Indianapolis Public Schools offered retention bonuses in late March to 3,200 eligible staff members, but they came with an attendance requirement that staff couldn’t take more than two sick days for the remainder of the semester.
The district says the project initially would place solar panel arrays on 20 schools and eventually save tens of millions of dollars in energy costs.
Whether a student can play a sport, study advanced math, or sing in a choir varies widely by where they attend school, Indianapolis Public School officials said at the latest in a series of meetings that raise the possibility of closing some schools.
Indianapolis Public Schools is considering letting Purdue Polytechnic High School North temporarily use part of the building while the charter school’s permanent home is under construction.
Indianapolis Public Schools plans to spend federal emergency funds on cash bonuses to reward staff who stay with the district, officials announced last week.
The fiscal pressures raise the question of whether district leaders will consider closing schools—an option used recently to address a shrinking enrollment of secondary grades.
Kindezi Academy, the charter operator that revamped the school in 2016, announced Friday that it would end its partnership with IPS and shut down operations in June due to low student outcomes and facility issues.
School 42, a small K-6 school, has faced years of declining achievement that ultimately led IPS to decline to renew a contract with Ignite, its current operator.
Like many other school districts, IPS wants to diversify its teaching staff to be more representative of the students they serve.
The Indianapolis Public Schools Board of Commissioners approved a plan Thursday to sell the John Marshall school building to a yet to be determined not-for-profit organization for $725,000.
Announced Tuesday, the $30 million Promise Neighborhood grant will boost local efforts in the Near Eastside and Martindale-Brightwood communities to address poverty and improve education and community support systems.
The 2018 Indiana Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than one-third of Indiana high school students had used a Juul product.
The vaccination rate is higher among teachers and principals—more than 80%—and lower among classified staff such as custodians and food service workers, said Superintendent Aleesia Johnson.
The IPS board is scheduled to vote Thursday on a plan to give $5 million per year to charter partners from the district’s 2018 operating referendum.
Responding to urging from families and other advocates, Indianapolis Public Schools is proposing to share $5 million per year from a recent tax measure with its charter school partners.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In light of tighter mask guidance from federal and local health authorities, Indianapolis Public Schools announced Thursday that all students and staff would be required to wear masks indoors when the fall semester begins on Monday.
