New ways to invest in teachers, less time talking district vs. charter needed

In Marion County, 30% of families choose to send their children to a public school different than the one they are assigned to based on their address, according to the state Department of Education 2022-2023 School Year Transfer Report. That’s over 37,000 students who are not attending their district's neighborhood school and whose parents are exercising their choice to decide what’s best for their children. Over 85% of those students are Black or Hispanic.

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According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, 80% of parents surveyed nationally support the idea of allowing parents to choose which public school their child should attend, rather than assigning students to a school based on where they live. Choice allows parents to have more options in their children’s education.

Indiana students made little progress in reading proficiency, according to the most recent 2023 ILEARN scores. While some Marion County districts experienced gains in literacy outcomes, others remained stagnate or saw a decline.

The time to radically improve these outcomes is now. We believe in supporting all public schools, no matter the type, especially after reviewing these most recent ILEARN test scores and after what we learned on a recent trip.

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In May, we went on a public school learning and discovery trip with Indy-based education justice organization, RISE INDY. During this trip we met with founder and president of the Harlem Children's Zone Geoffrey Canada, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, educators, and local and appointed elected leaders.

We learned about ways New York is facing challenges similar to Indianapolis in teacher retention, student mental health supports and addressing the achievement gap between students of color, low-income students and white students. We also learned solutions from the ways their city is working collaboratively to make sure every public school is exceptional for all students regardless of race or income.

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For example, New York offers school-based counseling in every public school building, free telehealth services to all high school students, shared building access between district and charter schools and community education councils where appointed residents make school-based decisions. As a result of these efforts, NYC has excelled in student growth gains and public transparency on disaggregated student outcomes.

As a collective body of elected officials committed to the communities we serve, we are firm on the following actions through policy change: identifying new ways to attract teacher talent to fill over 200 teaching vacancies in Marion County while investing in our current educators, expanding mental health supports with ease of access and care for all public school students, and prioritizing public school transparency so we spend less time discussing district vs. charter schools and more time expanding supports that are working for our children. We agree to bridge the gap between community, schools and elected officials to realize transformational change for Indianapolis education. That work begins now.

One thing is clear after this trip — collaboration between community, schools and elected officials is essential to realizing change for Indianapolis education. This is our time to center students in the conversation. We seek these changes with your voice in mind and look forward to what’s possible at the Indiana General Assembly, Indianapolis City County-Council, and IPS School Board as a result of this commitment.

All public schools have the potential to lead this country in providing an excellent public education to our students, and we can only achieve this by working together. Parents and community members can join us in action by getting engaged in education policy discussions through local organizations, volunteering at your neighborhood school or signing up to be a Circle City Readers tutor to support our learners. Our children are counting on all of us, and we are confident we will see change when we all move towards solutions for our children.

Maggie A. Lewis is an Indianapolis City-County councilor for District 10 and council majority leader, Keith Graves is an Indianapolis City-County councilor for District 13 and La Keisha Jackson is an Indianapolis City-County councilor for District 14. Venita Moore is the Indianapolis Public Schools Board president, Angelia Moore is the IPS Board vice president and Nicole Carey is the IPS Board commissioner.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: More transparency, less time talking district vs. charter needed