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What's Your Education Story?

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Indiana
September 12, 2017

Tired of gay slurs, he came out to his students. Then a parent called him unfit to teach.

Every teacher shared stories about their challenges and triumphs in Circle City classrooms.
Indiana
August 8, 2017

Join Chalkbeat for a night of hilarious and heartbreaking storytelling by teachers

Chalkbeat is partnering with Teachers Lounge Indy, WFYI Public Media and the Indianapolis Public Library to host a story slam.
Indiana
July 13, 2017

‘Everything is going to be great,’ he told his teacher. She wishes that was the end of his story.

Katie Speer is a middle school teacher at KIPP Indy.
Indiana
May 30, 2017

The story of Black Santa: How creative discipline tactics got this student from disruptive to most improved

Anita Saunders works with programs for young children at Indianapolis Public Schools.

What's your education story?

Indiana
April 28, 2017

This educator sees ‘the power in being bilingual’ — and she wants her students to see it, too

Liset Gonzalez-Acosta is a the director of dual language at Global Prep Academy, an innovation school housed at IPS Riverside School 44.

What's your education story?

Indiana
March 14, 2017

This IPS teacher was afraid to ask for help, but the courage it took was worth it. Her mentor made all the difference.

Melissa Scherle is a second-grade teacher at Washington Irving School 14 in Indianapolis Public Schools. She’s been an educator for 13 years.

What's your education story?

Indiana
January 20, 2017

How this teacher went from so nervous her “voice was cracking” to a policy advocate

Jean Russell's work as 2016 Indiana Teacher of the Year ignited her interest in education policy, and she is in the first cohort of TeachPlus statewide policy fellows.

What's your education story?

Indiana
January 6, 2017

This high schooler broke out of his shell with the help of 3D printing

Indianapolis Public Schools opened a makerspace in Arsenal Technical High School last year in partnership with 1st Maker Space, which runs after-school programming…

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 16, 2016

‘I was a pebble in this guy’s shoe.’ How one teacher found his voice in the Statehouse

Dozens of educators gathered recently to tell stories of the challenges and joys of teaching. The event was organized by teacher Ronak Shah and…

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 9, 2016

Leaving finance was easy, teaching was hard, but this educator realized: ‘I’ve got to figure it out.’

Tom Hakim is now an assistant principal at Cold Springs Elementary School in Indianapolis Public Schools. He’s been an educator in Marion County for eight years.

What's your education story?

Indiana
November 11, 2016

This teacher was a ‘class terrorist’ as a child. Now he uses that to understand his students

Andrew Pillow teaches technology and social issues at KIPP Indy College Prep Middle.

What's your education story?

Indiana
November 4, 2016

This teacher got her student to listen by bringing down the wrath of ‘Nana’

Anita Saunders shared a story from her time teaching at Tindley Preparatory Academy.

What's your education story?

Indiana
October 28, 2016

A mouse on the loose, scared students and an unexpected teaching moment

Dozens of educators gathered to tell stories of the challenges and joys of teaching at Ash & Elm Cider Co. last week.

What's your education story?

Indiana
October 21, 2016

As a student, school was literally family for this Tindley teacher

ShaDe’ Watson is a special education teacher at Tindley Accelerated School. She also graduated from Tindley in 2009 as part of the school’s second graduating class.

What's your education story?

Indiana
October 13, 2016

Being a special education teacher showed this candidate the value of relationships

Jennifer McCormick is running for state superintendent on the Republican ticket this fall. Currently, she is the superintendent of schools in Yorktown, near Muncie.

What's your education story?

Indiana
October 12, 2016

She treasured books as a child, and now Glenda Ritz sees literacy as Indiana’s most important education goal

Glenda Ritz is the state superintendent for Indiana. She is running for re-election this fall. Before getting into politics, she spent her career in Washington Township.

What's your education story?

Indiana
September 23, 2016

She found a school for her daughter that reminded her of the Indianapolis of her youth

I had really great teachers in IPS who were really concerned about educating us.

What's your education story?

Indiana
September 16, 2016

As a teenager she rarely went to school, but when she got pregnant everything changed

Gayle Cosby is an IPS school board member, a former teacher and a doctoral student in urban education.

What's your education story?

Indiana
September 2, 2016

He offered a gift of his own artwork by drawing the leader of Indianapolis Public Schools

Some teachers wanted me to draw Dr. Ferebee. I was really happy to do it. They gave me a photo of him.

What's your education story?

Indiana
August 31, 2016

Her love of song and dance led to an arts magnet school

Arael Stigler is a fifth grader at Edison School for the Arts, a new K-8 magnet school.

What's your education story?

Indiana
August 26, 2016

When they needed it most, schools rallied around her family

Keontashia Purifoy is a senior at Providence Cristo Rey High School, a unique Catholic school on Indianapolis' West side built around student work-study experiences.

What's your education story?

Indiana
August 19, 2016

A football star turned principal uses his story to mentor kids who need a guide

Brian Dinkins is the new principal of Providence Cristo Rey High School.

What's your education story?

Indiana
August 15, 2016

Work-study jobs at hospitals led this high school senior toward a nursing career

The latest in Chalkbeat's series profiling people's personal education stories: Cameron Moore, a senior at Providence Cristo Rey High School.

What's your education story?

Indiana
August 5, 2016

From juvenile detention to nursing: How one Indianapolis mom turned her life around

Jennifer Davis is mother of four children and a nursing student on the far eastside of Indianapolis.

What's your education story?

Indiana
July 22, 2016

When a kid threw a chair at her, this IPS teacher didn’t hold it against him

Beth Medawar will start this fall teaching at Global Prep Academy, an Indianapolis Public Schools innovation school at School 44.

What's your education story?

Indiana
June 27, 2016

‘I was too dyslexic to do any of that’

Teacher says struggling with a disability as a child inspires him to help kids today.

What's your education story?

Indiana
June 21, 2016

Setting a good example for her own kids drove her to finish high school

"When I was in high school, at Manual High School primarily and Center Grove High School at the end, I didn’t really have people to support me the way I needed."

What's your education story?

Indiana
June 13, 2016

Years after quitting school for the streets, she wants a job helping kids like her

Chalkbeat journalists ask the people we come across in our work to tell us about their education stories and how…

What's your education story?

Indiana
June 2, 2016

Four students — two documented, two not — made this teacher determined to fight

Carlota Holder teaches students who are learning English at Enlace Academy.

What's your education story?

Indiana
May 5, 2016

‘Even though I didn’t see my dad except on Saturdays … I felt his presence’

Shawnta Barnes found her passion for stories at her father's knee.

What's your education story?

Indiana
April 8, 2016

‘I was always the only black kid in my math class’

Teresa James-Robinson thrived academically at her private high school but she didn't feel a sense of community.

What's your education story?

Indiana
March 31, 2016

My story: ‘The teachers just took it that we weren’t as bright’

Teruko Knight-Gavia, the 'only brown student' in her class, credits her parents' educational push for her success.

What's your education story?

Indiana
March 18, 2016

‘I was able through basketball to access a kind of network that I don’t know if I would have had access to’

Tiffany Kyser's dream of playing professional basketball took her from Indy schools to prep school to Greece.

What's your education story?

Indiana
February 26, 2016

His journey from school to law led back to education

Ahmed young is the director of the office of education innovation for the city of Indianapolis.

What's your education story?

Indiana
February 12, 2016

In private school, she had a far different experience than her brothers in public school

Shanae Staples was a founding staffer at Enlace Academy and the co-founder of Kindezi Academy, a new school that will launch next fall in an IPS building.

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 23, 2015

One small but diverse school prepared him well for all that came after

Andrew Pillow is a fifth grade social studies teacher at KIPP Indianapolis, a charter school where he has taught since 2011.

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 22, 2015

School was a refuge, where she escaped neighborhood crime and fear

Andrea Hunley is in her fourth year as principal of Indianapolis Public School 2, a Center for Inquiry magnet school.

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 21, 2015

Turning her own learning disability into a teaching tool

Kate Stout teaches fifth grade at Riverside School in IPS.

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 18, 2015

From the start she was inspired to be a teacher and then to fight for their rights

The Shelby County native taught kindergarten in Shelbyville schools before moving to ISTA headquarters in Indianapolis to lead the union full time.

What's your education story?

Indiana
December 17, 2015

Discouraged teaching preschool, she was inspired to keep going by a young boy's email

Megan Bouckley teaches fourth grade at Riverside School in IPS.
Indiana
December 17, 2015

New Chalkbeat series: What’s Your Education Story?

A new Chalkbeat series tells the stories of people we meet in our work, how they learned and how those experiences shaped who they are today.