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Superintendent's Back to School Message 2016
As a teacher, a mother and a grandmother, I know there is no greater priority than investing in our students and the future of our state.
I recently
submitted my budget proposal for the upcoming biennium. This budget
provides additional funding to our classrooms, and specifically promotes more
equitable funding and distribution of resources. You can view the
Department’s budget priorities by visiting our website
and downloading Imagine 2020.
The top priority of my 2-year budget proposal is ensuring that
all 4-year-olds have the option to attend high-quality, state-funded pre-K no
matter where they live. My Department has already identified several
sources of existing state funds which could be reallocated to support the Hoosier Community Pre-K Grant Program. By
building partnerships between new and existing public and private pre-K
providers, we can create the infrastructure needed to ensure that Indiana’s
4-year-olds have the opportunity to attend high-quality pre-K programs.
Additionally, my Department remains focused on getting rid of
ISTEP and the entire high-stakes, pass/fail testing system. In its place,
I am committed to implementing a student-centered assessment system that would
provide you, your child and his or her teacher with quick feedback about how
your child is performing as well as how he or she has grown during a school
year. As Superintendent, and as a member of the ISTEP Replacement Panel,
I will continue to advocate for this student-centered vision.
As you may know, the federal No Child Left Behind law was
recently reauthorized and updated to the Every Student Succeeds Act, or
ESSA. ESSA gives states new flexibility from federal requirements,
allowing the state to reclaim more control of education policy. To that
end, my Department is diligently working to develop the Indiana ESSA
Plan. As part of that work, we have created numerous stakeholder groups
to provide expert insight in education policy. Additionally, my
Department will be hosting a statewide listening tour to garner feedback
directly from families, educators and communities. We have also created
an online portal with information and resources as well
as an online comment tool so that you can provide us with feedback. I
encourage you to stay engaged on this topic as we move through the school year.
Finally, I hope you and your child took advantage of the free
access to thousands of online books through the Hoosier Family of Readers and
myON Books this summer. These books are still accessible until December
2016 – so keep reading. So far this year, students have read more than
one million books, but in honor of Indiana’s bicentennial I am challenging
Hoosier students to read 2 million books by the end of December. Visit
the Department’s Hoosier Family
of Readers website to
learn more.
Question, comment or concern? Send us an email at teachersedition@doe.in.gov
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