
On March 24, the IPS Board of School Commissioners approved the innovation agreement for Liberty Grove Schools to serve as the new partner for Elder W. Diggs School 42 for school year 2022-23.
January 18 & 20 Community Meetings
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School Attribute-Setting & School Candidates Meetings
On Jan. 27, IPS Administration Recommends Liberty Grove Schools as Potential New Innovation Partner for Elder Diggs School 42.
On Dec. 16, the IPS Board of School Commissioners voted to not renew Ignite Achievement Academy’s Innovation Agreement for the 2022-23 school year. This difficult decision was made for a variety of reasons, all of which are rooted in the belief that all students deserve the best the district has to offer. (The IPS administration recommended to not renew Ignite’s contract to the Board in early December. )
Specifically, the reasons for non-renewal include:
- Four years into its turnaround status, Ignite remains below the IPS average and the average for similar schools for ISTEP/ILEARN proficiency in both math and ELA. Note: There was no testing in 2020.
- In ELA, Ignite scores dropped considerably (25% in 2018, 6% in 2019, and 4% in 2021) placing the school in the bottom 20% of the IPS family of schools for both 2019 and 2021. More specifically, the school was third from the bottom in 2019 and fourth from the bottom in 2021.
- In math proficiency, Ignite dropped from 10% proficiency in 2018 to 4% in 2019 and 4% in 2021
- In both subject areas, Ignite’s proficiency was 8% in 2018, dropped to 2% in 2019 and recovered to 5% in 2021. Nevertheless, the school has remained in the bottom 20% for both subject areas every year since 2018.
- While Ignite did see gains in IREAD (11%), the school only had a 56.4% pass rate with 24 of its 55 third graders not passing IREAD. This percentage is only 1.7% higher than the year prior to Ignite’s restart in school year 2016-17.
- Enrollment has declined over the years, reaching a low of 354 students (from approximately 500) at ADM this year. These changes in enrollment do not correspond to the changes in neighboring populations.
- Ignite has a high suspension rate, placing it in the Top 10 in the district among K-12 schools.
- Staff retention for the 2021–22 school year is 46% — nearly 20 percentage points lower than any of the IPS direct-run schools.
- District data shows Ignite has the lowest staff retention of any of the schools in the IPS portfolio of schools.
Other factors for non-renewal include findings during a joint site visit at Ignite in Fall 2021 between IPS and the Office of Education Innovation (OEI) — Ignite’s charter authorizer:
- Lack of application of school-adopted curricula, especially in language arts.
- Limited parent stakeholder engagement.
- Need for stronger adult-to-student culture and productive interactions, particularly within the classrooms.
- Concerns with special education and English Learner instruction compliance and efficacy.
- Overall, the school’s outcomes have remained flat or declined and inputs have not improved over the course of several years.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Ignite, under its current leadership, will finish out the 2021–22 school year.
The Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation (OEI), the authorizer of Ignite’s charter, will continue its regular academic, finance and governance meetings with Ignite leadership to help ensure minimal disruptions for students. IPS will work with school leadership to prepare for a transition in operations.
IPS will continue to receive regular compliance submissions, including interim assessment results, and will work with the outgoing operator to ensure a smooth transition for students, staff and families.
The IPS administration is developing a plan for how the school will operate beginning with the 2022–23 school year. The district has held meetings with current staff, families and community partners to seek input for developing the plan and ensured feedback from all stakeholders was incorporated in the school moving forward.
QUESTIONS? Email ignitetransition@myips.org.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS