Outside Martinsville High School's gym, where it hosted an academic showcase for incoming freshmen.
(WTIU News, Bente Bouthier)
In the Martinsville High School gymnasium, middle school students and their parents walked between tables. Teachers present classes and clubs available once students reach 9th grade.
Kids gravitate toward tables for robotics and other hands-on classes. They make their way over to tables with English projects, drama club, band and choir, and internship opportunities.
Martinsville’s superintendent Eric Bowlen is proud of what the district offers.
Located along I-69 between Bloomington and Indianapolis, the district has about 4,000 students.
Hannah Bright, an instructor at Martinsville High School, shows students technology they would work with in her class. (WTIU News, Bente Bouthier)
On the website, anyone can send in concerns related to Indiana schools. So far, most listings are public schools. The listings include issues related to class content, diversity and inclusion statements, and gender identity.
The Indiana Department of Education was not notified before the portal launched. The department did not respond to request for interview or send comment in time for this story's publication.
For Bowlen, the portal is not representative of public education or the learning that takes place.
He said parents do occasionally bring concerns forward. But these typically get resolved with the educator or principal, which the portal overlooks.
“That opportunity to get an issue addressed, (the portal) bypasses it. And that's not helpful,” Bowlen said. “Because then suddenly, you're working from the top down, instead of working at the grassroots level to take care of issues.”
Schools do not want to tell kids what to think, Bowlen said. Teachers present students with ideas and information to be critical thinkers.
The Martinsville School Board's February meeting. (WTIU News, Bente Bouthier)
He added that a district can be listed for something already resolved or taken out of context. That dampers intellectual discussion.
“We can't agree to disagree as much as we used to,” he said. “It's more gotcha politics, instead of ‘Let's have a discussion. Let's grow and let's get better. Let's improve every day.’ That's what we try as a district to do.”
It also increases anxiety among teachers during a statewide shortage.
According to the Richard M Fairbanks Foundation, the attrition rate for teachers in Indiana hovered around 17 percent between 2016 to 2021, before it jumped to nearly 23 percent in 2022.
About an hour southeast, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation was also added to the portal for a book submitted to the school board for a review.
During its March meeting, board member Jason Major read a passage from a book approved for high school libraries. The book cannot be found in middle or elementary schools.
The passage he read is a graphic description of child molestation. Major said he wanted a restricted section in the library for books like this.
“The use of a restricted section would be ideal, ensuring that parents are able to understand what is available to their child and allow them to define the limits for which their child should be allowed to roam within the library,” Major said.
Major said parents can set limits on technology, and that should be the case in a library, too.
School board member Todd Grimes said the passage in the book Major contested is a couple pages of a larger story. The book also contains a poem about human resilience.
Grimes said he has students who have experienced what’s described in the book or worse.
Major recused himself from voting. The BCSC board voted to maintain the book’s approval for high school libraries.
Michael Macaluso, a professor for University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives, said the portal puts parents and teachers at odds.
It reminds him of legislation introduced in 2022, which did not pass. House Bill 1134 would have banned educators from discussing concepts related to sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin.
“I think this sort of amounts to no-context public shaming,” Macaluso said. “This almost seems worse to a certain extent, because now it's just completely open. There's no sense of oversight.”
He added the purpose of the portal is not clear, as the attorney general does not have direct oversight over public education.
Josh Lowry, a Democratic candidate for House District 24, spoke out against the portal when it launched. Schools in the district where he’s running, like Carmel Clay Schools, are listed on the portal.
“I'm going to speak to about anything that affects the people in my district,” he said.
Lowry said the portal brings politics into education and puts negative attention on teachers.
“Just because you teach a student something exists, doesn't mean you're indoctrinating them,” Lowry said. “If we teach students about Amelia Earhart, we're not indoctrinating them to become pilots.”
At the Martinsville High School open house, eighth grader Dezi Sanders looked over a table on business classes being offered.
Dezi Sanders, an incoming freshman, attended the Martinsville High School academic showcase. (WTIU News, Bente Bouthier)
He felt overwhelmed by all the options available to him. He moved to Martinsville this year from another district and said he likes it better in Martinsville.
“The old school district didn't really care if you showed up or anything,” he said. “But at this school they really just care for ya, and it's just really nice being here.”
Martinsville superintendent Bowlen said he and educators in his district are always ready to have conversations with parents.
This week, Rokita filed for reelection.
Indiana’s primary election is May 7. Races on the ballot include U.S. president, state governor, and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
