Join Chalkbeat for live events on teaching, school funding

Chalkbeat Indiana will sponsor live events in December and January tackling the big issues of change in the teaching profession and fairness in school funding.

From 5 to 7 on Dec. 9 at the Central Library, a discussion aimed at teachers, but open to anyone, will feature Chalkbeat CEO Elizabeth Green, author of the New York Times Bestseller “Building a Better Teacher.” Green’s presentation will kick off an interactive conversation about how and why the profession of teaching is changing — and what the future of educating Indiana’s children might look like.

Green will be joined by Indiana University School of Education Dean Gerardo M. González and a pair of educators on stage for a discussion and to take audience questions. The conversation will be followed by a cocktail hour.

The event is co-sponsored by Chalkbeat, Teach Plus, WFYI and the Indianapolis Public Library. For more information or to RSVP, go here.

Also at the Central Library from 5:30 to 7:30 on Jan. 8 will be a conversation about the future of school funding in Indiana featuring two Republican legislative leaders, House Speaker Brian Bosma, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Tim Brown, along with two superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee and Northwest Allen County Schools Superintendent Chris Himsel, moderated by Chalkbeat Bureau Chief Scott Elliott.

Republican legislative leaders said earlier this month that reworking the school funding formula will be a primary focus of their agenda for the 2015 session.

The sponsors for the funding event include Chalkbeat, WFYI and the Indianapolis Public Library. For more information or to RSVP, go here.

Live events built around critical issues in education are a new initiative for Chalkbeat Indiana this year. In October, Chalkbeat sponsored the only discussion of the issues facing Indianapolis Public Schools that included all 10 candidates for school board. And earlier this month, Chalkbeat’s Elliott moderated a panel that discussed issues of standardized testing in Indiana. Both of those events also included WFYI and the Indianapolis Public Library as co-sponsors.