Indiana Writers Group column for release April 25 and thereafter Digital mug shot available on request 556 words By Matthew Carr If Indiana’s charter-school program is to survive, it will have to grow. Critics are right that the proficiency rates of charter schools here are, on average, lower than the statewide rates. Indiana charter schools, however, are located in only a few areas of the state, primarily Indianapolis and Gary, targeting children with some of…

Indiana Writers Group column for April 18 and thereafter 730 words By Andrea Neal     INDIANAPOLIS — As Indiana lawmakers enter 11th hour negotiations over tax and spending plans, a joke by author/humorist Peg Bracken comes to mind: “Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut save you 30 cents?”     No matter how earnest the calls for property tax relief, history tells us that modest cuts in one tax are…

Will This Be a Silent Spring? The Death of Two RobinsIndiana Writers Group column for release April 11 and thereafter By German Cruz Two male robins were found dead in my back yard. A tragic and rare event that begs some sort of explanation to comfort our grieving hearts. Was it global warming that caused them to abandon their winter home in Texas to return among us only to be beaten by the snow and…

Indiana Writers Group column for April 4 and thereafter 730 words By Andrea Neal     When it comes to corn-based ethanol, what’s good for Indiana corn farmers may not be so good for the rest of the world.     Demand for ethanol – the alternative fuel made by fermenting and distilling crops and their residues – is being blamed for everything from higher feed prices facing livestock farmers in the Midwest to higher tortilla prices fueling protests…

For release March 28 and thereafter A digital mug shot is available on request 607 words   By Dr. Jeff Abbott It is often difficult for patrons of an Indiana public school district to determine from media reports or even from the districts’ web sites whether their local school board has enough information to consider in sufficient depth the economic impact of a bond issue on its community.   For example, in my hometown the…

Indiana Writers Groujp column for March 21 and thereafter 730 words by Andrea Neal     Indiana voters don’t have much say in the process of selecting presidential nominees. Beginning with the 2008 election, we’ll have none. That’s because California just moved its presidential primary from June to the first Tuesday in February. In a ridiculous game of one-upmanship, 17 other states are considering bills to move up their primary dates.     By the time our presidential…

Indiana Writers Group column for release March 14 and thereafter 655 words by Lisa Snell In Indiana, like most states, school funding is  not  attached to the child; families cannot easily choose between local public schools based on quality. As a consequence, public schools have no incentive to improve because children have no right of exit to a better-performing school. While some public schools have experienced modest improvement in recent years, thousands of Hoosier children…

Indiana Writers Group column for March 7 and thereafter 730 words By Andrea Neal    The Indiana House has forwarded to the Senate a bill requiring that Indiana public schools “include a study of the Holocaust in each high school United States history course.”     As curriculum mandates go, this one isn’t too onerous. Any history teacher worth his salt is already teaching the Holocaust as part of an even cursory study of World War II. Most…

Indiana Writers Group column for Feb 28 648 words By Lisa Snell Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed a full-day kindergarten plan in his State of the State address and the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would make full-day kindergarten available to Indiana children this fall.   When fully implemented, the price tag could reach $285 million per year, depending on how many parents choose to enroll their children. “After years of study, debate, and failed…

A Chance to Improve Reading InstructionIndiana Writers Group column for Feb. 21 and thereafter 745 words By Andrea NealIn the 2001-02 school year, Indianapolis Public Schools launched a reading initiative that used a lot more phonics in the early grades. The switch wasn’t easy on teachers. They had to change the way they did things: A different textbook, extra training, a more formulaic way of teaching. Their new text, Open Court published by SRA/McGraw-Hill, wasn’t…