Indianapolis residents who have not yet read the report with results from the recent “What’s Possible?” series of community conversations can now do so.
Those results, educators and community leaders say, provide the key to better understanding what students and parents would like to see take place in the Indianapolis Public Schools district (IPS).
John Althardt director of school and community relations for IPS said the district appreciates the large number of people who took time to share their views and opinions.
“Many suggestions that have been documented in the report will help us as we plan for the future,” he said. “Now that we have listened to and collected the community’s input, the biggest question that we have received so far is ‘What is the next step?’”
In August, What’s Possible? was launched by IPS, the City of Indianapolis and seven other community partners to give those concerned about the district an opportunity to share ideas for its future.
Throughout August, coalition partners reached out to more than 40,000 individuals through small group discussions held at venues around the city, phone calls, mailings, door-to-door visits and online interaction.
Organizers kept their promise to release the findings shortly after they received more than 7,000 responses from people who were contacted.
Some of the notable findings among the results included overwhelming support for full implementation of preschool expansion in IPS, even if it means increasing taxes or shifting resources from other areas of the district’s budget.
Seventy-nine percent of respondents said state funding should be sought for preschool expansion, 65 percent support shifting resources and 44 percent would approve a modest tax increase.
Althardt said the report confirms the positive impact of preparing children for IPS-funded full-day kindergarten.
He added that the district has been developing plans that will lead to preschool being offered at seven sites beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
When asked about the quality of education in the IPS district, 53 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied, while 20 percent expressed satisfaction, and another 28 percent described themselves as “loyal enthusiasts.”
On the other hand, when respondents were asked to rank the district on a scale of one to 10, the “10” option received the highest number of respondents at 23 percent, followed by a ranking of “5” at 17 percent.
Most respondents also recognized the need for them to become more involved in the affairs of the school district and not rely on administrators, teachers and community leaders to develop every solution.
More than 70 percent agreed to “take more action at home” to make sure students do better in school and to take more time to learn about key issues facing teachers, students and schools.
Eighty-three percent of participants stated that the quality of schools is a critical factor in how people evaluate communities.
“This report highlights the very critical connection between the health of our neighborhoods and the health of our schools,” Althardt said. “We need to work as a community for the health of both.”
Linda Erlinger, executive director of Stand for Children of Indiana, added, “This report makes it clear that the community’s priorities are great schools for every child, in every neighborhood from pre-kindergarten on.”
Other organizations who helped organize What’s Possible? include the Greater Indianapolis NAACP, the Indianapolis Urban League, La Plaza, The Mind Trust, Stand for Children Leadership Center, the United Way of Central Indiana and the United Negro College Fund.
To read the What’s Possible report in its entirety, visit Whatspossibleindy.com and click on “What We Learned” then “Download the Report.”
