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.
Education
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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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Q&A with First Internet Bank’s David Becker on apprenticeships as workforce training
Becker expects the bank’s apprenticeship program will gain momentum when changes to the high school diploma take effect, beginning with the class of 2029 (current eighth-graders).
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Articles
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.
Franklin Township school district flips position, now supports Google data center development
As a critical vote by the City-County Council approaches on whether to rezone 467 acres for Google’s proposed billion-dollar data center, the local school district has changed its stance on the project.
Indiana seeks contractors to improve middle school reading scores
The state is seeking donations to supplement state funding for the pilot program, which middle schools would be able to opt into, said Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.
More than 50 Indianapolis schools apply to collaborate on transportation, facilities
Indiana lawmakers created the pilot program earlier this year after a confrontational legislative session in which Republican legislators called for more efficiency in the Indianapolis school environment.
IPS taps company to run standalone special education program, starting year fully staffed
The program has behavior specialists assigned to each classroom, as well as two social workers and a psychiatrist to provide oversight for students with medication.
IREAD scores jump for IPS-run schools, charters, get close to pre-pandemic levels
Pressured by a new law and a statewide requirement to adopt science-backed literacy curriculum, schools focused an infusion of funding on second- and third-grade literacy in the years following COVID.