Eastsiders have a chance to learn about potential changes to Warren Township schools.
For several months, district leaders have been exploring what it would mean to move fifth graders, currently housed in the township’s three intermediate middle schools, into elementary buildings.
Warren Township staff, students and families have been meeting in focus groups to explore different aspects of the plan, which could involve expanding academic programs and reassigning elementary students to new schools to help balance enrollment.
“Unfortunately, sometimes some of our students, depending on where they attend school in Warren Township, they have longer car rides and longer bus rides,” Chief Operations Officer Marques Clayton said in a recent series of explainer videos produced by the district. “As we go through this process, as best as we can, we hope to eliminate some of those daily challenges.”
Now, the focus groups are expected to report out what they’ve learned and their priorities for the future.
Get the backstory
Focus group leaders, as well as consultants from the firm Woolpert, will give a public presentation from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 5 at the Warren Education and Community Center, 975 N. Post Road. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the district’s website.
Focus groups include:
- School boundaries
- High ability and dual language immersion
- School start and end times
- Invest in people (human resources)
- Enrollment management
- Fifth grade experience
Superintendent Tim Hanson stressed in the video series that no decisions have been made yet.
In a mid-December newsletter to families, the superintendent said some unexpected delays have pushed back planning. Recommendations for changes will likely be brought to the Warren Township school board during its Feb. 18 meeting.
“I’ve been using the analogy: It’s halftime,” Hanson said in the video series. “It’s an opportunity for us to review where we’ve been, reset where we are and provide a preview of where we’re going with this.”
The complete video series can be watched on the Warren Township schools’ YouTube page. More information about the developing plans can be found on the district’s website.
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Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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