Chalkbeat

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.

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.

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.

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.

From Jefferson County Public Schools chief of schools Devon Horton:

From Indianapolis Public Schools interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson:

From Pike Township assistant superintendent Larry Young:

Meet the three finalists for Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent

2019-06-14T21:04:15+00:00

Two local school leaders — including interim superintendent Aleesia Johnson — and a Louisville school administrator are finalists to become Indianapolis Public Schools’ next superintendent, the district announced Friday.

Johnson has been seen as a top contender since she took the helm on a temporary basis in January. She was previously a deputy superintendent and helped pioneer the district’s partnerships with charter schools.

Larry Young is the assistant superintendent of elementary education in Pike Township, on the northwest side of Indianapolis. He has worked for Pike Township schools for 21 years, according to his LinkedIn page, including as an elementary school principal and as a teacher.

Devon Horton has been in the midst of state takeover and racial equity debates in Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, where he serves as chief of schools. He has also been recognized for his school turnaround work in Illinois. In the last few months, Horton was named as a finalist in two other superintendent searches — in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Rochester, New York — but ultimately did not win either job.

All three candidates have extensive experience in urban education, but none of them have prior experience leading a school district. All of the finalists are black, which some community members highlighted during the search process as being important since the district is largely made up of students of color.

The finalists will face public interviews at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the central office, 120 E. Walnut St., Indianapolis. The board is accepting written questions from the public and will address common themes in the public interviews.

The board hopes to name a superintendent by the end of June.

The three finalists were chosen from 11 applicants after interviews behind closed doors last month. Despite an avowed desire for an open process, the board ultimately chose to keep applicants secret but release the names of finalists.

Devon Horton

Horton was brought into the newly created role of chief of schools at Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville a year ago, tasked with overseeing school operations, and guiding and evaluating school principals. He started the job as the district was fending off state takeover, with district leaders touting his arrival and experience with school turnaround.

In his letter of interest for Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent, Horton emphasized his work on closing achievement gaps, highlighting the challenges of both implicit biases and disparities in opportunities.

“As a minority urban school leader, I will be able to connect students and staff across all races through culturally responsive practices through equitable policies and strategic implementation,” Horton wrote, later adding, “Together we can continue to build on the success and become a national model of excellence in equity education.”

In an interview with Chalkbeat, Horton said he would emphasize creating culturally responsive environments and diversifying the teacher pipeline to try to close those gaps. He also wants to build better family and community engagement.

To improve Indianapolis schools, Horton said he would be interested in using the 5Essentials, a model developed in Chicago to support struggling schools by focusing on effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, supportive environment, and ambitious instruction.

Horton’s experience in struggling schools likely intrigues Indianapolis board members, who have been supporting the unconventional method of improving schools by handing them over to outside operators — the district’s innovation school strategy. His letter of interest also touches upon developing highly effective school leaders, which is a key to innovation schools.

In Jefferson County schools, Kentucky’s largest district of 101,000 students nationally known for its integration efforts through extensive busing, Horton said he drives the district’s racial equity policy. The district faces glaring racial disparities in discipline and test scores, with African-American students faring far worse than their white peers.

Roughly half of the schools in the Louisville district have been flagged for improvement by either the state or the district itself. Jefferson County schools is undertaking a new turnaround effort that includes extra pay for teachers at struggling schools.

As the only non-local candidate, Horton will have to address how he’ll adapt his strategies for Indianapolis’ unique challenges, and board members may want to know why he’s been searching for other jobs less than a year into his current post.

Horton told Chalkbeat that his ultimate goal has been to become a superintendent. Working in different cities, he said, has made him a quick study and adept at navigating politics. But if he wins the post in Indianapolis, “I plan on being there for the long-haul, to help the district become a national model — not just in theory, but actually in results,” Horton said.

Earlier this year, Horton was one of two finalists to lead the school district in Grand Rapids, Michigan — but the school board split over whether Horton could lead the 16,000-student district, choosing instead to restart the superintendent search process.

Horton was also one of four finalists in the superintendent search this year in Rochester, New York, and interviewed in 2016 to lead the school district in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Horton previously worked as deputy superintendent in East St. Louis, Illinois. He spent 14 years in Chicago Public Schools as an educator, leading the turnaround of Wendell Phillips Academy High School. Horton has two school-age children.

Aleesia Johnson

As interim superintendent, Johnson is the first African-American woman to lead the district. She announced her application to be superintendent in April, and she enjoys wide support from local leaders who are enthusiastic about innovation schools.

But her candidacy is controversial. Critics of Ferebee’s administration have raised concerns about her level of experience and her ties to charter schools.

A former principal of the KIPP Indy middle school, a local charter school, Johnson joined the district four years ago to oversee the new innovation schools. Innovation schools are considered part of the district but they are independently managed by charter or non-profit operators. The strategy has attracted national attention to Indianapolis Public Schools.

Through a district spokeswoman, Johnson declined an interview request but said in a statement: “It has been an honor to lead the district the last five months, and I am excited to be a finalist for the permanent role.”

Johnson focused her letter of interest on her district experience, including her work on innovation schools, closing and reconfiguring high schools, and recently giving raises to district employees.

She also honed in on gaps in achievement and opportunities for students of color and students from low-income families: “There is no one who can fix it for us. It is on us. We are the ones we have been looking for, and I believe that solutions already exist among the people who deeply care about our students, our schools and our community.”

Johnson made the challenge personal, talking about the decision to enroll her children in district schools. “As a black woman who is raising black children, it is crushing to know and have real evidence of the ways in which our society — including our educational system — falls short in cultivating the academic growth of black students,” Johnson wrote. “I aspire to lead a district in which parents of color can be confident that their children are attending schools where they feel safe, valued and their growth is cultivated every single day.”

In the public interview, Johnson will likely have to face the criticism against her and address how she’ll work to bridge divides and engage the community. Board members will also likely be interested in how she would further develop the innovation strategy moving forward.

Larry Young

As assistant superintendent, Young oversees Pike Township’s nine elementary schools. Pike Township is a B-rated district that serves 11,000 students, nearly 92% of whom are students of color.

Young is an Indianapolis native whose mother was a longtime Indianapolis Public Schools teacher and father was a graduate of IPS, he wrote in his cover letter — bringing a familiarity of the local education scene that school board members are likely to appreciate.

“It is not only my belief, but it is also my experience that all children can learn and excel at the highest level with the appropriate supports, guidance, and relevant authentic learning experiences,” Young wrote. “Furthermore, I believe it is the responsibility of educators, at all levels, to commit to providing each scholar with a world class education.”

Young was not immediately available for comment.

Throughout his long career at Pike Township, Young has worked as a teacher, elementary school principal, and in various administrative roles, a career ladder that he touted as preparing him to lead a district. Young worked on a district-wide wellness effort focused on healthy nutrition and exercise.

While Pike Township is a smaller district, it also serves a high-poverty population. Indianapolis Public Schools officials will likely be interested in what strategies Young could transfer over.

Still, Pike Township is a more traditionally structured district that loses far fewer students to school choice than Indianapolis Public Schools. School board members could grill Young over what he would do to attract and retain students, whether he is willing to work with charter schools, and how he would lead a district in the national spotlight for its innovation schools.

Read the letters from their applications about why they want to become the next superintendent.

IPS superintendent finalists face public interviews next week, but their names are still under wraps

2019-06-12T22:31:00+00:00

Days ahead of public interviews with superintendent candidates, Indianapolis Public Schools board members say they have three strong choices — but they are waiting to release their names.

The board of the state’s largest district chose finalists for the post after secret interviews last month. School board President Michael O’Connor said he expects to announce the candidates on Friday ahead of public interviews Tuesday. The board is also soliciting interview questions from the public. The board hopes to name a new superintendent by the end of June.

In the meantime, school board members are keeping the identities of the finalists under wraps.

The only applicant for the post who is publicly known is interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who has led the district since former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee left in January. Johnson has declined to say whether she is still in the running.

It would be stunning if Johnson — who is widely supported by city leaders who favor district collaboration with charter schools — were not among the finalists. But critics of Ferebee’s administration have raised concerns about her qualifications. And board members say she is not the inevitable choice for the permanent superintendent post.

“I don’t think she’s a shoo-in, no. Do I think she’s a good candidate? Yes,” said school board member Venita Moore, who declined to confirm whether Johnson is still in the running.

Moore said that based on community input, she was looking for a leader who is familiar with Indianapolis, understands urban education, and is able to listen and engage the community.

The job, which had 11 applicants, attracted fewer candidates than she expected, Moore said. But ultimately, “we had good candidates,” she said. “I think the city will be pleased.”

The public will be able to submit questions in advance of the public interviews and observe, but board members will ask the questions, O’Connor said.

Board member Susan Collins said that although the officials have already had a chance to meet with the finalists, the public interviews will still be valuable. In addition to giving the community a voice in the process, she hopes to see how candidates react to public scrutiny.

“For me, personally, it also is giving me the opportunity to hear from the community what their concerns are related to the superintendent,” Collins said.

The public interviews will also be a chance for parents, educators, and advocates to get insight into the candidates for the district’s next leader.

One of the most influential players in Indianapolis education is The Mind Trust, a non-profit that supports charter and innovation schools, which are part of the district but managed by outside operators. When it comes to the public interviews, CEO Brandon Brown said the most pressing question is how the next superintendent plans to improve the district’s lowest-performing schools.

“I’m going to be listening for a very bold agenda specific to how we’re going to improve academic outcomes for students of color,” Brown said.

Charity Scott, executive director of the IPS Community Coalition, a group that is critical of innovation schools, said that she is interested in hearing the candidates’ views on whether to add more of the independent schools.

Scott also wants to hear the candidates discuss how they would engage the community. Groups like The Mind Trust and the Indy Chamber have significant influence in the district, she said. “How do you balance it out with genuine community engagement … so it doesn’t seem like you’re just going through the motions?”

Although some critics are concerned that the decision has been all but made, several school board members insist they are open-minded. Board member Elizabeth Gore said that she does not yet have a favorite and she is still evaluating the finalists.

“I’ve listened to the community,” she said. “I’m really serious about trying to make sure that we get a good fit for IPS and somebody that will be able to stay in the district and help to make the district that we need for our children.”

IPS board chooses finalists for superintendent after interviews

2019-05-29T00:16:13+00:00

Indianapolis Public Schools has a short list of finalists for its next superintendent.

The school board met with five semi-finalists Tuesday behind closed doors and chose the final pool of candidates, said board president Michael O’Connor. He declined to release the names or number of finalists, which will be announced in mid-June.

The candidates are “all very attracted to Indianapolis,” he said. “They all want to be part of an urban school system that’s moving in the right direction.”

The board will hold public interviews with finalists June 18, O’Connor said. Community members will have an opportunity to submit questions for candidates to the board. The board aims to fill the post as soon as possible, he said.

The district received 11 applications for the position by the May 17 deadline. Six were from out of state, and five were from Indiana, O’Connor said. “We were pleased with the diversity of the pool of applicants.”

The board vacillated between the desire to have an open process and concerns that releasing names of candidates could have discouraged some people from applying. Ultimately, they chose to keep applicants secret but release the names of finalists.

Interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson is the only applicant for the job who was known publicly, but a district spokeswoman declined to say whether she is still in the pool. Johnson, who has led the district since January, announced last month that she applied for the post permanently.

The next superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools will oversee the state’s largest district, which educates about 31,000 students. The last chief made nearly $300,000 per year including perks when he left, and Johnson is currently paid $222,380.

IPS superintendent job gets 11 applications

2019-05-17T22:12:39+00:00

Eleven candidates have applied to be the next superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools.

Now the school board will begin evaluating which of the applicants may be a good fit for the district. The board will meet in executive session next week to review the applications, identify finalists, and determine next steps. The window for applications closed at 5 p.m. Friday.

The names of the candidates will not be released to the public. But the district will release the names of finalists and conduct public interviews.

One applicant for the position is already publicly known: Interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who has been leading the district since January, announced that she applied for the permanent position in a letter last month.

The school board intentionally cast a wide net by limiting the required qualifications for the post and deciding to keep applicant names secret unless they are finalists.

Getting 11 applications is pretty typical for a district of Indianapolis Public Schools’ size in the spring, when many potential candidates often have jobs lined up, said Max McGee, president of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, a firm that helps districts hire superintendents.

Having a well-qualified interim in place who is seen as a shoo-in can also discourage some applicants, he said.

“It’s what I expected for Indianapolis,” McGee said. “If they get two or three really well-qualified ones, they are doing really what you would expect.”

Nonetheless, Indianapolis has a high profile nationally. Former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee gained national attention when he led the district. He left in January to take the helm of the Washington, D.C., school district.

‘Excellence for all’: Aleesia Johnson explains why she wants to become IPS’ next superintendent

2019-04-18T18:05:23+00:00

Aleesia Johnson announced plans to seek the position of permanent superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools Wednesday, just hours after the district began accepting applications for a new chief.

Johnson, who previously served as deputy under former Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, has been the district’s interim leader for more than three months. She shared why she is applying for the position permanently in a letter posted on Twitter Wednesday.

“Based on my review of the summary of feedback provided from the community along with my experience to date, I believe that I possess the qualities necessary to lead our district permanently and intend to apply for this important position,” Johnson wrote in a statement touching on her experience in education and as a leader in Indianapolis Public Schools, which she joined in 2015.

A consistent theme in Johnson’s statement was the need to improve achievement for all students. Though she didn’t specifically mention test results, Indianapolis Public Schools has a large and growing gap in passing rates on state tests between black and Hispanic students and their white peers that has inspired a chorus of criticism in recent months.

“There are many complex challenges that lie ahead for our district. We must improve the academic achievement of our students and ensure that when they leave us we have kept our commitment to them to be able to live a life of viable choices and expanded opportunity,” she wrote, adding later, “while our schools are delivering excellence for some, we are not yet delivering excellence for all.”

A native of Evansville, Johnson is the first African American woman to lead the district. She is well liked by many community leaders, and supporters of Ferebee’s administration have rallied around Johnson behind the scenes for weeks.

But her selection would also be controversial because she is closely associated with the district’s strategy of handing management of schools to outsider partners, including charter networks.

Critics of Johnson have placed special focus on whether she is qualified for the post, highlighting that she does not have a superintendent’s license. When the board approved a job description for the position last week, however, it had minimal requirements.

Candidates must have the ability to pass an Indiana district administration licensure exam within three months. And they must be able to obtain a superintendent license or a temporary superintendent license, which requires applicants to have a master’s degree or higher.

Read the full letter below and our profile of Johnson.

In bid to attract superintendent candidates, IPS board lists few job requirements

2019-04-16T02:31:54+00:00

The Indianapolis Public Schools board is casting a wide net in its search for the next superintendent, according to a job description approved Monday.

In a meeting that lasted more than two hours, the board went into granular detail of what it’s looking for in its next leader. But the most significant changes to the job posting, which was approved unanimously, were designed to increase the pool of potential candidates.

To that end, the board agreed to keep the names of the initial applicants private and it removed from the draft posting a requirement that candidates have a set number of years of experience in education. But board members emphasized that they are still seeking a candidate who has been successful in improving student achievement in an urban environment, has varied experience in education, and has demonstrated a commitment to equity.

The board has pledged a transparent search process, but several members raised concerns that releasing the names of all qualified candidates would discourage those who do not want their interest to be public. The district will instead only publicize the names of finalists for the post, who will also participate in public interviews.

“I think we will be causing ourselves to lose some good candidates, and I don’t think that’s what we intended nor what the public intended for us to do,” said board member Venita Moore, who supports the decision to keep the names private.

Some of her colleagues, including board president Michael O’Connor, argued that the board should release the names to increase transparency and filter for candidates who are committed to working in Indianapolis. But ultimately, board members agreed only to release the number of people who apply and the names of finalists.

“While I think full transparency was the right way to go, there is an argument to be made that we’re narrowing the field unnecessarily in doing so,” O’Connor said.

The board also lowered the threshold for the minimum qualifications for the job. The draft posting required candidates have three years of experience each in teaching, building administration, and district leadership. Board member Susan Collins suggested that the board “not be so strict about the number of years” to allow for candidates who did not precisely fit that criteria.

Though the updated version removed requirements for experience in education, the post still seeks “varied experience” in education, building administration, and district leadership.

Indianapolis Public Schools has been led by interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson since January, when the district’s former chief Lewis Ferebee left to become schools chancellor in Washington, D.C. Johnson is considered a likely contender to succeed Ferebee in a more permanent capacity. She has previously declined to say whether she plans to apply for the job. Her appointment would be controversial because critics opposed Ferebee’s partnerships with charter schools, and see Johnson as something of a protege of the former superintendent.

Critics of Johnson have placed special focus on whether she is qualified for the post, highlighting that she does not have a superintendent’s license. Johnson told Chalkbeat in February that it is up to the board to decide what qualifications the next superintendent needs, but she pointed out that she has 16 years of experience in education and master’s degrees in social work and teaching.

In the job posting the board approved, eligibility requirements are minimal. Candidates must have the ability to pass an Indiana district administration licensure exam within three months. And they must be able to obtain a superintendent license or a temporary superintendent license, which requires applicants to have a master’s degree or higher.

The district also released a report synthesizing feedback from 346 people collected at community input sessions and school board meetings, and in written form.

The report focuses on the strengths and weaknesses community members see in the district and the qualifications they would like to see in the next superintendent, including experience in urban education, commitment to community engagement, and an open leadership style.

The district will accept applications from Wednesday through May 17, slightly extending the timeline it announced in January.