More than 21,000 local students will not have school on Tuesday.
Edinburgh Community Schools has joined Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant, Franklin and more than 100 other Indiana school districts by canceling school on Tuesday so its teachers can rally at the Statehouse.
More than 12,000 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.
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.
About 400 Johnson County educators called off work before their respective districts canceled classes. On Friday, Edinburgh schools planned to have school, with 14 teachers calling off. On Sunday, Superintendent Doug Arnold learned that number had reached 20. In a district with 58 teachers, there were not enough substitute teachers to fill those slots, Arnold said.
“We determined it’s just not the best educational experience for kids. We just couldn’t cover the absences,” Arnold said. “I talked to the principals, the board presidents, and wanted to give parents advanced notice on babysitting. That’s the biggest concern.”
There are no designated daycare activities in Edinburgh for children whose parents work Tuesday.
Last week, Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant and Franklin schools all canceled Tuesday classes because of a shortage of available teachers. At Clark-Pleasant Community Schools, about 200 educators, including teachers, instructional coaches, special education staff and some administrators, called off work, prompting school officials to change course and cancel school.
Franklin Community Schools, which had committed to sending 10 teachers to the Statehouse, made the call Friday to cancel school after 38 teachers requested the day off.
Center Grove Community Schools, which had 140 teachers call off, was the first local district to cancel school.
A group of eight Edinburgh teachers will take the IndyGo Red Line bus from Southport to the Statehouse and meet other teachers there, said Jennifer Garrett, president of the Edinburgh Education Association.
Franklin teachers will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the corner of Washington and West streets downtown before marching to the Statehouse.
Educators from Clark-Pleasant schools will travel downtown in a series of carpools. They plan to gather downtown by contacting each other on social media.
Center Grove school officials said they do not have any groups traveling together.
Greenwood and Indian Creek schools will hold classes Tuesday, officials from both districts said Monday.
