Changes Impact Lawrence Teachers, Students

Several changes are ahead for those of us with children in the Lawrence Township school system. Some — like losing up to 41 teachers — are a direct result of the economy, while other changes seek to strengthen our children’s education.

Fewer Teachers, Larger Classes
Just as the depressed economy has crimped personal and business budgets, it’s also squeezing funds for education.

It doesn’t help that the school district has been operating without an approved budget for 2008, making its 2009 budget uncertain as well. Because of the property tax debacle in Marion County, the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) has not certified any school budgets in the county as it waits for reassessment results, which are expected any day.

When it’s all said and done, the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township (MSDLT) is expecting to be about $4.2 million over budget, according to Dr. Nikki Woodson, director of staff development and communications.

The district has already sent out Reduction in Force notices to 41 first-year teachers, informing them that they may be out of a job next year. The district also will not replace 27 teachers who are retiring.
“All average class sizes will go up,” Superintendent Michael Copper told Lawrence Township constituents during a public meeting April 13.

The federal economic stimulus package may provide a glimmer of hope. The state has received $820 million earmarked for education, and it’s up to Governor Mitch Daniels to decide how it is to be spent. Local K-12 schools are hoping the bulk will be used to inject more cash into their General Funds.

However, since this is a one-time benefit, it likely will be used for nonrecurring expenses — such as educational supplies, teacher training and technology updates — rather than ongoing expenses like teacher salaries.

Summer Pay in Jeopardy for Teachers
Teachers may lose their summer pay, and the district could lose up to $56 million if a lawsuit filed by the teacher’s union goes forward, according to information posted on the MSDLT website.

A little known lawsuit was quietly filed back in October after contract negotiations stalled between the Lawrence Education Association (LEA) and the MSDLT School Board. Four teachers — Rebecca Crum, Veronica Embry, Ronald Klene and Kent Jackson — filed the lawsuit on behalf of district teachers.

The suit alleges that the board failed to abide by the Indiana Wage Payment Act, which requires employers to pay wages no more than 10 business days after the date those wages were earned. Crum, who is the LEA president, says first-year teachers often do not receive their first paycheck for up to a month from the beginning of the school year.

Crum and her cronies did not expect the school board’s response, which was to threaten elimination of year-round pay for teachers. The current teacher contract (which was approved by the LEA) states that teachers could be paid every two weeks with a total of 26 payments annually, thus allowing them to be paid throughout the summer.

“We clearly paid them as we were asked to pay them,” Board Secretary Adam Goldstein said. He and the rest of the board were unwilling to settle the claim for the $5 million in damages the LEA sought.

The good news here is that current legislation at the state level may make this lawsuit moot and spare the district from spending an estimated $56 million to defend it. Interestingly, the MSDLT and the LEA both support the Indiana State Teachers Association legislation, which would more clearly define the Wage Payment Act and keep summer pay for teachers.

No More Half-Days
The new Superintendent of Public Instruction wants to see Indiana rise to the top of the class when it comes to test scores, graduation rates and overall quality of education. With that in mind, he abruptly ended half days slated for teacher development. Students will be required to attend 180 full instructional days.

To address the teacher development issue, Lawrence Township administrators proposed “Modified Mondays” which called for every Monday to begin an hour later for students so that staff could participate in training. The outcries from parents citing childcare issues quickly caused the board to dismiss this idea.

Now it’s uncertain how and when teachers will gather for training. The most likely scenario is that substitutes will be employed to cover for teachers during the day while they attend staff meetings.

New Elementary Districts & Shuttles
The School Board has approved new boundaries for elementary schools as part of its efforts to balance enrollments and leverage educational opportunities.

All elementary students will be assigned to a school near their residence. However, starting with the 20010-11 school year, families will be given free reign to choose any of the five elementary schools on their side (East or West) of the school district. Forest Glen Elementary, at 6333 Lee Road, will remain the only true magnet school, offering a Dual Immersion program which features classroom instruction in English 50 percent of the day, with Spanish instruction for the other half.

Students not attending their assigned school will be shuttled to their school of choice. Shuttling begins for the 2009-10 school year for all students in special programs, which is projected to save the district an estimated $800,000 in transportation costs.

Many details of the elementary redesign are still uncertain, including whether all schools will have a unique area of focus (like science/technology or international studies) and what those school-wide focuses might be.

New Superintendent
While the district is in the midst of a complete overhaul of the elementary school design, Dr. Copper is preparing for retirement. Copper has been at the helm of the demographically changing district for the last seven years.

The School Board is currently searching for a new superintendent, with plans to hire our next leader by June 30. However, finding a qualified candidate may prove difficult with 12 other school districts in the Indianapolis metropolitan area also searching for a superintendent.

Board Member Goldstein told community members during the April 13 meeting that the school board will hire an interim if necessary until the right candidate is found.

“We will not put someone in this job that is not great,” he said.

LT School Board Vote Means Smaller Magnet Offerings, Longer Bus Rides in 2009-10

Lawrence Township’s two elementary magnet schools will be taking a hit next year with Monday’s School Board vote to decrease enrollment for 2009-10. Students at Forest Glen and Indian Creek also will lose about 40 minutes of instructional time due to a new shuttling system.

On the surface, the votes seem inconsistent with the district’s push for greater choice and expanded magnet programs at the elementary level. However, board members say it’s just a temporary hiccup in a master plan to increase magnet offerings district wide in 2010-11.

Eighteen months ago, the district began studying how best to balance enrollments at its 11 elementary schools. That initiative, known as EXCEL, evolved into a quest for educational equity in a very diverse school district.

The new plan calls for setting up magnet-type programs at all 11 elementary schools and giving parents a choice to send their child to any school on their side (east or west) of the district. Only Forest Glen would remain a stand-alone magnet program, offering a dual immersion experience, where both native English and native Spanish speakers would be immersed in foreign language.

The current Global Studies program at Forest Glen likely will be moved to Amy Beverland, which would adopt an International Studies focus for 2010-11.

With all the logistics to work out, the district needed an extra year to shuffle staff, provide additional training and work out the nightmare of transportation. Yet, school administrators and board members felt the problem of overcrowding at some schools — and declining population at others, like Amy Beverland — needed to be dealt with for next school year. Hence, the vote to decrease the number of incoming first graders at Forest Glen and Indian Creek by one classroom in 2009-10.

Board members received dozens of emails from parents and teachers, warning them not to make a hasty cut this year without first having a comprehensive, workable plan in place for the entire elementary transformation in 2010-11. Several patrons also spoke at Monday night’s meeting.

Not only did the board choose to limit options for next year’s first graders, it also voted to decrease the school day at its marquee magnet programs by 30-40 minutes in favor of saving on transportation costs next year. Instead of instructional time, the kids will be spending more time on the bus, riding to and from school. The shuttle system also will go into effect for students in the STRETCH gifted and talented programs. These students will ride their neighborhood bus to their “home” school, then be transported to the magnet or STRETCH school site.

Add it up, and these students may be losing close to three weeks of instructional time over the course of the school year. Forest Glen Kindergarten Teacher Becca McBride told the board, if anything, she could use more time at school, not less. School Board Vice President Henry Fernandez, himself a Forest Glen parent, was the only board member to vote against this proposal. The driving factor was that the move is projected to save the school system about $800,000 in transportation costs.

Board Member Adam Goldstein sized up the temporary cuts at the magnet schools as an investment into a long-range plan to increase school choice for all Lawrence Township families. While many parents and staff members are supportive of the future plan for elementary programs, their excitement is tempered with uncertainty, as the administration has yet to produce a workable plan for 2010-11 and teachers have not been told what the shake up will mean for their jobs.

A diverse student population calls for creative solutions, and the Lawrence Township administration has done a good job of involving stakeholders in shaping their future. However, the logistics of implementation are proving to be challenging.

High School Newspapers, Journalists Capture IHSPA Awards

Both Lawrence Central and Lawrence North have been recognized by the Indiana High School Press Association.

Lawrence Central’s student newspaper , the Cub Reporter, has been named a 2008 Hoosier Star, designating it the best high school newspaper in the state from large-population high schools.

The award was presented at the annual convention of the Indiana High School Press Association Oct. 17 at Franklin College. It was based on issues from the 2007-08 school year. Editors-in-chief were Kristin Bailey, now a freshman at Indiana University, and Sara Walker, now a freshman at Purdue.

Lawrence Central’s Faculty Advisor, Elizabeth Granger, was named the 2008 Indiana High School Journalism Teacher of the Year. Granger teaches journalism and English and advises LC’s student newspaper, the Cub Reporter.

Lawrence North Principal Steve Goeglein was named the Indiana High School Press Association’s Administrator of the Year at the annual convention. Lynx yearbook adviser Kathy Sahm Francis nominated Goeglein to recognize his support for student press at LN.

“I just felt that after working with him these past years and seeing him supporting the student journalists here, that he deserved it,” said Francis.

Yearbook students wrote letters to show their enthusiasm for Goeglein as well. “Mr. Goeglein respects us enough to basically leave us alone and trust that we will do the right thing,” said junior Kaitlyn Burke. Burke, along with other students said that they were excited for his recognition. The students surprised him with his announcement during class, where over 100 student journalists, teachers, and fellow administrators gathered.

“I am flattered to have been nominated,” said Goeglein, “and quite surprised to have been selected.”

The IHSPA annually recognizes one outstanding administrator. This year, according to IHSPA Director Diana Hadley, there were more nominations than ever. The award recognizes an administrator who not only supports the student press, but also defends the right for those student journalists to serve as decision-makers of their respective publications, free of censorship and prior review.

“We are fortunate in that students are the decision makers for both the yearbook and newspaper,” said Francis. “There are many schools where a principal chooses to take control, determining the content of the publications. This takes away from entire learning process for those kids.”

Goeglein, according to Francis and newspaper adviser Heather Stockdell, is a principal who is also an advocate for equipment technology, keeping with new trends in the changing world of communications.

“He’s fun and we love him,” said senior Julia Smith, editor of the Lynx.

Seven Lawrence Central student journalists captured nine individual awards at the state convention of the Indiana High School Press Association.

In the newspaper division, senior Eric Rees captured first place for a newspaper photo portfolio and second place for spot news photo. Senior Amanda Bowman took second in feature writing, 2008 graduate Kristin Bailey third in page design and junior T.E. Norris honorable mention in news writing.

In the convention’s on-site competition, junior Lierin Ehmke took first in newspaper feature design and Bowman third in ethics.

For yearbooks, 2008 graduates David Quiocho took third in feature photo and Courtney Shaw honorable mention in overall theme.

Lawrence Township Schools Reports Over 700 Participated in 5K

   The Lawrence Township School District boasted nearly 800 student participants in last Saturday’s 5K race.

The school district formed the “Up and Running” program for students in the elementary and middle schools. This innovative program was designed to place an emphasis on fitness awareness. The children were guided by volunteers and teachers as they trained for the goal of running in the Geist 5K race.  Clarian Health provided funding for this program, which is an expansion of the Lawrence School Foundation’s Healthy Kids initiative. The kids were treated to a spaghetti supper the night before the race, courtesy of Texas Roadhouse in Fishers.

“We have seen kids who have never exercised really getting into the program, having a good time while getting more healthy and fit,” Foundation Director Christie Love said.

Student groups started training in January. Mentors led students with after school training programs two days a week. The school system hopes to increase the training period next year, thanks to proceeds donated to the schools from the Geist Half Marathon, Love said.  The foundation also hopes to purchase fitness tracking equipment (heart monitors and software) for all Lawrence Township schools.

“We will be using any money we receive from The Geist Half Marathon to support our mentors working with our students training next year. We hope to have an eight-week training in the Fall and an 11-week training in the spring, culminating again at the Geist Half Marathon. I think we will have a great deal larger group next year, which is very exciting,” Love said.

Sharing this goal, Geist Half Marathon organizers hope to make next year’s race even better for students. The organization plans to implement a year-long fitness program, which will provide coaches, running shoes, pedometers and support to kids at all grade levels.

The Lawrence School Foundation also is looking for school team sponsors.  Interested business partners may contact Love at 317-423-8300.