Indiana schools got $3B for COVID relief, but information on spending often hard to find
Policymakers say that without clear information from school districts, it is hard for the public to know if the money is benefiting students.
Policymakers say that without clear information from school districts, it is hard for the public to know if the money is benefiting students.
Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said Thursday that she doesn’t anticipate closing any schools by next fall, but she warned that the district must continue to cut costs to avoid falling into the red.
The program, created through a partnership between Marian University and Ivy Tech Community College, will enable students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degree in five years.
The decision means that schools will have to find ways to safely administer tests to tens of millions of students, many of whom are still learning remotely.
The cases logged so far on the state’s new dashboard for school cases include 1,348 among students, 274 among teachers, and 276 among other school staff.
Districts where the vast majority of students are white are more than three times as likely as school districts that enroll mostly students of color to be open for some in-person learning, according to an analysis conducted by The Associated Press and Chalkbeat.
Indiana lawmakers were only at the Statehouse for 10 weeks, but they debated plenty of topics.
Teachers say they are rallying for better working conditions, higher pay, increased funding for public school classrooms, less emphasis on standardized testing and more respect.
One year since its first houses went on the market, seven out of the 15 homes sold are now occupied by teachers, making the village a much more mixed community than the developers’ initial lofty goals.
It’s unclear, however, how many high school students will be able to rely on the city’s long-starved transit system to get to school if the district eventually stops providing buses.
In attempt to recover state money that two virtual charter schools received for allegedly non-existent students, Indiana has cut off public dollars to Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, according to letters sent Friday by the state education department.
The state education board voted unanimously to try to recover about $40 million from Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy after the state examiner found the schools inflated enrollments with inactive and out-of-state students—and, in one case, a student who had died.
Two school years after a student died, Indiana Virtual School kept him on its rolls and received state funding to educate him. And that was just one example of how the school inflated enrollment by hundreds of students, according to the findings of a state examiner’s investigation.
The incident involving a Noblesville school raises questions over who’s responsible for ensuring private schools that receive vouchers comply with state laws.
An Indianapolis school that allowed students to study abroad in 11th grade will close for the coming school year while leaders try to work through challenges that arose during its first year.
Interim superintendent Aleesia Johnson, a longtime ally of charter schools, was officially chosen to lead Indianapolis Public Schools by the district’s school board Friday.
After meeting late into the night Tuesday, the Indianapolis Public Schools board is coalescing around a new superintendent, according to one of its board members.
The tentative agreement between Indiana Virtual School, its sister school and its oversight agency comes several months after allegations emerged that the long-troubled charter network enrolled thousands of inactive students.
Indianapolis Public Schools' interim superintendent, Aleesia Johnson, and the other two finalists will face public interviews on Tuesday.
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.