Latest Stories

  • What’s the matter with FAFSA completion?

    Did adopting a new law that requires Indiana high school seniors to complete the FAFSA boost completion rates this year? Or was Indiana derailed by federal complications rolling out a “streamlined” application?

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  • Will Charter Schools Share Pike Township’s Referendum?

    Pike Township is one of a few districts in central Indiana going out for a referendum this spring. It just so happens to mark the first time since the passage of Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 391 that a school district in Marion County might have to share referendum dollars with public charter schools.

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  • The Lost Decade: What Happened to Indiana’s Reading Scores?

    For the past ten years, student achievement has been falling. That’s true nationally. It’s also true in the Hoosier state. But this decline followed years of steady progress. So what happened that Indiana’s reading scores for its most vulnerable students tanked?

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  • Today’s Episode of the Education Twilight Zone: a Charter School Goes Private.

    The Genius School, an independent charter school in Indianapolis, recently received unanimous approval from the State Board of Education for provisional accreditation as a private school Why is a charter school trying to switch to a private school? And what are the implications of this move?

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  • Students Should Get More Dirt Under Their Fingernails

    This Earth Day, we highlight three Indianapolis schools that go above and beyond to connect their students to nature through environmental science, farming, and animal husbandry.

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  • What’s Next for Girls in Stem Academy? And What Really Matters to Us?

    For those in Washington Township. For those in Indianapolis. For those anywhere really. When it comes to education, what matters most to us? That’s the question on our minds as we look at the Indianapolis City-County Council’s rezoning request approval for Girls in Stem Academy.

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  • What Makes Teachers Stay? A Reflection on Retention.

    Teacher retention is a hot topic this time of year, if not always for a reason. I don’t buy the narrative in some corners that teacher retention is at a national crisis point. Things are not good. While there is no avalanche, things are liable to get worse in the face of inaction.

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  • Back to the Glass Ceiling: Zoning Fight Re-Redux

    March 20 marked the next step in Girls in Stem Academy’s ongoing saga. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved their request to rezone a former church property on the northwest side of Indianapolis within the boundaries of Washington Township. But this is far from over.

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  • Will Senate Enrolled Act 1 Hold Students Back or Propel Them Forward?

    Senate Enrolled Act 1 is complex. But far and away the piece that has garnered the most attention is the language in it around student retention. The legislation hypothetically opens the door to a massive increase in how many students are retained each year by Indiana schools.

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  • Critiquing HSE Superintendent Pat Mapes’ Comments About Parents

    New HSE Superintendent Pat Mapes made comments in a March 13 WFYI article insinuating parents of chronically absent students do not value education. We aim to critique, not necessarily criticize, his comments.

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