IPS dumps Teach Plus contract as board members trade barbs
The school board reversed course and dumped a contract with a national teacher program, as angry board members accused each other of playing politics.
Chalkbeat Indiana
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IPS board president calls meeting on Teach Plus contract
The special meeting sends signals that the board could back out of the $750,000 program, which apparently was launched in IPS before the board formally approved it last week.
IPS plans to fight back against charter expansion in 2015
IPS board members met this week to prepare a lobbying strategy for the Indiana General Assembly’s session that begins in January. Chief among their goals: reining in the state takeover process.
IPS candidates raking in funds from near and far
Challengers to incumbents are collecting the largest checks. Big contributors range from the Indy Chamber political action committee to executives with Facebook and LinkedIn.
State board raises Christel House’s grade from D to B
For the second time in three years, Indianapolis’s Christel House Academy South charter school received a higher grade than the state’s scoring formula initially said it should.
Ballard’s preschool plan gets new life in city budget
The $1 billion budget approved by the City-County Council Monday night included a last-minute amendment that could put $1.7 million toward the mayor’s plan to cut crime and expand access to preschool.
IPS school board candidate says mistake led to plagiarism
Indianapolis Public Schools board candidate Ramon Batts says he regrets representing work from three national advocacy organizations as his own in his responses to a Chalkbeat Indiana survey.
Coming to Indianapolis: a public boarding school?
Indianapolis Public Schools next year could consider bringing a free public boarding school—one of just a few in the country—to the city.
Indiana’s goal: Use data to reimagine education
IT entrepreneur Steve Braun, the new director of the Department of Workforce Development, is leading the effort to harness data to figure out what skills kids will need to succeed in the workplaces of the future.
New IPS teacher contract includes performance bonuses
Under the pact approved by the school board Tuesday, teachers who were rated “effective” last fall can earn a $1,500 one-time bonus.
Council Dems say they’re pushing preschool debate into 2016
City-County Council President Maggie Lewis and Vice President John Barth said children could be served next year by the state’s much smaller pilot program, which will reach nearly 800 economically disadvantaged four-year-olds in Marion County.
Indiana could be top state for school vouchers
Preliminary data from the Indiana Department of Education shows 29,437 Indiana children applied for vouchers this year.
Effort to unify Marion County school calendars fails
A major barrier was the fact that different local unions represent the teachers in different districts, and those union contracts didn’t match up in a variety of ways.
Dems block funding for preschool plan as meeting erupts
The Indianapolis City-County Council’s finance committee voted to table funding for Mayor Greg Ballard’s $50 million preschool expansion plan and quickly adjourned a three-hour meeting Tuesday night despite protests.
Democrats raise doubts about Ballard’s preschool plan
Funding concerns involving the homestead credit have prompted work on an alternative plan that Democrats expect to unveil soon.
State board settles open meetings suit, admits no guilt
The State Board of Education will pay $15,000 to resolve allegations it used email to circumvent legal requirements.