INDIANAPOLIS — After more than a year of planning, the first draft of Indianapolis Public Schools’ "Rebuilding Stronger" plan will be released Tuesday.
Superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson will discuss the plan during the State of District address on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
That address will be live-streamed through the IPS website.
IPS spent the last year gathering community and family feedback, and so has a group called RISE Indy, which works directly with IPS to make sure families’ voices are heard.
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"After Tuesday, we'll have something to work with,” said Jen Chartier, with RISE Indy. “We can go out, and RISE Indy can meet with our families, really get feedback on that plan, and bring it back here to the district, so that in six or eight weeks when they finalize it and vote on it, they have community feedback."
Chartier said the Rebuilding Stronger plan focuses on five main recommendations as the foundation for the plan.
The problem, however, is Chartier said families don’t really know what will be included in Tuesday’s plan.
"I'm just hoping that we get enough detail that people can have conversations that are not speculation because the reality is, what happens here on Tuesday, what's in that speech, affects people's lives on Wednesday. It affects their lives next year," Chartier said.
“Some of the decisions required are hard, and I will not sugarcoat anything," Johnson said. "But I’ve never been more optimistic about where we’re going – providing a learning experience that we believe every student in our district deserves, puts them on the path to fulfill their own hopes and aspirations, and ultimately contributes to the vitality and success of our city and state.”
Leaders at IPS say the district will hold a series of community meetings and hearings to continue gathering feedback in the coming weeks.
Chartier said RISE INDY also plans to reach out to IPS families until the plan is finalized later this year.
"The challenge is a lot of parents who maybe have access to the internet or a little bit more free time, they already think they know what's in the plan,” Chartier said. “Our job at RISE INDY is to go out and make sure that the people who are maybe working two jobs, they don't even know this might be happening, that they hear about this, and that they're voices are also heard."