Everyday Advocates - Lynn Greenberg

Why is public education advocacy important to you?

For my kids, for all kids.

Public Education advocacy is important to me, because it’s not just about my 5 children, it’s about children in every home, teachers, and communities.

Public Education advocacy can be as grassroots as a few people around a kitchen table asking, “How can we do something?” to a national conference of advocates. There is a role for anyone who wants to help.

As an advocate, what accomplishment have you found most satisfying?

I am proud of what I was able to accomplish in my community. I couldn’t have done it without making so many friends and co-advocates. We came together and accomplished something great. We took back our community and our schools. After a 4+ year process, I am happy to say, we now have in place, a pro-public schools school board.

I find it so satisfying, when I know I can share my experience and help other parent groups looking to make a change or just make an impact in their community.

What are some of your frustrations or obstacles that you have met or overcome?

Apathy. Sometimes we are fighting alongside other advocates, thinking everyone is with us, but then we realize our everyday contacts; friends, co-workers, PTO friends, team parents, book club, and others, aren’t in the fight with us, but rather look to those of us, labeled advocates or activists, to fight for our schools.

What keeps you going?

When people who weren’t aware all of a sudden see the light, so to speak. I had to realized that as frustrated as the comment, “I had no idea” made me, I needed to welcome them to the fight, no matter when they joined. They are here now is what matters.

Knowing what can be accomplished, seeing our success in our community means it is possible everywhere.

What do you want parents to know about public education issues?

That issues of today will affect our children in the long term. Nothing moves quickly in education. If you have a kindergartner, the issues we are working on today may not be resolved until that child reaches high school.

There are issues that have an impact on your child, whether it’s a third grade reading guarantee, special education, high stakes testing, gifted identification, recess time, art, music, physical education.

How can parents get involved in advocating for public schools?

At a local level, start by attending your school board meetings, then go to people you see there and ask questions.

At a state level, find active advocacy groups, and read news articles, blogs from activists, attend meetings or conferences.

At a national level, read, watch the trends, find other activists, and attend a national conference.

As always, use social media to find your way to like-minded parents, teachers, and advocates.

Why are public schools important to everyone in a community?

Schools bind a community. They are the heart of the community. Schools bring so many different people together for a common cause; giving our children a future. Many families move into a community for the schools, it’s important that we continue to make sure our public schools are a place for all kids and families, with whom a community can grow.

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Vic’s Statehouse Notes #237 – November 24, 2015

Dear Friends,

Legislators came to the Statehouse last Tuesday (Nov. 17) for Organization Day.

The Speaker of the Republican House and the President Pro Tem of the Republican Senate who hold all the supermajority power talked about helping teachers and schools.

They left the Statehouse without doing so.

Continued uncertainty hangs over the dual crisis related to ISTEP+ tests:

1) Will teachers be punished in their performance bonuses for the lower scores of the transition to new ISTEP+ tests?

2) Will schools be punished in their school letter grades for the lower scores of the transition to new ISTEP+ tests?

The amazing contrast between how well Indiana students achieved in 2015 according to the National Assessment and how low Indiana students scored on the new, more difficult ISTEP+ test was clearly documented in my previous “Notes #236”. According to the National Assessment, known as “the nation’s report card”, Indiana students have never achieved better. Clearly students, teachers and schools are performing well. They do not deserve to be punished for the transition to new ISTEP+ tests which have produced such low pass rates that the uninformed might claim that Indiana students have never performed worse.

With NAEP as the best yard stick in the nation, it is clear that Indiana’s recalibration of the new ISTEP+ test should not negatively impact either teachers or schools. Without legislative action, however, the new test will negatively impact both.

Fewer teachers will get bonuses.

More schools will get D’s and F’s.

There was no legislative action to ease this crisis last Tuesday. While promises for action in January were made by the leaders of the Republican supermajority, the dual crisis remains, an apparent unwanted holiday burden given to the teachers and schools of Indiana by the Indiana General Assembly.

The Impact on Teacher Evaluations and Teacher Performance Bonuses

Senator Mark Stoops, a Democrat, pushed a plan before Organization Day to take action to beat what he said was a December 5th deadline so that teacher performance bonuses are not reduced because of the test transition.

Speaker Bosma instead will wait until January. As quoted in the Indianapolis Star (Nov. 18th), he said, “The House will take up decoupling ISTEP from teacher raises for a year as its first order of business when lawmakers return in 2016.”

Apparently, when Governor Pence said on October 27th that he was asking legislative leaders to fix the problem of teacher bonuses, Speaker Bosma decided that this issue was not a high enough priority for Organization Day action.

If Senator Stoops was correct about the December 5th deadline, questions abound:

• Will bonuses be figured and distributed based on the current law and the low test scores by December 5th?

• Then will they have to be refigured and redistributed based on the “January fix” that Speaker Bosma has promised?

Once again, an effort to help teachers was given no priority, and teachers were told to wait.

The Impact on School Letter Grades

Senator Lanane, the Senate Minority Leader, in his remarks on last Tuesday said that he was hoping Senator Stoops’ “hold harmless” proposal on school letter grades would be approved that day. He described it as a proposal whereby each school would keep the grade they received last year in this transition year except in cases where the new scores actually raised the grade.

Senator Long, leader of the Republican Senate, however, claimed “we have limitations on what we can do on A-F” because the “federal government has thrown handcuffs on us on this.” He has apparently ignored the fact that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan months ago gave the green light to a transition year for accountability when it became obvious that new testing programs would require such a move across the nation.

Speaker Bosma gave a lower priority to a fix for school letter grades. After promising a fix to teacher bonuses as the first order of business in January, he said that “potential revisions to school A-F accountability grades because of an anticipated drop in ISTEP scores will take more time to weigh,” as quoted in the Indianapolis Star (Nov. 18th).

Punishing schools for letter grades based on the lower passing rates of this unprecedented transition to a new test would be a travesty of justice, for three reasons:

1) The school letter grade formula to be used again this year is the same flawed formula pushed in place by Dr. Bennett in 2012 and voided by a displeased General Assembly in a law passed in April 2013. Despite the words of the 2013 law and the consensus that the current A-F system is deeply flawed, it is still in use for this one more round of school letter grades. That is just wrong.

One reason it was considered flawed was that it relied almost completely on the percent passing the test and gave only minor attention to year-to-year student growth. With the percentage passing falling precipitously this year as expected due to higher standards and a more difficult test, school letter grades are sure to drop as well, an artificial drop due to the reset of the test.

2) The Sheldrake-Grew report in 2013 reviewed Dr. Bennett’s actions on the A-F system and wrote on page 19: “For the 2012-13 school year and subsequent years until the new accountability system required by HEA 1427-2013 is implemented, state policymakers should consider not subjecting a school to state interventions described in IC 20-31-9-4 due to a sixth consecutive year of placement in the lowest category or designation of school performance. (p. 19)”

No school should be moved further on the state takeover list based on letter grades from this transition year. This is a second reason to hold schools harmless due to the reset of the test.

3) ISTEP+ pass rates have plummeted this year due to the more difficult tests despite the fact that NAEP tests have shown Indiana students to be performing better than ever. No independent observer would agree that it would be fair to apply the old A-F system under these unprecedented pass rate drops.

That’s three strikes against using this year’s ISTEP+ scores to give letter grades for schools.

Schools should not be punished for school letter grades this year. The General Assembly has made filing a lawsuit over such in injustice to schools very difficult. We are left with the need to persuade Governor Pence and all legislators that schools should not be punished just because the state wanted to reset to a much more difficult test.

Governor Pence visited Longfellow Elementary in Muncie on the same day as Organizational Day and was reported in the Star on Nov. 19th to have told teachers “not to take this year’s low ISTEP scores personally.” His press secretary later clarified his comment by saying: “The Governor was explaining to a dedicated third-grade teacher that we are in a transition year and that the decline in scores was fully anticipated.”

Third grade scores dropped from 80% to 61% passing math and from 83% to 71% passing English.

It is amazing that the Governor would acknowledge this transition year to teachers in this way without telling them that he will take strong action to press the General Assembly and the Governor’s members of the State Board of Education to make sure that the low ISTEP scores do not personally impact teachers or schools regarding performance bonuses or school letter grades. He should use his powers to protect teachers and schools during this crisis that he “fully anticipated.”

I urge you to share these points with your legislators or with all legislators at your earliest opportunity.

Thank you for your advocacy for public education!


Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Vic Smith

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!


ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand continues to represent ICPE and was present on Organizational Day. Our work in support of public education in the Statehouse goes on as we prepare for the short session beginning in January. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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Everyday Advocates - Julie Hyndman

Why is public education advocacy important to you?

I started out as a public school advocate as a parent many years ago. I served as president of the PTA where my children attended and then started working as an assistant in their school. It became abundantly clear how the public school was a welcome haven to many of these kids. They seemed to thrive with the opportunities offered to them. After two years, I returned to college to earn a degree in teaching. Through the PTA, and eventually onto FWEA/ISTA/NEA I have continuously worked for public school students and those that work to help them achieve.

As an advocate, what accomplishment have you found most satisfying?

Working with other educators across Indiana and the United States, to find solutions for issues similar to what we are experiencing gets me excited. Whether that means to promote research needed to improve our situations, or working with elected officials, the task is huge, but working together for a cause is exciting.

What are some of your frustrations or obstacles that you have met or overcome?

People need to be informed and VOTE! When I share information about what is happening to public schools, people are shocked. Too often, they have minimal knowledge about how their tax dollars are being spent. Unfortunately, we need to better educate our own teachers as well. That is a task our Association works towards daily. Too many people are unaware of the conditions facing our public school students and teachers. Even worse, they seriously don’t understand that it will affect them too!

What keeps you going?

The public school students and teachers that work so hard everyday, with little recognition of their hard work, are my real driving force.

What do you want parents to know about public education issues?

Parents need to know more about the tests their children take, and the impact it might have on their district and community. They need to know how their taxes are distributed around the state. They need to know how much of their taxes are shared with private interest groups.

How can parents get involved in advocating for public schools?

Parents need to be involved in their child’s school. They need to read, listen, and discuss with others about what is happening within our state. Attending PTA meetings, school board meetings, and becoming actively involved is vital. But the most important way to have a voice in this arena is to VOTE!!

What has been your experience in dealing with legislators?

I lobby with ISTA multiple times each year. Our association also attempts to introduce new educators to this process. It is sometimes difficult to get legislators to even come out and talk with us. It is incredibly disheartening to hear the lawmakers make statements that show they are not always well informed about what takes place in our classrooms, schools, or districts. I have been appalled by the actions of many Indiana legislators and their complete disregard for Supt. Glenda Ritz, who was overwhelmingly elected by the people of Indiana. Each time I meet a new candidate of either party, I hope for genuine interest to better our state and communities. Too often, I am disappointed with partisan politics that only benefit themselves.

I notice how the super-majority in our state regularly reach out to and visit private, charter, and parochial schools, ignoring the great work done in our urban district. They call it choice. I call it rewarding private interest groups, using our taxpayers dollars to enhance their individual cause. These entities do not have the same expectations or regulations put upon them that public schools must follow. And they certainly do not educate all children, with all needs.

Why are public schools important to everyone in a community?

Without great public schools, our communities will suffer. Unfortunately, every child of various demographics, will not be accepted or receive continuous service from nonpublic schools. How can society continue to prosper without educating all children to high standards? We cannot allow one individual to individual to fall between the cracks, or their community will suffer. Research has shown this to be true over and over again. Our future depends on the children of today!

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Everyday Advocates – Melanie Wright

Why is Public Education Important to you?

“Public education has always been a vital part of my life through my 28-year teaching career. As a young student, I observed the powerful effects of public school teachers who repeatedly reinforced confidence, knowledge, and a belief that we may have a positive influence on others through modeling examples. This foundation has been fundamental to my quality of life and one that I continue to share with students. Planting seeds is such a rewarding purpose; protecting the ability to do so has become a necessity.”

Why are public schools important to everyone in a community?

Public schools are the backbone of communities as they provide the center for educational experiences, community dinners, athletic competitions, and various events that bring people of all ages together. A communication network of important relationship forms from this effort. The sense of community drives the thought that we are all together, serving the needs of our youth and the area in which we live. Not only do we foster education, but also a network of people who are connected through their goals.

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Don’t Take It Personally...

By NEIFPE member Donna Roof.

So, Governor Pence, you recently told a teacher not to take the ISTEP results personally.

Well, actually, Governor…

When I see developmentally inappropriate education curriculum, I take it personally.

When I see students suffer from anxiety and other health issues due to pressure to pass high stakes tests, I take it personally.

When I see students subjected to an abundance of test prep, I take it personally.

When I see recess being cut to allow for more test prep time, I take it personally.

When I see children fearing they’ll be held back if they don’t pass a high stakes test, I take it personally.

When I see neighborhood schools being closed, I take it personally.

When I see fine arts classes and programs being cut to allow more time for test prep, I take it personally.

When I see students walking great distances on unsafe roads because there are no busses due to transportation cuts, I take it personally.

When I see no joy in learning and teaching due to the demands of tests, tests, and more tests, I take it personally.

When I see teachers with 40+ students in their classes, I take it personally.

When I see teachers without sufficient resources for their classroom, I take it personally.

When I see less funding for public schools, I take it personally.

When I see the outrageous amount of money being wasted on high stakes testing, I take it personally.

When I see children, teachers, schools, and districts labeled as failing due to test scores, I take it personally.

When I see more and more punitive measures assigned to public schools, I take it personally.

When I see highly effective teachers labeled otherwise due to test results tied to their evaluations, I take it personally.

When I see my Superintendent of Public Instruction being undermined, I take it personally.

When I see the lack of respect for public school teachers, I take it personally.

When I see individuals with no educational or teaching experience making decisions that affect students and teachers, I take it personally.

When I see teachers not being viewed as the experts of the classroom, I take it personally.

When I see all the harm being done to the teaching profession, I take it personally.

When you see that I am doing all that I can to ensure you are not re-elected, don’t take it personally.

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Vic’s Statehouse Notes #236 – November 12, 2015

Dear Friends,

This is a crucial moment in the history of education in Indiana. Three developments are colliding:

1) The 2015 National Assessment scores recently announced have shown that Indiana schools have never performed better.

2) The new, more difficult ISTEP+ tests have produced some of the lowest pass rates ever seen since annual comparisons began in 1997.

3) Governor Pence faces a crucial decision about whether to punish Indiana schools with low letter grades due to the drop in pass rates during this transition to a more rigorous test.

Three historic story lines have converged to put Governor Pence’s education policies and the future of our teachers and schools in crisis mode. Here are details about each story.

Story #1: Student achievement has reached historically high levels in 2015.

• According to the National Assessment of Educational Progressive, known as “the nation’s report card”, Indiana 4th and 8th graders have scored higher than ever in reading. The federal NAEP testing program first reported Indiana scores in 1992, and the 2015 results for Indiana are the best ever.

• In 2015, 75% of Indiana 4th graders passed the basic standard in reading, compared to 68% in the US as a whole. On the proficient standard, 40% passed compared to a US mark of 35%. In 8th grade, 80% passed the basic standard compared to 75% nationally, and 37% passed the proficient standard compared to the national mark of 33%.

• In math, the 2015 results for Indiana nearly matched the historically high marks set in 2013, and actually surpassed previous results on the proficient standard. On the basic standard, 89% of Indiana’s 4th graders passed compared to 81% in the US, and 50% passed the proficient standard compared to 39% nationally. In 8th grade, 77% passed the basic standard compared to the US mark of 70%, and 39% passed the proficient standard compared to 32%.

• These high marks have improved Indiana’s ranking among states to historic highs: 10th in 4th grade reading (up from 15th) and 16th in 8th grade reading (up from 27th). In math, 4th graders remain 4th in the nation and 8th graders are now 11th (up from 19th).

• The complete table showing all of Indiana’s NAEP results since 1990 can be seen in Table 6 in the attachment. It is worth a look and a moment of celebration for great work by our students and educators!

Story #2: The new ISTEP+ scores for 2014-15 show historically low passing rates due to the new cut scores just adopted for the more difficult ISTEP+ tests. Ironically, these historically low results come in the same month as the historically high results on the national NAEP exam.

• In English, pass rates approved by the State Board on October 28th plunged by an average of 15% for grade 3-8 from the previous year (2013-14) in a year that NAEP declared to be a superb year of achievement in Indiana.

• In math, pass rates dropped even more, by an average of 23% in grades 3-8 from the previous year.

• The State Board approved adjusting cut scores to compensate for those taking ISTEP+ online, which has been found to be more difficult than paper and pencil tests. These adjustments will bring pass rates up a bit, but the historic drop in pass rates remains clear.

• To get the full impact of the enormous and historic drop in pass rates in this transition, take a moment to examine the pass rates for each grade level in Tables 7 and 8 in the attachment, which show complete ISTEP results for each grade level going back to the first year, 1997. After reviewing these data, it is absolutely clear that this transition is unlike any year Indiana students and schools have ever experienced in this era of testing.

• The new ISTEP+ results must be treated as a new baseline and must not be compared to the previous year. Comparisons to the previous year are simply not fair. Since A-F grades include comparisons to the previous year, they would not be fair. Educators must make every effort to help the public and to help politicians understand this concept.

Story #3: With record setting high achievement on NAEP proving to all observers that the dip in ISTEP+ pass rates is due to a tougher new ISTEP+ test and not due to poor teaching or poor performance, Governor Pence has been put on the spot to reverse his opposition to a transition year “hold harmless” plan which would prevent penalties to teachers or to schools due to higher expectations and low pass rates.

• Under pressure to prevent these low pass rates from harming teachers, Governor Pence announced with great fanfare a letter on October 27th sent to the State Board of Education saying that at his request “legislation is being crafted to ensure that test results will not negatively impact teacher evaluations or performance bonuses this year.”

• His letter did not directly say that school letter grades would be protected in the same way. The Indianapolis Star reported on November 12th (page 3A): “The Republican governor also said this week his administration is exploring ways A-F accountability grades could be modified because of the scores.”

• Legislative leaders did not leap to quickly endorse the Governor’s plan for legislation. Indeed, some voucher-supporting legislative leaders wouldn’t mind seeing more schools get F’s because more students would then be eligible for private school vouchers in those F school attendance areas.

• Representative Behning, chair of the House Education Committee, said in the same November 12th article in the Star regarding the A-F system: “It would be my personal opinion that we don’t totally suspend it, but maybe we have a position of where we minimize the amount of fall (a school) could have if they had a fall.”

• State Superintendent Ritz has called for a “hold harmless” policy for over a year, but the Governor’s State Board of Education members control the policies. At one State Board meeting earlier this year, the Governor’s members curtly voted to take the subject off the agenda as the meeting opened to eliminate even a discussion of the problem.

• Months ago, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that a one year pause in accountability due to the increase rigor of tests would be understandable to federal officials.

• Dr. Gregory Cizek, a testing expert from North Caroline brought in by Representative Behning and Senator Kruse to the Interim Study Committee on Education on September 29, 2015 recommended that new tests should not used for accountability purposes for three years.

These three stories provide the context for three questions to be answered soon:

1) Will the General Assembly take action to protect teacher evaluations and teacher bonuses from the lower ISTEP+ passing scores, as the Governor has requested?

• Action could be taken as early as Organization Day on November 17th as recommended in a proposal by State Senator Mark Stoops, described in the November 12th Star article. He states that the “law requires the state to send performance pay to school districts before December 5.”

• Representative Behning, according to the same November 12th article, “plans to introduce a proposal that he feels is consistent with what Pence has outlined—but to expect it when the legislature returns in January.”

2) Will the General Assembly take action on Organization Day or in January to protect schools from sharply lower school letter grades based on the lower ISTEP+ passing scores, as the Governor has hinted but not directly requested?

• Many do not realize that the school letter grade formula to be used again this year is the same flawed formula pushed in place by Dr. Bennett in 2012 and theoretically voided by a displeased General Assembly in 2013.

• Despite the 2013 law and the consensus that the current A-F system is deeply flawed, it is still in use for this one more round of school letter grades.

• One reason it was considered flawed was that it relied almost completely on the percent passing the test and gave only minor attention to year-to-year student growth. With the percentage passing falling precipitously this year as expected due to higher standards and a more difficult test, school letter grades are sure to drop as well, an artificial drop due to the reset of the test.

3) Will the Governor change his mind and finally agree with State Superintendent Ritz that this year should be treated as a transition year in testing with no negative consequences either for teachers or for schools?

• For Statehouse posturing, there is no doubt that Governor Pence does not want to appear to be changing his mind to agree with State Superintendent Ritz on this.

• His October 27th statement has already shown that he has changed his mind enough to agree with her regarding protecting teacher evaluations and teacher bonuses. He apparently did not want individual teachers to blame him for their failure to get a bonus.

• If he doesn’t extend the same protection to school letter grades, he will be blamed for the low grades given to many schools and for helping private schools get more voucher students due to many schools receiving F’s for the first time. Under the voucher law, all students living in the attendance area of an F school, including those already enrolled in private schools, become eligible for a free voucher to attend private schools.

• If he does extend the same protection to school letter grades, he will be chided for waiting for a full year before seeing the light and agreeing with the State Superintendent.

The Governor has painted himself into a corner on school letter grades. Regardless of that and now that the huge drops in passing rates are clear, he should do the right thing and endorse a transition year plan which will not hurt schools with an artificially low letter grade in a year when the National Assessment has told us that Indiana students are achieving higher than they have ever achieved on the highly respected “nation’s report card.”

I urge all public school advocates to communicate with Governor Pence and with their legislators or with all legislators to say that transition year test scores should not penalize teachers in their performance bonuses and also should not penalize schools in their letter grades.

The status of both teachers and schools should be held harmless while new baseline test scores are reset.

Thank you for your advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith


“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!


ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand continues to represent ICPE during the interim study committee meetings. Our work in support of public education in the Statehouse goes on as we prepare for the short session beginning in January. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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Everyday Advocates – Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer

Why Public Education Advocacy is Important to Me:

The way I see it, being a public education advocate means advocating not just for education, but for the Common Good and the health of our democracy as well.

In the current political climate, we’ve become so polarized around parties that we’ve lost sight of the common good. We’ve become so consumer-driven that we look at schools as products to be consumed instead of the social responsibility and service that they are. We’ve allowed the business mentality and narrative to permeate every part of our lives that we as a society look at schools in terms of what we the consumers will receive and what the cost-benefit in dollars is---and not what that cost-benefit analysis turns up in terms of human lives and the health of our society.

What I Have Found Satisfying and What Keeps Me Going:

The most satisfying thing for me is connecting with and learning from so many other concerned people in my own community as well as all across the country. There are thousands of us who are working to raise awareness on the issues and who are forming organizations very similar to our own here in Monroe County. When I make connections with other people from other communities through the speeches I’ve given or things I’ve written, it feels good to know that I’m in good company. The hope is that as we organize and grow, we will become a force for change.

What I Want Parents to Know:

As parents, we have a powerful voice. Educators are often maligned when they speak up (although I hope that won’t stop them!) as “defending the status quo.” Parents have power because we can’t be fired. The wealthy corporate education reformers, charter school operators, political action committees, think tanks, (and the politicians they buy) all consistently speak “for the kids” while attacking our public schools and teachers. I want parents to remember that we need to speak up while supporting our teachers. After all, our teachers’ working conditions are our kids’ learning conditions. We need to remember that it’s not just about our own children, but about all children. We have a responsibility to support great public schools for all children. Where there are problems, we need to work together to fix them.

How Parents Can Get Involved:

Pay attention and get involved in school board races—those are the local policymakers. But don’t forget the importance of good state legislators and the governor! The mandates from the statehouse are directly affecting our kids’ experiences in the classroom. Do you want less emphasis on testing? VOTE. Do you want money for smaller class sizes and certified music, art, P.E. and teacher librarians? VOTE.

We need parents who will join us in our letter writing, phone calling, and testifying at local and state board meetings. We need parents who will help us organize events to call attention to the attack on public education and teachers. We need parents… and others who care about this issue, to help us with the many projects we do to raise awareness and keep politicians’ feet to the fire.

We also need to be volunteering on campaigns. Indiana has a miserable voter turnout record. That means that we need to be getting in front of the voters as much and as best as we can. If we all did a little bit, the world would look a lot different.

Experience with Legislators

I have had a frustrating time with legislators. Early on in my experience with this advocacy work, I was told “You can’t change legislators’ minds, you have to change legislators.”

I think that, by and large, it is true. I have had arguments with legislators who have told me that I am a socialist for promoting public education. He said that it’s one of the Marxist tenets. These are people who promote the idea of individualism when it comes to the poor, but not when it comes to giving a hand-out to the wealthy or corporations, who get the tax cuts. They receive so much money from the organizations promoting the bleeding out of our tax dollars to private religious schools through “vouchers” or to charter schools that are run like businesses and make a healthy profit. We can’t afford a multi-tiered system of education: public schools for ALL kids, private schools who can exclude kids, and charters—a system run rampant with corruption.

I find that legislators are listening to their donors and not their constituents, which is another reason why we all need to get involved in elections. We need the money out of politics.

The purpose of public education is to give kids the skills, knowledge, and experiences they need to be citizens of a democracy. My inspiration is the John Dewey quote:

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.”

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Vic’s Statehouse Notes #235 – November 2, 2015

Dear Friends,

Did the Indiana General Assembly really think it would be right for Grace College and Theological Seminary, a private religious college in northern Indiana, to intervene controversially in the public education climate of Monroe County, 150 miles away, against the wishes of the Bloomington-Ellettsville community?

On January 19, 2011, just twelve days after ICPE was born, Joel Hand gave testimony for the first time on behalf of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, opposing a bill to allow private colleges to authorize public charter schools.

He said that private colleges should not be authorizers of public charter schools because they are not accountable to public tax payers.He was joined by three other public school advocates including me in opposing this provision, but the General Assembly passed the bill anyway with the strong support of State Superintendent Tony Bennett.

Now four years later, the Seven Oaks charter school proposal that was turned down twice in 2014-15 by the Indiana Charter School Board could be given life by the privately appointed trustees of Grace College, of Winona Lake, Indiana, near Warsaw.

Should privately appointed trustees, living far away and not accountable in any way to public voters and taxpayers, have the power swoop in to commit public tax dollars to establish charter schools resisted by the local community and already turned down by the Indiana Charter School Board? I say no.

You can say no also in two ways:

1) Speak against the charter school proposal at the only public hearing on this charter school plan. It will be held on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 5:30 to 7:00pm at the Holiday Inn Express, 117 S. Franklin Rd., near 3rd Street and 37 on the west side of Bloomington.

2) Let your own Senators and Representatives know that this power obviously undermines local control and the wishes of the local community to point where this law should be changed and the power to shop failed charter school proposals to private colleges should be reined in.

Meanwhile, the private trustees of Grace College should withdraw this proposal so as not to prompt a legislative initiative to end authorizer shopping for failed charter school proposals.

Authorizer Shopping

This charter school was reviewed by the Indiana Charter School Board in the fall of 2014 and rejected by the board, a rare event. The proposal was resubmitted to the same body in the spring of 2015 but was withdrawn without a vote after the ICSB staff recommended that it be declined a second time.

Then the same proposal was shopped to other authorizers, and Grace College got involved. Grace College sponsors two other charter schools, one in Dugger new this year and one in Fort Wayne with a two year track record of F in 2013 and F in 2014. Grace College gets 3% of the tuition for authorizing a charter school. Thus, for example, if the state tuition for a charter school is $6000 per student, Grace College would get a cut of $180 per student.

Is Grace College doing this for the money or are they out to make a name for themselves, and I would say, muddy their name with public school advocates across Indiana?

Documentation

In the first attachment to “Notes #235”, you can read for yourself the numerous problems found by the Indiana Charter School Board staff in their recommendation saying this proposal should be declined by the ICSB in the spring of 2015.

In the second attachment, Steve Hinnefeld of Bloomington has documented that no significant changes were made in the proposal before shopping it to Grace College. Steve has carefully detailed in a blog dated October 27, 2015 the shortcomings of the charter proposal, providing an excellent summary that need not be repeated by me. If you are not familiar with Steve’s work, he does a masterful job of analyzing public education issues, and I highly recommend his blog, entitled School Matters.

Local Opposition

For two years in a row, the leaders of the Monroe County Community School Corporation and the Richland- Bean Blossom School Corporation in Ellettsville have opposed this ideologically driven school proposal linked to an out-of-state charter school network based at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Judy DeMuth, superintendent of the Monroe County Schools, has written a strong letter objecting not only to the charter school but to the frustrating fact that the same proposal was turned down twice after a thorough review by the Indiana Charter School Board but was then revived controversially by shopping the proposal to Grace College.

The Indiana Coalition for Public Education – Monroe County has opposed this proposal for two years and is actively looking for public school advocates who will speak at the November 4th hearing. You can email them at icpe.mc@gmail.com for more information about speaking out against this proposal at the hearing.

If you don’t live close enough to get to Wednesday’s hearing, raise this issue with your own State Senator or your own member of the House of Representatives. This practice of authorizer shopping should stop.

If the Indiana Charter School Board rejects a proposal, it should not be shopped ad infinitum around the private colleges of Indiana. Ask the General Assembly to revisit and correct that part of the charter school law.

Private colleges should not have the power to commit public tax dollars to public charter schools without giving tax payers who want to hold the private officials accountable a recourse for their objections.

This practice muddles the lines between private and public authority and in this case between church and state, and it further fragments our local school communities and our society in general.

I hope you can attend the November 4th hearing or else communicate with your legislators about your opposition.

Thank you for your advocacy for public education!

Best wishes,

Vic Smith

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!


ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand continues to represent ICPE during the interim study committee meetings. Our work in support of public education in the Statehouse goes on as we prepare for the short session beginning in January. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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Everyday Advocates – Mark Nash

As an advocate, what accomplishment have you found most satisfying?

I do think we are seeing the tide turning when it comes to what “reform” is really all about. I also enjoy being a part of the sites that shine a light on what “reform” is really about.

What are some of your frustrations or obstacles that you have met or overcome?

Too many people simply do not care. Supporters of “reform” have framed the discussion as a Republican vs. Democrat issue, when we can look around us to see that the attack on education is coming from both sides of the aisle. If a Republican says something, too many people are blindly following the statement without doing any research. Apathy, especially among fellow educators stands out though as THE most frustrating part.

What keeps you going?

My students! While in my room, in front of my classes, I can shut out the “noise”, or at least minimize it and still have an impact on the lives of these students. The fact is though, as each year passes, I learn more than I ever teach.

What do you want parents to know about public education issues?

I would like to see a higher level of parent engagement in the education of their children. Local control of schools is being eroded, and it is the parents of our students who can lead the fight against that.

How can parents get involved in advocating for public schools?

Talk to educators about what is happening; dig deeper into the laws that are being passed before they have too much of a negative impact on their children.

What has been your experience in dealing with legislators?

They are not listening. Time and time again, I see the same old sound bites about why they are doing what they do, when the sad reality is they are simply puppets for reformers like the Koch brothers and other interests. They simply refuse to even have a conversation about the damage they are causing.

Has your experience with legislators been good/bad? Has it helped?

It has been awful. I have been told by some they are listening, yet they are not. I was told in an email from Senator Kruse before the session a couple years ago that he was in favor of holding off on any more reforms until we can see the results and that he simply was not sure he had enough support in his own committee to hold any further reforms back. Since that time, he has voted for every reform that his committee has seen.

Why are public schools important to everyone in a community?

We all benefit from an educated population. Not only do property values increase from a good school system, the community itself benefits from seeing productive students enter the workforce in the community when they finish school.

Why is public education advocacy important to you?

Because we are headed down a road that is in the opposite direction of what needs to be done for our schools. The current system identifies winners and losers. Many will say closing failing schools is the answer; the fact is that students lose. There are no winners, except for a select few. The current system will have more and more students falling behind, making it much more difficult to be a productive and educated member of our society.

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