Full Circle Indy

01/15/2025

Is public school enrollment on the decline across Marion County?

IPS's district-run schools did experience a decline, largely driven by a rocky roll-out of their Rebuilding Stronger middle school reconfiguration. But what about the other public school districts in Marion County? Is enrollment up or down? And how do districts compare in terms of demographics?

We unpack all that and more in our Marion County public school enrollment deep dive.

The recently-proposed HB 1136 put a spotlight on public school enrollment trends, both in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and across the state. Today, we unpack enrollment for IPS, local charter …

01/15/2025

Recently released enrollment data showed a steep decline in IPS, largely driven by a loss of enrollment at their middle schools. But what of the rest of Marion County? We examine public school enrollment trends for all 11 Marion County districts. What we found may surprise you.

The recently-proposed HB 1136 put a spotlight on public school enrollment trends, both in Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and across the state. Today, we unpack enrollment for IPS, local charter …

01/14/2025

Time to follow some bills! There's a whole host of education legislation under consideration this year that we'll be carefully tracking.

What bills are top of mind for you that you're either worried about or excited to see possibly progress?

Some of the bills would require parental consent for those under 16 to use social media, dissolve the state’s largest school district and replace it with charter schools, and prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and programs. Chalkbeat Indiana will update this bill tracker regularly.

01/10/2025

IPS responds to the recently put forth legislation HB 1136 that would dissolve the district as we know it.

From Board President Angelia Moore: "This legislation is not student focused, and fails to reflect the community’s input on how they envision their public schools thriving. Instead of fostering growth and innovation, HB 1136 risks dismantling the very foundation that supports student success and community collaboration.”

Chalkbeat Indiana has more on the community's initial response.

The pushback against the legislation comes as IPS faces yet another session that could leave the district even more financially strapped and struggling for survival.

01/08/2025

Six Indianapolis political leaders recently released a letter calling on IPS to figure out a sustainable future from a financial and operational perspective. The letter also called on IPS to share local property tax dollars with charter schools that operate within IPS boundaries. WFYI has more.

A bipartisan group of influential Indianapolis politicians and education advocates urged Indianapolis Public Schools to address financial and operational challenges and share resources with charter schools in an open letter released Friday.

01/07/2025

New legislation would dissolve IPS and other districts that enroll less than 50% of the eligible students who live within their boundaries. Certainly something we'll be following closely during this legislative session.

The bill proposes converting 50 schools in the Indianapolis Public Schools district into charter schools.

01/04/2025

What is Mike Braun's education agenda for Hoosier schools and students? Read our deep dive for more.

Earlier this month, Indiana governor-elect Mike Braun released his “Freedom and Opportunity For Every Hoosier” 2025 policy agenda. It offers five priority areas that I’ll broadly define as tax reli…

01/03/2025

Indiana's graduation rate for the class of 2024 reached its highest point in a decade, inching above 90%.

The state’s latest graduation rates are the highest in a decade, marking a 1.25 percentage point increase from 2023.

12/31/2024

Major changes (or even a dissolution) of the DOE likely mean severe impacts to Title I, IDEA, and Title IX for states like Indiana. We take a look at the possible downstream impacts of the new administration's outlook for the DOE.

Will the newly-elected administration really eliminate the federal DOE? Let’s assume they do. What happens in Indiana as a result? Better yet, what happens to your neighborhood public school?

12/30/2024

"Authentic, empathetic leadership can transcend language and cultural differences."

Struggling to follow along in an unfamiliar language, I experienced what many of my students and families faced when they arrived in the U.S.

12/27/2024

What happens if the federal DOE does actually disappear? We take a look at the possible impacts to Indiana schools and students.

Will the newly-elected administration really eliminate the federal DOE? Let’s assume they do. What happens in Indiana as a result? Better yet, what happens to your neighborhood public school?

12/27/2024

"Indiana lawmakers are preparing to write the next state budget, and as an economic surplus winds down, they face difficult decisions about what education programs to fund and how much to give them."

State leaders and advocates agree average teacher salary should be raised. Lawmakers are also want to expand school choice, but it’s unclear what form that could take.

12/23/2024

We like Braun's stated plans for teacher pay and retention but dislike his agenda for expanding private school vouchers even further. We're curious, if you've read his education plans, what areas do you align with or disagree with?

Earlier this month, Indiana governor-elect Mike Braun released his “Freedom and Opportunity For Every Hoosier” 2025 policy agenda. It offers five priority areas that I’ll broadly define as tax reli…

12/20/2024

Governor-elect Mike Braun released his 2025 agenda earlier this month, which included a breakdown of his intentions for education across the Hoosier state. We analyze the 6 main areas of his education plan in our latest blog.

Earlier this month, Indiana governor-elect Mike Braun released his “Freedom and Opportunity For Every Hoosier” 2025 policy agenda. It offers five priority areas that I’ll broadly define as tax reli…

12/19/2024

Indiana's legislative session will be here soon. We'll be keeping any eye on what education bills get in motion and what their impact could be for Hoosier schools and students. Is there anything top of mind as we approach session that you either hope to see (or hope not to see)?

12/18/2024

Last week, Indiana's new graduation requirements became official. Learn more about the changes in this piece from Chalkbeat Indiana

Beginning as early as next year, schools can choose to offer Indiana’s new diploma, which offers students three possible paths to college, work, or enlistment in the military.

12/17/2024

A research round-up from Edutopia: the 10 most significant education research studies from 2024.

It’s that time again—our yearly review of the research you should read, from the sneaky ways that inattention can spread in your classroom to the promises and perils of AI.

12/11/2024

IPS made the return of standalone middle schools a keystone of the Rebuilding Stronger initiative. But early troubles at Broad Ripple Middle School have led to an enrollment decline of hundreds of students since the school year began.

While many fixes have been implemented, it may be a case of too little, too late. We have more in our latest blog post.

Broad Ripple Middle School (BRMS) is back in the news these past few weeks. We did a deep dive into the problems families and staff presented to the IPS board some months back. Today, under new lea…