Put All Reform Ideas on the Table
The following is a guest blog by City-County Councilor Jose Evans.
We know what the problem is: our children are not graduating from high school at acceptable levels. IPS has arguably one of the worst high school graduation rates in the country. Students are not buying into the system – we are failing.
People are addressing this problem, however. IPS Superintendent Eugene White, who was superintendent of Indianapolis’ heralded Washington Township Schools when he became the leader of the struggling IPS, has introduced a number of changes from magnets to dress codes.
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has increased the number of charter schools that began under former Mayor Bart Peterson. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett has led a number of reforms in his first year, often invoking the name and efforts of President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
David Harris at The Mind Trust, a nonprofit agency dedicated to improving education for underserved children which grew out of Mayor Peterson’s charter schools initiative, is pushing bold new initiatives into the national spotlight. The Friedman Foundation and the National Council on Educating Black Children are located here, too, and we now have Teach for America. The Chamber of Commerce has the “Common Goal” project and the United Way of Central Indiana touts its program, “Ready to Learn, Ready to Earn.”
Education reform is happening in Indianapolis. It’s also happening at the Indiana Statehouse, where the big education debates this past session were over the school funding formula and a cap on charter schools. No cap was placed on charters, but as is evident by the lawsuits filed by several Indiana school districts seeking equal funding, it is clear the debate over the current school funding formula isn’t over.
So, even with all these reform efforts, why are we still failing our kids and our community? Should we combine IPS with surrounding township districts or break it up? Should we combine the mayor’s charters with existing school districts? Can we better engage our parents and students by giving them greater influence with new school boards at each school? Should we lengthen the school day and the school year for more instruction? Finally, how do we create schools where students want to be? Let’s start the discussion about these and other big ideas. Cities around the country have given control of their school systems to the mayor to better implement reforms. Can that work in Indianapolis?
With the talk of changes to the school funding formula, education reform advocates now have a fresh opportunity. Let’s put all the ideas and options on the table to find out what’s best for our community and our children.
Evans represents District 1 which is located in Pike Township. He was elected in 2007 He can be reached at e at info@evansforindy.com.
