HENDRICKS COUNTY FLYER
D2 | Saturday, May 30, 2015
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Hendricks County schools continue to perform well By Devan Strebing Devan.strebing@flyergroup.com
Schools in Hendricks County have excelled the past couple of years with graduation rates, test scores and attendance rates. Plainfield Schools Superintendent Scott Olinger says the success of the Plainfield School District is a testament to the teachers and staff who work hard every day. “Because of their hard work, we continue to be one of the best school corporations in the county,” he said. Olinger said three schools in the district received Four Star status. Brentwood Elementar y School, Plainfield Community Middle School, and Plainfield High School received the designation. The Four-Star School Award is given to “A” schools with ISTEP scores in the top 25th percentile in all grade levels and is based on 2014 ISTEP results. To earn the award, a school must have combined (math and English together) and dual (math and English separately) passing rates in the top 25th percentile in each grade level served. Overall, the Plainfield School Corporation received an “A” for the A-F accountability grades for 2013-14, according to the Indiana Department of Education. Olinger said the corporation has about a 97 percent attendance rate. “The teachers are never satisfied,” he said. “They continue to push our students to do great.” The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) released the state’s 2014 High School Graduation Rate data. Indiana uses a “Cohort Graduation Rate” which tracked the enrollment of all freshmen in 2010-11 through their fouryear high school experience, culminating in earn-
Hendricks County 2014 Graduation Rates: Corporation Name Avon Community School Corp Brownsburg Community School Corp Danville Community School Corp Mill Creek Community School Corp North West Hendricks Schools Plainfield Community School Corp
Cohort Count 655 543 200 125 144 391
Graduates 636 534 188 121 136 368
Graduation Rate 97.1% 98.3% 94.0% 96.8% 94.4% 94.1%
Hendricks County 2014 Diploma Type Earned Percentages Corporation Name
Core 40 Honors Diploma
Avon Community School Corp Brownsburg Community School Corp Danville Community School Corp Mill Creek Community School Corp North West Hendricks Schools Plainfield Community School Corp
53% 62% 43% 51% 35% 47%
Core 40 Diploma
General Diploma
45% 37% 38% 40% 49% 44%
2% 1% 19% 8% 17% 9%
LITTLE QUAKERS: The preschool students at Little Quakers Academy in Plainfield recently had their graduation ceremony. ing a high school diploma on time (in 2014). The rate includes early graduates and traditional graduates, but excludes drop-outs, students earning GEDs, special education students that earn “Certificates of Completion,” and retained students that require more than a traditional four-year high school experience.
Danville Schools Superintendent Dr. Tracey Shafer said historically the graduation rates of Danville Community High School have been very good. “If you look across the state, they are commendable,” he said. “We have areas we are never completely satisfied with, but we are well above the norm; we’re always trying to find
ways to improve that.” Each building in the Danville corporation earned an “A” in school accountability. “We want this to repeat and make it a constant,” Shafer said. “It shows the efforts of our teachers and building administrators — we are not satisfied — we want to continue to improve and provide more opportunities for kids to learn at a
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DANVILLE GRADUATION: Historically, graduation rates of Danville Community High School have been good. higher level.” Many of the Danville graduates are attending four-year college institutions, but Shafer said there is a good percentage of students that are looking into two-year oppor tunities, such as military or career technical education. “We’re paying more attention to them; there are more opportunities than before,” Shafer said. “We’re trying to meet workforce demands.” Since Shafer moved to the corporation in January, he said he has been impressed. “This is a wonderful community, a supportive community,” he said. “I’m impressed with the outgoing and maturity of our students.” Indiana law provides high schools with the opportunity to award three different types of high school diplomas: the General Diploma, the Core 40 Diploma, and the Core 40 with Honors Diploma (either academic or technical). The Core 40 with Honors Diploma is the most rigorous of the three Indiana diploma types requiring
advanced college-preparatory courses in the core academic areas and World Language, as well as college-level or Advanced Placement classes. The Core 40 Diploma is considered Indiana’s default diploma and is legislatively mandated as the minimum college admission requirement for the state’s public four-year universities. The General Diploma is Indiana’s least rigorous diploma, earned through the completion of foundational academic courses for workforce readiness. It is available to students only through a formal Core 40 opt-out process. Avon Community School Corporation has four schools that received the Four-Star School Award — Avon Intermediate School West, Avon Middle School South, Hickory Elementary School, and Sycamore Elementary School. “In Avon’s five-point Strategic Plan, our number one goal is achievement: Improve student achievement district-wide through individual student growth,” Avon School Superintendent Dr.
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HC communities continue to grow
School Continued from D2 Margaret E. Hoernemann said. “Academic progress should be measured in several ways — not just by standardized tests. However, it is important to report that Spring 2014 ISTEP scores have ACSC ranked 23 in the state out of 289 public school districts in the state on ISTEP — a slight decline since 2013 which we attribute to having much larger class sizes than other high performing districts.” District attendance last year was 97.2 percent and the graduation rate was 96.8 percent. Hoernemann said she is proud the Avon High School Advanced Placement (AP) achievement continues to be among the highest in the state with more than 35 percent of students passing at least one AP exam. Extensive career and technical education offerings are available at the Area 31 Career Center where Avon students often receive dual credit (both high school and college credits) as well as industry certification as they prepare for college or the world of work. “Our K-4 Indiana Science Initiative provides hands-on science experiences — “doing science” rather than reading about it,” she said. “Recently ACSC was awarded a competitive $250,000 Math Science Partnership (MSP) Grant in cooperation with Purdue University, which will enhance our STEM instruction at the intermediate levels and beyond.” Avon students benefit from the corporation’s Outdoor Learning Center — one of only a handful in the U.S. — where history, science, math, social studies and language arts all come to life. “We certainly know that ‘academics’ encompasses more than core subjects,” Hoernemann said. “Avon
Saturday,www.flyergroup.com May 30, 2015 | D3
By Melissa Gibson Melissa.gibson@flyergroup.com
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TEACHING STUDENTS: Teachers in the Plainfield Community School Corporation push students to do better everyday. Community School Corporation has received a 2015 Best Communities for Music Education Designation.” There are 13,588 school districts in the nation with music programs. Only 388 were selected and only eight districts from Indiana made the cut. The AHS Marching Black and Gold band won the 2014 State Championship (11 state titles in 14 years) and the Avon World Drumline won its third State Championship at the Indiana Percussion Association competition in 2015 — the 15th in the school’s history. Avon art students (K-12) consistently excel at various state and national art competitions such as the ISO’s Symphony in Music and the Scholastic Art and Writing contest. “We could go on and on about all the ways our students are successful,” Hoernemann said. “We are not without challenges but anticipate that increased funding from the state and the many efficiencies we have accomplished to conserve resources, will allow us to hire additional teachers and reduce class sizes. We won’t be able to accomplish everything we need, but we will make a good start.” Brownsburg Community School Corporation (BCSC) had eight schools garnering the Four-Star School
designation from the Indiana Department of Education. Brownsburg’s schools that received the four-star designation are Brown Elementary School, Brownsburg East Middle School, Brownsburg High School, Brownsburg West Middle School, Delaware Trail Elementary School, Eagle Elementary School, Reagan Elementar y School, and White Lick Elementar y School. The lone school not to receive the designation — Cardinal Elementary — was only off by a few percentage points, school officials said. “We are very proud of our track record of high achievement at BCSC,” Superintendent Dr. Jim Snapp said. “This is a record number of 4-Star schools for our community, and along with the ‘A Rating’ earned by all of our schools and ISTEP scores in the top six in the state for three consecutive years, clearly demonstrates that teachers and students in our schools are setting rigorous goals, and achieving them together.” The North West Hendricks schools that received the 4-star award were North Salem Elementary, Pittsboro Elementary, and TriWest Senior High School. The Mill Creek Community School Corporation that received the 4-star award was Cascade Senior High School.
Many new facilities and well-known corporations have come to Hendricks County recently. “We have a strong pipeline of projects that continue to see Hendricks County as a great place to do business,” Cinda Kelley, executive director of the Hendricks County Economic Development Par tnership (HCEDP) said. “Most notably, our newest companies are Walmart.com, Ford Motor Company, and Tempur Sealy — all in Plainfield. Hanzo Logistics is also expanding their new facili-
ty and nearly doubling in size.” In addition, Brownsburg will soon welcome TMC Regional Training Center, with a new facility and more than 200 new jobs. While each new business is a benefit to the county, the entire concept of economic development continues to grow. In the past, the goal was to attract businesses with incentives, but the new model, according to the Indy Chamber, HCEDP and the State of Indiana through its Regional Cities Initiative depends more upon improving quality of life for its residents. Focused amenities
include parks, trails, arts, culture, community design, schools and health. Avon Town Manager Tom Klein said, “This is important because local government’s revenue is shifting toward income tax, which is paid by residents. To that end, we’ve focused on improving our quality of life to attract more people to Avon. We’re investing over $100 million in roads and trails and we continue to expand our park amenities and events.” NerdWallet’s 2014 ranking of Best Places for Homeownership placed Avon, Brownsburg and Plainfield all in the top 12.
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Granting to Further Education in Hendricks County For more information regarding the Hendricks County Community Foundation, visit our website www.hendrickscountycf.org or contact HCCF at 317.268.6240 or info@hendrickscountycf.org.
HENDRICKS COUNTY FLYER
D4 | Saturday, May 30, 2015
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Student safety is a top priority
Climbing enrollment brings transportation challenges
By Devan Strebing Devan.strebing@flyergroup.com
By Melissa Gibson Melissa.gibson@flyergroup.com
Each school corporation in Hendricks County has safety guidelines to keep its students safe from harm. Plainfield Schools Superintendent Scott Olinger said Plainfield has one school resource officer and offduty police officers assigned to various school buildings throughout the day. “Next year we are adding a second resource officer full-time,” he said. “The town helps pay the cost for the officer … it’s a great partnership.” Each Plainfield school has a call box — a buzz-in system — and each building has panic buttons; similar to what a bank would have. If a lockdown were to occur, personnel would use the PA system and all of the students would be locked in the classrooms, with the outside doors locked down too. The elementary schools also have crossing guards where there is traffic. In inclement weather, Plainfield school officials talk to local law enforcement and have conversations with town officials. They also communicate with other local school officials to see what they are doing. “We want to continue to increase all safety procedures,” Olinger said. “We take the safety of students and employees serious and we continue to monitor what we have and increase safety procedures in areas where we think we can improve.” Danville Schools Superintendent Tracey Shafer said Danville has one school resource officer. “It’s another layer of security and a layer of comfort and peace of mind,” he said. “He spends the majority of his time at DCHS and the middle school and
Student enrollment continues to increase as new housing developments are built and families look for high quality education. While population is growing and roadway construction is constantly developing, transporting students to and from the schools continues to present challenges. According to the Indiana Department of Education, approximate enrollment numbers for each Hendricks County school are: • Avon Community School Corporation (ACSC): 9,072; • Northwest Hendricks School Corporation: 1,881; • Brownsburg Community School Corporation (BCSC): 8,295; • Danville Community School Corporation: 2,531; • Plainfield School Corporation: 5,298; and • Mill Creek School Corporation: 1,571. Of those figures, most transpor tation depar tments are transporting 90 percent of their school population. ACSC recently established some changes in both school scheduling times as well as transportation routes. The school currently transports more than 8,000 students and all are eligible for services. Assistant Superintendent John Atha said, “The 2015-16 school year is a big year for the transportation department. With the work of the Avon Efficiency Task Force, we are upgrading our routing system and school start times in an effort to be more efficient with our transportation services.
DANVILLE HIGH: Each Hendricks County School requests visitors to check in at the office upon entering the school. sometimes at both elementary schools. We appreciate the support from the Town of Danville and police who help us with that relationship.” Each building has secured entryways, and a buzz-in system. All patrons have to be allowed in to enter; and all employees have to use a card reader every day to gain access to the building. All of the corporation’s facilities have radios on a common channel and the ability to communicate through PA systems. The corporation also has a safety plan and manual with procedures and drills. “We are continuing to look at our buildings that aren’t new and finding ways to increase safety measures and improve that process,” Shafer said. Avon Community School Corporation continues to work diligently to ensure the safety of its students and staff. ACSC implemented the ALICE Program (districtwide school safety professional development with local responders) in collaboration with local police and fire agencies and the
county sheriff’s department. ACSC was awarded two grants for the 2014-15 school year: Safe Haven Grant and the Secured Schools Grant. The corporation also received a commitment from the Town of Avon Redevelopment Committee to expand security cameras at all K-6 Buildings at a cost of $320,000. The district has a total of 600 video security cameras in its facilities. PTOs in the corporation have supplied visitor check-in software at multiple locations. ACSC has at least two SROs (student resource officers) on school property daily. The Brownsburg School Corporation has four school resource officers. Chief of School Police Ginnie Wing has been in her position since 2004. “Seeing a cop makes people feel safe, but we do a lot of work behind the scenes that people don’t realize,” she said. Two officers are at the high school; one splits his time at the middle schools and Wing works at a build-
ing with high school students and a special education program. “In Brownsburg we have 12 different schools; we have a lot going on,” she said. ‘We keep people in the places we might have more activity, and the elementar y buildings are divided up in between us … every building has an officer that works there.” She said the SRO officers interact with the students. “What’s unique with school law enforcement is that it’s the same thing ever y day,” Wing said. “The kids come and leave at the same time ever y day.” The school resource officers train the crossing guards that help out at elementar y and middle schools. “It’s all a part of school safety,” Wing said. “We’re trying to keep the kids safe in Brownsburg but it’s not just the responsibility of the school police — everyone is responsible” The Brownsburg school police depar tment has been a standalone agency since 2008.
“We will continue to adjust our bus stops in an effort to increase safety and efficiency by eliminating as many stops as possible where a bus is required to back up and by locating our stops at intersections. We will also be using (new to the school) GPS on each bus to provide parents with real-time access to the location of their child’s bus so they know if the bus is running on-time.” Other schools have additional options for transportation. BCSC transports more than 6,500 students each day, but for many years, students inside a one-mile radius of the school buildings have been included in a ‘walk zone.’ This year, about 1,100 students are walking to BCSC schools. “Brownsburg is the second fastest growing school district in Indiana and that increase in enrollment and ridership creates scheduling challenges that are constantly changing and evolving,” said Vicki Murphy, coordinator of communications for the BCSB. The transpor tation department continues to make changes and adjustments to the ever-changing environment, but communication continues to remain key, she said. Cinda Kelley, executive director of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership, said, “It remains key that local businesses, school corporations, higher education institutions, and public entities communicate needs and plan accordingly. Managing our quality of place is a key indicator for future success and vitality.”
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Technology changes education By Steven Penn steven.penn@flyergroup.com
Technology has integrated itself into almost every facet of American life. As a result, education has certainly not been immune to the integration. From online reading materials and classes, to tablets in classrooms, technology has slowly changed the way education is delivered. Hendricks County schools are no different, with basically all districts using technology. Several years ago, the Danville Community School Corporation set in motions plans to bring an iPad in every classroom. During the 2011-12 schools year, all high school students received an iPad during the first trimester.
According to information from the district, a supplemental Classroom Innovation Grant was awarded in March 2012 to expand the iPad project and integrate a K-12 digital learning solution. The expansion made it possible for each high school student to be issued an iPad to use at both school and home. Then all students in grades K through 8 have access to about five iPads per classroom. The corporation has also given its teachers training on how to effectively integrate iPad use in their classroom by creating online and blended learning opportunities for students. Tim Kasper, E-Learning director at DCSC, oversees all things technology. “I’m responsible for professional development for
teachers as far as technology is concerned,” he said. “I also work with our Student Support Center to help train students with properly using their devices. I’m also working on developing an online course program for DCSC.” In many ways, technology has completely changed the way education is delivered. “Access to the internet has changed the role of the teacher in the classroom,” Kasper said. “Gone are the days where the teacher was the lone expert of a particular subject. Student now have access to a wide world of experts. The modern teacher’s role is one of a facilitator or ‘curator’ of online learning resources to help the student find their
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Saturday, May 30, 2015 | D5
ACSC launches new technology upgrade Schools across the county are always looking for beneficial technology and possibilities to upgrade current materials. Many have gone to oneto-one or “flipped” programs in which the teacher goes from teaching the entire classroom as a whole and serves as the primary source of information to individual research and communication from student to teacher on projects and classwork. The Avon Community School Corporation (ACSC) has done just that for the fall, 2015-16 school year. The Strategic Technolo-
Class sizes continue to strain public schools By Melissa Gibson Melissa.gibson@flyergroup.com
The average class sizes throughout Hendricks County vary between 22 and 25 students. While most schools fall in relative proximity to the average teacher to student ratio, some, like Avon Community Schools, are struggling in specific areas such as fifth grade, where they average 31 students per classroom. Due to the concern in rising numbers and falling state support, many schools lobbied at the recent legislative session for a drastic change in the school funding formula. For the 2014-15 school year, Hendricks County received a specific amount from the state per student: • Avon Community Schools - $5,182 • Plainfield Community Schools - $5,282 • Danville Community
Schools - $5,248 • Brownsburg Community Schools - $5,101 • Northwest Hendricks Community Schools - $5,056 • Mill Creek Community Schools - $5,354 The current state average is $5,732 per student, resulting in lost revenue between 4.2 and 21.2 percent for each school. At the recent session, a new school funding formula was set. For example, ACSC will receive an additional $270 per student in the biennium. “Avon Community School Corporation (ACSC) is pleased that our legislators made some progress in addressing the fact that ACSC is one of the lowest funded schools in the state,” ACSC Superintendent Dr. Margaret Hoernemann said. (Current rank is 325 out of 365 of all public/ charter schools in per student funding.) “While the new funding formula increases Avon per student
funding $270 per student over the biennium, this is still $446 below the state average.” In order to expect quality growth within the communities, Cinda Kelley, executive director of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership (HCEDP), said there are direct connections between education, housing and economic vitality. “When we conducted the quality of life assessment in 2012, our residents identified three key factors as to why we live in Hendricks County: Quality education, access to healthcare, and greenspaces,” Kelley said. While Kelley believes focusing on these community indicators will lead to the success of the community as a whole, residents have expressed resistance in increasing taxes in the form of a referendum with Avon three years ago and again in Brownsburg with the recent primary election.
gy Expansion Plan and Upgrades Program (STEPUP) will put a laptop computer in front of every student in Avon schools by the end of the 2017 school year. “It was important to our teachers that the program we chose was very intuitive and easy to use,” said Jason Brames, ACSC technology director. “There were key features regarding the ability to create our own assessments and our own content as well as offering collaborative tools that would give our students the ability to post work online and interact with teachers in such a way that they could
respond without printing and handing out papers.” When the school year begins in 2015, students in sixth, eighth and ninth grades will receive a laptop computer for classroom instruction. In the 2016-17 school year, STEP-UP will expand to include all students in fifth through 12th grades. Studies show more than 70 percent of college courses are taught online. In fact, ACSC board member Kim Woodward said at a previous board meeting, “There are 2,500 students that live on the University of Indianapolis
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Technology Continued from D5 own path to learning.” But understandably there are some pitfalls. “You definitely have to watch out for reliable information on the internet,” Kasper said. “It’s so easy to ‘Google’ a question to find an answer. But is the answer reliable? This brings up the importance of digital literacy and digital citizenship.” Kasper said DCSC will continue to implement
2015 GRADUATES: Bethesda seniors conclude their high school career. Below: THE ADMINISTRATION: Bethesda Guidance Director Dee Tidball, Business Manager David Stafford and Administrator Don Criss at the 2015 graduation.
ACSC Continued from D5
Private schools are looking ahead By Devan Strebing devan.strebing@flyergroup.com
Kingsway Christian School and Church plan to separate into independent entities within the next five to seven years due to both going in different directions. Dr. Trent Lambert, director of advancement at Kingsway Christian School said there have been some rumors of what’s going on with the school. “There’s been a lot of rumors in Avon that Kingsway school is closing, but we’re not; we’re just changing gears,” he said. “Even though there’s going to be separation at some time, we’re not going anywhere. The senior pastor and the school administrator felt that they are going in a different direction — but the church is helping the school and supporting it.” There may be a name change down the road as well. The school is seeing consistent numbers in enrollment, and they are looking at new sports programs. They are in the beginning stages of offering a football program that will start either this fall or the next. They are also putting together a golf team.
campus that will never set foot in a classroom.” She said, “Our preparation of students for that kind of reality is only
technology into classrooms going forward. “The future at DCSC is very promising as more and more learning objects will live online,” he said. “Students across many grade levels will have access to their curriculum 24-7 and will have more ways to communicate with their teachers. Students in the Plainfield Community School Corporation are also no strangers to technology in the classroom. Technology at Plainfield includes projectors, interactive boards, student
response systems, document cameras, and wireless infrastructure Additionally, all teachers have access to a laptop and typically two to three desktop computers in each classroom. There are also several computer labs in each building. Most school corporations have done away with paper report cards and now issue such reports online. Many teachers also post homework assignments online and communicate with parents through email or text.
served best through a technology effort like this. If we want to get serious about preparing kids for college, this is a step in the right direction.” ACSC teachers are currently receiving specialized professional develop-
ment on the new program and once students receive their laptop, they too, will receive instruction regarding digital citizenship. For more information on the STEP-UP program, visit the website at www. avon-schools.org/stepup.
Wrapping up another great academic year “We will open some new doors,” Lambert said. “The school is going to be stronger and better than ever to serve our community.” The classes are taught by a Christian paradigm. He said Kingsway Christian School is going to be doing some great things. “We’re still here educating students from a Christian perspective,” he said. “We want to make sure our parents, stakeholders and community know that we’re not going anywhere.” Enrollment is now open. For more information, visit the website at www.kingswayschool.org or call 2722227. Bethesda Christian School takes in students of all denominations. “Our plans are to stay with
the church,” Dee Tidball, guidance director and academic advisor, said. “Our facilities are great that we have in place; we would like to increase our enrollment and we have plans to strengthen the classes, add more AP courses, and we are strengthening our kindergarten program.” The average class size at Bethesda is 16 students. Bethesda is bringing in a new pastor July 12. Pastor Chris Barksdale and his family are moving from the west coast. “We are looking forward to great things here,” Tidball said. For more information on the school, call 858-2820 or visit the website at www. bethesdaschools.org/contact/.
Thank you to our students, teachers, administrators. Thank you to our volunteers, the PTOs, the Booster Clubs. Thank you to our community partners. And thank you to all of the families who nurture and encourage their children so that we can have their attention and minds for 180 days of the year. It’s been another successful school year in Plainfield. Our preschool, Little Quakers Academy, graduated 42 adorable children who are ready to burst into their Kindergarten classrooms in August. Our four elementary schools introduced our character education program (Value of the Month) in unique and important ways to each student. The depth of classroom teaching experience was honored by test scores that continue to rank far above state averages. Students participated in a wide assortment of clubs, leadership opportunities, and community outreach projects. They are, or will be, well prepared to move onto the next level of learning. At the Middle School, PCMS continued its winning ways in the Academic Super Bowl by bringing home the Science trophy and setting a new scoring record in the process. The English, Math, Social Studies and Interdisciplinary teams also competed extremely well. Students took part in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, counting community service, music and drama, and athletics as part of their learning experience. High School students found success in many ways. For our choral groups, Femmes Fatales and Belles et Beaux, becoming state champions for the first time was a moment that will never be forgotten. The Interdisciplinary Academic Super Bowl Team brought home a first place award at the Mid-State competition. Eight DECA students traveled to Florida to compete on the national stage. And our student athletes celebrated wide-ranging victories both on and off the field. Learning happens in many ways - at every school and in every community. In Plainfield, we work with faculty and administrators who are passionate about our students preparing them to be well-educated, productive adults. Our focus is on the kids, and we have wonderful partners who share that focus.
We’re already working on ways to make next year even better. We’ll be hard at work over the summer, polishing up existing programs and making sure new programs are ready to go when the school bell rings on Wednesday, August 5. Until then, we hope you have a fun and relaxing summer!
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Saturday, May 30, 2015 | D7
Legislature updates funding formula By Melissa Gibson melissa.gibson@flyergroup.com
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NEW TECHNOLOGY: Avon School Corporation invited students Brooklyn Cardwell and Adyan Boggs, among others, to take a look at the upcoming STEPUP program.
New technology is county-wide By Melissa Gibson melissa.gibson@flyergroup.com
Karen Diggs, director of technology for the Northwest Hendricks School Corporation is excited about an initiative they have launched over the past year. “Given the Opportunity” asks teachers, students and administrators: ‘Given the opportunity, what would you change about the way you teach, learn or lead?’ Diggs said, “We changed the way we deliver education in our school. Instead of teaching students what to think, we are teaching them how to think.” As of the 2014-15 school year, students in grades six through 12 began a project called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). “Throughout enrollment,” Diggs said, “we had a vendor fair, so they could sell directly to the parents.” In addition, Northwest Hendricks has launched the Adopt a Classroom program, allowing businesses in the community to pair with a classroom in dona-
tions and providing technology in exchange for those students building relationships with their business. For example, in the fall, Sharon McDonald’s second-grade class will receive a tablet for each student from local business JRC Computing and in return, students will learn about marketing and sales; sending materials back to the company through their tablets. “We went with BYOD because we could not afford to do one-to-one,” Diggs said. “We are actually leading in a lot of areas because a lot of corporations are finding they have to buy the device, but then they have to sustain it.” The corporation finds that students are more comfortable with their own device and parents have expressed they have brought their children to Nor thwest Hendricks because of the program. Diggs said she has worked closely with technology experts at other Hendricks County schools and everyone is learning
from each other. Brownsburg School Corporation launched its E-Friday folder this year, which is a website for community information. The posts leave organized information in one place, eliminating waste and academic time. Their seniors are also one-to-one and all teachers are integrating technology to enhance students’ learning experience. Diggs said, “Moving forward, I envision students will be even more digital, the BYOD program will be seamless and we won’t even think about the change. We might not have snow days anymore — we’ll work from home when the weather is bad and we might even work on a flexible schedule.” The sky is the limit for technology in Hendricks County as schools continue to develop and teach for the future. For information on Brownsburg’s E-Friday material, visit the website at w w w. b r o w n s b u r g . k 1 2 . in.us/index.php/e-friday.
INDIANAPOLIS — The 2015 session brought heated debate over the school funding formula and public schools desperate for funds. Since the recession, public schools have seen significant tax caps and cuts, resulting in reduced staff, programs, extra- curricular activities and technology growth. Even more frustrating, comparing school districts show the huge chasm created between some Indiana schools and others. For example, for the 2014-15 school year, Hendricks County schools were receiving between $5,000 and $5,300 per student, while MSD Wayne Township Schools received $ 6,501 per student and charter school Gary Middle College received
$8,612 per student. This spring, legislatures attempted to close the gap by adjusting the school funding formula and creating new guidelines for where the money is going. For some, the adjustment is a small relief; for others, it’s a deficit. Changes af fecting everyone include: • Kindergarten students will be counted as a ‘full
student’ in the 2015-16 school year. Previously, schools only received a partial amount per student. • The Special Education Grant will increase for the first time since 1994, creating more funds for this program. • Top level career and technical programs will receive an increase, while lower level programs receive a decrease.
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