Indianapolis School 43’s future is still unknown. Community members want support now

Roughly 60 community members gathered at the Martin Luther King Community Center Wednesday evening in Indianapolis to brainstorm the resources needed to boost academic performance and morale at James Whitcomb Riley School 43 as its future remains uncertain.

Nestled within the midtown Butler Tarkington neighborhood, the school serves roughly 275 students in preK-8th grade, nearly 50 percent fewer students since 2018, according to state data.

The once top-performing school has had five different principals during a five year period. This school has been led by Principal Lauren Johnson since 2019. But what comes next for School 43 is murky as the Indianapolis Public Schools district tries to determine who will lead it next year.

The district had a plan for the operator of Edison School of the Arts to take over management of the school in July, but the contract was abruptly canceled last month. The district has yet to announce a new operator or management plan.

Now the Butler Tarkington/Crown Hill Education Committee is trying to provide parents and teachers with a space to determine what resources are needed to best serve students. Attendees said they want to see more parental involvement and experienced educators at the school.

Fifth grade teacher Deidre Henderson said she’s seen more and more strain on teachers since she started at School 43 roughly three years ago.

Henderson said she has to juggle accommodating students with learning disabilities, translate for bilingual students and those with visual learning impairments. She’s also trying to support her higher-performing students, but said it’s difficult.

Henderson has tried to begin a book club for her students who read on a sixth, seventh or even an eighth grade level. But she doesn’t have the bandwidth.

“I don’t have enough energy in just me to sit out there in the hallway, read 20 pages with them, discuss these books on their level and encourage them to keep reading,” Henderson said.

She said teachers across the building are stretched thin. One of the things keeping the teachers at the school, Henderson said, is their love for their kids and support for their coworkers.

Some teachers, including Henderson, spoke up asking for more community volunteers to support educators in the school. Much of the conversation also revolved around the need for more community partnerships. But educators said a systemic lack of organization at the school has made it difficult to maintain meaningful support at School 43.

“The people who are involved at the moment are so busy putting out fires, they don’t even realize that the firemen are right beside them,” said Jim Grim, director of university and community school partnerships at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. “They just don’t know how to use them.”

As the school comes to a close, the district has had multiple conversations with members of the The Butler Tarkington/Crown Hill Education Committee. Last month, the committee sent a letter to the IPS board.

IPS commissioner Hope Hampton, representing IPS district 3 which includes School 43, said she is listening to the community to make sure the district has an understanding of the resources the school needs to best support students.

“Our ears are open very much,” Hampton said. “I’m trying my best to make sure that I create a space or an air and spirit of transparency with them.”

Hampton hopes the school board and the district will be able to announce updates for the school soon. Hampton, who grew up in the neighborhood and currently resides in the area, intends to continue listening to the The Butler Tarkington/Crown Hill Education Committee as much as possible.

“As long as they’re riding for this school, then I am, and that’s really why I’m here,” Hampton said. “I intend to be at each one of their meetings that I can physically be at.”

The MLK Center plans to host two more town hall meetings about the future of School 43 before the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year on July 31.

Contact WFYI education reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @_elizabethgabs.