Holcomb appoints state’s first education secretary
Katie Jenner, who is an adviser to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, formerly served as a vice president at Ivy Tech Community College.
K-12
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Q&A: IPS superintendent talks masks, social distancing and educating kids
IBJ reporter Samm Quinn talked with Superintendent Aleesia Johnson about how returning has gone so far and other impacts COVID-19 has had on the state’s largest public school system.
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IPS plans staggered in-person return in October after cautious online start
The plan is based on improved coronavirus data in Marion County. The city’s average positivity rate—the percentage of people who test positive for the coronavirus—has hovered near 5% for several weeks, according to state data.
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Software keeps kids on school buses safe from sickness
Indianapolis-based Synovia Solutions’ latest platform—Bus Guardian—helps with contact tracing and hygiene verification for school buses.
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Gov. Holcomb bans gatherings of 250 or more, makes it easier for schools to close
“This is a time when we must do all we can to reduce the spread of COVID-19, protect our most vulnerable populations and reduce their potential to acquire or spread this virus,” Holcomb said in a statement. “While some actions are drastic, now, not later, is the time to act.”
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Articles
Ongoing pandemic worsens schools’ substitute teacher woes
The increased difficulty of finding substitutes is forcing districts to more frequently shift their staffing, with teachers who provide instruction in specialized classes instead being drafted to fill in for absent teachers.
NASA awards $2.8M to Indiana space program
The grant will support NASA student internships and fellowships, student STEM experiences, faculty STEM projects and public STEM engagement throughout Indiana through 2024.
Charter backers battle to preserve edge on IPS school board
With four seats on the seven-member board up for election, the outcome could easily shift the balance of power in the district.
Indiana’s ed-tech sector grows rapidly with startups, not-for-profits
Here are six companies and one not-for-profit organization from central Indiana that are experimenting in the ed-tech sector.
Q&A: Junior Achievement goes virtual with JobSpark program for eighth-graders
The program traditionally combines in-school lessons from teachers with a two-day event at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, where more than 10,000 students explore interactive projects and exhibits set up by more than 100 companies and 1,000 volunteers. This year, it’s going online.
Local education technology firm eyes national growth with higher-ed offering
Standard for Success, a Cloverdale-based educational software company, through 2019 has been growing at a strong double-digit clip and earlier this year launched a new service line company officials are confident will help the firm expand further by signing deals with colleges and universities nationwide.
Memory Bank: ‘Masters of Disaster’ chess player takes on Mayor Hudnut in 1983
In 1983, a chess team from IPS School No. 27 took on an elite private school from Manhattan in the National Elementary School Chess Championship—and won.
As kids move from quarantine to school, separation anxiety may follow. Here’s how to help.
With school re-openings—or partial re-openings—just around the corner, many parents are wondering how they can help their children wade back into the world.
Governor, House speaker say they’re committed to fully funding schools
But the leader of the Indiana Senate doubles down on his statement that he can’t guarantee full funding for schools that don’t offer an in-person option for students.
Parenting: ‘The mom shame is so real’: There’s no way to win in the pandemic
As schools across the country announce their plans for the fall, working parents are forced to choose from an array of bad options: Send your kids back to school, if it’s open, and risk coronavirus exposure—or keep them home with little or no supervision as you try to simultaneously parent, do your job and monitor your child’s online schooling.
KIDS: Pandemic may drive some parents to opt for home-schooling this fall—if they can afford it
The coronavirus pandemic, which shut down most of the nation’s schools in March, has provided parents who might have never considered home-schooling with a test drive of what it’s like to have the kids learning at home.
Indiana releases guidelines for reopening schools in fall
State leaders say Indiana schools can reopen safely in the fall if they screen students and staff, create individual health plans, and maintain social distancing, according to newly released re-entry guidelines.
Q&A: Kevin Berkopes on expanding Crossroads Education’s reach
The company has received an anonymous $500,000 donation that it will spend to expand its Learning Commons tutoring program to 10 more schools in Indiana.
Fall enrollment slows at Indianapolis charter and choice schools amid coronavirus
Throughout Indianapolis, where the school system allows parents to choose where their children attend, enrollment for the next academic year is in upheaval as families and schools grapple with urgent crises.
Mitch Daniels: Kids can’t write. Parents, this is your chance to help.
Even in a course fully subscribed by students from our Honors College, a class full of future doctors, business executives, computer engineers and the like, the quality of written expression was almost uniformly—sorry to choose this word—pathetic.
Indiana school closures remain optional as other states order students home
More than 200 of Indiana’s nearly 300 districts have closed after consultations with local health officials. But, in at least 21 states, officials have ordered closures to try to stop spread of COVID-19.
UPDATE: Public schools in Marion, Hamilton counties closing
Mayor Joe Hogsett said that left unchecked, the coronavirus “has the potential to wreak untold damage on our families and the very social safety net that protects our most vulnerable residents.”
Zionsville, Lebanon shut down schools through at least April 6
Meanwhile in Boone County, both Zionsville and Whitestown are closing town facilities through April 6 beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Schools close over coronavirus threat, raising concerns about disruption
More than 380 schools have closed their doors because of the outbreak, moves that have affected nearly 260,000 students, according to a count by the education publication EdWeek.