Lilly Endowment boosts school helping kids with dyslexia
Fortune Academy, a Lawrence school serving children from first through 12th grades with such learning differences as dyslexia and ADD, has received a $500,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
K-12
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Charter school draws heat over $100 referral reward
Carpe Diem Meridian charter school in Indianapolis offered $100 Marsh grocery gift cards to anyone who referred a student who enrolled — an incentive that some critics say went too far.
Bills weakening school chief’s power advance in House
The elected state superintendent of public instruction would lose authority over several areas of education policy under Republican-backed proposals approved Thursday by an Indiana House committee.
Panel backs shifting power to Indiana state education board
An Indiana House committee has advanced a Republican-led proposal for shifting authority over education policy away from the elected state superintendent of public instruction.
Nearly 80 schools, districts could face takeover under bill
House Bill 1638 would give significant new powers to the State Board of Education to intervene in schools earning a D or F grade for at least four straight years—even creating new schools within a school district.
Lawmakers consider shifting Ritz’s power to state board
A wide-ranging bill discussed Tuesday would give the Indiana State Board of Education authority over testing, standards, student data, state takeovers and teacher evaluation.
Lilly Endowment gives $3.4M more to The Mind Trust
The Lilly Endowment has now given more than $14 million to Indianapolis-based The Mind Trust to fund programs that recruit and train teachers for work in schools in the city’s high-need neighborhoods.
Lawmakers debate Pence plan to boost charter funding
The Senate Appropriations Committee heard almost two hours of testimony Thursday from representatives both for and against the governor’s suggested $1,500 per-student grant to the state’s public charter schools.
UPDATE: House education chairman seeks OK for lobbying
Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, formed Berkshire Education Strategies last June to represent out-of-state clients in the education field.
State senators pushing for new Indiana standardized tests
A bill sponsored by three Republican senators calls for the State Board of Education to revise Indiana's K-12 academic standards and select a nationally recognized set of exams for testing students by July 2016.
Bill would create fund for teaching expelled students
A bill introduced in the Indiana General Assembly would divert $10 million or more in state education money into a new fund that would make grants to schools that focus on teaching expelled students.
IPS ends 2014 with $4.1M surplus despite less state aid
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said he is concerned that IPS could see even deeper cuts in state aid going forward.
New software lets many workers customize their tech, forcing change upon educators
Indianapolis-based Ke Labs is among a growing number of tech companies trying to develop software that allows users to create or tweak their own programs—without knowing any computer languages or code.
Pence doesn’t push to expand preschool program
The governor said this will be an "education session" and said his priorities will include changes to the school funding formula and more money for school choice.
Bill would let state education board select its own chair
Democrats called the legislation a political attack that would let Gov. Mike Pence replace Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, with his own leader.
Republicans nix separate charter school, voucher funding
Republicans have rejected Democrats' calls to specify in Indiana's state budget how much money is going toward traditional public schools, charter schools and the private school voucher program.
In unusual deal, Westfield sells fiber network for $5M
The city of Westfield and its school district recently exchanged their homegrown network for $5 million in in-kind services. As a result of the agreement, city and school officials will not have to worry about things like paying for Internet service for the next 10 years.
FEIGENBAUM: Expect more details of Pence agenda in coming days
The governor delivers his State of the State Address on Jan. 13. He will lay out his legislative agenda in greater detail than in December pronouncements that education would take precedence this session, in terms of both cash and policy.
Education board member disses teacher-evaluation system
State Board of Education member Gordon Hendry said the teacher-evaluation ratings are based on a “clearly flawed system.”
Lawmakers urged to weigh in on online instruction days
An Indiana Board of Education member renewed his call Wednesday for lawmakers to define what constitutes an instructional day as schools move to replace snow days with online instruction.