Columbus Educators Association

08/05/2024

Thank you to The Republic newspaper for covering the school board candidates’ answers to our questionnaire. You can read all answers in one convenient spot here:

The Columbus Educators Association reached out to the six school board candidates with questionnaires as a way to help inform voters ahead of the upcoming election. All six candidates responded, and the teachers union shared the responses in a press release.

08/04/2024

Thank you again to all the candidates for answering our questions! You can find all of their answers below.

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/03/2024

Question 11: Please share anything else you would like us to know.

District 3 Candidates: Whittney Loyd and David Theile

Loyd:

“I have spent my professional life seeking to help individuals and families remove barriers to live healthy, independent lives. The school system is at the heart of this effort providing critical educational and extracurricular support – and sometimes more – for families in need. BCSC works together with parents, the human services network, and other key stakeholders to build a strong future for our kids. I experience this all the time from my own interactions.

While students receive their academic education at the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation, it takes place within the context of a larger community. Local administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals cannot do their jobs alone. It requires a systemic approach; one that can help support students and families so that education can be a primary focus, helping to lay the foundation for bright futures.”

Theile:

Mr. Theile did not submit an answer to this question.

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/03/2024

Question 11: Please share anything else you would like us to know.

District 7 Candidates: Samantha Ison and Nicole Wheeldon

Ison:

Mrs. Ison did not submit an answer to this question.

Wheeldon:

“I have learned so much in my time serving on the BCSC school board. BCSC is a large, complex organization with wonderful people, lots of successes and problems to solve. We need strong leadership skills on the school board to help navigate the next few years, and I feel I can be an asset to the team. I will listen to facts and hear all sides of an issue before deciding. I also rely on stakeholders and experts to create solutions. In my time on school board I have thought of CEA as a partner in leadership of the district, and would like to continue that into the next term.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/03/2024

Question 11: Please share anything else you would like us to know.

For our final question, we are starting with the District 5 candidates: Leigh Britt and Tom Glick

Britt:

“From 2012 - 2017, the Southeast Indiana Postsecondary Regional Partnership (SEIPRP) was formed between the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Indiana University Columbus (formerly IUPUC), Ivy Tech, Decatur County School Corporation and Jac-Cen-Del School Corporation in the form of a grant funded by the Lumina foundation (College Readiness ). As a member of this team, I focused on Indiana College Readiness (ICHE) data comparing Indiana high school diploma type (General, Core 40, Academic Honors/Technical Honors) to remediation of freshmen entering college immediately after high school graduation. Data focusing on students who required remediation at the college level in mathematics and/or English/language arts was examined. The Indiana ICHE College Readiness data examined students who pursued traditional 4-year and 2-year degrees. Deliverables of the grant included a brochure (Are Indiana high school graduates ready for college? ) which communicated the data findings for which I was one of three authors. In addition to the brochure, rubrics were created for parents and students to use as a reference identifying targets of readiness in mathematics and English/language arts. I was the lead author of mathematics rubrics identifying college preparedness by math topic using input from grant partners:

• Finite rubric - Is your student college ready for mathematics?
• College Algebra rubric - Is your student college ready for mathematics?
• Calculus rubric - Is your student college ready for mathematics? )

Our work led to presentations of our findings at the conferences listed below in California, Texas and Indiana:

• League of Innovations Conference; San Francisco, CA; 2017
o Presenters | The League for Innovation in the Community College
• National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence; Austin, TX; 2017
o NISOD’s 2017 Conference Celebrates and Inspires Community and Technical College Educators
• ICHE Student Advocates Conference; Indianapolis, IN 2016
o CHE: Student Advocates Conference

As a result of participating in the SEIPRP grant, I have a keen understanding of the academic expectations and preparation required of students pursuing their next academic steps. Currently, the Indiana Department of Education is considering a two-diploma system, Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS and GPS+). I will be an asset guiding BCSC through the transition of a diploma requirement change as the proposed changes come to fruition. Early concerns of the new diploma include if the diploma changes will graduate students who are prepared for post-secondary expectations. I am excited to share my knowledge with others as well as learn more about the proposed changes.

Please visit the link below for a full explanation of history of the SEIPRP grant and links to the deliverables described: College Readiness

Note: Indiana University Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) is rebranding to Indiana University Columbus (IUC). As a result, landing pages will also be rebranded as of July 1, 2024. Please visit the newly rebranded Indiana University Columbus webpage (https://columbus.iu.edu/ ) followed by a search of College Readiness in the browser bar to find the College Readiness brochure and rubrics above post July 1, 2024.”

Glick:

“The renovation plans for our schools need to be reworked. My children attend Parkside, so I have seen the changes. The classroom walls lining the hallways are glass, floor to ceiling. Part of my military job is threat analysis and risk management. So, my first thought was, “What happens in the event of a school shooter?” This design does not protect our students and staff.

Furthermore, this increases unneeded distractions unless the blinds are pulled as people walk through the halls. The cafeteria is a nightmare with the tables and chairs they chose, as staff struggles to clean and maneuver around them. Furthermore, the ceiling is still leaking, and the students have not had a gymnasium in two years. They turned the gym into temporaryclassrooms are because we were too cheap to get mobile classrooms.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to speaking with you further and, hopefully, working with you to get our school system back on track.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/02/2024

Question 10: In what ways does BCSC excel as a school district? What is its biggest weakness?

District 7 Candidates: Nicole Wheeldon and Samantha Ison

Wheeldon:

“There are many ways we stand out in a positive was as a school district. Some of the more notable areas of excellence include the quality of our staff at all levels, our focus on STEM, and creative solutions for offering a variety of learning options. An area of improvement for BCSC is continuing to improve outcomes for struggling students. Improving this will require detailed data analysis to properly define the problem(s) and forming collaboration teams to work solutions.”

Ison:

“BCSC excels in the areas of career readiness fields in large thanks to the C4 program. The largest weaknesses that threaten the long-term readiness of BCSC are third grade reading and graduation rates. Below state-average graduation rates is unacceptable and will have long-term consequences within the community. Whereas third grade reading levels paired with new state legislation threaten the current operational model for BCSC if significant portions are held back creating imbalanced graduating class sizes.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/02/2024

Question 10: In what ways does BCSC excel as a school district? What is its biggest weakness?

District 5 Candidates: Tom Glick and Leigh Britt

Glick:

“We have incredible teachers at all levels who care and exceed the standards. BCSC does a great job of combining staff with athletics to ensure our athletes excel in the classroom as well. We have many athletes and teams that have achieved greatness on and off the field. Chris Cooper is one of these teacher-coaches who preaches classroom excellence and a school-first attitude. I, too, adopted his policy as I have had athletes needing to catch up with their work. I would have them focus on their studies rather than practice. This tactic is used to show how important and necessary school is and not just a ploy to keep someone eligible.

I believe our greatest weaknesses are our administrative staff, test scores, and discipline. Many times in the past, our administration has failed to manage personnel properly. Parkside is constantly losing great teachers due to poor management. We need a better assessment of personnel and a better selection of administrators. I have heard too many stories of people failing upwards. In terms of discipline, this needs to be a joint effort with parents as there is no appropriate action taken out of fear of parental interference or a lawsuit. There are policies in place for a reason; we need to enforce the policies.”

Britt:

“BCSC excels in opportunities offered to students!

Career and Technical Education (CTE)
In early June I had the opportunity to tour the C4 wings at Columbus North High School, Columbus East High School and the McDowell Education Center that houses the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs for Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Jennings and Johnson counties. Director Gene Hack highlighted potential pathways and opportunities for BCSC students following graduation. Offering insight to potential offerings to emerging young adults allows them to explore their technology related interests with hands-on learning opportunities . Discovering pathways that are of interest at a young age may ignite a spark for students that otherwise they would not have explored. The C-4 offerings support their mission statement ‘…to prepare socially engaged citizens who excel in an information and technology rich society.’

College Preparedness
The Indiana Commission for Higher Education tracks data of high school graduates by County/Corporation related to college readiness (my area of expertise as described in detail in question #11). Students requiring remediation in math, English/Language Arts, or both is reported by graduating cohort. The 2015 College-Going Scorecard* indicates that 73% of BCSC 2012 graduates did not require remediation. The 2024 College-Going Scorecard*indicates that 94% of BCSC 2021 graduates did not require remediation. This steady progression of improvement in college preparedness speaks to the diligence and response of BCSC to improve academic preparation of those students who are college bound.

Dual-Credit course offerings through Ivy Tech allow students to earn affordable college credits before entering college. In addition to dual credit course offerings, Academic College Placement (ACP) for Indiana University credit, Academic Placement (AP) course offerings, and Honors classes for students seeking a challenge before AP, ACP or Dual Credit are offered to our secondary students.
*(https://www.in.gov/che/college-readiness-reports/college-readiness-dashboard/)

Fine Arts
The Fine Arts departments (including band, art, choir and drama) in BCSC provide a community to students in music, drama, choir and art. The combined bands of North and East high schools in the form of The Sound and Spirit of Columbus marching band exemplifies the camaraderie nurtured by the music program and the unique family vibe because of the collaboration betweenthe high schools. The American Pie Concert is a collaboration of the Social Studies departments and Fine Arts departments where history is told through student performances.

Pathways
The BCSC Core Belief, ‘Learning is most effective when we have choice, flexibility, and see relevance.’ shines in our Columbus Signature Academy (CSA), CSA Lincoln and CSA FodreaAcademies. These schools provide a project-based learning (PBL) focused pathway for students who benefit from a non-traditional curriculum design.

The Legado Spanish Immersion Academy within Clifty Creek Elementary provides
a 2-way Spanish and English fluency pathway for students seeking a multi-lingual approach to curriculum delivery. Greicy Patino is a rock star (and a former student of mine at IU Columbus)!

Athletics
Quality Athletics programs and facilities at the high schools are recognized as BCSC athletes regularly represent our corporation at the state level . New gym space is planned in the BCSC Envision 2030 long term plan to provide even more opportunities for students. The Elementary Basketball League (EBL) and Elementary Cross Country (ECC) for our elementary students offer opportunities to our youngest athletes.

Team/Cohorts – Small schools within the High School ‘City’
The high school Team/Cohort approach (Team 2025, Team 2026, Team 2027, Team 2028 at Columbus East HS and Cohort 2025, Cohort 2026, Cohort 2027, Cohort 2028 at Columbus North HS) creates multiple smaller communities within the high school ‘city’ and allows for a creative approach while keeping tabs on students in real time which encourages retention and graduation success!

Community Partner
Collaboration with community entities such as Cummins Inc. and The Cummins Foundation supporting school architecture; the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and shared space in the Columbus Learning Center; Indiana University Columbus (IUC) and the Early College program; and United Way programming sets our corporation apart.

Weaknesses:
BCSC has policies on the BCSC website, but searching the policies for topics is difficult to navigate. This may be interpreted as information being inadvertently ‘hidden’ from the public. A link to BCSC School Board policies that is easy to locate after landing on the website should be considered for implementation. A search feature should be incorporated to improve finding specific BCSC policies without reading through hundreds of pages. An idea for improving the ease by which parents and community members could find policy information by topic could be addressed under the Secretary position of the school board with a committee including board members.

After speaking to recent 2024 BCSC graduates, I asked about student perception of the East Team/North Cohort launch. The students felt there are weaknesses regarding recognizing there was a change in support as compared to previous years. The students (who were in good standing) did not observe a difference after the East Team/North Cohort launch. For example, the students felt that lengthy response times to requests to meet with the guidance counselor were unsatisfactory and that a regular presence of the East Team/Norrth Cohort leadership was not visible. Students in good standing could not recognize the Assistant Principal assigned to the students’ team/cohort until spring semester. According to the students, advisory lessons with advisory teachers were unrelatable and the promised connections in the form of one on onefollow-up did not happen.

I attended a recent school board meeting where East Team and North Cohort leadership spoke of success with at-risk students. Improving response time and visibility with students in good standing should be a goal to match success made with at-risk students. As with all new programs, improvement will be made over time. Administering student satisfaction surveys each semester will allow East Team and North Cohort leadership to become aware of perception issues in real time in order to improve.

The students also indicated there were mixed messages regarding cell phone use. While cell phones were discouraged in the classroom, cell phones were necessary for hall passes to the restroom, for example. As a corporation, we must be consistent with messaging on a broader scale and with the use of personal cell phones as one specific example.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/02/2024

Question 10: In what ways does BCSC excel as a school district? What is its biggest weakness?

Today, we are starting with the District 3 candidates: David Theile and Whittney Loyd

Theile:

“BCSC excels as a district through the countless and diverse activities and programs for students, multiple learning options that match the personal needs of each individual student, and employing some of the best teachers within the state.

BCSC’s weaknesses include a loss of focus on academic excellence. The lack of a clear strategic plan with viable processes to help our students succeed hurts our youth’s chances of graduating life-ready. A clear strategic plan would allow us to put into place long-term key performance indicators (KPIs) that would allow our youth to succeed as we monitor process to measure student success.”

Loyd:

“I believe BCSC has worked hard over the years to better serve all students. Their commitment to meeting students where they are and understanding how they individually learn has remained a priority. The diverse programming put in place offers greater support to students and provides access to individualized paths to success.

The C4 program, Columbus Virtual Pathway, and expanded Pre-K offerings are just a few of the assets that set BCSC apart from other corporations. Bright Beginnings, Family School Partners and the Legado Spanish Immersion Academy are others that also come to mind.

BCSC has also built valuable community partnerships that have positively impacted students, offering them access to greater learning, real-life experiences, and resources for themselves or their families.

As far as areas of improvement are concerned, I would like to see BCSC achieve a higher rate of retention for teachers. I believe there is more we can do as a corporation to better support staff. I truly believe teachers are the heart of our corporation. As a board member I would work to ensure we recruit, hire, and retain the best educators possible.

I believe our corporation can surpass the Indiana IREAD state average. The BCSC scores have remained steady the last two years with little improvement. While raising test scores is easier said than done, I would like to understand what tools and/or resources our corporation might need to support students in this effort. It would also be helpful to know how BCSC can support students and families at home surrounding literacy.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/01/2024

Question 9: Current state law restricts collective bargaining between teachers and their employer to wages and wage-related benefits. Do you support restoring the right of teachers to collectively bargain hours and working conditions? Why or why not?

District 5 Candidates: Leigh Britt and Tom Glick

Britt:

“As previously stated in #8, conversation is most productive when discussion flows in both directions freely and appropriately. As I understand the spirit of question #9, the law changed in 2011 to limit bargaining to wages and wage-related benefits only. No other topics are permitted for discussion even if the administration and the union agree to bargain.

This type of policing from the legislature is concerning as I feel such a limitation is divisive between the bargaining parties. Creating a caveat to allow for bargaining should both parties agree makes sense in the spirit of compromise and civility.

In the spirit of compromise, civility and common sense, I am in favor of an amendment to include topics including hours and working conditions as well as other agreed upon topics for discussion during bargaining.”

Glick:

“I support this initiative to broaden collective bargaining. We are losing teachers in droves due to working conditions related to, but not limited to, a lack of support from administrators, parents throughout our school corporation, student discipline, etc.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/01/2024

Question 9: Current state law restricts collective bargaining between teachers and their employer to wages and wage-related benefits. Do you support restoring the right of teachers to collectively bargain hours and working conditions? Why or why not?

District 3 Candidates: Whittney Loyd and David Theile

Loyd:

“As the daughter of a teacher, I saw the lengths my mom went to for students and all that she worked to provide them. Sometimes this meant ensuring they had proper school supplies, and other times it meant ensuring their environment was as safe and comfortable as possible. I know BCSC teachers continue to do all they can to meet student needs, and it is important that they receive the same level of care in return. Teachers should be empowered to have these discussions and advocate for themselves, especially when it comes to critical issues like class size and prep time.”

Theile:

“School Board members should be having meaningful conversations with all stakeholders within the school system. Through meaningful discussions with teachers, School Board members are in a best position to ensure that the teachers are paid appropriately and fairly and that the working conditions are optimal.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

08/01/2024

Question 9: Current state law restricts collective bargaining between teachers and their employer to wages and wage-related benefits. Do you support restoring the right of teachers to collectively bargain hours and working conditions? Why or why not?

Today, we are starting with the District 7 candidates: Samantha Ison and Nicole Wheeldon

Ison:

“I believe that teachers should be evaluated and compensated based on their performance, just like many other working individuals. Remember, schools exist as a public service with the primary responsibility of the education of our community's children. Everything else should revolve around that purpose. More in depth performance reviews can help motivate teachers to set and achieve goals, and they can ensure that those who excel in their roles are rewarded accordingly. By implementing a performance based compensation system, we can incentivize teachers to continuously improve their skills and strive for excellence in the classroom, driving the improvement of the purpose of our schools, the education of our community’s children.”

Wheeldon:

“Current state law restrictions in the collective bargaining scope have provided a simpler process, allowing for more focus on wages and wage-related benefits. To the contrary, a limitless scope of contract could allow the process to become cumbersome and detract from primary goals. I believe there is benefit to expand the scope of bargaining to include the most critical working condition terms. Key topics such as working hours, break times, and performance evaluation process are all important to our teachers success and ultimately play a role in their decision to stay with BCSC. I would support a practical expansion of the scope for collective bargaining.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.

07/31/2024

Question 8: In 2022, the state legislature removed a decades-long requirement that school administration have discussions with the elected union representatives of teachers, leaving it up to local school districts to adopt discussion policies if they wished. Would you support a BCSC school board policy requiring administration to have meaningful discussion with the union before making changes that impact teacher working conditions and student learning conditions? Why or why not?

District 3 Candidates: David Theile and Whittney Loyd

Theile:

“Meaningful discussions are of utmost importance for clear communication and transparency. School Board members should be having meaningful conversations with all stakeholders within the school system. Since teacher unions represent the interest of teachers, I would be very interested in having discussion with the union. I am and will be open to dialogue with anyone and everyone willing to engage in meaningful conversations.”

Loyd:

“I believe conversations between school administrators and elected union representatives are crucial to the long-term success of teachers and our school corporation overall. Being able to openly discuss questions and concerns, as well as clearly communicate expectations is vital to the bargaining process. Teachers are critical to the success and well-being of our students, and it should be a top priority to ensure they have what they need to be successful as well.”

Remember: all voters in BCSC’s school district vote for school board candidates in all districts.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7th. You can register to vote online at https://indianavoters.in.gov/ Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th.