by Hans D. Lassiter, Chief Executive Officer, Irvington Community School Corporation
On behalf of our 1,000 students, 125 staff members, & the ICS Board of Governors, Happy New Year! If your 2024 was as exciting & as eventful as mine was, I know that you are primed & pumped for an even more exciting, eventful, & productive 2025! With the advent of a new calendar year, along with the moments & moods of reflection about 2024 & whether you accomplished or realized the self-imposed goals for individual improvement & success, comes another opportunity to set the course for individual improvement & excellence in 2025 by developing your annual self-improvement plan called resolutions. The ICS Nation is no different, as we set organizational goals at the beginning of the academic year, & at midyear, I feel encouraged &optimistic about how 2025 will treat us individually & as an organization. Allow me to explain.
In our world of education, we are charged to be “reflective practitioners,” meaning we review our successes & setbacks objectively, & ask ourselves several questions, including: “Did we do our very best for our students on a daily basis?” & “If my own child attended our school corporation, would I feel comfortable with him and her being enrolled in our schools & even more comfortable having my child in any of the classroom teachers employed by the corporation?” If the answer to either of those questions is a resounding NO, we go to work immediately to address the issue, as we take our profession seriously, & view the students who enter into our hallowed halls as our very own, even if it is just for 180 days for 7 hours a day. The students we serve today represent the independent thinkers, analytical people, & electorate who will carry us & our nation forward as we move into the midpoint of this decade. With this, then, comes OUR resolution to “Stop the spread!”
“What do you mean stop the spread,” you might ask? A quick Google search of the problems & concerns associated with American education will yield a bevy of issues affecting our schools & our students. From chronic & habitual absenteeism, disrespectful & discourteous behaviors toward teachers, staff, & toward each other, a general apathetic approach & disposition toward the importance of education, & whether being enrolled in & attending school & pursuing the sound, basic education that is a Constitutional right of every American citizen is even necessary anymore, there are several fights that we as educators and you as our partner have to decide if we are willing to train another day to step into the ring to fight the “good fight” to develop the minds of the young people we hold dear.
Just so you will know, the ICS Nation has decided to continue being resolute, as we have accepted the challenge as a collective to do our part to improve educational, instructional, and programmatic outcomes that we extend to our students & what we expect from our students by being even MORE RESOLUTE! We have resolved to up the ante with heightened expectations we have for each other & for every student in our schools. No longer will our instructors & schools accept sub-par effort & work products from our students, some of whom are satisfied with a grade of 60, which in some school corporations is the minimum grade that a student can earn to be considered “passing.” With us, any grade below 70 is not acceptable, & our students will be required to retake modules of the course or the entire course altogether until they have mastered the content.
We have resolved that we will not contribute to the nationwide problem of functional illiteracy. Our third-grade students take an assessment each year entitled IRead which is a diagnostic instrument used to garner reading comprehension & vocabulary skill & mastery. Our elementary leadership & instructional staff have resolved that they will provide data-driven instructional practices to our elementary students that are proven to improve reading comprehension, vocabulary building, & fluency. If a student is not successful in achieving a passing score on the IRead assessment, we cannot, with good conscience, allow that student to move to the next level of their academic pursuits UNTIL THEY HAVE DONE SO. With this resolve, then, our motivation is strong to plan, staff, & offer meaningful tutorial & extended school year opportunities to our students who need that extra nudge to advance to the next level of their education. This resolve also extends to our eighth graders & to our high school seniors, as we cannot & will not continue to contribute to the benign neglect & dangerous practice of “social promotion” solely because of the pleasing demeanor & personality of an otherwise “good kid.” We want our promotions & graduations to be meaningful milestones & accomplishments, not just ceremonial ones. The young people we will introduce to society & the consequent “Adulting” they will be required to do will be prepared to do so, armed with the academic, interpersonal, professional, social, & “soft skills” that are required by employers to be considered employable, marketable, & PREPARED for the rigor of work & lifelong learning in today & tomorrow’s workforce.
Lastly, we have resolved to be a true friend & partner to the Irvington community & to the greater Indianapolis & Marion County landscape. Our students & those who complete our instructional & thematic programs will be citizens who will care deeply about & for their community, & in turn, THEY will resolve to do the work that is required to improve their communities in which they work & live, & work tirelessly to embark upon activities & endeavors to sustain the positive attributes & characteristics of their community.
We are optimistic. We are resolute. We are ready for the challenges & opportunities that 2025 is most certain to bring. Are you? What are YOU prepared to do?
Let’s go out & WIN 2025, just as we did in 2024 & times & years gone by!