and Stand for Children Indiana both endorsed Hampton earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Phair — a former deputy state public defender who volunteers at George Washington Carver Montessori School 87, which her children attend — raised about $12,600.

Pre-election campaign finance reports were due on Oct. 21 at noon. They are the last comprehensive look at the candidates’ political donations before the election.

The two parents are competing in the sole contested IPS board race this year. District 3, which encompasses much of midtown Indianapolis, includes schools such as the Sidener Academy for High Ability Students and Shortridge High School.

The area could undergo significant changes under the district’s proposed reorganization plan, known as Rebuilding Stronger — including the closure of Floro Torrence School 83.

Both Hampton and Phair have said they would vote no on the current Rebuilding Strong plan, which could be approved by the current board as soon as next month. But they hold different views on the district’s innovation schools, many of which are charter schools that have more autonomy than the traditional public schools in the district.

Phair said she would like to see a pause in the growth of innovation schools, many of which are charter schools. Hampton, however, has argued that many innovation schools are increasing the number of students who graduate and pursue college degrees.

PACs fund phone banking and ads

Most of the roughly $75,000 Hampton received from PACs were direct donations. Another roughly $33,300 came from in-kind contributions, including $21,500 for services such as digital ads and phone outreach from Stand for Children Indiana, $10,800 in consulting and campaign management from RISE Indy, and $1,000 for website and design services from the Indy Chamber.

Hampton’s other donors include Indianapolis City-County Council President Vop Osili, who gave $775 total in direct and in-kind donations, according to finance reports. Brandon Brown, CEO of the Mind Trust organization that has fostered charter schools throughout Indianapolis, also gave Hampton $500.

Most of Phair’s donations have come from immediate family. She also received roughly $2,900 from ActBlue, an online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates that collects individual contributions.

District 3 candidate Kristen Phair raised a fraction of what her opponent, Hope Hampton, was able to bring in during the months before the election.

Nicole Carey, an unopposed candidate running for District 5, raised about $9,300. She also reported receiving roughly $4,600 in in-kind consulting and management services from the RISE Indy PAC, and $1,000 in website design from the Indy Chamber committee. She also received another $1,500 direct contribution from the chamber’s PAC, while Brown also contributed $500 to her campaign.

At-large candidate Angelia Moore, who is also running unopposed, raised about $3,300, including $2,500 from the Indy Chamber PAC, and $1,050 in in-kind campaign consulting services from the RISE Indy PAC.

The election is on Nov. 8, and residents can vote at any of the city’s vote centers. Early voting at the City-County Building ends on Nov. 7 and at other early voting sites on Nov. 6.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

IPS could seek property-tax referendum for ‘Rebuilding Stronger’ overhaul plan

2022-10-12T15:24:58+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools may ask voters to approve a property tax increase if a plan to overhaul the district is approved next month.

District leaders have so far declined to discuss the cost of the significant proposal or how they will fund plans that include constructing two new elementary school buildings and improving 14 school facilities. That’s in addition to closing seven elementary schools, reopening two shuttered high school buildings and creating middle schools as part of a grade configuration change.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson hinted at a possible property-tax referendum in public comments and media interviews last month when discussing the plan, known as Rebuilding Stronger. At the time, Johnson told WFYI that paying for the capital improvements “may also require community approval.”

The district responded last week to questions asking to clarify if Johnson was referring to a voter approved property tax increase.

“That is possible, given the scope and desired timeline for completion of the proposed facilities projects,” the district said in a statement. “In the coming weeks, we will outline a more detailed budget analysis as we move closer to a final plan, using stakeholder feedback, to propose to the Board of School Commissioners in November.”

The plan calls for constructing a new Francis Parker School 56 and Joyce Kilmer School 69 by summer 2026. Each facility would be 98,000-square-feet and seat 650 students. There would also be improvements at 14 schools, from expansions and renovations in the buildings, to updated security and athletic fields.

The board is expected to review a final version of the plan later this month and vote on it during a special meeting Nov. 9.

The 2018 IPS referendum

Voters overwhelmingly approved two IPS property-tax increases in 2018: A $220 million operations referendum to help increase teacher pay passed with 72 percent of the vote, and a $52 million capital referendum to fund building security upgrades garnered nearly 76 percent of the vote.

But in the year before the vote, IPS leaders faced pushback for their original proposal to seek nearly $1 billion in increased property-tax funding. The district then delayed taking the questions to the ballot and reduced the amount. Eventually in a deal with the Indy Chamber, the district settled on the lower tax increase that was supported by business and community groups.

Indiana’s property taxes are capped at rates based on the type of property, such as 1 percent of the assessed value for homes. But if voters approve a local referendum, a property tax bill can exceed the cap.

A referendum in 2023?

The May primary is the next opportunity the district could add a public question on a ballot, a process that requires approval by the school board. It remains to be seen how any request for additional property-tax increase would be received by the community.

The four candidates running for three open seats on the IPS school board are all against the current version of the overhaul proposal. The winning three candidates would join the board in January.

Stand for Children Indiana, a branch of the national K-12 parent advocacy nonprofit based in Oregon, financially supported the passage of the IPS’s 2018 referendum. Justin Ohlemiller, the local executive director, said parents with the group canvassed voters extensively to help win support for both ballot questions.

Ohlemiller said the details in the final version of Rebuilding Stronger and how it is perceived by families involved with Stand will determine “how we approach any future referendum.”

“If and when there is consideration for another referendum, I think a few key questions would need to be addressed – including how the new funding would support strategies to specifically close the opportunity gap between White students and Black and Brown students,” Ohlemiller said. “What’s in the IPS vision that is backed by evidence to indicate it will move the academic needle for historically underserved students?”

Ohlemiller, in a recent online post, criticized the district for proposing an expansion of the Center For Inquiry academic program because of the racial achievement gap for Black and Latino students who attend the CFI schools. Ohlemiller believes replicating this school model goes against the district’s own goal to increases academic achievement of Black and Brown students.

The final two public meetings to discuss the Rebuilding Stronger plan are 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at Arsenal Tech High School and a virtual meeting 12 p.m. Oct. 19. For more details on how to comment on the plan, go to myips.org/rebuilding-stronger.

Contact WFYI education editor Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.

IPS school board forum: RSVP to hear from candidates

2022-09-30T18:02:35+00:00

Four candidates are vying for three open seats on the Indianapolis Public Schools board of school commissioners — and the winners will oversee huge changes for the state’s largest district.

Get to know the candidates and their stances on important education issues at Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI’s school board candidate forum on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Indianapolis Public Library, Central Branch.

RSVP to save your seat.

Reporters from Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI will interview the candidates, and community members can submit questions ahead of time for the Q&A portion of the evening.

Want to learn more about the candidates ahead of time? Check out our in-depth voter guide.

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat journalists with our readers as the community engagement manager and previously reported at Chalkbeat Tennessee. Connect with Caroline at cbauman@chalkbeat.org.

Four candidates seek three seats for Pike Township school board

2022-09-29T10:30:00+00:00

This article was co-published by Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI as part of a collaboration ahead of the 2022 school board elections. Join Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI to hear from candidates for IPS school board at a forum at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5 at the Indianapolis Public Library, Central Branch. RSVP and submit questions here.

Four candidates are seeking election to the school board for the Metropolitan School District of Pike Township, which educates roughly 11,000 students in the northwest part of Marion County.

The candidates, who are vying for three spots on the seven-member board, could take over at a critical time for Pike Township, which had a rocky 2021-22 school year that featured protests from bus drivers and teachers. Schools were shuttered at least three times as bus drivers protested low pay.

The district, which consists mostly of students of color, parted ways with former superintendent Flora Reichanadter last January. Larry Young, a Pike High School graduate, is in his first year leading the district.

Now, the board must focus on improving not only last year’s low staff morale, but also declining academic results.

Pike was the only school district in Marion County where student proficiency declined rather than improved in English and math from 2021 to 2022 on the ILearn test, as districts focused on the pandemic’s ongoing challenges.

This election

Pike Township has an at-large school board, meaning all board members represent the district in its entirety. The three candidates with the most votes earn a spot on the board, and they will lead the district through 2026.

These members will be key in overseeing the performance of the district’s new superintendent and a new teacher contract; the previous contract expired in June.

Who votes and how to vote

Voters throughout Pike Township are eligible to cast their ballot for three candidates. The three winning candidates are those who garner the most votes.

Voter registration ends on Oct. 11. Marion County residents can register to vote at indianavoters.in.gov.

Early voting begins on Oct. 12 at the Indianapolis City-County Building at 200 E. Market St. Additional early voting sites, including one in Pike Township at the Indianapolis Public Library’s Pike Library Branch, open on Oct. 29 and can be found online at https://vote.indy.gov/early-voting/.

On Election Day on Nov. 8, Marion County residents can vote at any of the county’s voting centers, which can be found at https://vote.indy.gov/.

Meet the candidates

Four candidates, including incumbents Alonzo Anderson and Terry Webster, are running for these three board seats. Incumbent Regina Randolph is not seeking re-election.

Alonzo Anderson is one of two incumbents seeking reelection to the Pike Township school board.

Alonzo Anderson, at-large

Alonzo Anderson, a firefighter for Monroe Township and former banker, is seeking his second term on the board. Anderson’s youngest daughter is part of the reason he first ran for school board in 2018: She experienced intense bullying in a Pike Township elementary school, he said, and now goes to Washington Township schools.

But he said he is still running for the school board in Pike to ensure a better experience for all Pike students, who he calls the community’s greatest resource.

His top three priorities are stabilizing the district’s finances, caring for its teachers, and improving the district’s climate and culture.

Transparency between the superintendent and the school board is key to preventing a repeat of the employee protests from last year, he said.

Guy Lowry works in the antiques and collectibles business.

Guy Lowry, at-large

Lowry said he is employed by Lowry and Co., an antiques and collectibles business that has store space in the Exit 76 Antique Mall south of Indianapolis.

His three campaign proposals include creating an honor teachers incentive program to expand the honors program within the district, creating a leadership and mentoring program for high school juniors and eighth graders, and creating a Pike Township aquatics program.

You can view Lowry’s campaign video here. Voters can email him at gogoguy22@yahoo.com.

Wayne Moore is the senior pastor of Olivet Missionary Baptist Church.

Wayne Moore, at-large

Wayne Moore, the senior pastor of Olivet Missionary Baptist Church in the township, has three grandchildren in the district. A roughly 30-year resident of Pike Township, his children graduated from Pike schools.

His top priorities include rebuilding the district’s relationship with the community to ensure the district produces the type of students “that we once knew.”

Issues with drugs, guns, fights, and disrespect toward school staff are more flagrant than just a few years ago, he said.

Webster also wants to make sure families get a diploma, not a certificate, “which means we have to work hard to keep students in classrooms,” he said.

Terry Webster is the school board’s president and a pastor at Nu Corinthian Baptist Church.

Terry Webster, at-large

Webster, the board’s current president and a local pastor, is seeking another term after winning his election in 2018. He leads Nu Corinthian Baptist Church and has two grandchildren in the district.

If reelected, his top priorities would be school safety, staffing the district with excellent educators, and ensuring the district is a thriving community that others see as a model.

Webster led the board during the past tumultuous year when it reached a separation agreement with Reichanadter and hired Young.

Getting students the mentoring and tutoring they need going forward is one potential solution for the decline in ILearn scores, Webster said.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

Correction, Oct. 3, 2022: Former Superintendent Flora Reichanadter and the school district reached a separation agreement earlier this year. A previous version of this story misstated the nature of her departure.

Find out what happens to your school under the IPS Rebuilding Stronger plan

2022-09-14T01:48:50+00:00

Seven schools will close or merge and 39 others will change the grades they serve in an extensive shake-up of Indianapolis Public Schools unveiled to much anticipation during the superintendent’s annual State of the District address on Tuesday night.

The plan, which still must be approved by the school board sometime in late fall, overhauls a district struggling to compete for students with its charter schools and neighboring township districts. The initiative changes the grade configuration of the vast majority of district-run schools. It does not affect most innovation schools within IPS, largely run by charter operators, which could opt to change their grades levels. The proposal also doesn’t directly affect independent charter schools.

The district’s Rebuilding Stronger initiative seeks to increase high-quality programs districtwide, replicating choice programs that currently serve mostly white students.

“Twenty miles from here, there are communities that act on the knowledge that all their kids deserve unlimited futures — where all the schools have offerings rich enough to stir a child’s imagination,” Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said at her annual State of the District speech on Tuesday night. “It’s time for us to not just talk about it, but act like our kids, here in Indianapolis Public Schools, have infinite possibilities too. Because they do.”

Johnson proposes reconfiguring K-6, K-8, and 7-8 schools into K-5 and 6-8 buildings. Another seven schools will close, three of which will merge with existing schools.

In addition, some other previously closed buildings, including Broad Ripple High School, will reopen to students once more.

“This is not a recommendation I make lightly. Every one of our schools is a neighborhood institution, with traditions and memories attached,” Johnson said. “I know this will cause disruption, and as your superintendent, I own that. None of this is easy. But it’s what it takes to align resources and values.”

By that, Johnson means that spending must better match expected revenue. While district coffers have been flush with federal pandemic relief funds for two years, those resources will expire and likely not be renewed. The district has estimated that it faces a structural deficit that could grow to $25 million annually by 2027.

The majority of district changes will occur in the 2024-25 school year.

The district estimates 328 staff members will be impacted by the change, meaning their roles will be changed through a school merger, closure or grade reconfiguration. The proposal does not recommend reducing staffing.

Here are the seven biggest changes outlined in Rebuilding Stronger, and how your school is affected:

Grade reconfiguration

Nearly every district-run school will reconfigure its grades in the 2024-25 school year.

Sixteen K-6 schools and 17 K-8 schools will convert to K-5s. The district’s four 7-8 middle schools will expand to serve grades 6-8. Two K-8 schools — William Penn Elementary and the Edison School of the Arts — will change from K-8 to 6-8.

The district will create feeder schools for those choice schools that are losing grades, such as Edison School of the Arts or Sidener Gifted Academy.

The reconfiguration is meant to address declining enrollment at many of the district’s K-8 and 7-8 schools. The drop in numbers has left some neighborhood schools with tight budgets, stretched to run an entire building while also serving all grades. That takes money away from programs.

“There are some of our schools in our neighborhood K-8 schools where there is no foreign language. Students do not have opportunities to take Algebra I, or they’re not even able to offer music or art,” Chief Academic Officer Warren Morgan told reporters at a briefing before the speech. “And so that’s a problem. We’re setting up inequities currently.”

Officials hope the change will allow all elementary and middle school students to have the same academic experience.

Every elementary and middle school student will be able to choose a school with one of several specialized programs: an inquiry-based program such as Montessori or Center for Inquiry, visual and performing arts, dual language, STEM, or “high ability” schools for academically gifted students.

School closures

Seven schools will close their buildings after the current school year. Three of those schools will merge with other schools.

“We have to make some really intentional decisions about how we maximize our resources to invest in that student experience,” Johnson told reporters at a briefing. “And how we think about facilities that are not in great shape.”

Under the proposal, Francis Bellamy PreK Center and the Step Ahead Program, George Buck School 94, Raymond Brandes School 65, and Floro Torrence School 83 would close at the end of this school year.

The schools face a variety of challenges, including declining enrollment and poor facility conditions.

Center for Inquiry at School 2, housed in a 1958 building near downtown, will merge with Washington Irving Elementary to create a K-5 Center for Inquiry school.

Paul Miller School 114 will merge with Frederick Douglass School 19, currently an innovation school known as the Super School.

Paul Miller School 114, which had a poor building condition rating and was operating at just 34% capacity last year, is one of seven schools that will close.

Francis Parker Montessori School 56 will merge with James Russell Lowell Elementary to offer the Montessori program there.

Johnson said the district wants to make sure that the abandoned buildings remain assets in the community. She said she will continue to lobby the state legislature for flexibility in how it may use its empty buildings.

State law requires that districts offer their unused school buildings to charter schools at a purchase or leasing price of $1. IPS has pushed back against the law.

“We know that we are inserting disruption into the lives of families and asking them to make different choices that they have not asked to make,” Johnson told reporters. “And we know that it’s important that school buildings don’t sit empty and as a drag on a community but should be places of vibrancy.”

New schools

The plan also calls for reopening parts of three previously closed schools.

Broad Ripple Middle School will operate in the old Broad Ripple High School that at one point served grades 6-12. Howe Middle School, part of the old Howe Community High School, will also reopen.

Joyce Kilmer School 69, a K-6 school that was run by charter operator Kindezi Academy before closing this school year, will also reopen in a new building serving grades K-5.

Sidener Gifted Academy, which is shifting from grades 2-8 to grades 1-5, will operate in a new building at the site of School 56 in the 2026-27 school year.

Program expansion

Grade reconfiguration will allow the district to double the number of seats in specialized high-demand, high-performing programs, such as International Baccalaureate, Montessori, Butler Lab, and Center for Inquiry.

“We know that for many of our programs, there are schools (where) we have more applicants than available seats. Sometimes we have four or six times the number of applicants (than) open seats in the Enroll Indy lottery,” Chief Portfolio Officer Jamie VanDeWalle told reporters in the briefing. “We have the opportunity to expand access to our high-demand programs geographically.”

The increase in seats stems in part from reconfiguring K-8 schools to K-5, allowing choice schools to accommodate more elementary students.

As a result, the district proposes to designate some K-5 programs as feeder schools to specialized middle schools.

James Russell Lowell School 51, which is merging with Francis Parker Montessori School 56, will offer Montessori programming. Eleanor Skillen 34 will also become a Montessori school in 2024-25.

Francis Parker Montessori School 56 will close and merge with James Russell Lowell School 51 under the proposed Rebuilding Stronger plan. The building had a poor building condition score and operated at 59% capacity last school year.

Eliza Blaker School 55, a Butler Lab school, will move to a 27,200 square-foot building, in 2026-27.

STEM offerings will also increase: Cold Spring Middle School students would continue at William Penn, which would become a STEM school along with Garfield Elementary School 31 and Robert Frost School 106. Arlington Middle School will also feature a STEM academy.

Harshman Middle School, currently a STEM and world language school, would also open a dual language academy and a high ability program within its building. The high-ability school would serve as a feeder school for elementary students coming from Sidener, while students at Global Prep moving up to middle school could continue at Harshman.

James Whitcomb Riley Elementary would become Riley School of the Arts, serving as a feeder school for Edison School of the Arts.

And four middle schools — Northwest, Longfellow, Howe and Broad Ripple — would all offer International Baccalaureate programming.

Three other schools would become Center for Inquiry schools, which are popular choice schools that offer the International Baccalaureate program: Carle Wilde School 79, George Julian School 57, and Washington Irving School 14, which will merge with the existing Center for Inquiry at School 2.

Special education programming will exist in every zone, and prekindergarten seats from the closing Francis Bellamy PreK Center will be redistributed across the district.

Enrollment Zones

IPS will move away from its disjointed system of multiple overlapping enrollment zones for its various choice schools.

Instead, it will offer four larger enrollment zones across the district.

IPS proposes creating four larger enrollment zones throughout the district to increase choice offerings for students, rather than the disjointed set of enrollment zones it currently implements.

The change means that a student who moves within the same enrollment zone can still stay enrolled at the same school.

The move is meant to alleviate the high levels of transiency among the district’s neighborhood schools and achieve the stability seen at its choice schools — 96% of the students who attend a choice school in any given year are enrolled by the September count date, indicating a stable student population in which just 4% of students change schools during the year.

By contrast, 70% of students in neighborhood schools are enrolled by count day, leaving a turnover rate of 30% during the school year, according to the district.

Text “SCHOOLS” to 317-932-3900 for monthly updates from Chalkbeat on Indianapolis school board meetings.

“That is both more difficult for staff to deal with all of that change, and tough for the students because we know changing schools has a really detrimental impact on academic outcomes,” Patrick Herrel, director of enrollment and options, told the media at the briefing.

District officials drafted the zones based on more than three years of mobility data, a change that the district estimates will reduce student mobility by up to 76%.

Staffing impact and bonuses

IPS will offer $10,000 retention bonuses for staff members affected by the changes, $12,000 for principals impacted by school consolidation and $20,000 for principals undergoing a school closure. Those retention bonuses must receive approval from the state.

The district will also offer an $8,000 signing bonus for highly specialized or high-need roles such as science, math, and special education teachers.

Facilities upgrade

Sixteen schools will be getting facility upgrades or new buildings.

Some of these upgrades will accommodate new specialized programs opening in the school — Riley Elementary, for example, will undergo changes to prepare for opening an arts program.

Other upgrades will bring additions to schools to accommodate more students.

Two schools will get new buildings: the formerly closed School 69 and the new School 56, which will house the K-5 students at Sidener.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

This story has been updated to included Raymond Brandes School 65 as a school that will close.

What to know before IPS unveils Rebuilding Stronger plan

2022-09-12T20:06:12+00:00

It’s a big week for Indianapolis Public Schools.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson will deliver her annual State of the District speech Tuesday, unveiling the district’s long-awaited Rebuilding Stronger plan.

We’ll see the district’s answers to its most pressing problems: declining enrollment, competition with charter schools, and a lack of high-quality choice programs for students of color.

And at its most basic level, the plan will aim to stabilize declining enrollment by closing or consolidating schools while also expanding school choice. Enrollment zones could give school choice options to more students of color. Breaking up K-8 schools and creating standalone buildings might make better use of the district’s underutilized buildings.

You can watch the speech at 7 p.m. Tuesday at myips.org.

It could very well dictate the future of the entire district. To prepare, sign up for texting updates from Chalkbeat Indiana by texting “schools” to 317-932-3900. Also, sign up for our newsletter here.

And catch up by reading our previous coverage on what the plan could mean for students and families:

Indianapolis embarks on another middle school overhaul. Will this one work?: IPS has changed its middle school structure twice under the previous two superintendents. Is the third time a charm?
Parents criticize lack of information about IPS’ school consolidation plan: They asked for more details and worried the plan will bring more charter schools into the district.
As IPS considers closing schools, see what score your school building gets: Which school buildings close could depend on a facilities report showing each school’s usage and condition. Here’s the data.
In new school year, some Indianapolis charter schools grow: In turn, neighborhood, district-run schools are shrinking, and enrollment is a key component of Rebuilding Stronger.
Shuffling grades, closing school buildings: IPS proposes sweeping changes: District leaders outlined five potential solutions to the district’s financial challenges as it faces declining enrollment at neighborhood schools and unequal access to high-demand innovation programs.
Small IPS schools offer fewer extracurriculars. Is closing them the answer? The uneven distribution of extracurricular activities is especially acute for Black and Indigenous students, who have less access in middle school.
Enrollment losses in cities prompt talk of school closures: IPS isn’t the only district considering closing schools in response to declining enrollment and rising costs. School leaders across the country are grappling with this decision.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Marion County schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.

MJ Slaby is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.

IPS is expanding virtual tutoring. Will it help students catch up?

2022-07-05T17:35:30+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools wants to add virtual tutoring blocks to the school day at low-performing schools as part of a plan to help students catch up on reading and math skills.

Virtual tutoring is the latest addition to a suite of tutoring efforts the district is launching to address academic declines after COVID. Tutoring is among the best available tools to help students catch up, research shows, but virtual models are still largely untested despite their growing popularity among school districts.

At IPS, observers have questioned the effectiveness of the virtual block tutoring provided by an outside contractor — which was tested in just three schools over a five-week period in April and May — and whether it’s a better model than tutoring provided by IPS staff members or university partners.

“It’s hard to trust anything in just a really short time period,” said IPS Commissioner Diane Arnold.

This spring, IPS tested virtual tutoring in 12 schools. The two-part pilot included during-school tutoring blocks, which are expanding to more low-performing schools, and opt-in after-school tutoring that will be available to all IPS students this fall.

Students who participated in the two pilots improved their math scores by 12% to 26% and English/language arts scores by 4% to 9%, district leaders said during a Thursday commission meeting.

The programs’ efficacy was measured by an online assessment on the first and final days of the pilot, but the results were impacted by spotty attendance. If a student didn’t attend both the first and last days of the session, their scores could not be measured.

As a result, though the programs sought to serve 830 students in grades K-11, the results presented to the IPS Board of Commissioners included only around 148 students in English/language arts and 38 students in math. The district didn’t specify how many students attended tutoring but didn’t take the exams.

The district intends to expand the pilots this fall after a survey indicated that principals were on board. The during-school tutoring will focus on K-2 literacy in schools with low NWEA metrics, but could expand to other grade levels, said Deputy Chief of Staff Sarah Chin.

Chin said one benefit of working with an outside contractor was that they could be required to collect data on their programs — something the district is considering requiring of other organizations that provide tutoring at IPS, like local universities.

Officials did not answer how much in ESSER dollars has been allocated to the Tutored by Teachers program, saying only that IPS has allocated “sufficient funding for all students in IPS direct-managed schools to participate in free, online tutoring after school, and for tutoring to occur during the school day for all IPS students attending emerging schools.”

Anecdotes from the schools that participated in the early pilots suggest there may be issues to address first, particularly in the during-school tutoring blocks.

An IPS teacher who asked to remain unnamed due to fears of retaliation said the materials for the during-school block tutoring didn’t align with district standards, and at times weren’t challenging enough for the students who participated.

The teacher said that attributing students’ gains only to the brief pilot program discounted the instruction they received from their teachers. She said she’d prefer that the district invest in tutoring provided by its own staff — a model that other IPS schools launched this spring. The district has not presented data from this type of tutoring.

Research shows that students leap forward academically when they are matched with an in-person tutor one-on-one or in small groups. IPS and other districts nationally hope to emulate those results through virtual tutoring. The research behind this approach is less robust, though some recent studies have shown that virtual tutoring can have a powerful effect.

Furthermore, the teacher said daytime tutoring sessions took place during the time that teachers were supposed to be doing interventions with small groups of students, some of which were legally required for students who are English learners or who receive special education services.

Chin said the district is working to resolve this issue as the program expands. Officials plan to use the virtual tutoring program to provide students the interventions — known as Tier II or Tier III interventions — using IPS-vetted material.

They’re also hired a new director of tutoring to help schools schedule the sessions, according to Chin.

“Something we’ve learned from our schools is that when we look at our data, the number of students who need Tier II/ III interventions may exceed the capacity of the number of interventionists we have on staff,” Chin said.

The district said it would also take a different approach to grouping students for tutoring, after concerns that students weren’t grouped according to their NWEA test scores and thus didn’t receive rigorous enough instruction.

District officials said they plan to switch to using the NWEA scores rather than separate screening tests to group students. They will also wait to launch the programs until after the fall count day, to ensure students are settled in their schools.

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Eight Indiana districts seek referendums in May election with new ballot language

2022-04-19T21:30:44+00:00

Eight Indiana school districts will ask voters to approve property tax measures next month.

That includes two Indianapolis districts: Perry Township, which is seeking to renew a $154 million referendum, and Franklin Township, which is requesting $95 million to renovate its high school.

This will be the second election that school districts put referendums on the ballot using new state-mandated language that emphasizes the percentage by which school property taxes will increase — a change that education officials have criticized as misleading.

Despite this, some hope that the state’s low unemployment rate and growing home values will convince voters to open their pocketbooks.

“Now’s the time to do this,” said Fred McWhorter, chief operating officer at Franklin Township schools.

Early voting is underway ahead of the May 3 elections. All the referendums need a simple majority to pass.

Referendums after COVID

The number of referendums on the ballot has rebounded slightly after the COVID economic downturn, during which schools and voters were reluctant to increase taxes.

Indiana saw more referendums than ever in the spring of 2020, which were written before pandemic-related upheaval, said Larry DeBoer, a Purdue University professor emeritus who studies Indiana tax issues. In three elections during the pandemic, just seven referendums were proposed, and only four passed, he said.

Now, schools face an uncertain economy, DeBoer said, and ballot language that might cause sticker shock.

The tax rate change that school districts must post could lead voters to believe that their total tax bill would increase by the stated amount, DeBoer said, when it actually only the affects the portion of the bill that goes to schools.

Voters would have to know how much of their total tax bill goes to schools, then calculate the percentage change — perhaps in the voting booth, DeBoer said.

In Franklin Township, the ballot language highlights a 24.4% increase in property taxes earmarked for schools. But the average homeowner’s overall tax bill would increase just 10%, according to the district’s referendum calculator.

Referendum language is typically most important to voters who haven’t researched the issue beforehand, he said. Some voters may be put off by the length of the state-mandated language and choose to skip the question entirely.

“This is an experiment,” DeBoer said. “I’m all for informed voters. But what’s the best way to do that?”

Generally, May referendums pass at a higher rate than do November referendums, he said, and districts that previously have tried to pass a tax hike have better luck than those trying for the first time, DeBoer said.

In Indiana, unlike in some neighboring states, operational referendums have passed at a higher rate than have construction referendums, he said. The former can finance a district’s operating costs for eight years, while the latter are earmarked for a specific building project.

Marion County referendums on the ballot

Perry Township is seeking to renew its 2015 operating referendum to support 20% of its teaching force, as well as transportation for all students, and a science, technology and math program.

If passed, the referendum tax rate of 0.4212 per $100 of assessed value would remain the same. If the renewal fails, Perry property taxes would decrease.

A renewed referendum would last eight more years and generate over $19 million in revenue each year, Superintendent Pat Mapes said. The referendum would continue to pay for 193 teachers, 20 assistant principals, 17 tech positions, and 14 instructional assistants.

It would allow the district to continue to finance a popular STEM program for first through 12th grade students, Mapes said.

Should voters reject the referendum, Perry would need to cut art, music, STEM courses, transportation, and teachers. Class sizes would rise. More students would walk further to school.

“When you’re doing a renewal, you’ve already decided to support your schools,” Mapes said. “You know that strong schools equal a strong community.”

Six other school districts are asking local voters for operational support, including Edinburgh, Griffith, Lebanon, Mt. Vernon, and Valparaiso.

Lebanon is also asking for a construction referendum, along with Vigo and Franklin Township schools.

Franklin Township is seeking a construction referendum primarily to fund an expansion and repairs to its 50-year-old high school building, as well as make some smaller improvements to its elementary schools. The district’s last referendum — an operational question in 2011 — failed, which district officials attributed to the economic recession.

The district is the only one in Marion County to not have passed an operational or construction referendum before.

McWhorter, the chief operating officer, said enrollment has grown by 1,800 students in five years, and likely will increase more with new construction in the area.

The high school needs new plumbing and HVAC systems, and a new roof which alone is expected to cost around $7 million, he said.

Franklin Township has used about $3.8 million of its federal emergency funding and $2 million in other funds to upgrade ventilation in elementary schools, McWhorter said. The district opted not to use federal relief funds for the high school because the extensive repairs would take two years, beyond the time limit for using the relief funds. The district received about $11 million total in federal ESSER dollars.

The referendum would increase taxes by 0.2099 per $100 of assessed value and generate about $95 million. For a home with the Marion County median value of $185,700, the annual increase would be $185.67, according to the district’s calculator.

If the referendum fails, McWhorter said the district would not be able to repair and maintain facilities, which would continue to deteriorate.

“The growth is not going away, the aging facilities are not going away,” McWhorter said. “What we can promise is it’s not going to be any cheaper later.”

Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.

Teachers may get 3% raise in Indianapolis Public Schools

2021-10-01T16:08:26+00:00

Teachers could get an average 3% raise this school year and another 3% in 2022-’23, based on a tentative agreement their union has reached with Indianapolis Public Schools.

The district board heard a summary Thursday of the proposed pact with the teachers union.

Later in the evening the board approved a separate agreement that will award support staff a 2% raise this year.

Both agreements are retroactive to July and signal an end to two years of more significant pay increases intended to make up for years of frozen salaries.

If the board approves and members of the Indianapolis Education Association ratify the agreement, this school year teacher salaries would range from $49,100 to $91,300, and next year would bump up to $50,400 to $92,600. The agreement also improves some health and welfare benefits.

No one spoke at the public hearing Thursday, and board members did not offer any comment.

“We’ve worked very hard on compensation,” board member Diane Arnold said before the meeting, noting that the district has lost veteran teachers to other districts offering higher pay. “We’ve made great progress.”

The two-year contract for support staff, represented by Local 661 of AFSCME Council 962, awards an across-the-board increase plus will raise pay for instructional assistants by roughly 6% by allowing them to jump up three levels on the salary scale, in an attempt to adjust wages to market level, according to a district presentation.

For example, a non-teaching assistant currently earning $10.58 an hour would rise to $11.23 an hour this school year.

Three years ago, Indianapolis’ largest school district reached a pact with the city’s Chamber of Commerce to finance teacher raises. Before placing a referendum on the ballot to raise school taxes, the district agreed to scale back its ask and trim spending in return for chamber endorsement and advice.

That formal agreement just ended. The district will reap referendum funds until 2026, but is on track to fall 20% short of its chamber-designed goals to cut costs. While the district recently erased an $18 million deficit this year, it must make similar-size cuts in each of the next several years, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson warned this month.

Indiana teacher salaries have ranked the lowest in the nation, spurring mass protests in 2019. The district pledged $31.2 million in staff raises over two years, giving teachers 9% in 2019 and 5% last year.

Teacher and district negotiators met three times this month and reached the tentative agreement Sept. 23.

How some Indianapolis school districts will try to remedy pandemic’s learning losses

2021-08-06T21:06:50+00:00

Warren Township Superintendent Tim Hanson knows what his district has to do to recoup the learning students lost during the most disruptive months of the pandemic.

He needs more licensed teachers in Warren Township schools to work closely with students in reading and math. But he doesn’t know if he can get enough of them this year, especially for middle school math.

“We just haven’t been able to identify or locate candidates,” Hanson said.

Finding math teachers has always been hard. But Hanson faces additional obstacles: the pandemic, public health uncertainties, a state teacher shortage in key areas, and Indiana’s comparatively low teacher pay.

The new school year brings huge challenges to Hanson and other superintendents. They must figure out the needs of students who missed much of last year, and devise ways to help them catch up while navigating safety protocols — and political debates — like masks and fluctuating health orders, and unknowns like enrollment and long-term funding.

Across Indianapolis, administrators are shrinking class sizes, creating more small learning groups, and hiring teachers to work with students who need help.

Warren already has added 12 interventionists to help with reading in elementary schools.

Warren Township also will resume testing three times a year to monitor student growth and progress and is working on shrinking class sizes.

The district aims to cap kindergarten at 24 students, elementary classes in the high teens or low 20s, and higher grades at 30 students.

The district is using federal funds to pay teachers per-hour to tutor after school. On last spring’s state tests only 8% of Warren Township students passed both the English and math state tests, one of the lowest rates in Marion County.

“We’re not going to be able to make up one year in one year; it’s going to take some time,” Hanson said.

Warren Township also is hiring liaisons to provide families with resources, support and district communication.

“When schools and families are working together, that increases the success for the student,” Hanson said.

Perry Township also is trying to arrange more small-group learning. The school district has tapped federal relief funds to hire 23 additional teachers to provide individual and small group instruction in schools.

Test data from last school year flagged more students who need additional help, Superintendent Pat Mapes said. That includes many students who are just beginning to learn English — Perry Township serves the highest percentage of English learners in the city.

For those students, working in small groups is critical, Mapes said. “Most of the time, it’s trying to master literacy skills so they can understand English and start moving through coursework.”

The district will test progress monthly.

“We don’t have to wait for 10 weeks to go by, or wait for half a year to go by,” Mapes said.

Lawrence Township also is hiring family engagement liaisons to support students and boost attendance at each school, said Troy Knoderer, the district’s chief academic officer.

In Indianapolis Public Schools, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said the district will use federal relief funds for additional staff training. The district has added 10 professional development days.

“If our teachers feel prepared and better supported to do so then we’ll see the outcomes in the instruction that students receive each day,” Johnson said.

Realizing that the federal funds expire in a few years, she said that the district is trying “to not staff in such a way that three years from now we’re facing an exacerbated fiscal cliff.”

Families raise safety concerns over busing cuts for 2,600 Indianapolis Public Schools students

2021-04-13T22:51:02+00:00

In response to a proposal to cut bus service for 2,600 students, community members at a virtual town hall peppered Indianapolis Public Schools district and transportation officials with questions about a lack of lighting, sidewalks, supervision, and protection from the weather.

In the first of three town halls on transportation, IPS and IndyGo officials on Monday responded verbally to written questions submitted in a chat box or on a district feedback form. Parents and others logging in were provided no way at the event to speak to the officials.

The district has proposed to scale back transportation to cut up to $7 million from its budget and to bring its practices more in line with those of other similar districts.

IPS plans to eliminate busing for more than 600 students who can ride city buses with less than 50 minutes total journey time, total walk less than 0.7 miles, and no transfers. IPS also will enforce “walk zones” for 2,000 elementary students living less than 1 mile, middle schoolers living less than 1.25 miles, and high schoolers living less than 1.5 miles of school.

But people worry about sending children on foot and by city bus to school.

Some pointed out the lack of sidewalks in neighborhoods, exposing children to speeding traffic.

“I live where there are no sidewalks to get to the IndyGo bus stops,” one participant noted on Monday.

Zach Mulholland, the district’s executive director of operations, responded that in cutting bus routes, the transportation team considered the availability of safe walking routes to schools. He said that unfortunately, Indianapolis has more miles of roads than miles of sidewalks.

“There may not be a sidewalk to support every single walk route,” Mulholland said. “What we look at is if there is a pedestrian-supported safe route to school for a student based in that walk boundary.”

District officials said they also looked at hazards like busy roads and freeways.

Mulholland said that many of the concerns that people brought up about walking to IndyGo stops also apply to school bus service.

IndyGo trains its bus drivers to call the dispatch center to ask for city police in case of problems, said Mark Emmons, IndyGo’s director of safety, security, and training.

Parents also object to sending elementary children on foot. Alicia Rodriguez said her family lives more than a mile from Lew Wallace Elementary School 107, but the district has determined her 9-year-old son should walk next school year.

Rodriguez said her son would have to walk 25 minutes, along a section without sidewalks and past a gas station that has been the scene of robberies, police activity, and traffic accidents.

Rodriguez, who said she could not attend Monday’s town hall, said she has not heard back from the district about her concerns.

Mulholland said parents may request an exemption to the loss of bus service. The district also will help organize student walking groups.

He also said parents with concerns may contact their school leader, school board member, or a family and community engagement liaison.

The district has been forced to consider steep cuts, including reducing transportation and potentially closing schools, after years of shrinking enrollment and as lawmakers have shifted school funding formulas in favor of more affluent districts.

The district plans to hold virtual town halls about walk zones at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and about IndyGo at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Click here to register. The board is scheduled to vote on the proposal April 29.

Gary schools’ $71.2 million referendum takes an early lead in returns

2020-11-04T16:24:26+00:00

Gary voters appeared to be approving a $71.2 million referendum Tuesday night to help their struggling school district dig out of debt and give teachers their first raises in more than a decade.

The referendum was winning 60% of the vote as of 10:42 p.m. It needs a simple majority to pass.

“I’m so thankful to Gary voters for supporting more opportunities for our students and overdue raises for our teachers,” said Paige McNulty, the Gary district manager, in a statement Wednesday morning. “Passing this referendum puts us on the fastest track to ending State control of our schools, and I couldn’t be happier for the entire community.”

The referendum is a do or die for Gary Community Schools, which is still paying off years of debt due to mismanagement. For three years, a private firm has run the district for the state of Indiana, in order to set Gary’s financial and academic house in order. If the referendum passes, the district could be closer to ending the state takeover. The district needs a stable budget for two years before regaining local control.

The referendum would provide $8.9 million annually to the 4,000-student district for eight years. It would cost property owners up to 56.2 cents per $100 in assessed property value. According to the Gary school district website, the average homeowner would pay an additional $6 per month.

None of the referendum funds would go to charter schools, independently operated schools that 58% of students living within the district’s boundaries attend.

If the measure passes, district officials said revenue first would cover annual budget deficits. Then the district would spend about $1 million to provide raises to teachers and other instructional staff. Gary educators have not had an across-the-board raise in 12 years.

District officials said of the remainder, about half would go to address students’ social and emotional needs and to hire more counselors and therapists. Funding would also go toward arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities.

If the referendum does not pass, the district could face severe budget cuts next school year and likely remain under state control for longer. Referendum proponents said the district could face an exodus of teachers and have a hard time recruiting new staff.

Gary schools twice tried and failed to win voter approval of a tax increase. The district sought a $51.8 million referendum in 2015 and a $50 million referendum in 2016, both before the state took over the district.

Three years ago, the state chose the for-profit MGT Consulting Group to run the Gary district.

By December, the company had reduced Gary’s $104 million debt to $79 million, according to McNulty. It brought down the district’s annual deficit to $6 million from $22 million in August 2017. The company is now in the first year of a two-year, $7.4 million extension of its contract.

MGT points out that the district has made progress. It has stabilized enrollment, which nudged up this year, the first sign of growth after a decade of decline.

But critics think that academics have taken a back seat to debt repayments. In campaigning for the referendum, proponents had to battle lingering public disenchantment with the district stemming from a school closure, low student performance, and a steady decline in graduation rates, among other issues.

McNulty said that if the referendum passes, the district will form an oversight committee to review referendum spending.

“We want to make sure that we’re transparent with the dollars that are being spent because of the mistrust of what’s happened in the past with the past leadership,” McNulty said.

Correction: Nov. 4, 2020: This story has been updated to correct how much the emergency manager has reduced the Gary school district’s debt and deficit.

Indianapolis students accused their teachers of racism. Will the district’s investigation lead to change?

2020-08-14T23:12:36+00:00

Just about every day, current and former students recalled, a teacher at an Indianapolis high school would mock students of color in his classes.

Targeting those learning English, he would insult them, use slurs against them, and, students said, even told one to “go back to your country.”

The Perry Meridian High School classes would grow quiet and uncomfortable, watching the students he ridiculed become visibly embarrassed. But the teacher shrugged off anyone who tried to confront him, students said, and administrators dismissed their concerns about him and other teachers, too.

“I never expected a teacher to be outright blatantly racist toward a student,” said Gabby, a 2019 graduate who is Hispanic and asked that her last name not be used.

In interviews with Chalkbeat, nearly a dozen Perry Meridian students and recent graduates described verbal abuse from this teacher and others, a lack of action from administrators, and a fear among students of speaking up.

The district — whose student body is unusually diverse for Indiana but has a teaching force that is 96% white — launched an investigation into the teachers and says it is committed to building an anti-racist community.

But months later, students have seen no changes. That and what they perceive as the administration’s previous inaction show the difficulty in rooting out institutionalized racism and changing a culture that students said has tolerated racist behavior for years.

Early this summer, racial justice protests across the country motivated students to protest and publish their allegations on social media.

Racist remarks in class

They tweeted about racist remarks they’d heard in class, building off each other and discussing similar experiences across classes and years. Until now, some students said they didn’t realize their teachers’ comments were racist or that others felt as hurt as they did at the school.

Three students organized a rally for racial justice outside a district middle school, where they circulated a flyer that named teachers they accused of racist behavior. More than 1,000 people signed a petition demanding that school leaders take action against teachers who have made racist comments.

When questioned by Chalkbeat, the district issued a written statement. “We are committed to building an anti-racist community where everyone feels safe, included, and valued,” district spokesperson Keesha Hughes said in a statement. “We will also thoroughly investigate every report of discrimination, harassment, and bullying.”

As part of its investigation, the district will ask accused teachers or staff to respond to the complaints. District officials declined to say which teachers or how many teachers they were reviewing, since the investigation is still pending. Chalkbeat is not naming teachers because the district has not confirmed who it is investigating and has declined to comment on personnel issues.

At least one of the teachers accused by students still works for the district and did not return messages from Chalkbeat seeking comment. The district’s teachers union, Perry Education Association, did not return a request for comment.

School officials are still working to identify and reach out to students who voiced the complaints, Hughes said — a process complicated by some using social media accounts without their full names attached.

Problematic school climate

One expert said the students’ complaints warrant attention because they’re describing a problematic school culture.

“It has a lot to do with the school climate, and who allows teachers to get away with that type of language,” IUPUI education Professor Monica Medina said.

Perry Township school board President Steve Johnson said the board is listening to students’ concerns. It adopted an anti-racism policy at its most recent meeting, and the assistant superintendent is developing a program to combat biases, sexism, and racism, although details were not immediately made publicly available.

Johnson said the board will monitor over the next year how the district takes action on its anti-racism stance.

“We have to make sure that we live up to those policies that we adopted,” he said.

How school leaders handle the investigation could be part of that, and could send a message on how committed administrators are to dismantling racism.

“They always talk about how diverse Perry is, how accepting everyone is, but there’s so many kids that have to deal with racism, and the school never does anything about it,” said Elly Kimbual, a junior whose family emigrated from Burma. “I feel like it’s just embarrassing.”

Perry Township diversity

Perry Township is a district of 17,000 students on the south side of Indianapolis. The area is home to a large population of Burmese refugees, making the student body more racially diverse than many other Indiana districts.

Students of color make up a slim majority of the district. About 30% of students are Asian, 15% are Hispanic, 8% are Black, and nearly 5% are multi-racial. Almost a third of the student body are English language learners.

Medina, the IUPUI professor, said that when teachers bully students learning English, those students’ parents might not understand the school system and won’t take action.

“That’s why teachers do this — because they know they can get away with it,” she said. “It’s called white privilege.”

Medina, who leads a course on anti-racist and multicultural teaching, said the alleged racist comments constitute bullying and a barrier to learning. Hands down, she said, it’s racism.

“Anyone who would say that they’re not racist doesn’t understand racism,” Medina said.

The school board would have reason to fire a teacher if it had written or video evidence that they were racist, she said. In Hammond last fall, for example, the board placed a high school teacher on administrative leave after a video was posted showing a student confronting the teacher for uttering a racial slur.

But in the case of Perry Township, where students base accusations on their memory and have no hard evidence, Medina suggested the district place teachers on probation and mandate anti-bias training.

What fosters racist behavior

A teacher might not realize why their actions were hurtful, she said. Even teachers who lose their jobs could easily move to another school district and cause the same harm to students.

However, Medina said it’s not enough for a district to punish one or two teachers and require anti-racist training. When an allegation surfaces, administrators ought to assess their school’s culture and the policies that allowed racist behavior to persist.

“Sometimes it’s that climate that gives teachers the license to lash out at students,” she said.

Medina said schools shouldn’t dismiss what students say.

“A lot of times, people are just afraid of the power of young people,” she said.

Perry Township has a hotline for students, staff, or community members to report bullying, including racism.

And at least on paper, the district doesn’t tolerate such harassment. “Perry Township Schools condemns offensive behaviors that violate our values of Diversity and Inclusion and betray every students’ expectations of safety and belonging,” spokesperson Hughes said in a statement.

The school board acknowledged at a June 8 meeting that more work needs to be done to confront racism within the district.

Johnson told fellow board members that the district can’t be afraid to let students speak their minds, according to meeting minutes, and encouraged an open dialogue — even if it makes officials uncomfortable.

Racial stereotypes from teachers

In addition to hearing outwardly racist remarks, some Asian students told Chalkbeat that they have felt subjected to racial stereotypes from teachers who expected them to act like a “model minority.”

Thawng Hmung, a 19-year-old Perry Meridian graduate, said the district’s claims of appreciation for its diverse student body felt like a show. He thinks his school’s racial tensions derive from an influx of refugees into a majority-white community.

His family immigrated as refugees from Burma when he was 4. In high school, he ran for class president so other Burmese students could see themselves represented in school leadership. But the position made him feel like he couldn’t speak out against the school and led him to feel complicit in its racism.

Hmung said he’s felt insecure about his identity since graduating high school. He worries about his two younger brothers, who are 8 and 12.

“There needs to be an honest conversation on how the school culture, students, and teachers perpetuate these issues,” he said.

Rachel, a Perry Meridian junior who asked that her last name not be used, said her teacher’s comments were rude and unnecessary. But some people in her freshman year class laughed when the teacher made racist jokes.

“That,” she said, “is probably why he continued to do it.”

Reach Emily Isaacman at in.tips@chalkbeat.org.

Indiana educators brace for the return to classrooms despite coronavirus health risks

2020-07-16T23:33:44+00:00

Indiana parents who are worried about health risks from the coronavirus have a tough but straightforward choice — enroll their children in brick-and-mortar schools this year or keep them home in remote programs. But for teachers and school staff, working from home often isn’t an option.

Instead, staffers who are at increased risk for severe illness from the coronavirus are facing difficult choices about whether to return to school in person, seek medical leave — or leave their jobs altogether. Even in schools and districts that are offering virtual programs, it’s unclear how many teachers will be dedicated to remote instruction and whether those positions will go to teachers who are high risk. For support staff, like bus drivers or food service workers, it may be impossible to do their jobs remotely.

With few good options, some educators are bracing themselves for the return to classrooms despite health risks. Others are pushing for Indiana school systems to delay reopening altogether or begin the year remotely.

“We have the ability to do our jobs remotely,” said Amber Seibert, a high school English teacher in Indianapolis who thinks schools should start the year virtually. “If there’s an alternative where no one could possibly die, why is that not our first choice?”

The 11 school districts in Marion County joined together in June to announce that they would reopen on time with online and in-person options for families. But in the weeks since, as COVID-19 cases rise in Indiana and nationally, districts have begun changing their plans. So far, two have delayed their reopening to buy more time to prepare, and Washington Township will start the year entirely remotely, after days of advocacy from teachers who felt that reopening campuses was unsafe.

Whether to reopen schools became increasingly politicized after President Trump began threatening to withhold funds from schools returning to remote instruction. Across Indiana, teachers and parents are divided over whether schools should reopen campuses as they weigh the health risks against the substantial downside of switching to all-virtual learning. But because concerned parents have the option to enroll their children in virtual programs, districts are likely to see the most pushback against returning to classrooms from teachers and staff.

Just what options staff have varies widely based on their contract, job, and health concern. Employees with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 may be entitled to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those accommodations vary, but they could include masks, remote work, or leaves of absence.

Resistance to reopening is gaining steam. The Indiana State Teachers Association met with Gov. Eric Holcomb this week to discuss safety concerns ahead of school reopenings.

Last week, Seibert and a former colleague launched a private Facebook group for educators, staff, parents, students, and community members who want to delay in person school reopening. Eight days later, it has over 10,000 members.

Seibert said that she is at high risk for severe illness if she contracts COVID-19, and she does not feel safe returning to school in person, where she expects to teach about 150 students. She’s considering options like applying for remote teaching jobs.

Although she hopes remote positions go to teachers who are vulnerable, she’s not sure how districts would determine who is most at risk. As more and more young people are hospitalized, “I kind of feel like everyone’s at risk,” she said.

It’s unclear how many remote learning jobs will be available. In Indianapolis Public Schools, which has about 1,700 educators, officials expect to hire fewer than 20 dedicated remote teachers with school-based teachers supplementing their instruction. Teachers who are COVID vulnerable won’t have priority, and the district will make hiring decisions based on who is the best prepared to offer remote instruction.

“We want to make sure that teachers who are providing remote learning are teachers who are comfortable in that online space,” Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said last week. “It’s a very different space than what teachers traditionally have had to do.”

That’s also the approach in Wayne Township, an Indianapolis district with about 17,000 students. Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Shenia Suggs said that although she expects some teachers to apply for remote positions because of health concerns, Wayne plans to hire virtual teachers based on who is comfortable in that role.

If staff do have health conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19, they should speak to their doctor and to the human resources department, Suggs said. The district will work to make accommodations, and they may be eligible for time off under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. That’s typically unpaid leave, but staff can use accrued sick days.

“This is all new territory for us,” Suggs said. Some jobs are simply harder to modify than others. “You can’t drive a bus from home or prepare meals from home.”

Wayne Township teacher Alison Case, who is 61 and has diabetes, believes she would be eligible for leave and has months of sick days banked. Still, she’s not considering staying home. “I miss my kids. I feel like, they’re going back. I’m going to go back,” she said. “We’re kind of all in this together.”

Case said she would prefer if the district began the year virtually or delayed reopening until September. But there are other educators who want school to reopen in person, and she understands why leaders think returning to classrooms is best for students and families, Case said. “I’m glad I’m not the one that has to be ultimately responsible to make that call,” she added.

Indianapolis special education assistant Marie, who asked to be identified only by her middle name because she is concerned about losing her job, said that she wants to see schools delay returning to classrooms. But if they don’t, she plans to go to work in person because she cannot afford to take unpaid leave or quit her job.

Marie has an autoimmune disorder that makes her more likely to get infected with COVID and more likely to have severe symptoms if she does contract it. Even without a global pandemic, she is hospitalized several days a year with illnesses, and she routinely uses all of her sick days. On top of her own health concerns, Marie’s daughter is immunosuppressed because she was born prematurely.

Her district did a good job of planning for the reopening, but she’s still worried, Marie said. “There’s just so much we don’t know about this disease.”

GlenEva Dunham, president of the Indiana affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, said that workers with health conditions that compromise their immune systems should talk to their doctors and ask for accommodations, including potentially taking leave.

But Dunham pointed out that people in other fields that are considered essential — including lower-paid staff in meatpacking plants and grocery stores — are already back or never stopped working. “Our people make a good salary,” she said.

Districts can take steps to make schools safer, such as requiring masks, said Dunham, who leads the union in Gary. If there are problems in schools, they can close again, she said. “It’s hard. You are stuck in between a rock and a hard place and lives are on the line.”

$1 million for hand sanitizer: Indianapolis leaders size up costs of reopening schools

2020-06-18T21:43:32+00:00

Two Indianapolis school leaders warned Thursday that the costs to reopen schools in the fall will likely exceed what their districts received in federal aid to pay for additional safety precautions against the coronavirus.

Indianapolis Public Schools, for example, used its federal relief money to buy devices for each student and recently spent nearly $1 million on hand sanitizer, Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in a virtual town hall on reopening schools.

“The reality is, I think, that what we are going to end up spending will likely be more than what has currently been allocated,” Johnson said.

Johnson, Wayne Township Superintendent Jeff Butts, and the mayor’s charter school director Patrick McAlister discussed the complicated factors for reopening in Thursday’s virtual event hosted by the Indy Chamber. While they acknowledged many uncertainties and said they are working on multiple learning options, Johnson and Butts said they hoped to release their districts’ reopening plans by early July.

Educators across the state have raised the issue of cost as a major hurdle to reopening. That’s a key reason behind Gov. Eric Holcomb’s decision this week to maintain state funding levels for schools despite seeking other budget cuts, which McAlister said was a win for local schools.

Some educators are hoping for another round of federal relief dollars. McAlister also said he’s advising charter and private schools to look for outside resources such as grants or donations.

The leaders said their first priority is the safety of students and families, but they believe in-person learning is the most effective means of instruction.

“We are set up best to do that in the physical learning environment,” Johnson said.

But they aren’t sure if school buildings will be allowed to open completely, and they want to give families the flexibility to choose virtual. A potential compromise could be a hybrid model, where some students would learn in-person and others would learn at home. Johnson and Butts said their districts are spending the most time planning for this option because it would be the most complex to pull off.

Virtual instruction would need to match the scope, sequence, and pacing of in-person lessons so that students can transition smoothly when they return, Butts said.

One of the most complicated logistical challenges schools face centers around transportation. With social distancing, Johnson said a school bus that usually transports more than 40 students could only accommodate about 12.

“That dramatically reduces the number of students that can actually get to school every day,” she said.

IPS is surveying families to get a sense of how many would be able to bring their children to school themselves.

In addition to addressing logistical issues, schools expect to account for a learning gap due to the disruption caused by classrooms closing in the spring. Johnson said IPS is thinking about how to embed last quarter’s standards into the first four to six weeks of the fall semester, while balancing students’ emotional and mental health needs.

“We know our students are coming to us having experienced, like we have, a very traumatic event that we are still in the midst of,” she said.

Wayne Township schools are focusing on a two-year strategy to catch students up.

The district is considering offering standardized tests such as IREAD 3, a literacy exam that was canceled this year, to get a sense of where students are, Butts said.

The school leaders said they hope to improve virtual learning this fall based on the lessons they learned in the spring.

“The virtual learning environment at home in this next year will look dramatically different than it did the last three months of this school year because of what we’ve learned and what we’re putting in place,” Butts said.

IPS will be able to offer every student a device for virtual learning in the fall, addressing a major barrier. In the spring, Johnson said the district only had enough devices for one out of every three students. IPS is also working to ensure students have internet access at home, she said.

McAlister’s key takeaway from the spring was that some schools are more prepared than others to adapt to distance learning.

“We are all in the same storm, but we start off in different ships,” he said.

Officials extend Gary schools takeover contract but warn it’s time to improve academics

2020-06-18T18:33:49+00:00

Despite concerns about poor academic performance, Gary Community Schools will keep the same emergency management company as the district enters its fourth school year under state takeover.

The state’s Distressed Units Appeals Board, which oversees the takeover, voted Wednesday to move forward with Florida-based MGT Consulting for two more years.

MGT had asked for a three-year extension, saying it could get the troubled district back to local control. But board members said that was too long, given community members’ concerns about a growing “academic crisis.”

“It ensures stability and continuity that each of us has expressed being critical to this endeavor,’’ said board Chairman Justin McAdam. “But I also think it gives MGT time to start to show progress on the academic front.”

The state board will negotiate the new contract, and members seemed to agree it should include more academic-related incentives. The agreement likely won’t include an increase in pay, McAdam said, pointing to the 15% budget cuts to state agencies Gov. Eric Holcomb enacted last month in response to falling state revenues.

Over the past three years, MGT has made deep cuts to stop the district’s chronic overspending and reduce its $100 million debt. Meanwhile, the company has failed to meet academic benchmarks outlined in its contract.

It wasn’t unexpected that the board would continue working with MGT, as the company’s three-year, $6.2 million agreement with the state will end this month. The state couldn’t return the district to the oversight of a locally elected board because a state statute requires the district to post a balanced budget for two years before exiting takeover.

But the Wednesday conversation showed a notable shift toward prioritizing improving student performance, which could set an important precedent for how Indiana handles districts forced to give the state control.

“I see today’s vote as an endorsement of the path we’re on,” Emergency Manager Paige McNulty said in a letter to parents Wednesday. “We have more work to do, particularly academically, and we hope to continue to partner to take on the challenges ahead.”

In 2019, five of the eight schools in Gary received an F rating from the state. Schools statewide saw low scores that year, the first year with the new ILEARN exam. But Gary’s passing percentage was among the lowest, with just 7.8% of students passing both the math and English portions. And West Side’s graduation rate plummeted from almost 90% prior to takeover to 59% in 2019.

Tracy Brown, Indiana Department of Education chief financial officer, was the only board member to vote against the extension. Brown, who was representing State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick, said the department would only support a one-year contract that would allow the state to re-evaluate MGT’s progress sooner.

“We would like to see more improvement in the academic area,” she said.

The board’s other four voting members who approved the two-year contract represent finance-minded entities, although they also expressed concern about the district’s performance.

McAdam suggested the board monitor student performance more closely during its regular meetings, although its typical function is overseeing the spending of financially distressed schools and cities.

“I think we spend a lot of time looking at the financial side in our board meeting,” he said. “I think we need to spend time getting a more complete picture.”

During a presentation in May, MGT Vice President Eric Parish said MGT plans to address the low graduation rate by changing how guidance counselors monitor high schoolers’ progress and improve standardized test performance in part by creating a dashboard for local testing data, so teachers can easily check where students are struggling.

He also pointed to some building blocks the emergency manager has put in place over the past three years, including new textbooks, monthly student assessments, professional development for teachers, and curriculum that aligns with state standards.

Board member Vernon Smith, the House minority leader, raised concerns about whether MGT is equipped to provide a better school experience. Smith, who is not a voting member, also criticized the company for not listening to the community or answering questions.

In response to pressure from community members, McAdam said the state board will implement time for public comment during meetings when members hear updates from the emergency management team.

“It is clear that we are not reaching people perhaps as well as we could be, he said. “Part of that has to be making ourselves available to the community to share concerns directly to us … and get answers as well.”

IPS restarts bus service — promising driver bonuses following ‘sick-out’

2020-03-03T02:18:53+00:00

After a weekend of uncertainty, school bus service resumed on Monday, and most Indianapolis Public Schools students returned to class. District officials said buses will also run regular routes on Tuesday.

About 78% of IPS’ 31,800 students came to school Monday after the superintendent’s office made a last-minute announcement at about 5:30 a.m. that buses would be running that day. District officials had urged families to find alternative rides to school in case they had to cancel buses to and from school for a second day.

On Friday, Indianapolis Public Schools was forced to cancel transportation after almost one-fifth of the district’s 550 drivers and monitors called in sick during an apparent protest of the district’s plan to outsource transportation and force drivers to reapply for their jobs. Although some busing staff called out sick again Monday, about 30 more drivers came to work compared to Friday, and the district was able to offer regular bus service, according to IPS spokeswoman Carrie Cline Black.

The sick-out was not organized by AFSCME, the union that represents the drivers.

Campuses remained open Friday, but fewer than half of students were at school. Average student attendance at campuses where Indianapolis Public Schools provides transportation is 92%.

The transportation crisis is an early test of Superintendent Aleesia Johnson’s leadership. Her administration is likely to face other obstacles as the state’s largest district pursues significant cost-cutting measures in a bid to shift more money to classrooms.

Indianapolis Public Schools typically buses about 22,000 students to school each day, and officials scrambled to come up with a plan over the weekend to ensure that enough drivers showed up to get students to school on Monday. The district offered compensation bonuses of up to $2,000 for employees who maintain strong attendance until the end of the school year, according to a statement from Indianapolis Public Schools.

The contractor selected to take over district busing, First Student, also agreed to offer bonuses of $1,500 to Indianapolis Public Schools drivers in good standing whom they hire. First Student also confirmed that AFSCME would be recognized as the representative of their Indianapolis employees “once a specified threshold was met,” according to a district statement, which did not specify the threshold.

The district also made a deal with IndyGo, the city’s public bus service, to provide free rides to elementary and middle school students. High schoolers already receive free rides with their student IDs.

Currently, some school bus drivers work for the district and others work for Durham, another outside contractor. The Indianapolis Public Schools board voted last month to switch to First Student for all its bus service beginning in July.

The deal is supposed to save the district about $7 million annually. It’s part of a broader effort to reduce spending on transportation and redirect it to classrooms, which the district embraced in a bid to win support from the Indy Chamber for a tax referendum.

The decision to outsource busing was a “first step” in cutting transportation costs, said Mark Fisher, chief policy officer of the Chamber. “The status quo is unacceptable,” Fisher said. “IPS needs to be making moves to become financially sustainable.”

Bus drivers have commercial drivers licenses, which qualify them for many jobs in Central Indiana, Fisher argued. The driver shortage “was adults making decisions that negatively impacted children — and oftentimes the most vulnerable children in IPS,” he said.

While some commenters online share Johnson’s view that drivers taking part in the sick-out are putting students in danger, others were supportive of the protest.

Erin Caskey, a parent at School 60, said her daughter, a kindergartener, takes the bus to school most days, and the drivers are “so kind and gentle.”

“It just makes me feel sad that there are so many bus drivers and bus attendants that have not felt like they are being treated respectfully,” Caskey said. “These are people that are part of our community.”

Indianapolis Public Schools is poised to renew two innovation school agreements

2019-12-18T01:46:32+00:00

Five years into Indianapolis Public Schools’ unconventional partnerships with charter operators — arrangements that have transformed city schools and brought national attention to Indianapolis — the district appears likely to renew its first contracts amid some positive initial results.

The district is recommending a five-year extension of its innovation partnership with Phalen Academies, which is tasked with turning around School 103. Under Phalen’s management since 2015, the elementary school on the city’s far eastside has shown academic growth and cultivated a “calm, safe, and warm culture,” the district’s recommendation said.

In renewing the contract, the district would stop paying a hefty management fee to Phalen that no other innovation school was receiving.

IPS is also poised to renew its innovation agreement with Enlace Academy, a charter K-8 school that serves a high number of English language learners and operates in a district building in northwest Indianapolis.

The school board is set to vote Thursday on extending the Phalen and Enlace agreements.

The two renewal recommendations come on the heels of a messy break-up with another innovation partner, Charter Schools USA, which runs Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School. That split played into a political battle over three Indianapolis schools that have been under state control since 2012, including Emma Donnan.

Ending the Emma Donnan agreement proved that the district is willing to cut ties with outside operators that don’t meet its standards. But sticking with Phalen and Enlace would demonstrate IPS’ commitment to its innovation strategy for the long haul.

Since 2015, the district has been working with charter operators through this innovation strategy. Innovation schools run independently, but their enrollment and test scores count toward the district’s overall performance. The effort both looks to improve district schools and diversify options, while charter schools gain access to district resources and facilities. More than one in four IPS students now attends an innovation school.

It’s a controversial strategy. Innovation schools have won the district strong support from local charter advocates such as The Mind Trust. But pushback to the charter-friendly strategy, which allows schools to work outside the district’s teachers union, helped critics oust two school board members in 2018.

IPS continues to consider new innovation school proposals, including four prospective partners this year. But this year, it also started evaluating its existing partnerships since initial agreements are approaching their expiration dates.

The innovation renewals give IPS an opportunity to standardize contracts, by making changes such as ending Phalen’s unusual financial deal and instituting a $25,000 annual administrative fee that operators pay to the district.

Innovation schools located in district buildings would also be included in IPS’s review of facilities as it prepares to make cost-cutting moves, which could include closing schools and selling buildings.

Phalen Leadership Academies at School 103 was the district’s first innovation school in 2015. Phalen took over management of School 103 after the school earned several years of consecutive F grades from the state and was the site of “more student fights than many high schools,” the renewal memo notes. Despite a spike in teacher turnover two years ago, the school now sees broad parent and student support for the new principal and a much more positive school climate.

“Just comparing and contrasting the level of disarray that was in the school before we started, and then now, the culture and climate data — while not perfect — has made a lot of positive strides,” said Jamie VanDeWalle, who oversees the district’s innovation schools.

The school has made significant improvements in test score growth, although students’ proficiency rates on state standardized tests remain low. Last year, PLA at 103, as the innovation school is known, was issued an A based on student growth alone.

“We are extremely excited about continuing our work at PLA@103,” charter network founder and CEO Earl Martin Phalen said in an emailed statement. “We’ve appreciated the partnership with IPS and we hope to carry it on and continue to give our scholars on the Far Eastside the quality education, culture and learning experiences they deserve.”

At Enlace Academy, enrollment has been growing. The school posts reading scores above the district average — a notable accomplishment given that most students are learning English as a new language, district officials said.

Under the new agreement, the district would start paying for Enlace’s transportation costs.

“I think Indianapolis is showing what is possible in an educational landscape when everyone decides to work together,” said Kevin Kubacki, executive director of the Neighborhood Charter Network, which includes Enlace.

IPS leaders ask for community input in tackling racial equity

2019-11-08T22:57:48+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools put racial inequity front and center during a series of town hall meetings this month about the future of the district.

This focus on addressing disparities is emblematic of the district’s shift in tone under the leadership of Aleesia Johnson, its new superintendent.

Billed as opportunities for the community to learn about the district’s priorities and weigh-in ahead of a long-term strategic plan, six meetings have been planned across the city. At a meeting Monday at Arsenal Technical High School, which drew about 50 people, the largest chunk of time was devoted to discussing how racism has shaped Indianapolis Public Schools and what the district should do to address racial disparities in outcomes. The meeting also delved into a wide range of priorities, including improving teaching and community engagement.

“We will never consent to our students being defined as anything less than the brilliant, resilient young people they are,” Johnson said at the meeting, reprising a line from her ‘State of the District’ speech last month. “It will take all of us working together to make good on our commitment to them that when they leave us after the K-12 experience, they are ready for the world that lies beyond.”

The meetings offer an opportunity for the community to weigh in at a time when high-stakes decisions are not imminent. Other recent opportunities for community input have come ahead of consequential decisions, such as high school closures and the selection of a new superintendent.

Bernita McGraw, a math teacher at URBAN ACT Academy at School 14, said that she was glad to see the focus on racial equity.

“The biggest issue that we’re dealing with in our district and across the state of Indiana is actually getting the resources to the people that need them,” McGraw said.

School Board President Michael O’Connor, who hosted the meeting Monday, said that during listening sessions ahead of the superintendent selection, participants asked for more chances to be part of the decision-making process, and the town halls are an opportunity to begin an ongoing conversation.

If the school district can “articulate a vision” for improving racial equity, O’Connor said, “We can help lead this discussion within the city — within the greater community.”

Johnson’s administration has made a push over the past year to reach out to residents, most notably by creating a central office team dedicated to family and community engagement. Former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, who left in January to lead the Washington, D.C. school system, faced persistent criticism that his administration’s outreach was pro forma and officials were not genuinely engaging the public and listening to input.

Tara Elder, whose son is a first-grader at School 57, said that this was the first time she has gone to a district-hosted forum, and she was pleased with the discussions with other participants.

“This felt very authentic to me,” Elder said. “Now, what they do with the information that they receive is the other thing. No one knows what’s going to happen beyond here. But the fact that this was the forum that was decided upon tells me that they hope for this to help them in forming their future decisions and really engaging the public.”

The two remaining town halls are planned for next week:

School board member Taria Slack will host a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Northwest Middle School, 5525 W. 34th St.

School board members Susan Collins and Elizabeth Gore will host a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Lew Wallace School 107, 3307 Ashway Drive.

A failed referendum divided an Indiana school district. Now it wants to split for good.

2019-11-05T21:45:48+00:00

This story has been updated to reflect Wednesday’s State Board of Education vote.

A southern Indiana school district successfully made its case to state education leaders on Wednesday for splitting into two — a move seemingly at odds with Indiana’s decades-long push for consolidation and one that could set an important state precedent.

Nearly two years ago, leaders of West Clark Community Schools — a district with about 4,600 students, located 10 miles from the state’s southern border — unanimously approved a plan that would allow a more suburban town to split from its rural neighbors.

The decision came after decades of growing animosity between the communities. Residents cheered when the board voted to separate. It was a schism spurred by anger over a failed $95 million referendum that would have gone toward improvements to Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg. The 2017 measure had support in the suburban Silver Creek township, but not in the two more rural areas of Henryville and Borden.

Since then, the district has been working to get approval from state agencies by proving the idea is financially viable, following new minimum requirements lawmakers defined last year. The State Board of Education passed the plan 10-1 on Wednesday after a brief discussion. It now goes to West Clark residents for final approval, and will likely end up on the May ballot.

Under the proposed split, Silver Creek township would take its roughly 2,900 students and four schools. The remaining West Clark district, Henryville and Borden, would have about 1,700 students in two elementary schools and two junior-senior high schools.

The district argues this would “eliminate internal competition for resources,” according to its reorganization plan. Borden and Henryville schools want to dedicate more resources to vocational training, while Silver Creek wants to prioritize upgrading buildings and technology to keep up with its growing enrollment.

“I just feel like Silver Creek has greater needs than the other two have willingness to participate in,” said school board president Doug Coffman, who has sat on the board for more than 20 years and represents Silver Creek.

Experts are watching this case closely because it could have implications beyond West Clark, opening the door for other districts to follow the same process. And the state board may have set a new precedent for how it handles these requests, including how much decision-making power it leaves up to local voters.

“It is critical that local voters determine whether West Clark schools reorganize,” Board Chair B.J. Watts, said in an emailed statement. “When a significant change like this is considered, the best people to decide what should happen are those who live there.”

West Clark’s attorney Jonathan Mayes says splitting the district in two is a move to allow communities, and their voters, to “chart their own destiny.”

But Rebecca Sibilia, founder of EdBuild, a nonprofit that highlights funding disparities, cautions against leaving this decision up to local communities. She said Indiana’s school funding system offers an incentive for districts to try to shrink its borders to capture only voters who can or want to support a tax increase.

“It’s the state’s responsibility to make sure education is working for all kids,” she said, “not just kids that are living in communities that can afford to resource their own schools at a high level.”

Sibilia said state leaders should consider more than whether school districts’ secession proposals are financially viable, but also how they will affect students.

While West Clark’s proposed split is financially motivated, she noted other states have seen new secession laws allow for self-segregation by race and socioeconomics. Indiana, in outlining the process for such splits, has “opened Pandora’s box,” Sibilia said.

David Freitas, the only state board member who voted against West Clark’s plan, said he wanted to see it give greater consideration to how students will be impacted.

Purdue University professor Larry DeBoer, who studies school referendums, said the proposed enrollment numbers for the new, independent districts fall within the ideal sizes for school systems in Indiana. Expenses rise for districts with fewer than 1,500 students or more than 6,000 students, DeBoer said. However, it could be a cause for concern if the Borden/Henryville district saw its enrollment shrink.

Enrollment at schools in Silver Creek has grown by 151 students across all grades between 2013 and 2018. In the same amount of time, schools in Henryville and Borden had 138 fewer students in 2018.

A financial review by the Department of Local Government Finance also raised concerns about the effect of declining enrollment, given that state funding is distributed on a per-student basis. The department found the reorganization will likely increase costs for the two districts, rather than make them more financially efficient, though not all budget projections could be verified.

Tensions between communities in West Clark have been building for decades, said Coffman, the school board president. The two different areas never truly became one after they were forced to consolidate by the state in the 1960s, he said. (Indiana has for decades pushed school districts to consolidate through legislative mandates and incentives to encourage efficiency.)

Four different consolidation plans failed before voters finally approved joining Borden, Henryville, and Silver Creek township into one district. Since then, each area has maintained its own elementary, middle and high school, rather than integrating students. Students weren’t allowed to transfer within the district until this year, Coffman said. An attempt in the 1990s to combine high schools met swift opposition.

Farmers face a higher tax cap than regular homeowners, so when West Clark floated the referendum in 2017, residents in rural areas were likely going to pay a higher rate than those in Silver Creek. Meanwhile, if it had passed, the majority of students in those areas wouldn’t go to the school that would have benefited, Silver Creek High School.

“Each community has its own DNA,” Coffman said. “I think the deep-seated divisiveness doesn’t come from the [school] board, it comes from community members.”

In first ‘State of the District,’ Johnson vows IPS will ‘never stop working together’ to improve schools

2019-10-10T01:16:28+00:00

Bringing her signature personable approach to her first “State of the District” address Wednesday night, new Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson emphasized a sense of community beyond classroom walls.

Her 45-minute speech in the Shortridge High School auditorium touted neighborhood and corporate partnerships and outreach into parent, Latino, and alumni communities. Johnson also promised further engagement, asking community members to give feedback to the district during town hall meetings next month.

“Indianapolis Public Schools will never stop working together to improve our community and our neighborhoods,” Johnson said to a crowd of about 200 people. “We will always be a part of the fabric of Indianapolis.”

Her commitment to improving community engagement comes at a critical time as the district forges its path in a new era of education, in which it has a smaller footprint and a new philosophy on working with charter operators.

The district has leveraged its connections to help turnaround efforts and gain traction for last year’s referendums approving tax increases to support schools. And Johnson will need continued support as her administration works to address still-struggling schools and faces further budget cuts and possible school closures — tough issues that she nodded to but didn’t dig into Wednesday night.

“It took some tough decisions and courageous leadership to get to where we are this evening and undoubtedly, tough decisions lie ahead,” Johnson said. “However, I know that I, along with our board, remain committed to making the best decisions we can that we believe will ultimately be in the best interest of our students.”

Johnson also outlined other priorities for the district, such as pursuing high-quality instruction and transparent, sustainable finances. She reiterated the need for the district to address racial gaps in test results and continue racial equity training, issues she’s made a point to confront in her first few months on the job.

“We believe there is power in our diversity — it is part of who we are and serves as a critical foundation for teaching our young men and women of color that they can overcome anything and accomplish even more,” Johnson said. “We can neither ignore nor be intimidated by the stark truths of the society in which we live.”

She highlighted some “bright spots” in test results, including narrowing gaps for students learning English and students with special needs, and ended with a fiery message.

“We will never consent to being viewed as a second-class school district,” she said. “We will never consent to our students being defined as less than the brilliant, resilient, and capable young people that they are.”

Johnson’s speech underscored her friendly, confident leadership style as she singled out more than a dozen individual students, graduates, educators, staff members, and partners by name throughout the speech.

But while Johnson had many allies in the crowd, some in attendance said they had wanted to hear more about her plans or tangible action steps.

“This felt like a pep rally,” said Bruce Ford, a behavior specialist at Shortridge, “because there was no substance to it.”

Ford said he wanted Johnson to more directly address the needs of black students and what she meant by wanting the district to have a “racial equity mindset.” He said he needed to see more data than the numbers that flashed across the screen behind Johnson.

“What is the ‘hope’? What is the ‘change’?” Ford said. “I see no real plans.”

Zoe Bardon, a Shortridge senior, also said she had expected more statistics and “content.”

“As a student, I don’t feel listened to,” she said. “I think there needs to be more listening, and less talking.”

Still, others felt the event offered an introduction to the new leader, who took over IPS on an interim basis in January and permanently in June. Nijah Ligon, a sophomore at George Washington High School, said Johnson came across as smart in outlining the district’s priorities.

“It’s a possibility we can achieve them if we push our schools hard enough,” Ligon said.

IPS board votes unanimously to hire Johnson as superintendent

2019-07-26T00:46:55+00:00

The Indianapolis Public Schools board unanimously voted to approve Aleesia Johnson as superintendent of the state’s largest school district Thursday. The agreement officially concludes a six-month search during which Johnson was both the interim leader of the district and the favorite candidate to take the helm.

Johnson was chosen as superintendent in June, but the board held a public hearing and publicized her contract before approving the final agreement. Johnson, 41, will be paid about $250,000 next year and receive the same retirement and health insurance benefits as other administrators.

Ahead of the vote on the contract, school board member Diane Arnold shared several of the reasons why she believes Johnson will be a strong superintendent, including Johnson’s commitment to racial equity, interpersonal skills, and support for improving district communication.

“Aleesia does not make excuses or blame others for issues in the district,” Arnold said. “She will not accept the status quo, and even when change is painful, I believe she will push forward to ensure that the best educational opportunities are provided for all of our students.”

A native of Evansville, Johnson was chosen from among three finalists who interviewed publicly for the superintendent position. She had a background in charter schools before joining Indianapolis Public Schools four years ago to oversee the new innovation school strategy, which hands struggling campuses to outside managers and pulls existing charter schools into a district network. She was promoted last year to deputy superintendent.

Johnson is well-liked among local leaders and powerbrokers. But because of her close association with her predecessor, former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, and the controversial innovation program, her selection faced some opposition. Critics of innovation schools and other recent changes in the district argued she was not experienced enough for the job. At the same time, supportive parents at board meetings highlighted her experience in the city and the district.

By choosing Johnson, the board signaled a willingness to continue down the path laid by Ferebee. That includes not only a new approach to working with charter schools but also an overhaul of the district’s high schools.

The cash-strapped district is at the beginning of a multiyear financial overhaul. Indianapolis Public Schools recently won a significant influx of money from taxpayers through a referendum, but to gain the support of the influential business community, district leaders pledged to remake the school system’s budget. The aim is to radically cut spending on areas such as transportation and facilities — likely by closing schools — in order to shift more money to teachers and other staff pay.

Johnson’s pay includes a salary of $238,000 in her first year and a $1,000 monthly car allowance. The contract will run through June 30, 2022, and it will automatically renew for one year if the board evaluates Johnson as effective or highly effective.

Here’s how much money Aleesia Johnson will be paid as IPS superintendent

2019-07-03T11:01:08+00:00

Newly selected Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson will make $250,000 per year according to a term sheet released Wednesday — about on par in real terms with the initial pay earned by her predecessor.

That pay includes Johnson’s salary of $238,000 in her first year and a $1,000 monthly car allowance. The figure aims to walk the line between being fiscally responsible and ensuring the district’s first African-American woman leader is paid fairly, said school board President Michael O’Connor.

“It was important to us that we compensated our next superintendent fairly and competitively,” O’Connor said.

The Indianapolis Public Schools board will hold a public hearing on the proposed terms at 3 p.m. July 16 at the central office, 120 E. Walnut St., Indianapolis. The board is expected to vote on the full contract July 23 or 25, both regularly scheduled meetings.

Johnson will earn less than what her predecessor Lewis Ferebee made before he left to head the Washington, D.C., school system. Ferebee made nearly $300,000 last year, including performance pay, contributions to his retirement savings and a stipend for a car, on top of the benefits other district administrators receive.

But in real terms, Johnson’s salary is comparable to Ferebee’s initial pay. She will be paid about 10% more than what Ferebee, who was also a first-time district leader, earned when he was hired six years ago. That increase is roughly in line with inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator.

In his first year, Ferebee was paid $216,400, including his $198,000 salary and $18,400 in relocation and performance pay, according to the district. He also received a $1,000 per month car allowance.

The new contract represents a 7% raise for Johnson, who is currently paid $222,380. She has served as the interim superintendent for six months and was previously deputy superintendent.

The contract will run through June 30, 2022, and it will automatically renew for one year if the board evaluates Johnson as effective or highly effective. The contract will provide that Johnson’s future raises will be the same percentage as the average increases for teachers under future collective bargaining agreements.

Johnson will receive the same benefits as other district administrators, including health insurance and retirement plans. Those benefits are valued at $45,921, according to the term sheet.

The district is also paying for some of Johnson’s ongoing education. Like Ferebee, she will be entitled to up to $6,000 per year reimbursement for professional development or business expenses. O’Connor said the contract will include a provision allowing for tuition reimbursement if Johnson pursues her doctorate.

Unlike Ferebee, none of Johnson’s pay will be contingent on performance. Each year, Ferebee was eligible for thousands of dollars in pay depending on whether he accomplished goals outlined by the board.

The large payouts were consistently controversial because they highlighted the wide gap between the pay of the district’s chief leader and that of teachers. The goals that were the basis of the pay were also considered part of Ferebee’s personnel file, which the district did not always release publicly.

O’Connor said the board eliminated the performance pay because it was hard to explain. “We’re trying to make the compensation very transparent,” he added.

Interim leader Aleesia Johnson named next superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools

2019-06-21T15:34:26+00:00

Interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, a longtime ally of charter schools, will officially lead Indianapolis Public Schools following her widely expected selection by the district’s school board Friday.

Johnson’s appointment to lead the state’s largest system solidifies its high-profile transformation into a district that works hand-in-hand with charter school operators. A former charter school principal, Johnson was hired four years ago to oversee the new innovation program, where outside operators run campuses that are considered part of Indianapolis Public Schools. That initiative has drawn attention from around the country and helped the district of about 31,000 students establish an outsize reputation.

“I have grown to have such deep love for this district over the past four years,” said Johnson at the announcement Friday. “We have some of the hardest-working people you will ever find in Indianapolis, and I’m so excited by what I know that we can do on behalf of our students and our families.”

Johnson, 41, was tapped after a five-month input and search process that culminated in public interviews with three finalists on Tuesday. The other finalists were Larry Young, an assistant superintendent from Pike Township, and Devon Horton, who serves as chief of schools for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky.

As the next superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, Johnson will be asked to navigate several serious challenges on the horizon. Despite winning support from voters for a referendum to boost school funding, the district is facing a tough financial picture, and it is likely that school boundaries will be redrawn and campuses will be closed in the coming years.

The district is also in the middle of a high school reconfiguration after the administration closed three campuses and consolidated students at the four remaining schools into new academies with specialized focuses this year. And four years after Indianapolis Public Schools began partnering with outside operators to create innovation schools, the administration is grappling with how to measure whether those schools are succeeding.

Johnson — who rose from the principal of a charter school of about 350 students to the chief of a school system in four years — said the district strategy, including on innovation schools, will remain largely consistent.

“At this point, I don’t expect dramatic changes in the direction of the district,” she said. “We are going to continue to be laser-like focused on student outcomes and how we get to better student outcomes.”

The Indianapolis Public Schools board has reached a tentative agreement with Johnson after deciding which finalist to select behind closed doors. Because of state law governing the process, it will be several weeks before the board takes a final vote on Johnson’s contract, said School Board President Michael O’Connor.

The board expects to release a term sheet next week, hold a public hearing on the contract in mid-July, and vote on the contract at its regular July meeting, O’Connor said. He declined to say whether any board members supported other finalists.

The district did not announce how much Johnson will be paid. Former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee made nearly $300,000 per year including perks when he left, and Johnson is currently paid $222,380.

When the board evaluated finalists, they were looking for someone who knows and understands Indianapolis and will be around for the long-term, O’Connor said. Johnson’s commitment to racial equity and ensuring all children have access to high-quality schools were also important strengths.

“She has been able to articulate a direction and a style and an area of focus that resonated with the board,” he said.

School board member Elizabeth Gore said that Johnson is a strong choice for superintendent because she is a good communicator and has successfully led the district over the last six months. Gore, who is skeptical of innovation schools, declined to say whether she supported Johnson’s selection.

As a new leader, Johnson will have to learn to work with students, the board, and the administration, Gore said.

“I’m looking for her to do well. That’s really what I want. But I do know it’s going to be a challenge,” she said. “This isn’t an easy job.”

After serving as deputy superintendent for less than a year, Johnson became the district’s temporary leader when Ferebee left in January to take the helm of the Washington, D.C., school system. She is the first African-American woman to lead Indianapolis Public Schools.

Johnson has three school-age children who attend district schools and an adult stepdaughter.

Known for being personable and building strong relationships, Johnson is widely liked by Indianapolis leaders and supporters of innovation schools. In the weeks since she announced she was applying to become superintendent, several parents have spoken in support of Johnson at school board meetings. But her choice is controversial among critics of innovation schools and the other rapid changes that were made under Ferebee’s administration because she is seen as continuing his strategy.

Critics of Johnson also highlighted that she does not have a superintendent’s license, something that is not required under Indiana law. At the press conference Friday, Johnson said she has taken and passed the leadership assessment that’s required for a temporary license and she plans to begin required coursework during her tenure.

In the public interview Tuesday, Johnson spoke of her commitment to Indianapolis Public Schools, and she made a case that she would improve opportunities for students of color.

“We simply cannot be satisfied, be comfortable, or be anything less than relentlessly urgent about changing the conditions of our… school system,” Johnson said. “We have within our direct power the ability to impact the trajectory of each of our students’ lives when they leave us.”

After interviewing 3 candidates, IPS board is close to tapping the next superintendent

2019-06-19T22:14:57+00:00

After meeting late into the night Tuesday, the Indianapolis Public Schools board has coalesced around a new superintendent, according to board member Venita Moore.

The board met behind closed doors after a public interview of the three candidates to replace former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, Moore said, and while they had not made a final selection, “there seems to be a majority around the person that we want.”

The school board president is performing more due diligence before the board offers the position, including discussions with attorneys, Moore said, but she expects an announcement of the new superintendent as soon as Friday. Board members have said previously they hope to select a new leader by the end of June.

Moore declined to say which candidate the majority of board members supported or if there were board members who supported other finalists.

Interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who previously led a charter school and is seen as a charter ally, has been considered a top contender to run the district permanently from the beginning of the search. And in the weeks since she announced she would apply for the position, a steady stream of parents have spoken in favor of her at school board meetings.

An assistant superintendent in Pike Township, Larry Young has spent more time in a traditional public school system, and he has attracted some support from critics of the rapid changes under Ferebee’s administration. Devon Horton, chief of schools for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, cast his outsider status as a benefit that would allow him to use wisdom gleaned in other districts to improve Indianapolis Public Schools.

Ahead of the board’s selection of a candidate, parents who spoke to Chalkbeat seemed to be largely positive about the three finalists, whose names were announced last week.

Many of the parents who have rallied around Johnson have children enrolled in innovation schools. It’s a controversial program in part because teachers at the schools are not part of the district union, but it has won acclaim from national charter school advocates. Johnson joined the district four years ago to help create innovation schools.

For Lena Dickerson, who has a daughter in first grade at the innovation school Ignite Achievement Academy at School 42, Johnson’s experience with innovation schools is a selling point — along with her background as a teacher and parent.

“She will be able to take the model that is IPS and build it up and make it better,” said Dickerson, who had made up her mind before the interviews. “It doesn’t have to be innovation. But it can be made better. And she can also include innovation in that without trying to destroy it and tear it apart.”

LaToya Tahirou has two children at Phalen Leadership Academy at School 103, one of the district’s first innovation schools. She said that Johnson’s work with innovation schools and as deputy superintendent has given her frontline experience.

Although she feels the other candidates are good options, Tahirou said if the board chose one of the other finalists, she would be nervous. She already knows Johnson can do the job.

”I have experience with her — I know what she’s capable of, I know the work that she’s been a part of. It gives me just an extra level of comfort,” Tahirou said.

Although finalist Young comes from outside the district, the veteran Pike township educator has close ties in Indianapolis Public Schools. Guy Russell, who graduated from Shortridge High School in 1959, said that both Young and Johnson are connected with other people he knows in the community.

Russell said he missed Johnson and Horton’s interviews Tuesday, but he was impressed by Young. He was leaning toward supporting Johnson before the interviews, Russell said, but after seeing Young, “he might have come from the pack.”

Amy Goldsmith, who has three children at School 60 and one at Shortridge High School, said she was inspired by Young’s letter of interest. It resonated because it included a focus on the philosophy of teaching she did not see from the other candidates, Goldsmith said.

It’s important to think of children “not just as blank slates but as people in society who already have something to contribute,” Goldsmith said. “It seems like I might have found a friend in Larry Young just from the language that he’s using.”

Chelsea Koehring, who has children at School 60 and at Sidener Academy, said that even before the interviews she had heard good things about Young from friends who teach in Pike. She was also impressed by the research Horton had done in advance of the interview, Koehring said.

As a former teacher and as a parent, Koehring said she would have liked more granular detail in the interviews. When finalists promised to give teachers the resources they need when they need them, for example, she wanted to know “how are you going to execute that on a limited budget given the constraints of what IPS is working with?” she said. “Show me what that looks like.”

3 very different finalists for IPS superintendent walk a fine line on ‘innovation’ schools

2019-06-19T04:02:42+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools board members will choose the next superintendent from among three starkly different candidates, and during public interviews Tuesday, the differences were apparent in their style and approach, but not necessarily their policy views.

At a podium facing the school board members — with about 75 parents, educators, and community members at their backs — each of the finalists made a final appeal to the board before answering members’ questions.

What is next for the district’s innovation schools, which are managed by outside operators and have grown rapidly, is one of the most significant questions facing Indianapolis Public Schools. Many local parents, teachers, and education advocates are divided over whether the strategy is improving outcomes for students. All three finalists walked a fine line on the issue — neither taking a strong position in favor or against innovation schools.

Indianapolis Public Schools has said it hopes to name a new superintendent from among the finalists by the end of June. The three top contenders, who were announced last week, were chosen from among 11 applicants for the position. They are the district’s interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson; Pike Township Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Larry Young; and Devon Horton, who serves as chief of schools for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky.

Johnson, who has worked for Indianapolis Public Schools for four years, has given countless presentations at the same podium where she and the other finalists were being interviewed. She worked her home-court advantage — touching on ongoing changes, such as new tests and a new curriculum being piloted this year. Because Johnson did not need to prove she knows the district, she was able to step back and focus on big-picture goals and her leadership style.

“I don’t know if you’ll find another candidate who believes as deeply and as personally and as passionately as I believe what’s possible for our district,” she said. “I just ask you for the opportunity to keep going, because I know we can do it.”

Johnson repeatedly emphasized the importance of building a strong team of colleagues, giving people autonomy to do their jobs, and celebrating their successes.

“We cannot become a district that’s going to be high-performing if we’re not valuing the people that we have on our team,” she said.

Young, of Pike Township, has strong ties to Indianapolis education leaders. He was calm in his demeanor and focused many of his answers on the importance of supporting teachers.

Pike is a diverse district that serves many children of color and students from low-income families. But the board’s questions hinted at how Young will translate what he has learned in Pike to Indianapolis Public Schools, which faces a unique set of challenges, such as stiff competition from charter schools.

A question submitted by a community member asked how Young would improve the district’s reputation. He responded: “We have to have excellent schools and we need ambassadors to go out there and talk about the great things that are happening in our schools. That’s what we’ve done in Pike Township, and it’s worked.”

Horton, from the Louisville district, seemed to recognize that as an outsider, he needed to prove that he is familiar with Indianapolis and committed to the district.

A native of Chicago, Horton had clearly done extensive research on Indianapolis and its schools. He reeled off state letter grades for schools, discussed the number of campuses, and offered details about Indianapolis Public Schools programs. He also worked to spin his experience in three school districts, which might have been a disadvantage, as a positive because it provided him insight into different leadership styles.

Horton has recently been named a finalist for two other superintendent jobs but was not ultimately hired. That has led some people to speculate that he might be using Indianapolis as a rung on his career ladder, and Horton addressed that concern with candor at the end of the interview.

“If there’s any concern about me moving around, I’m not chasing the next big thing,” Horton said. “I want to be a superintendent. And there are certain districts that I target that I see a good match — that I feel are a good match for me.”

Board members immediately went into executive session following the interviews. The next steps in their hiring process remain unclear.

The candidates are vying to replace former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, who led Indianapolis Public Schools for six years before leaving in January to become chancellor of the Washington, D.C., school system.

During Ferebee’s tenure, Indianapolis Public Schools went through a radical transformation. The district launched innovation schools, thus drawing national attention to Indianapolis’its 31,000 students.

Johnson, who previously worked in a charter school and helped create the innovation program, said that innovation should be one of the strategies for improving struggling schools, and echoed a common refrain that she wants a high-quality school in every neighborhood.

Despite his background in a more traditional district, Young’s take on innovation schools was similarly middle of the road: “I’m not pro- nor am I anti-charter or innovation schools. I’m about quality learning experiences for students,” he said.

Horton, however, had a more divided position on innovation schools. He suggested that while district charter partnerships were working, he might not support continuing to overhaul failing schools with innovation partners.

The district has not revealed how much the next superintendent will make, but Ferebee was paid nearly $300,000 per year, including perks, when he left Indianapolis.

Read the letters from three finalists about why they want to become IPS superintendent

2019-06-14T21:13:59+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools revealed Friday the names of the three candidates to replace Lewis Ferebee as superintendent.

But before Aleesia Johnson, Devon Horton, or Larry Young became finalists, they had to formally express their interest in the top schools positions. Each penned letters describing why they were seeking the position, what they saw as their greatest strengths, and their ties to the district, among other topics.

The candidates then underwent a round of interviews, and they will face questions from the public next week.

Interested in knowing more about them? Read their full letters of interest below.