Indianapolis Public Schools to raise starting salary for teachers to $50,400
The hike is part of a two-year union contract approved Thursday that will give an average 3% raise for teachers this school year and another 3% next year.
Education & Workforce Development
Articles
IBJ Podcast: Indiana’s workforce leader talks unemployment, labor markets and minimum wage
Host Mason King talks with Fred Payne, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, about what the state is doing to help more Hoosiers find jobs and more companies find workers.
Republic Airways to launch aircraft dispatch training program
Indianapolis-based Republic Airways announced plans Thursday to start what it says is the state’s first aircraft dispatch training program.
Schools debate: Gifted and talented, or racist and elitist?
Increasingly, parents and school boards are grappling with difficult questions over equity, as they discuss how to accommodate the educational aspirations of advanced learners while nurturing other students so they can equally thrive.
IPS enrollment rises as missing kindergartners return
Enrollment trends will drive crucial upcoming decisions on the future of the district, such as considering potential school closures, evaluating choice programs, and adding charter school partnerships.
You don’t need to be a coder to be part of upcoming 5G sports hackathon
About 300 techies, designers and other young specialists are expected to descend on Butler University next week to participate in the AT&T 5G Sports Hackathon, with $100,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Reentry not-for-profit RecycleForce breaks ground on new headquarters
RecycleForce says the 102,500-square-foot facility will allow it to recycle 12 million pounds of electronic waste and employ 600 people annually, doubling its capacity.
Report: Local Black, Hispanic children face ‘chronic lack of access’ to quality education
For students in Marion County, the deficiency begins in preschool and lasts until they’re preparing for college, according to a new report commissioned by the Indianapolis-based Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.
Q&A: Franklin College President Kerry Prather projects more growth, bigger fundraising
Prather became acting president in January 2020, shortly after the board of trustees terminated the employment of the college’s previous president, Thomas Minar. In March, the board announced that Prather will continue to lead the institution until at least July 2024.
IU to pay McRobbie additional $582,000 for consulting services
Documents obtained from IU by a law professor indicate trustees initially approached then-IU President Michael McRobbie about extending his contract six months in case a search for a new president lasted beyond his retirement date.
Indiana hopes its free online lab will be hub for professional development
Backed with millions of dollars in funding, Keep Indiana Learning is partnering with the Indiana Department of Education as part of a statewide initiative to provide a central hub for teacher professional development: The Indiana Learning Lab.
Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports
Congress sent billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief to schools across the nation this year. But with few limits on how the funding can be spent, some districts have used large portions to cover athletics projects they couldn’t previously afford.
Indianapolis Public Schools teachers could get 3% raises this year and next
The school board also approved a separate agreement that will award support staff a 2% raise this year. Both agreements are retroactive to July and signal an end to two years of more significant pay increases intended to make up for years of frozen salaries.
Ivy Tech launches $285M statewide fundraising campaign
The school said the funds raised through the “Invest IN Ivy Tech” effort will benefit its 19 campuses across Indiana and add much-needed “human capital.”
Ex-Surgeon General Adams joining Purdue University
Purdue University announced Thursday that former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams will be its first executive director of health equity initiatives.
Navient to exit federal student loan servicing
Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan companies, has major operations in Fishers. About 1,400 people work in the company’s 450,000-square-foot loan servicing and data center east of Interstate 69 and north of 106th Street.
After months-long fight, Fall Creek Place affordable housing complex approved
The City-County Council on Monday evening approved rezoning for a mixed-use, affordable housing project set for Fall Creek Place, overturning a Metropolitan Development Commission denial and ending months of pushback from some residents.
IPS erases $18 million deficit but needs to keep cutting
Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said Thursday that she doesn’t anticipate closing any schools by next fall, but she warned that the district must continue to cut costs to avoid falling into the red.
Indiana lawmakers weigh whether state or districts should license teachers
Indiana lawmakers on Tuesday debated giving school districts the authority to license their own educators as a solution to ongoing teacher shortages.
Butler, Purdue, Rose-Hulman continue college-ranking streaks
Purdue University, Indiana University and Ball State University all improved overall in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” rankings.