As Gustavo Flores sat through a presentation on how to apply for a program to help first-generation students get into an Indiana university, he anticipated it could be an option to afford college.
Then the applications were passed out.
“First page I opened it and it says, DACA students did not qualify,” Flores says. “And I’ve been told about this program since freshman year. So it’s was like, ‘OK this is one way I could pay for college.’ And then just seeing that boldly right there it’s now, ‘Oh, there goes one thing that I can’t do. And that applies for a lot of other scholarships too.”
Flores, a senior at Shortridge High School who has attend Indianapolis Public Schools since a child, is one of the nearly 10,000 students and others in Indiana approved for DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects immigrants brought into the country illegally as children before June 2007.
Federal lawmakers continue to fight over the future of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects immigrants brought into the country illegally as children. The uncertainty is stalling legislation that would make attending college easier for students in Indiana.
The building only has room for one, and for a while it was men-only.
“But when the computer science department moved up there, they came into that area and they insisted that it was changed to a female bathroom,” says Rose-Hulman computer science professor David Fisher. “And the reason was because it sent a message that we’re a boys club, and they didn’t want to do that.”
He says it’s just one piece of the gender-inclusive puzzle the school is grappling with as the number of women in the major increases.
But the environment university officials are most focused on changing is in the classroom.
Universities are seeing success in recruiting more women to their computer science programs, but making sure they want to stay in the major is a different challenge. And colleges can struggle to make sure the environment is as inclusive as possible. For example, in the computer science department at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, there’s only one bathroom.
Keira Southard is one of three girls at Terre Haute’s Lost Creek Elementary School building a robot after classes have ended for the day. The other groups are all made up of boys, but that doesn’t bother Southard.
“All the boys are getting a little wild,” she says. “But we like to get stuff done.”
The project is part of MakerSpace Club, a program aimed at introducing kids to computer science. After the robot is assembled, they’ll be able to program it to move using a tablet computer.
The computer science field is booming, yet women are still underrepresented within it. Research shows one reason is that girls are not as exposed to computer science in K-12 education. So universities are reaching out to schools to introduce computing earlier.
Lawmakers heard testimony in the House Chamber during their meeting Tuesday. (Jeanie Lindsay/IPB News)
A heated debate broke out during a House committee’s discussion of a new graduation pathways bill Tuesday, as one lawmaker tried to make a big change to the legislation.
The State Board of Education passed new graduation pathway requirements late last year to help better prepare Hoosier students for a career or going to college after high school. Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) took issue with the plan during discussion of a bill that would – in part – help implement those new rules. He proposed a change to get rid of them completely.
Indiana State University’s new president Deborah Curtis says it’s an important time for the university and that she hopes to use her position as “megaphone” to advocate for the school throughout the state.
The university’s Board of Trustees voted to appoint Curtis to the position in November. She is an ISU alum and also the first woman president in the university’s history. Curtis assumed office on Jan. 3.
WFIU/WTIU sat down with President Curtis just a few weeks into her position as president to discuss what she plans to bring to the job and her ideas for the future of the university.
Photo: Zach Herndon Indiana State University’s new president Deborah Curtis says it’s an important time for the university and that she hopes to use her position as “megaphone” to advocate for the school throughout the state. The university’s Board of Trustees voted to appoint Curtis to the position in November.
The study also calls for a greater focus on the “whole child” a term, which school officials say they will be using more, when referring to the social and emotional learning needs of students.
Assistant Superintendent Ted Stevens said they’re hoping enrollment will increase in the district by at least a hundred students every year for the next five years.
“Again, that’s 5 years down the road, but we definitely want to plant that seed in the board and community’s mind,” Stevens said, “You know, the community may say no, or the community may say yeah, we think that’s the best thing to do for the greater Michiana area.”
Mishawaka school leaders reviewed a Grade Level Study Report yesterday offering the school board options for improving education district wide. Suggestions in the report include a greater focus on early learning, specifically by offering more early childhood activities for Mishawaka residents, which could include restructuring grade levels and even building another middle school, which bump sixth graders to middle school, allowing space for more early childhood programs in elementary schools.
An amendment to Indiana House 1315 could give control of the Muncie Community Schools to Ball State University, instead of a state-appointed emergency manager.
Ways and Means Chairman Republican Representative Tim Brown from Crawfordsville wrote the bill and the amendment. Brown said the amendment pertains to the Muncie Community Schools – not to other struggling school districts. Brown was the lawmaker who introduced legislation last year to put MCS under partial state control
The amendment would permit Ball State’s Board of Trustees to adopt a resolution to govern the Muncie Community School Corporation, using a newly appointed seven-member governing board. Five elected school board members currently comprise the MCS board. If the measure is adopted by lawmakers, Ball State’s trustees would select five members of the MCS board. Ball State’s President Mearns would submit the nominations to the BSU board. Muncie’s city council and mayor would each have one appointment to the new seven-member board. What happens to the role of the elected school board is not yet certain.
An amendment to Indiana House Bill 1315 that could give management control of the financially stressed Muncie Community Schools to Ball State University. IPR’s Stan Sollars talked with BSU President Geoffrey Mearns about the idea, that is expected to be discussed by the House Ways and Means Committ
For the smaller southern district, recruiting students is necessary.
Northern Wells Community Schools Superintendent Scott Mills said he is not sure all the competition between the state’s school districts is a good thing.
And in the few years since students have been allowed to transfer to districts outside of their own, Mills sees tension growing between neighboring districts.
Indiana’s Department of Education released enrollment numbers last week showing competition for students between districts is heating up. Fort Wayne Community Schools spokeswoman Krista Stockman said some of what the data showed was expected. “We were not surprised that they are going to East Allen,” Stockman said.
Sue Coney is Director of Communications for South Bend Schools. She said it’s been 15 years since school boundaries changed in the district and they want to parents to be aware of their options.
“We want to make sure that families understand that right within South Bend schools if you want a different specialized school, or you want to attend a small school or an academy or a very parent involved school, that you have those choices,” Coney said, “You can stay right here in South Bend public schools and find something that fits for your child.”
South Bend Schools held an informational meeting Tuesday to help parents and students navigate new school assignments and graduation pathways following the approval of the Focus 2018 redistricting plan in December. In what resembled a college fair, parents and students visited with representatives from each of the district schools to learn more about programs available to elementary and middle school students in South Bend.
A group called The Villages of Indiana specializes in family and child services, including foster care and adoption. (Jeanie Lindsay/IPB News)
A House committee has approved legislation to track foster children and their success in schools.
The bill would require the Indiana Department of Education and the Department of Child Services to gather data on foster care students in public schools – specifically, the graduation rates and enrollment data for those students.
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