Indy K12 – 2017

In January 2017, I began writing for Indy K12 (formerly called Indy/Ed), an EdPost publication.  After being a writer for Indy K12 for a couple of years, I moved into the role of Editor-in-Chief.

Indy K12 was in existence from 2016 through February 28, 2023. EdPost decided to move away from having multiple publications under its umbrella. Since the Indy K12 website is now inactive, the articles have been converted to PDF.

Last, the writers from Indy K12, myself included, decided to create an independent nonprofit called Indy Kids Winning. Through a collaboration with EdPost, we were able to transfer all of our articles to the IKW website. If you google any article title, you will find it on the IKW website.

However, I prefer to have the PDFs on my website to make clear which publication my articles were originally written under.

I was blessed to be part of a team of educators turned journalists who are advocates for the least of these in the world of education.

Below are the articles I wrote in 2017.

To read my work from other years, click on the year: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, & 2023, or go to the drop down menu under the publication tab on my website.

Last, I should note I went viral for this Indy K12 article, “Teachers Quit Principals, Not Schools.” When it was first published in 2017, it was viewed over one million times. It also started circling again during the COVID-19 pandemic.

12/30/2017	Indy/Ed’s Top Ten Posts of 2017
12/24/2017	Winter Break Option:  Kwanzaa Celebration
12/22/2017	Winter Break Option:  The Children’s Museum on Christmas Eve
12/20/2017	We Need Solidarity to Improve School Lunch Programs
12/19/2017	Innovation Restart:  Heart to Heart
12/16/2017	IPS Innovation Restart
12/10/2017	Winter Break Option:  Winterlights
12/8/2017	Partners in Education:  Keana Parquet
12/7/2017	Partners in Education:  Eric Parquet
12/5/2017	MSDWT Safety Fair
11/30/2017	Indiana Should Lower the Compulsory Schooling Age
11/28/2017	Parents Should Be Empowered to Stand UP and Advocate for Their Children
11/26/2017	Winter Break Option:  Indiana Chinese Lantern Festival
11/21/2017	Vanguard Collegiate:  A New Middle School Coming to Indy’s West Side
11/18/2017	Teachers, It Isn’t Your Job to Judge Parents
11/14/2017	Recommendation:  Convert IPS Schools Wendell Phillips and Washington Irving into Innovation Schools
11/11/2017	Veterans Day:  My Father’s Story
11/09/2017	The GOP Doesn’t Care that Teachers Buy Their Own Classroom Supplies
11/02/2017	Nominations Needed for School Excellence Awards
11/02/2017	The Mind Trust Educational Bus Tours
10/30/2017	Should Schools Celebrate Halloween?
10/28/2017	Washington Township Parents, School Hours & Boundaries Input Needed
10/24/2017	When Teachers Fear Parents the Child Loses
10/21/2017	A Principal’s Words Has Power (republished by Education Post)
10/19/2017	Mississippi:  A Book Makes People ‘Uncomfortable’ But What About Your Flag?
10/18/2017	Will Craig Middle School Reopen in 2019?
10/15/2017	It Will Take More Than Money to Diversify the Teaching Profession
10/10/2017	Mental Health Matters Not Just for Students, but for Their Teachers Too
10/5/2017	World Teachers’ Day 2017
10/2/2017	Kimbal Musk Speaks at TURN Festival
9/29/2017	Five Tips to Advocate for Your Child When Your Child’s Teacher Quits and Stays
9/28/2017	IPS Names Principals of Reinvented High Schools
9/25/2017	Indiana Educators Needed for ILEARN Development
9/22/2017	Leading During a Time of Uncertainty
9/19/2017	IPS Board of School Commissioners Approves Plan to Close and Consolidate High Schools
9/14/2017	Principal of Arsenal Tech Removed
9/6/2017	Is it a DREAM deferred or a DREAM deterred?
9/4/2017	Defend DACA; Don’t Rip Away the Dream
9/1/2017	Northwest High School Community Meeting:  Why Do You Want to Bus Us Across Town?
8/30/2017	Arlington High School Community Meeting:  When Will the Experiments Stop?
8/29/2017	There’s Power in Understanding Policy
8/28/2017	Can the Ban and Just Let Kids Read
8/24/2017	Should All Indiana Schools Have the Same Start Date
8/21/2017	Being Aware and Making a Difference is not a Trend; It’s a Lifestyle
8/19/2017	IDOE Community Meetings
8/17/2017	Indianapolis Needs Renaissance Kids
8/15/2017	A New School Year – Tips for Students
8/9/2017	A New School Year – Tips for Teachers
8/1/2017	IPS is Willing to Pay in Hopes High School Teachers Will Stay
7/30/2017	A New School Year – Tips for Parents
7/24/2017	The Next IT Girl
7/21/2017	John Marshall Closure Community Meeting:  Where Were They?
7/20/2017	State ESSA Plans Need to Include Accountability for STEAM Curriculum if States Want More African Americans and Hispanics in STEAM Careers
7/19/2017	Broad Ripple Closure Community Meeting:  Were They Heard?
7/12/2017	It’s Full STEAM Ahead for Youth at Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration
7/7/2017	IPS School Closures:  Teachers Devastated; Families Look for Other Options
7/5/2017	Indiana Releases First Draft of ESSA Plan (republished by Black Press USA and its affiliates – The Baltimore Times, The Dallas Post Tribune, The Indianapolis Recorder, Pasadena Journal, New Journal and Guide, and Westside Gazette)
7/4/2017	What, to a Slave Descendant, is your 4th of July? (republished by Second Line Education Blog)
6/30/2017	School Issues Report Cards without Grades after Teacher Quits
6/28/2017	Parents, Teachers Aren’t Miracle Workers; Your Child Needs to be Present to Learn
6/23/2017	We Strap Roller Skates to Their Feet and Push Parents Out the Door  (republished by Good School Hunting)
6/15/2017	Mindfulness and Wrap Around Services Support Student Success in Schools
6/13/2017	IPS Plans to Expand Online Literacy Tutoring Program
6/5/2017	Too Many Graduations
5/31/2017	State ESSA Plans Should Include Multiple Career Pathways for Teachers
5/25/2017	When School Policies Interfere with Our Children’s Education
5/22/2017	Broad Ripple Magnet High School for the Arts & Humanities Students Attend Hamilton in Chicago
5/18/2017	Thank You to My African American Teachers
5/10/2017	Learning and Gardening at School (republished by The Kitchen Community)
5/5/2017	Move the Conversation from School Type to School Success
5/3/2017	The Power of School Choice
4/28/2017	Let’s Not Rush This High School Closure Thing
4/25/2017	Autism:  Through a Parent’s Eyes
4/21/2017	Help Name MSDWT New Schools
4/12/2017	The Referenda Passed…Now What?
4/3/2017	Whose Responsibility Is It? (republished by Huffington Post)
3/28/2017	Women’s History Month Highlight:  Vera Vander Kooy Bringing STEM to Indy’s Youth
3/17/2017	Aspiring Indiana Teachers Cannot Pass Licensure Exams
3/13/2017	Teachers Quit Principals, Not Schools
3/6/2017	Legislation and Funding of Innovation Schools
2/22/2017	The Unintended Consequences of Opportunity Culture
2/20/2017	IPS Launches Online Literacy Tutoring Program for First Graders
2/14/2017	We are Black Educators So Why Do You Only See Us As Disciplinarians? (republished by Huffington Post)
2/3/2017	MSD of Washington Township Changes Start and End Times for All District Schools
1/27/2017	School Choice Highlight:  Sidener Academy
1/19/2017	Education Proficiency Lacking; No Time for Growth – U.S. Education Secretary Confirmation Hearing of Betsy DeVos
1/15/2017	53 Years Since “I Have a Dream” and We’re Still Being Excluded
1/11/2017	2016:  A Look Back at the Highlights