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State superintendent visits Greencastle
Representing one of the highest-paid elected offices in the state and commanding more than $9 billion in funds, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Jennifer McCormick has been traveling the state recently, visiting schools and town halls in efforts to hear citizens’ concerns directly from the source.
“With the legislative session, we were really busy at the Statehouse and (with) being accessible at the end of the table,” McCormick said. “During that time we tried to get out as much as we could.
“We hit about 20-plus schools, but now that the legislative session is over, we’re trying to get to as many schools as we can,” she added. “Starting in the fall, we’re going to really hit the congressional districts and make sure we’re at each one that is having meetings to be there for whoever wants to hear us, and a big part of that is doing school visits. Our goal is to get to every county and every congressional district. It’s a lofty goal but we’re gonna make it.”
On the many hot-button issues facing education in Indiana, State Superintendent McCormick made clear Tuesday at Greencastle Middle School that she is on the side of the people.
And perhaps that view was best expressed when asked for her opinion of her position.
“I think it’s important that (the SPI) is willing to have some type of working relationship with the Statehouse regardless of who the governor is and regardless of who the legislators are. You have to have someone committed to doing that,” McCormick said. “(Citizens) digging their heels in just doesn’t work by itself and the concern quickly becomes the voice of the people.”
Making these comments and more during her visit, the public forum, which took place in the middle school cafeteria, saw superintendents, principals, teachers and parents participating and looking for answers.
Some of the questions posed by those in attendance Tuesday included ISTEP testing and its potential replacement, teacher evaluation/education, nutrition guidelines at the federal level and charter schools.
Of the aforementioned ISTEP testing, which is slated to be replaced with a new system called iLearn in 2019, McCormick acknowledged teachers’ growing frustration and had much to say on the matter.
“With ISTEP -- remember the legislation passed where it would go away -- it will go away, per se, but for the next testing round it probably will look very similar to this year, and here is why,” McCormick explained. “We don’t have an RFP (request for proposal) out because we had to wait on legislation to pass to know what we were trying to put an RFP out for, and we have to wait on that. That takes a lot longer than you think. It has to be vetted; we have to have blueprints so we can provide those to teachers; and it has to be under peer review. There is no way we can make that happen by (2017) and do it well.
“We can ramrod it through but you will not have blueprints and it will not be vetted,” McCormick continued. “We’ve gone that route before a couple of years ago and you know how that played out. Part of that was on the department to say ‘we get that we need something new’ but we want to get it right so that we don’t do something new and have to go back to something else and keep changing it year after year. That is really hard on a classroom teacher. It’s hard on the kids and it’s hard on families who want to figure out what the heck is going on in Indiana, so we’re saying ‘give us time to do it right.’”
She went on to describe what the upcoming iLearn testing will look like.
“What it looks like, right now, is for grades three through eight to have computer-adapted tests, which means kids will take the test and, if they get the question right, it goes to a harder question; if they get the question wrong, it goes to an easier question, but it’s all done on the computer,” McCormick explained. “The results are pretty much instantaneous, which is nice.
“As you get into high school, that’s where it really got muddy -- high school is a different beast,” she continued. “We were trying to figure out how to get that testing time down. As a parent, that drove me crazy, but as an educator it’s hard to swallow when you’re spending all of your instructional time preparing for a test and then giving the test. It came out for the high school to have end-of-the-course assessments. I’m not a huge fan of that, but given it came out in the bill, we’re going to do the best we can to administer that ... and prepare everyone the best we can for the success of our students.”
As McCormick continues her rounds across the state, she said she looks forward to speaking directly with those who will be impacted the most by her actions.
For more information or questions concerning the Superintendent of Public Instruction and her efforts, persons may call 317-232-6610 or email superintendent@doe.in.gov.