Letter: No apologies from township schools
Prior to making broad generalizations around the need for “attention, engagement, and scrutiny,” it is important to ensure that all of the facts are in place.
Prior to making broad generalizations around the need for “attention, engagement, and scrutiny,” it is important to ensure that all of the facts are in place.
Starting pay for elementary and middle school principals in the district increased to nearly $112,000 a year, about $27,000 higher than the previous pay scale.
Hundreds of educators, administrators, students and community members flocked to the Indiana Statehouse on Saturday to show their frustration with Indiana’s treatment of public education.
On Tuesday night, Holcomb said in his State of the State speech that the state will use $150 million from its surplus to pay off a teacher pension liability that schools have been gradually paying down.
Members of the City-County Council on Monday voted overwhelmingly in favor of appropriating $560,000 to get Indy Achieves off the ground, but they also expressed concern about its ongoing cost amid many city needs.
Teachers say that, beyond compensation issues, they are grappling with inadequate school funding, a lack of respect from some parents and community members, and increased school-safety concerns.
Brandon Brown, the senior vice president of the group who previously worked under Mayor Greg Ballard as charter school director, will succeed David Harris as CEO.
In his State of the State address, the governor offered specific targets for returning college dropouts to school, helping inmates earn work certificates and pushing more companies to offer training programs.
District leaders said that in the face of declining state and federal funding, raising property taxes is the only tool IPS has to fund teacher raises, building maintenance, busing and quality special ed programs.
The governor called the performance of one of the biggest online schools, Indiana Virtual, “unsatisfactory.” It has received more than $20 million in state funding while graduating about 61 students.
An administrator said the move was aimed at helping teachers "find the right fit,' but a union official called it "total disruption."
Indianapolis Public Schools sought to disrupt the K-12 education world two years ago by launching "innovation schools," an entirely autonomous group of schools within the district's boundaries. With eight schools up and running, what lessons are emerging?
Speaking to the American Federation for Children, a group she once led, the education secretary said states that opt out of expanding school choice would be making a "terrible mistake."
The State Board of Education punished Hoosier Academy Virtual Charter School, one of the largest online providers in Indiana, by freezing enrollment and reducing the fee for its authorizer, Ball State University.
Joining the IPS innovation network would give Herron access to additional funding, but it would retain most of its independence. Herron’s head of school said the move "will not impact students in any way."
Stripping away the power of the voters leaves the education of our children subject to only partisan political initiatives as we elect a governor.
Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said he believes the district will “absolutely” need to have a referendum for more funding to pay teachers at the current rate and potentially increase pay in the future.
Citing concern about a state statute governing debt repayment, Standard & Poor’s said that it has placed a 90-day watch on the rating for loans to all Indiana school districts.
Supporters of expanding state-funded preschool said they are frustrated the bill includes what they view as an expansion of the private school voucher program.
The voucher language has injected some controversy into a bill that has received bipartisan support.