A new leadership initiative was introduced to the Indianapolis Public Schools Board of Commissioners at the August 19th briefing session. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Wanda H. Legrand presented a proposal to develop a Lead Principal initiative at IPS. This program would identify existing principals to assist with the leadership and guidance of our school administrators.

The spring 2014 ISTEP+ scores showed several areas of improvement for Indianapolis Public Schools. We're proud to see improvement, and we can't wait to see the gains the new school year has in store!

Volunteers from OneAmerica visited Brookside School 54 and Theodore Potter School 74 this week for their first-ever “Week of Caring.”

Junior Achievement of Central Indiana (JA) is a vital resource for many Indianapolis Public Schools students. Now, a generous gift will support this educational programming!

At the August 28 Indianapolis Public Schools Board of School Commissioners action session the 2015 budget was approved. The budget of just over $382 million will go into effect on January 1, 2015.

Students at IPS/Butler University Laboratory School love their newest classroom. He listens to them, loves to read and also loves to sing. The students love to give him hugs and pet his soft ears.

In what could have been a difficult situation, the new Harshman Magnet Middle School is off to a great start. Everyone involved in this merger has approached it as a chance to forge a new strong educational partnership, making Harshman a stellar example of student, family, staff and community cooperation in the new IPS.

Mrs. Eleanor Henry, the music teacher at Stephen Foster School 67, says she loves what she does. And she must. She’s been doing it for 47 years, 38 of them at Stephen Foster!

A new school year brings a lot of excitement; and our English as a New Language (ENL) program has several new offerings for our multilingual families. The ENL department organized a welcoming back-to-school initiative for a group of refugee families at a pair of our west side schools.

Broad Ripple Magnet High School for the Arts and Humanities student Ruby Smith is a national finalist for the 2014 Maytag Dependable Leader Award.