Virtual school finds new partner in Beech Grove
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Indiana Digital Learning School (INDLS) has a new partner and will continue operating after its host district was targeted for closure by the Indiana General Assembly.
The big picture: INDLS and Indiana Digital Alternative School (INDAS), its alternative program for high school students who need more support, are now working with Beech Grove City Schools in addition to Union Schools, which state lawmakers voted to close by 2027.
Catch up quick: Union's 300 in-person students will be sent to neighboring school districts.
- But it was initially less clear what would happen to the 7,500 students attending INDLS, the virtual school that Union has overseen since 2017.
- Lawmakers' reasoning for closing the district was poor academic performance, but school officials have said they think it's because of the millions the district brings in through oversight fees from the virtual school.
The latest: Union is suing the state over the law that would dissolve the district.
- Whatever the outcome, though, INDLS students will be able to continue through the new partnership with Beech Grove.
- Liz Sliger, executive director for INDLS and INDAS, said the program is committed to offering high-quality virtual education to Hoosier students "now and in the future."
- "There are students who succeed better in a more flexible environment," Sliger told Axios. "I strongly believe you cannot have education for every student unless somebody serves those students, and I want to be that school."
Zoom in: Beech Grove superintendent Laura Hammack said the district's previous provider didn't have the same live, synchronous experience that INDLS offers.
- "We've heard from our families that there was an ever-increasing interest in online learning since the pandemic," Hammack told Axios. Because the district is too small to run its own program, it turned to a third-party provider.
Yes, and: Beech Grove is a higher-performing district than Union, so it may be a safer home for the virtual school, whether or not poor academic performance was a cover for trying to close the online program.
- While Union's ILEARN pass rate last school year for both English and math was under 4%, Beech Grove's was over 17%.
For now, INDLS and INDAS will continue to operate at both the Union and Beech Grove districts and will enroll students from across the state.
- Sliger said they expect to serve about 8,000 students this school year.