Indiana guidance on evaluations worries schools
A piece of legislative guidance from the Indiana Department of Education has local districts worrying over whether their local control of teacher evaluations is being stripped away.
Education reform
Articles
Performance considered in Indianapolis teacher layoffs
The planned layoff of about 80 teachers by Indianapolis Public Schools will be among the first under a new state law that allows teacher performance to be considered in deciding who will be let go.
Ball State gives new life to Fountain Square charter
Fountain Square Academy, a charter middle and high school with about 270 students, will remain open after Ball State University decided to grant it a charter to continue operating after this school year.
IPS reform advocates seek school board shakeup
Some proponents of the Mind Trust plan to restructure Indianapolis Public Schools are looking to advance its key principles the old-fashioned way: by electing pro-reform members to the IPS board.
Private schools raking in cash thanks to 2011 reform law
A generally overlooked part of the 2011 education reform package makes it clear donors to private schools can target their gifts to specific schools, a move that seems to have unleashed the tax credit’s full potential by helping private schools line up more donations.
Education reform on legislators’ hot seat
Key parts of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett’s education reforms will be put under a miscroscope this summer by a special commission of state legislators.
IPS chief White a finalist for top job at Alabama system
Eugene White, superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, is now a finalist to lead a school system in Mobile County in Alabama, and he is interviewing for another superintendent’s post in South Carolina.
Thirty-five teams apply for $1M Mind Trust grants
The winners’ mission will be to launch successful charter schools and replicate those schools at three or four additional locations around Indianapolis.
Battle for students raises financial concern for turnaround schools
Just 62 percent of the students at four IPS schools being taken over by turnaround operators have chosen to remain at the schools, a situation that could shrink funding. The operators say the district has stymied their ability to inform students and their parents about their plans.
Christel House charter school to target dropouts
Charter schools for adults continue to pick up steam, as Christel House International prepares to launch the fourth such school in Indianapolis.
Schools chief: No Child waiver helps Indiana students
Indiana will take advantage of a federal waiver on provisions of the No Child Left Behind act to create better education for students, State School Superintendent Tony Bennett said.
Extra money key to Mind Trust plan to transform IPS
The Mind Trust plan for transforming Indianapolis Public Schools calls for turning the district into a network of charter-like schools and giving them 15 percent to 25 percent more dollars to spend than Indianapolis charter schools currently enjoy.
Indiana panel OKs overhaul of school grading system
A state panel has approved changes to Indiana's A-to-F grading standards for public schools despite complaints that the new rules are too complex for schools and parents to understand.
Indiana among 10 states getting No Child Left Behind waivers
President Barack Obama on Thursday will free 10 states, including Indiana, from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.
Judge upholds Indiana school voucher law
A Marion Superior Court judge affirmed Indiana’s school voucher law on Friday, rejecting opponents’ arguments that the largest such program in the nation unconstitutionally uses public money to support religion.
Indiana schools chief Bennett gears up for re-election bid
String of controversial reforms draw campaign contributions, ire of opponents.
Voucher experience positive for one local high school student
Dayana Vazquez-Buquer is among 3,919 students from low- to moderate-income Indiana families who qualified for an Indiana Choice Scholarship this year. She praises the General Assembly for creating the voucher program.
WILLIAMS: Expand IPS to Marion County borders
Absent a focus on county-wide educational reform, these efforts may address underachievement within IPS but fail to address needs of top academic performers, the large academic middle, and underperformers in all Marion County schools.
2011 NEWSMAKER: Eugene White in crosshairs as reformers target IPS
There’s a pitched battle under way in K-12 education as reform advocates and charter schools challenge traditional institutions such as teachers’ unions and education schools.
GOP-controlled Legislature overhauls K-12 education
This year saw the most sweeping changes to public education since the approval of teachers’ unions in 1973.