By Cheryl Kirk For years in Indiana, we were told the ISTEP standardized test was the standard and now they say never mind, not really, not so much. We now know that the old ISTEP was not rigorous enough for college and career readiness, but now with a higher bar, so many schools could not…
Author: Blog Master
‘The teachers just took it that we weren’t as bright’
by Shaina Cavazos Teruko Knight-Gavia is an administrative assistant at Indiana Math and Science Academy West (IMSA). Knight-Gavia taught math in Indianapolis Public Schools’ John Marshall Middle School for about 10 years. She also spent time teaching at Sidener Gifted Academy and IMSA-West. Chalkbeat met Knight-Gavia near IMSA. She grew up going to school in IPS…
Students Deserve Administrators Who Know What They’re Doing
by David McGuire As a budding school administrator, I was raring to go. I was so excited about my first job. I’d been teamed up with several other newcomers to lead a struggling Indianapolis school. What I lacked in experience I made up for in passion and dedication. I thought I was ready. We all…
How to keep your black sons from being labeled as “disruptive”
by Cheryl Kirk I’m the mother of three African American children, two of them boys, so discipline is at times an issue. I am a firm believer that discipline begins at home, and most people would say I am a no-nonsense type of parent. Working with the teachers and administrators when it comes to my…
How Teaching Has Been Devalued–From the Inside and Out
by David McGuire At 24, I began my career as a classroom teacher in an Indianapolis high school—a school that had been failing students for many years but was being turned around with new management and new staff. After spending the previous two years after college battling with the internal struggle of taking on such…
A Pioneer in Indianapolis’ School Choice Movement
by Cheryl Kirk I am a mom of three children, and when my two oldest (twins) started school, we were the quote-unquote “family living in poverty.” We were not homeless or hungry by any stretch of the imagination, but still—we were surviving off one income while I worked as a medical assistant and went to…
Well earned good news for Indy public schools
by Indy Ed Improvements in Indianapolis Public Schools are being recognized nationally. The district has been singled out as one of 10 school districts that are making notable gains in student achievement. In a brief developed by Education First, and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IPS gets high marks for pursuing initiatives like…