IPS Superintendent Talks Growth Out Of Pandemic In State Of The District

Source: (Photo provided by IPS.)

INDIANAPOLIS — The state of the state’s largest school district is “strong” says the superintendent.

Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson highlighted several of the district’s accomplishments in the last year in her State of the District address Wednesday night. Most notably she boasted how the district has “rebounded” from learning losses during the pandemic.

“While much of the country is still experiencing major academic setbacks, we at IPS have been making up ground,” she said. “We now have a greater share of our students at or above pre-pandemic performance in both reading and math, and we are the only district in Marion County that can make that claim.”

Johnson also talked about what has been done with the money passed in a referendum last year by taxpayers within the district. The district’s Rebuilding Stronger Plan has improved access to a variety of different educational avenues for students, according to Johnson.

She said 100% of students in the district now have access to orchestra, world language, and Algebra 1 courses. Johnson also promoted increased access to quality athletic opportunities within the district.

“For the first time we will have the facilities and the offerings to field competitive teams in nearly all the sports that we offer,” Johnson said. “Which in turn, means our kids will be better prepared and more competitive.”

Overall, she highlighted that the district is more equitable than it has been in the past.

“For as long as I can remember our most exciting and comprehensive and most desired offerings were concentrated in neighborhoods that were whiter and wealthier,” she said. “And now the entire city has access to our best stuff.”

Finally, Johnson said that IPS is getting better as far as teacher retention is concerned. She said 88-percent of teachers stayed with the district over the last year.