Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers led a meeting in 2015 discussing how Indiana educators can get more college education to teach dual credit courses. ” credit=”Gretchen Frazee / WTIU News
The Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditor working on behalf of the federal government, granted Indiana an extension on new requirements for dual credit teachers, giving the state until 2022 to meet new requirements.
The HLC passed changes for the credentials high school teachers that teach dual-credit courses that were supposed to go into effect in 2017. The changes said a high school teacher teaching a dual credit class, a high school class that also earns a student college credit, must have a master’s degree that includes 18 credit hours in the subject they teach. This means a high school teacher teaching advanced Biology can’t just get a master’s degree in education, but also complete multiple classes in Biology.
The new requirements raised concerns in the education community, as it was estimated 71 percent of Indiana’s dual credit teachers, teaching more than 45,000 students, wouldn’t meet the new requirements.
The extension from the HLC gives Indiana teachers until September 2022 to meet the new requirements.
In the last few years, state superintendent Glenda Ritz and Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers have called on the legislature to provide funding so teachers can afford to take these college classes and meet the requirements.
During last year’s legislative session, the General Assembly passed a bill saying they would study ways to make these requirements easier for teachers to reach. But the bill allocated no money to pay for these classes, just makes a scholarship or tuition break possible.
Indiana schools are required to offer dual credit classes to students, but currently do not provide assistance for teachers to obtain advanced degrees.
Lubbers said in a statement Tuesday she is glad the state received approval of the extension.
“We are pleased that the accreditor has granted our colleges this extra time to ensure Indiana’s teachers have sufficient time to meet these new requirements,” Lubbers said. “We will spend the next five years working to make certain all Hoosier students continue to have access to high-quality dual credit opportunities.”
The legislature may pick up the issue during the budget session that begins Jan. 3.
A city agreement could provide $200,000 to $300,000 of tax increment financing money to the Gary Community School Corporation. (Rachel Morello/StateImpact Indiana)
After Gary voters last month turned down a request to increase taxes that would have provided their financially-troubled school district about $8.7 million annually, the school district may find financial reprieve through another source.
A city agreement could provide $200,000 to $300,000 of tax increment financing money to the Gary Community School Corp., the NWI Times reports. The arrangement could also provide money through the sale of some vacant, or unused, school district property.
Under the plan, the school corporation will receive 40 percent of tax increment revenue from all its tax increment financing districts after bonds and existing obligations are taken into account.
“That number will likely fall between $200,000 and $300,000,” [Joe Van Dyk, executive director of planning and development for the city] said.
In addition, Van Dyk said the district will receive 15 percent of the gross of new tax increment money from new districts. These include the East Lakefront district created for the Miller transit oriented development area last year and the Northwest Indiana Industrial Complex district just approved by the City Council.
In addition to the pledge of these revenues, Van Dyk said a memorandum of understanding is being finalized that would allow the Redevelopment Commission to market and sell vacant school properties on the school corporation’s behalf. The commission would receive a 1 percent administrative fee under the proposed arrangement.
“The goal is to get vacant GCSC properties back to productive use and back on the tax rolls, to our mutual benefit,” Van Dyk said.
Clemons said it also would allow the city and school corporation to get rid of some of the vacant buildings that have become eyesores.
City officials anticipate the city could begin providing money to the school corporation by February.
In November, Gary Community Schools officials asked the Legislature to help with their financial woes. At that time, the district was nearly $100 million in debt and facing delays in payroll. Continue Reading →
Illustration of the Indiana Teacher Performance Grants formula. (photo credit: Indiana Department of Education)
Teachers in some of the state’s richest school corporations can expect $1,000 or more in bonuses, while many of their counterparts in urban schools will receive far less. The state is required by law to hand out $40 million in teacher bonuses, and, this year, much of that money is heading to Indiana’s wealthiest districts.
Carmel Clay School teachers will split $2.4 million dollars, or $2,422 per teacher, and Hamilton Southeastern Schools teachers will divvy up $2.2 million, or $1,988 per teacher, according to state data released Wednesday.
Local superintendents, teachers and the state union leader say a formula approved by state lawmakers to calculate teacher bonus pay has caused inequalities for how the annual performance-based grants are distributed this year.
Even as state leaders and educators agree the soon-to-be replaced ISTEP is flawed, results of the exam are the main factor in determining how much money a school receives to reward top teachers.
Basically, the formula ties the 2016 ISTEP pass rate and graduation rates at each eligible school to how much money a district receives for bonus pay. Only teachers rated as “effective” or “highly effective” are eligible for the bonuses.
State Superintendent-elect Jennifer McCormick said she expects to address the formula in the upcoming legislative session.
“It has to be changed,” she said.
Wayne Township Superintendent Jeff Butts said it’s frustrating that performance grants are determined by ISTEP pass rates, an exam not intended to evaluate teachers. This grant is the Department of Education’s second largest funding allocation, aside from general school funding.
“The intent was to reward high-performing teachers and those making a difference in the classroom,” he said. “And we have yet to find that measure that determines a high-performing teacher.”
Butts, who is also president-elect of Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, said the amount of funding correlates closely with the number of poor students in a district — the higher the poverty, the lower the grant.
Out of the 38 corporations in the Indiana Urban Schools Association, 24 were in the bottom third of funding levels, Butts said.
Wayne will receive the second lowest amount funding out of 283 school corporations — just $47,216, or $42 per teacher.
Indianapolis Public Schools, the largest district in the state, will get just $330,875, or $128 per teacher, to reward its top educators.
Questioning The Formula
Funding for teacher bonuses is calculated using a combination of pass rates and year-to-year improvements for state standardized tests and graduation.
If a school had an ISTEP pass rate of 72.5 to 90 percent, the school gets $23.50 in grant funding per test. If more than 90 percent of students passed the exam, funding jumps to $47 per test.
In 2015, anticipating a drop in ISTEP scores due to the new testing format and academic standards, the state also awarded bonus money at some schools for each student who showed 1 percent of academic growth.
But this year, the formula became more difficult. Students needed to show academic growth of 5 percent or more, compared to the previous year, at lower performing schools.
Only 52 percent of students passed both the English/Language Arts and math sections of the ISTEP this spring a decrease from the already low rate of 54 percent in 2015.
State Sen. Ryan Mishler, an architect of the grant formula legislation, said he was taken aback by the funding disparity among districts.
“When we drafted it we didn’t think the gap would be as large,” he said. “The issue is the test,” said the Breman Republican.
Mishler expected ISTEP scores to be on the rise in 2016 and low performing schools would make gains in academic growth. That’s not the case, he said.
Mishler is already thinking how to adjust the formula in the upcoming legislative session. One idea, he said, is to create two funds — one for high performing schools and another for low performing schools.
“We know there is high performing teachers everywhere,” he said.
Republican State Sen. Luke Kenley, the Senate’s chief budget writer, rejected some of the criticism that this year’s formula relied too much on ISTEP pass rates. Yet he believes the formula should be tweaked to help talented and new teachers earn more money.
“I think the teacher performance award is going to be one of the keys for trying to attract people to the teacher profession and I think we need to define that,” he said. “We’ve gone for literally a 100 years with every teacher at the same amount of seniority making the same amount of money. And we are trying to recognize teacher performance … that means the formula needs to continue to change.”
But ISTA President Teresa Meredith said the formula’s reliance on test scores is a “flawed premise.”
“While educators at well-resourced schools performed well and received a much-deserved bonus, the educators teaching in some of the most challenging districts where socioeconomic factors can negatively impact student and school performance, were left out,” she said in a statement.
Based on 2016 ISTEP scores, and other factors, only $14.4 million worth of bonuses were calculated for this year’s teacher bonus pools. Yet, since state code calls for a $40 million payout, the Department of Education prorated individual school awards to reach the maximum amount.
That increased the grant for Carmel Schools from $870,482 to $2.4 million, according to state data.
Some suburban districts withstood large declines in ISTEP scores. Carmel faced a 2-point drop in scores to 79.8 percent and Zionsville saw just more than 4 points to 76.7 percent.
Around 90 charter schools and traditional school districts did not receive any bonus money. Some of the schools incorrectly submitted paperwork or did not turn in their teacher evaluation guidelines.
Students at a Jump Start program in Seymour work with their teacher on learning the alphabet. Seymour was one community where the current state funded pre-k program offered scholarships to low-income families. (photo credit: Rachel Morello / StateImpact Indiana)
When the General Assembly convenes for the 2017 legislative session, expanding state funded pre-K will be a top priority.
Legislative leaders have already said they are motivated to expand the pilot program, On My Way Pre-K, which provides tuition scholarships to a limited number of low-income 4-year-olds – 1,792 are enrolled this year.
There are still questions about how far the expansion will go, but details are slowly starting to emerge.
The Current State Pre-K Program
In 2013, the General Assembly passed a bill allocating $10 million to a new pilot program that gives scholarships to low income four-year-olds to attend a high quality preschool program.
On My Way Pre-K went into effect in January 2015, in Allen, Lake, Marion and Vanderburgh Counties. The fifth county selected to offer the scholarships, Jackson, launched its program in July 2015.
The program gives families a voucher they can use to attend any high quality preschool in their town. The Family and Social Services Administration oversees the program, and makes sure every provider involved is rated a Level 3 or 4 on the state’s Paths to Quality system, the two highest rankings.
In the counties where the program launched, the demand far outpaced available spots, showing families wanted this opportunity for their kids but weren’t able to afford it.
Since On My Way Pre-K began in January 2015, it has served 3,702 children in the five counties, and advocacy groups and business leaders have called for an expansion. Legislative leaders agree, but there will likely be debate over what the expansion should look like.
The Request From Early Education Advocates
Through this past year State Supt. Glenda Ritz and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg called for universal pre-K, free preschool for all 4-year-olds in the state. This is something that we are not likely to see, however, as neither were elected.
A more likely option is an expansion of the scholarship program. Earlier this summer, a group of business leaders and advocates called for this. The United Way of Central Indiana is also an advocate.
“Four is a critical time,” says Christina Hage, vice president of public policy for UWCI. “Before the age of 5, 85 percent of your brain is developed. If these children are arriving at kindergarten and unable to do the basic skills, then they’re already behind. And there are studies after studies that show it is very difficult to catch up.” Continue Reading →
Indiana’s leading education lawmakers want to extend Pearson’s testing contract, to avoid rushing into a botched replacement for ISTEP+. In this 2013 file photo, House education committee chair Bob Behning (left) and Senate education committee chair Dennis Kruse attend a state panel. (Kyle Stokes/StateImpact Indiana)
The testing magnate Pearson Education could see their Indiana testing contract extended for an additional two years. Top education officials announced Wednesday it would give Indiana the time it needs to create a replacement for the state’s troubled ISTEP+ exam.
“We need about two-and-a-half to three years to get a new test that is sound, based on our standards, thought out and vetted clearly through the education system,” says Sen. Dennis Kruse, chair of the Senate committee on education. “That’ll [be] a better test at the end of that time.”
Pearson is currently contracted to be in charge of ISTEP+ through spring 2017. The Indiana State Board of Education has the option to renew that contract for an additional two years.
Rep. Bob Behning, chair of the House committee on education, wants the board to extend that contract. If extended, it would leave ISTEP+ in place through the 2018-19 school year.
“Expecting to have an assessment in place by May is, to me, rushing it,” Behning says.
Even though the test would include the same questions and come from the same vendor, if the Pearson contract is extended, lawmakers plan to rebrand the test with a new name.
“The assessment will be similar, but we’ll have to figure out if we want to keep the name,” Behning says. “I don’t think we’ll call the assessment, after this spring, ‘ISTEP.’ I think it will be something different.”
This comes at the end of a tumultuous year for testing in Indiana.
In March, lawmakers passed a law ending ISTEP+ after spring 2017, after critiques of the test’s length, delays in scores and cost. The same law created a state panel to study alternatives to the ISTEP+. That panel recommended that lawmakers extend their timeline, in order to avoid implementing a rushed, botched test in spring 2017.
“The real communication by the panel was ‘Don’t rush it,'” Behning says.
Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Brandon Smith and WFIU’s JD Gray contributed to this report.
The State Board of Education approved school A-F grades for the 2015-2016 school year Tuesday. It reports a sharp decline in the number of schools receiving As and higher numbers receiving Bs or Cs.
A-F grades are mainly calculated using ISTEP+ scores, but this is the first year the grades were calculated with a new formula. The new formula prioritizes student growth on the test, rather than whether a student passed the test.
The grades released today show fewer As, much more Bs and Cs, and slightly higher Ds and Fs. But Ritz says this new system is more fair for schools with low ISTEP+ passing rates.
“So I don’t believe the system actually makes it harder or easier for any school,” Ritz says. “I think we have a total emphasis now on the growth of every child, no matter where the child performs.”
Tuesday was Ritz’s last meeting as state superintendent, and Superintendent-elect Jennifer McCormick will chair the next meeting in January. McCormick says looking to the future of A-F grades, she wants to take advantage of any changes allowed under the new federal law, the Every Student Succeeds Act.
“With ESSA, we have an opportunity to move forward with that and maybe take a deeper dive to help us,” says McCormick. “We’ll take advantage of that and see what ESSA brings and allows.”
Last year, the SBOE voted to change how they awarded A-F grades, after ISTEP+ scores across the state dropped dramatically. They awarded schools the higher grade between the 2014 and 2015 calculation, which may be why we’re seeing more Ds and Fs this year.
Schools have 30 days to appeal their grades. After all appeals are settled, the DOE will release A-F grades for districts.
The State Board of Education meets Tuesday for its monthly meeting. It will approve the A-F grades for schools for the year. (photo credit: Claire McInerny/StateImpact Indiana)
State officials will approve 2015-16 school A-F grades Tuesday when the Indiana State Board of Education meets for its last meeting of the year .
During the 2015-16 school year, 52 percent of students passed both the English language arts and math portions of the test — a one percentage point drop from the year prior.
The 2015-16 school year was the second year of an updated version of ISTEP+, and the first year with the education company Pearson administering the test. In 2014-15, when the test was brand new, the education board voted to hold schools harmless for their A-F grades. That meant schools’ scores wouldn’t drop if they performed lower than they did in 2013-14.
Superintendents from around the state asked the board at its November meeting for a hold harmless provision again this year, but the board said that isn’t possible due to federal requirements.
We will have a full database of A-F scores posted tomorrow.
The board meets at Tuesday Dec. 13th at 9 a.m. in the State House, Room 125.
A group of solar panels at Sheridan Elementary School. Sheridan Community Schools, in Hamilton County, is now one of Indiana’s first completely solar powered school districts. (Peter Balonon-Rosen/Indiana Public Broadcasting)
Budgeting is one of those necessary evils. It’s tough, but you’ve got to do it.
And for school districts, with growing costs and fixed funding, it’s increasingly crucial.
So Sheridan Community Schools, a small, rural district in the heart of central Indiana, has taken a unique approach to managing energy costs: They’re now one of the state’s first completely solar powered school systems.
“At Sheridan Community Schools, a district of a little over 1,000 students, we’ll save somewhere in the ballpark of $4 [million] to $5 million over the next 20 years,” says Dave Mundy, superintendent of Sheridan Community Schools.
“As a smaller school, it just seems like we’re spending more and more on other things,” says Robin Popejoy, director of business.
Next to teachers, energy is one of the district’s largest costs. Almost 20 percent, one of every 5 district dollars, pays to keep the lights on, buildings warm and computers running.
So when the district received a letter forecasting a 7 percent jump in their energy bill, it was significant. The equivalent of half a teacher’s pay.
“I realize things go up, but it was such a huge jump for us,” Popejoy says. “Then trying to figure out, you know, is that less supplies for the classroom, is that an aide that we can’t have?”
Then Popejoy got a pitch – instead of looking around for money or places to cut, look up.
Think about solar power.
It was a gamble. But, the district decided it was a risk worth taking.
A row of solar panels lies behind Sheridan Elementary School. (Peter Balonon-Rosen/Indiana Public Broadcasting)
Recently solar energy has gotten more appealing. For a few reasons.
“One, energy rates rose. Two, the cost of borrowing money fell,” says Bob McKinney, president of Johnson Melloh, a company that helps schools save on energy costs. “And probably, the most important element, was the cost to build these solar plants fell.”
They’re now half as cheap as five years ago. And it’s a price that’s enticing schools to invest.
“Schools, particularly in Indiana, are challenged with doing more with less,” McKinney says. “Which isn’t a bad thing, it causes them to innovate. And that’s where we come in.” Continue Reading →
Students at Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame are appealing to administration, asking to make the schools a sanctuary campus for undocumented students. (photo credit: Kyle Stokes/StateImpact Indiana)
After the election of president-elect Donald Trump in November, college students around the state began asking their universities to become “sanctuary campuses.” This means university officials would not comply with immigration officials when it came to deportations or raids.
A week after the election, students at the University of Notre Dame staged a walk-out and protest calling for the sanctuary status at the school.
1. Declare Notre Dame to be a sanctuary campus that will actively refuse to comply with immigration authorities regarding deportations or raids.
2. Guarantee student privacy by refusing to release information regarding the immigration status of our students and community members to any government agency.
3. Create an undocumented student program, with a full-time director, and free on-campus access to legal counsel. Create funds to assist undocumented students (and faculty, staff and students with family members) in need.
4. Assure that all students receive a campus, classroom and community experience free of hostilities, aggressions and bullying regarding immigration status. Communicate unequivocally and repeatedly that undocumented students are full members of the Notre Dame community who will be protected to the fullest power of the administration.
5. In line with the Catholic tradition of providing sanctuary to the persecuted, identify particular spaces on campus where those who feel threatened can seek refuge and protection.
Robel met with the UndocuHoosiers Alliance on Nov. 28 after they delivered demands on Nov. 16 to her and IU President Michael McRobbie to meet with them and discuss how they will support undocumented students when Donald Trump takes office.
Robel said she thinks the possibility of opposing immigration officials being able to execute immigration law on the IU campus is an unwise step for a number of reasons because of her concern for IU students.
“So, I think the position we’ve taken is we will do everything that is legally within our power to protect our students and we do everything that we do with our students interest in mind, not with political statements in mind,” Robel said.
Jennifer McCormick speaks with the press on Nov. 8, after she defeated current State Superintendent Glenda Ritz. (photo credit: Eric Weddle/WFYI)
State superintendent-elect Jennifer McCormick announced her transition team Friday. The 17-person team will help McCormick is hiring her cabinet at the Department of Education and preparing her new administration. She takes office Jan. 9.
The transition team consists of many public school principals, superintendents and leaders in higher education.
“I am excited and honored to work with such a dynamic and diverse group,” McCormick said in a statement. “The team’s commitment to Hoosier students will drive critical decision-making which will ultimately impact Indiana’s education system and ensure Indiana has one of the best Departments of Education in the nation.”
Here is the full list of McCormick’s transition team:
Dr. Brad Balch – Professor and Dean Emeritus, Indiana State University, Department of Educational Leadership
Dr. Todd Bess – Executive Director, Indiana Association of School Principals
Mr. Wes Bruce – Education and Assessment Consultant
Dr. Jeff Butts – President-Elect, Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents
Rep. Tony Cook – Republican, Cicero
Mr. Denny Costerison – Executive Director, Indiana Association of School Business Officials
Dr. Scot Croner – Superintendent, Blackford County Schools
Mr. Steve Edwards (Transition Team Chair) – Retired Superintendent and Education Consultant, Administrator Assistance
Dr. Nancy Holsapple – Executive Director, Old National Trail Special Services Inter-Local
Mr. David Holt – Chief Financial Officer, MSD Warren Township
Dr. Lee Ann Kwiatkowski – Member, State Board of Education
Mr. Micah Maxwell – Executive Director, Boys & Girls Club of Muncie
Dr. Hardy Murphy – Executive Director, Indiana Urban Schools Association and Clinical Professor of Education, IUPUI, IU School of Education
Mrs. Kathryn Raasch – Principal, Wayne Township Preschool
Mr. Terry Spradlin – Director of Community and Governmental Relations, Education Networks of America
Mrs. Lisa Tanselle – General Counsel, Indiana School Boards Association
Mrs. Kelly Wittman – Executive Principal, Max S. Hayes Career & Technical High School of MSD Cleveland
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