Continuing its series of Indianapolis’ Black superintendents, the Recorder had an in-depth, one-on-one interview with Dr. Dena Cushenberry, superintendent of Warren Township. Cushenberry witnessed the district thrive into the community it has become today. Cushenberry discussed the Race to the Top grant the district was awarded in 2012, her view of the district over the past several years and how Warren Township is dedicated to foreign language learning.
Recorder: You have been with The Metropolitan School District of Warren Township since 1999 where you began as a middle school principal. I’m sure you’ve seen much change throughout the years including the $28.5 million Race to the Top grant. Explain the district’s process of obtaining the grant and what it funds.
Cushenberry: It was interesting the Race to the Top grant came, as I was new on the job, only been in office for six weeks. I got a team together and questioned if we should apply. We decided to go forward with the premise of what education will look like in 2025. Kids are going to learn in various places and at various times. When we wrote the grant we came up with three major areas: personalized learning for Pre-K through grade 12, alternative-learning opportunities for grades seven through 12 and behavior interventions for all students. We looked at virtual learning and extended learning opportunities so now kids can work in hospitals and learn about surgeries first hand. We have our own program that helps our students run a production company called FrontRunner. They have a $1.7 million truck full of equipment and they work alongside media professionals who teach them about the industry. We have what we call CORE (Civility, Order, Respect and Excellence) in every school Pre-K through 12 where the kids will do some type of lesson or activity based upon CORE.
Warren Township was the only Indiana district and one of 16 districts in the country to receive the Race to the Top grant. How does being awarded the grant make you feel as a superintendent?
I felt like Willy Wonka with the golden ticket! We were working out a strategic plan where we joined in the high school’s mediaplex to develop our ideas. I remember coming back from working with the group and sitting at my desk and I saw an email and a tiny line that read “Embargoed U.S. Government.” When I opened it, the email read “congratulations” and I was so excited. I wanted to tell someone but all of the folks working weren’t back in the office, I was the only one. I’m walking around with this paper, shaking and waiting to tell someone. Once I told them we were all screaming. It really did feel like a golden ticket.
What specific goals do you have for this school year?
Making sure our kids are prepared for this new assessment. Making sure our parents know what’s coming because when you look at New York and Kentucky, all of those scores were down in the 30s. Parents are going to think their child isn’t learning but they are. It’s simply a major shift in the way they learn. ISTEP was recalling basic facts where College and Career Readiness, a new state standard, questions how one thinks and how deep one can think. It’s going to be different but I’m excited about that.
With society being more technologically based, what ways are you incorporating technology into the classroom?
We’ve had SMART Boards in every classroom since 2008. We have projectors in 75 of the classrooms and white boards in our high school. Every student in first through 12th grade has an individual tablet and students from ninth through 12th grade can take them home. Seventh and eighth graders can check them out and kindergartners have them with a ratio of two to one. We understand you can’t simply put a device in front of children, you have to be sure to have digital content that teachers are teaching (and) then provide tablets as a tool of enrichment.
How are you preparing your high school seniors for life after graduation?
Not everyone wants to go to college and we have some students who are in culinary school. We just heard one of our juniors has a full ride to Princeton and wants to be a doctor. We believe our career center has tremendous opportunities and we give them a chance to sample jobs because they may want to be a doctor but when they see blood, they can’t handle it. Giving kids the exposure before they leave school really supports them.
Is there anything currently about education you find troubling?
We have a legislative breakfast where we bring our legislators in and talk about policies we are concerned about. The one I am still concerned about is Senate Bill 229, which involves guns on a school campus. I don’t understand it and it’s a concern. With the school shootings, to say people can have a gun on a school campus, even if it’s locked in their car, I just don’t know if that’s a good idea. We don’t know the mental needs of people. Most people are dying in our country because of guns and it doesn’t make sense to give them more access.
Your district has almost 12,000 students. Would you call this group diverse?
We have a very diverse community and we are minority majority. There are about 27 different languages in our district. We have used Rosetta Stone in the past however the program maxed out. Kids would learn via computer then they would need a teacher to teach the rest. What we are doing now instead is looking into STEM programs to replace it.
How active and available are you to the community, parents and students?
They can certainly contact me by email but I try to do community dialogues. We have one coming up Sept. 24 and it’s titled “How to educate your child in this new academic environment.” Last year we covered Common Core and bullying. The school board and I help our parents understand where we are and where we are going.
