As alumni of Indianapolis Public Schools , we — along with six other fellow alumni — know that we stand where we are today because of the doors that IPS opened for us. We’re writing to ask you, citizens and voters of our community, to open those doors for a next generation.
All of us can remember the names and faces of people we owe a debt to — whether it was third grade with Ms. Ruby, junior high with teacher and civil rights activist John Morton-Finney or high school English with Ms. Huffington. We were pushed by passionate coaches like coach Kuntz at Arlington High School, and we got to explore our passions like learning a foreign language in Mrs. Portilla’s class and diving into current events in Mr. Burdick’s government class.
Experiences like ours occur every day at IPS. But here’s the thing — experiences like ours are far from universal in the district. Too many kids don’t get what we had because great choices aren’t available in every neighborhood and every school. Many kids don’t get access to extracurriculars like Spanish and art — and they aren’t promised rigorous curriculum that will get them ready for college.
Through Rebuilding Stronger, IPS is poised to replicate and expand high-demand, higher-performing programs in more neighborhoods and for more students. That means both increasing seats in our higher-performing schools and increasing the number of high-demand schools. The plan focuses on the east, west and south sides of the city, where few choice program options have ever existed.