David Harris: Let’s not waste opportunity to measure what matters
Test scores remain important point-in-time measures of student progress. But they should be the means to an end, not the goal.
Education
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Mickey’s Camp to convene for final time after 25-year run
Through the years, Mickey’s Camp—a summer retreat for business leaders—has offered sessions on topics ranging from metalsmithing and acupuncture to fly fishing and trapeze acrobatics.
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IBJ Podcast: Pew Research’s Richard Fry unpacks gender gap in college enrollment
Fry analyzes federal data from 2011 to 2022, highlighting a sharp drop in college attendance among young men, shifting public views on the value of a degree, and rising wages for workers without one.
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Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and Disney Jr. are ‘Clubhouse’ pals
“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: The Exhibit,” born from a partnership between the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and Disney Jr., is scheduled to open Saturday.
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Indianapolis Public Schools board denounces bill to dissolve district in shift to charters
The bill is the latest of several proposals that threaten the district’s viability.
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Articles
Republican senators file bill to restore alumni-elected positions to IU’s board of trustees
Senate Bill 110 would revert the board’s makeup to what it looked like before the 2025 legislative session, with five governor-appointed members, three alumni-elected members and one student representative.
Indianapolis Local Education Alliance backs plan to create new authority to oversee IPS, charter schools
The new corporation would have the power to impose property taxes, which it would distribute to both charter and IPS schools.
Claire Fiddian-Green: Navigating AI’s impact, personally and professionally
The good news is that Indiana is an early adopter of AI tools in K-12 education.
Five topics that could shape state lawmakers’ work in 2026
There are a slew of topics legislators plan to tackle in 2026, including rising energy costs, tax codes, child care and education, and possibly a new casino in one of Indiana’s urban centers.
Indiana school leaders warn property tax reforms are destabilizing public education budgets
A majority of surveyed superintendents report staff cuts, deferred maintenance and looming referendums.
Dennis Bland keeps Center for Leadership Development—and the kids it serves—moving forward
For that devotion, and for a lifetime spent quietly strengthening the city around him, IBJ has named Bland the 32nd recipient of the Michael A. Carroll Award.
Here’s how many students were held back thanks to Indiana’s retention law
This is the first school year students were held back under the 2024 law that mandates retention for students who don’t pass the state’s reading test, the IREAD-3.
Early Learning Indiana finds new CEO within its own leadership
Erin Kissling currently serves as the organization’s chief learning officer, overseeing the group’s statewide education agenda and leading its 11 Day Early Learning schools.
Indianapolis charter, private schools approved for 3-year state facilities, transportation pilot
Transportation and facilities are two of the most challenging topics for charter schools, which have historically not received property tax funding.
Trump administration seeks to move special education to different agency
Moving the program would not necessarily impact distribution of funding to the states. The money for the current school year has already been sent to states.
Indiana University and its student paper are at odds on press freedom
On Thursday, the front page of the Daily Student, which ran online only, was topped with huge letters in red: “CENSORED.”
Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms
For the nation’s 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world’s largest technology companies.
‘Harder to keep teachers’: Indiana fiscal policy panel weighs salary gaps, educator shortage
State data showed modest wage gains for teachers, but education advocates warned that Indiana’s pay still ranks near the bottom nationally.
Lindsay Shipps Haake: If you don’t do politics, politics will do you
The teaching of civics must be one of the most important jobs in our nation.
Indianapolis YMCA seeks $750K to help make up for state cuts to child care
The state previously announced that it would cut Child Care and Development Fund vouchers beginning next week.
Christel House International to open schools in Nepal, Colombia
The educational not-for-profit founded in 1998 by the late businesswoman and philanthropist Christel DeHaan is making its first major global expansion since her death in 2020.
Braun threatens licenses of teachers who ‘celebrate’ political violence online
Free speech advocates quickly raised concerns that the governor’s threat risks trampling constitutional protections and chilling lawful speech.
Curt Smith: Declaration of Independence merits big birthday bash
Let’s awake, America, from this slumber of ignorance and prepare to celebrate and revere the truly revolutionary declaration that birthed our nation.
Claire Fiddian-Green: Can Final Four initiative boost state reading levels?
One of our committee’s priorities is supporting Read to the Final Four, the NCAA’s annual literacy challenge aimed at strengthening literacy skills and fostering a love of reading.