Education

A bill in a Senate committee would establish a new center for deaf and hard of hearing education.  However, some in the deaf community are pushing back against the idea.

Outreach services to parents and families of deaf and hard of hearing children are handled by the Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD).  The legislation would transfer those duties, and the funds that go with them, to a new center for deaf and hard of hearing education. The bill’s sponsors say they want to establish a place without a bias between two significant groups within the deaf community – those who support oral learning using cochlear implants and those who support American Sign Language, or ASL, education.

Ivy Tech and Purdue University are combining education and industry to form the Crossroads Smart Grid Training Program.

The goal is to train students and displaced workers for jobs in the electric energy sector.

Ivy Tech will be the lead institution in the partnership, with funding coming from a $4.7-million federal grant.

Curriculum will be developed to train operators, technicians, engineers, and research scientists in college degree and certificate programs.

The institutions will also work with regional power and electric producers to ensure the emerging workforce meets the industry’s needs.

The words "black market" usually summon images of drugs, guns or pirated DVDs — not tubas. Yet authorities in Los Angeles say the instrument is in such high demand that the black market may be what's driving a wave of local tuba thefts.

Ruben Gonzalez is teaching an after-lunch band class at the scene of one recent tuba crime — the music room at South Gate High School outside L.A. He starts with a request only a band teacher would make.

"Make sure we rinse out folks — we don't need any hamburgers or hot chilies coming through those instruments," he says.

Purdue College of Agriculture grads continue to have success finding jobs.

A recent survey indicates 86% of May 2011 graduates found employment.

That compares with 85% in 2010 and 83% in 2009.

The technical director of the Hanor Company, one of the nation’s leading pork producers, says young professionals should be patient and resilient when first entering the work force.

Dr. Dean Boyd says having a clear cut career vision as an undergrad is easier said than done.

He made the comments during a College of Ag forum on the Purdue campus.

The keynote address was part of the Book Harmon Leadership Program’s forum on animal agriculture.

Before the start of the school year, college seemed but a mere dream for Krista Lucus.  The 19-year-old has a seven month old daughter, works 35-hours a week to support her family, and thought her only chance of getting a diploma was by passing her G-E-D.

Today, not only is college a possibility for Lucus, but an expectation.

"When I first found out I was pregnant, I was going to drop out and get my G-E-D.  It was the easy way out.  College was pushed to the back burner," she said.  "Now, I am getting my high school education and moving on to college.  It's not, 'Oh I think I'm going to do this,' it's a "Oh I am going to do this,'  type of thing.”

School administrators are getting a better understanding of a new state system of evaluating teachers.

About 300 educators are participating in training sessions, including one in West Lafayette, on the RISE Initiative which categorizes teachers into four categories – highly effective, effective, needs improvement, and ineffective.

Professional Development Director for Wabash Valley Education Center Tami Hicks says depending on how teachers are rated could impact their pay.

She says one of the challenges is developing consistency in how administrators evaluate teachers.

School districts are not required to use the RISE model, but must have their evaluation method approved by the state before August 1st when the rating tool goes into effect.

Indiana’s Senate has passed a bill that would require all students to complete one virtual course before graduating from high school.

The measure is currently under debate in a House Committee.

Lafayette School Corporation Superintendent Ed Eiler believes there needs to be more concrete clarifications before implementing the policy.

He also says added costs may come as the result of the bill and thinks that needs to be examined more thoroughly before anything is done.

Eiler says LSC currently offers some virtual courses, but believes they are a better fit for students who excel in a traditional classroom setting. 

He says other students often struggle with these types of classes.