Watch: Indianapolis Public Schools’ optimistic pitch for closing high schools

The choice before Indianapolis Public Schools leaders is wrenching, but the administration is still striving to put a positive spin on the possibility of closing beloved high schools.

The district published a video yesterday that starts with an explanation of why the administration thinks three schools should be closed following decades of shrinking enrollment. Then it shifts, painting a cheerful picture of the plan for career-focused magnet programs in the four remaining high schools.

“Reinvented high schools will include new career-themed academies,” the narrator says. “IPS is ready to take high schools to the next level, starting in the fall of 2018.”

The message contrasts sharply with what parents, alumni and teachers have said about the plan to close high schools.

“There are so many different plans that could be used with these schools to keep them open,” said Elaine Bultman, a 27-year teaching veteran and former teacher at IPS School 15 who spoke to Chalkbeat last month. “No one wins.”

Watch the full 2:20 minute video below: