Ritz: Bennett broke state rule with grade change
Ritz told Democratic activists last week "If you believe those (changed grades) were done because they should have been, you're fooling yourself."
Education reform
Articles
State leaders vow transparency post-Bennett
Indiana's education leaders are learning from the mistakes of former School Superintendent Tony Bennett, starting with their promise to spend more time crafting Indiana's new school grading formula and doing so in the open.
GOP powerbrokers crafted Indiana education policy, emails show
The Indiana education overhaul associated with Tony Bennett and then-Gov. Mitch Daniels actually was crafted in private by a handful of state GOP bigwigs, including Al Hubbard, Mark Miles and Mark Lubbers, according to emails obtained by the Associated Press. Elected officials weren’t included for months.
Online schools face scrutiny over scores, growth
Hoosier Academies and Indiana Connections Academy are both sponsored by Ball State University. Neither school came close to the state average for ISTEP+ scores last year.
Bennett resigns as Florida education chief after emails reveal grade fix
Florida’s education commissioner resigned Thursday amid allegations that he changed the grade of a charter school run by a major Republican donor during his previous job as Indiana’s school chief.
State charter schools leader takes national job
Russ Simnick, president of the Indiana Public Charter Schools Association since 2008, has taken a job with the Washington, D.C.-based National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the IPCSA announced Tuesday.
Indiana 8th-graders best most nations in math, science
In the same year the Legislature passed a set of sweeping reforms to improve Indiana’s public schools, Indiana’s eighth-graders were scoring No. 7 in the world on an international math test.
Indianapolis education up-and-comers are fierce competitors
Friends' competition for bragging rights lands both on Forbes' 30 Under 30 lists.
Howe toughest test yet for reformers of troubled city schools
Thomas Carr Howe Community High School, one of four taken over by the state Department of Education, is being remade yet again. And this time it faces a slew of competitors in the education-reform arena.
Fate of new Indiana school standards unclear
A legislative plan that would "pause" Indiana's adoption of a national set of reading and math education standards has the backing of Republican Gov. Mike Pence, although many questions surround what that step would mean for the state's classrooms.
Bill would delay new Indiana school standards
Indiana legislators prepared a compromise bill Thursday that would suspend implementation of a national set of reading and math education standards for a year while new state reviews are done.
Bill to change school-grades system moves forward
Indiana's A-F grading system for individual schools would be scrapped and implementation suspended on a national set of reading and math education standards under a bill the state Senate approved Wednesday.
Looser superintendent rules advance on tiebreaker
A proposal to no longer require Indiana's local school superintendents to hold a state superintendent's or teacher's license passed the state Senate after Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann cast her first tie-breaking vote.
Indianapolis controller leaving for education group
The city will lose its controller a few months before the 2014 budget is due to be presented to the City-County Council.
Senate panel advances looser superintendent rules
A proposal to no longer require Indiana's local school superintendents to hold a state superintendent's or teacher's license is advancing in the Legislature.
Study: Half of county’s students in ‘high-quality’ schools
A study by Chicago-based IFF found that 49 percent of K-12 students in Marion County are in schools that earned an A or B last year from the Indiana Department of Education.
TV ads oppose review of Indiana school standards
An advocacy group that supports Indiana's charter schools program said Tuesday that it's starting an advertising campaign to fight efforts to end the state's use of national reading and math standards.
Group eyes vacant Illinois Street building for charter school
An educational group is planning to spend about $4 million to renovate an Indianapolis warehouse to open its first charter school in what it hopes will become a statewide network.
Charter schools bill would strip Indy council’s authority
A bill moving through the state legislature would remove the City-County Council’s ability to veto mayor-sponsored charter schools.
Mayor ups push to reform schools, hopes to halt family flight
Concerned that a shortage of high-quality schools is fueling a loss of population in Marion County, Mayor Greg Ballard’s administration and a series of community groups have drawn up a preliminary plan to help replicate the city’s most successful schools.