"Is there a future for Indianapolis Public Schools?" By Stephen Hyatt

This was written and sent to me by Stephen Hyatt.  Steve served on the IPS School Board from 1986-1994.  He practices law here in Indianapolis and is a graduate of Tech H.S.  His children attended IPS schools as well.   I wanted to share this on my blog, because I think Steve hit the nail on the head.  He gets it.  So, I thank him for writing it, I thank him for sharing it, and I thank him for allowing me to share it.  It needs to be read.  





It is 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  I awoke at 2:45, and there was no prospect of going back to sleep.  Did the normal morning things, but the small comforts of routine didn’t help much.  I cannot shake the sick feeling.

The events of the past few days in IPS have left me with a mixture of depression, anger, sadness, and worry about the future of a way of life that I have embraced.

Here’s the thing.  In jest I have often said that “I love public education the way that nuns love the Lord”.

But the fact is, I adore the whole idea of public education.

Maybe I cling to a fantasy of something that never was.  But, I remember snippets of my early public education-- the first moment I knew I could read, the thrill of getting to wear the Indian headdress for good behavior in Mrs. Mahoney’s 3rd grade, Melba Pickett yelling “lest we forget” in the hallway (and all of us reciting by rote the preamble to the Constitution), Gray Y basketball, the community feeling of a public grade school in the 1950s.

My public high school did the best it could with me; and I think gave me a foundation upon which university, professional school, and life could build.

Ultimately, I matured, had my own family, and watched my children receive their public educations.  My expectations were that the public schools in my city would continue to deliver a quality education.  I neverfelt that they were letting me, and my children down.  My wife and I pitched in.  We were active parents and did what we could to be supportive of the schools and our children’s teachers.

By and large, I was not disappointed.  I am pleased with the adults that my children became and am secure in the belief that their public schooling contributed a great deal to their success as adults.

I harbor those same expectations for my grandchildren..  For the boys in Monticello, I am not too worried.  It looks as if the schools there are still functioning on a reassuring level.

But here in Indianapolis?

We have seen it coming and so should, I suppose, be somewhat inured to it finally happening.  But consider this:  Indianapolis Public Schools has been stripped of control of four of its schools.  IPS, its administrators, teachers and most importantly, its elected leaders, have been deemed incompetent by the State of Indiana to supply an education to thousands of children.

This is the public school system to which my parents, without a second thought,  entrusted the education of their children.  This is the school system to which my wife and I, without misgivings but with watchful eyes and helping hands, entrusted the education of our children.  This is the public school system to which I had hoped my own children would entrust the education of my grandchildren.

And the reaction of the elected leaders of the school system?  Sue the State and extend the contract of the Superintendant.

Really?

Where is the apology?  Where is the soul searching?

I do realize that there is much to criticize in the methods used by the State to brand IPS as incompetent.  Did politics play a part?  Probably.  Are there any number of other factors that come into play affecting the quality of schools?  Of course.

When you come down to it though, the fact is that there are rules, and those rules apply to all public schools.  We may not like them, but there they are and everyone knows them.  The State Department of Education didn’t manufacture data out of whole cloth.  IPS gave the Department the ammunition the Department needed in order to shoot down any thought that IPS was up to the job of providing a quality education.

IPS complains that it is stuck with educating masses of poverty stricken children, and that the plight of the children makes it more difficult to obtain great results.

That is true.  It is also true that Fort Wayne, South Bend and Evansville are urban areas with concentrations of children living in poverty.  All of their public schools remain under the control of local school leadership.

IPS complains of competition from charter schools that rob it of children and the money that follows them.  It is a valid complaint; but is, nevertheless, a self inflicted wound.

The sad fact is that IPS is in the situation that it is in because of choices its leaders continue to make—again and again.

There are bright spots in IPS.  Montessori schools, Centers for Inquiry—both options have waiting lists and produce wonderful results.  The children who attend those schools have parents who invest the time and effort necessary to assure quality public education for their children while continuing to live in Indianapolis neighborhoods.  You’ve only to talk with some of those parents to discover how pleased they are with the choices they have made.

But what else does IPS offer those moms and dads?  Where do they send their children to high school?  Howe?  Arlington?

How about Broad Ripple?  But even it has a “partner” because it isn’t deemed to be competent to run its own affairs without state help.
No, I am afraid that their simply is no good IPS choice for a caring parent.  They will choose a private or charter high school, or a public one outside the IPS district.  (Caring, informed parents know that this is now possible without extra cost)

IPS has refused to do what is necessary to attract the sort of families that it now decries that it doesn’t have.  

If further erosion of the schools is to be prevented;  IPS must accept that attracting quality students and their families has to be a priority.  Don’t tell me this is racist.  Don’t tell me that IPS must care for the least among us.

These are PUBLIC schools—open to everyone.   Why should caring families be excluded?  Why should smart kids have to look elsewhere?

No one in IPS will agree that these exclusions occur—but everyone with any experience in IPS knows that they do.  If not, IPS would not complain that an 80% poverty rate keeps it from scoring well.  It wouldn’t have an 80% poverty rate.

I do believe that all members of the IPS Board of School Commissioners and the IPS administration are caring, well meaning people.  They work hard, and they try.

But they have failed.  With thanks for their hard work and  admiration for their dedication, it is time that they be replaced.  The present school board will not make the changes necessary.  Recall that it voted to extend Eugene White’s contract as soon as it learned that its schools would be taken.  Dr. White is so wedded to his own vision that he recommended suing the State to prevent it exercising its statutory duty.  They are all well meaning, but glued to a vision that has failed and will continue to fail.

The one hope left to restore any semblance of excellence to IPS, to bring back quality public education to our neighborhoods and to restore the confidence of committed parents is wholesale change.  A new majority of the Board and a new superintendent are necessary.

And the best way to assure that is to start with the Board.  Currently, there is a 4 to 3 majority that favors Dr. White’s discredited vision.  Only one member need be replaced.

The goal for the next few months is to soberly evaluate who among the 4 is the most vulnerable and to recruit a replacement who is committed to a new vision for IPS and who has the energy and enthusiasm to run, and after election, to carry on the hard work of restoring IPS.