Center Grove schools will join more than 100 public school districts around the state and close its doors on Tuesday so teachers can rally at the Statehouse in a fight for higher wages and more qualified teachers.
Thousands of teachers are expected to gather Tuesday at the state capitol building in downtown Indianapolis for Red for Ed Action Day. Teachers will fight for a higher average wage, a hold harmless for the ILEARN exam and an end to a requirement that teachers earn credits through corporate externships to renew their teaching licenses.
Center Grove Community Schools announced Tuesday it would close. As of Wednesday afternoon, it was the only Johnson County public school district to do so.
With the change in statewide exams, to the ILEARN from ISTEP, students in schools throughout Indiana struggled with English Language Arts and Math proficiency.
A hold harmless would mean school districts aren’t graded negatively and teachers aren’t evaluated based on the results of the 2019 exam. The Indiana State Teacher’s Association, the state’s teachers union, also wants Indiana lawmakers to pass a bill pushing the average teacher salary to $60,000. It’s currently $52,000, said Jennifer Smith-Margraf, the association’s vice president.
So far, about 12,000 people have signed up to march on Tuesday.
Clark-Pleasant, Edinburgh, Franklin, Greenwood and Indian Creek schools will remain open, but teachers can use personal days or professional development days to take part in the protests. Those districts will use substitute teachers in place of teachers who choose to take the day off, school officials said.
At Center Grove schools, however, enough teachers asked for the day off to warrant closing schools, Superintendent Richard Arkanoff said in a letter to parents Tuesday night.
“The anticipated high number of absences on (Tuesday) impacts our ability to provide quality instruction and safe supervision of our students,” Arkanoff said. “We recognize that we would not have high performing schools without dedicated teachers to educate our students. Center Grove values our teachers and the educating profession. We respect their voices and the opportunity to share with legislators their concerns regarding school funding, excessive standardized testing and added teacher licensing requirements.”
Center Grove schools will return from winter break on Jan. 7 instead of Jan. 8 to make up the day off, Arkanoff said in the letter.
Amanda Poynter, a teacher at East Side Elementary School in Edinburgh, is taking a personal day to march at the Statehouse alongside some of her colleagues and the thousands of other Indiana teachers, she said.
“I hope that it brings awareness to policymakers who are creating policies for education who have never been in education; it doesn’t mean they know how to teach or what’s best for kids,” Poynter said.
“Indiana is 47th in teacher pay increases. We want to become more competitive with teacher pay. We’re doing an obscene amount of emergency (teaching) licenses. It’s not good for students to have someone not qualified to teach. People won’t want to go into teaching if it’s not a sustainable career.”
The emergency license, known as an Emergency Permit, is given to an applicant who has a bachelor’s degree but doesn’t have a teaching license to fill prolonged vacancies, according to the Indiana Department of Education.
Even though Franklin Community Schools will remain open, officials decided to send 10 teachers to the Statehouse, and everyone at Franklin schools is encouraged to wear red on Tuesday in support of teachers statewide, Superintendent David Clendening said.
“We felt like showing support was very important, from the school board to the administration to the teachers, but it’s important to keep kids in school and move forward with growing kids,” Clendening said. “I hope teachers throughout the state know everyone is rooting for them. We want to see teachers get paid and the work environment move forward.”
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What: Indiana State Teacher’s Association’s Red for Ed Action Day
When: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Indiana Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis
Why: Teachers will fight for a higher average wage, a hold harmless for the ILEARN exam and an end to a requirement that teachers earn credits through corporate externships to renew their teaching licenses.
Cost: Free
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