317-943-3326

The only agenda should be what is best for all kids!

As a parent of two current IPS students I understand how decisions made in the board room affect our classrooms. For far too long the IPS School Board has allowed inequities between schools to continue and grow, creating a system of haves and have nots. Some schools lack even the basics needed to educate students. Constantly changing principals and teachers, classrooms with no teacher, unfair school funding, and a lack of authentic parent and community engagement all affect student achievement. Our schools need IPS School Board members who will look to the future of IPS and implement proven educational models and community-based solutions to improve struggling schools. Indianapolis deserves school board members who believe in the strength of our families and communities.

We need a school board that believes in transparency, at all levels, and is held accountable to the taxpayers. No longer can decisions be made behind closed doors. IPS families, teachers, and community members deserve a seat at the decision-making table, not just big money special interest groups. We need decisions and policies that are equitable and fair. Students are successful when provided with an equitable education where their needs are met and they have adequate resources. This is what I want for my kids and every child!

Issues

Racial Equity

It is not enough to say you believe Black Lives Matter and you believe in equity. Decisions and policies must reflect this belief. Current policies should be reviewed to evaluate the effect they have on educational equity. Comprehensive impact studies need to be completed in the future before any major decision is made. Everyone who works in any IPS school must go through racial equity and implicit bias training. It is essential that Trauma informed care methods, Restorative Justice, Culturally Responsive Teaching and discipine procedures are practiced in all IPS schools.  All programs, methods, and curriculums need to be research based and proven to be effective in improving student achievement. The district must also make it a top priority to recruit and retain Black educators.

Educational Equity

Inequitable educational opportunities have been created by the policies, funding formulas, and decisions of the IPS School Board. This has resulted in a widening achievement gap and opportunity gap. Unfair funding formulas provide additional funds to popular magnet programs, up to $777,000, while schools serving higher numbers of black, brown, and poor students struggle. Funding for “failing” schools with low test scores is used to pay salaries of staff in the central office, rather than going to the classroom level for needed teachers and paraprofessionals. It has become acceptable for some students to have a well-rounded education including music, art, PE, and foreign language, while other schools focus their energy solely on standardized tests. The systemic inequity that exists within the district must end.

Communication & Engagement

IPS school board members have said for years that communication and engagement with parents and the community need to improve. As a parent I haven’t seen much change in 8 years. IPS continues to elevate the interests of businesses and special interests over parents, students, and the community that they serve. Discussions are held behind closed doors, leaving parents and the community out of decisions. All stakeholders need to be part of the decision-making process. IPS must encourage and foster authentic engagement, it is a vital component of building a great public school district. School board members need to work collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure that all schools are meeting the needs of students. It is impossible for school board members to make informed decisions without knowing what is really happening, what people need, and the impact those decisions have on everyone.

Accountability to

Students & Families

IPS administration and School board members have a duty to ensure that all students who walk through the door receive a world class education. Yet this isn’t what is happening. Every year IPS abdicates their responsibility to educate our students by handing schools over to outside groups. If our School Board members cannot effectively run schools then they need to go. IPS states that they are doing everything that they can to help struggling schools and students. Yet even the basics of  full-time permanent teachers, stable leaders, and resources aren’t provided. We need board members that will hold IPS administration accountable for the achievement of the students that they are entrusted to educate.

Transparency

As a public-school district IPS should be fully operating in the public sphere. The community should be able to easily see where  money and resources are going. Closed door meetings, limiting public discussion and involvement, performative engagement, special interests receiving preferential treatment, all need to stop. If we are to improve education for children in Indianapolis, we must have complete transparency, with no blind spots.

Accountability to Taxpayers

Not enough dollars are making it to the classroom. There is wasteful spending at the top levels of IPS, yet our kids go without. Schools were closed and consolidated to save money, yet we still have a large administration building downtown worth millions. IPS needs to be responsive to the needs of the community. We need school board members that will do their own research, ask the hard questions, demand answers and the truth, and hold the IPS administration accountable.

Doing What's Best

With the current health crisis shuttering schools, even temporarily, we need to be coming together as a community to support families and students. IPS had the opportunity to be truly community based and innovative in their approach to supporting students. An equitable education means providing students with what they need to be successful.  During this time many students are not receiving what they need. We cannot allow students to fall even further behind. Students and families need additional support and resources from the district, not less.

Common Sense Solutions

IPS has amazing schools, full of talented teachers and leaders. It only makes sense to see what is working and replicate it rather than using unproven methods. Plans should be based the strengths of families and the community, not what a special interest group wants. All programs, methods, and curriculums need to be research based and proven to be effective in improving student achievement.

Community Based Solutions

The Community Schools model brings together educators, parents and the community to holistically support families and children. Each is unique and responsive to the students it serves. All students benefit from community schools. By tapping into the wealth of knowledge and support that our communities have to offer we improve the educational outcomes for students. We need school board members who will help to bring our communities together to support students and families.

Christina Smith
IPS Parent & Advocate

I was born and raised in Lebanon Indiana. In high school Social Studies and English were my favorite subjects. 4-H, and Color guard kept me engaged in my school and community. During college I was involved in student government. While I was completing my undergrad program I worked for a local advocacy and consulting firm that specialized in social service agencies. In 2005 I received my bachelor’s degree in Social Work. My professional career has been in mental health, medical case management, health education, and advocacy. I have two children, Lilly and Fionn, who are in middle school at Sidener Academy. While my children attended Cold Spring School, I founded a PTA unit at the school. I have served as PTA president at two schools and as an IN PTA board member and field representative. In 2017 I became a founding member of a local grassroots advocacy organization, IPS Community Coalition. Through my advocacy work I have been able to work with law makers and local stake holders to bring about change at all levels of decision making.

I believe that an equitable education is a social justice issue. Every child has the right to a school where they are receiving an excellent education in an environment where they feel loved and accepted. All parents deserve schools where they are welcomed and actively engaged. Community members need a school district where they are given a seat at the table, no matter how much money they have.

Growing up in Lebanon Indiana I never thought that I would be faced with the educational landscape that we have here in IPS. There was your neighborhood elementary, one middle school and one high school. I feel as though I received an excellent education and felt a part of a community. This is what I want for my children and all kids.

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