The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school district is the fourth-largest in the state in terms of student population. That means our school system receives a lot of attention statewide. HSE is also the largest Indiana suburban school system. Again, based on student population, Fort Wayne is the largest, followed by IPS, Evansville … then HSE.
The reason that fact is important centers on what I want to get across in this commentary – people around Indiana and possibly outside our state are watching our school board election and the tenor of the debate among the citizenry within the HSE School District.
I will not address the school board election in this piece, but I do wish to warn everyone in Fishers and the HSE Schools boundaries (the HSE boundary takes in more than the city of Fishers) that we all need to take a deep breath and think … think for more than a few seconds … about the social media post you are about to send.
Look, I am not arguing that everyone commenting on HSE Schools are part of the problem … most comments I see about our schools are no problem at all. But we must think about how we can have a civil argument … disagreeing without being disagreeable.
I am not going to share specific examples of what is going wrong about our local school debate because doing so would just provide a megaphone to those that are not engaging in this discussion in what I would consider the right way.
I always start with this simple precept – everyone with students in HSE Schools wants the absolute best for their children. I moved here in 1991 and several years later my twin daughters entered kindergarten at Harrison Parkway, middle school at Sand Creek, went to Fishers Junior High and spent four years at Fishers High School. My daughters received a top-shelf education at HSE Schools which prepared them well for college, and they are both college graduates.
My wife and I saw up close and personal how HSE Schools work. As you might guess, all was not perfect all the time, but for the most part, my wife Jane and I were impressed by the teachers and staff at all those schools (Jane is not an easy person to impress).
My family had that outstanding experience with our local schools at a time when the student population was growing every year. It is a little like adding on to an airplane while still in flight. Somehow the teachers and administrators continued their high-quality work despite the challenge of rapid growth.
The key to continuing the high quality is recruiting and retaining the best teachers and administrators. That is a big reason I am writing this post at this specific time.
HSE is not at the top of the teacher pay scale in our geographical area. But local leaders have always told me we do not want to be at the bottom of the compensation list, but if HSE can stay in the middle, the quality of our community can be the main driver for staff.
Here is my point. Some social media posts locally have been savagely attacking school staff, administrators and board members. I understand what it means to be a public employee; I was one for 28 years and understand that public criticism is part of the game.
But when allegations are made that are just not true, or amount to personal attacks, that is when we are all impacted. Suddenly, that draw of a quality community is dented by the vitriol that comes across when teachers are attacked. There is no good reason for this.
I know a number of teachers in HSE Schools and they all, to a person, tell me the pandemic has resulted in a workload far beyond anything ever seen before. The teaching staff all care about their students and are trying their best under the worst circumstances they have ever seen. Attacking these people will not help, but it can hurt.
Teachers are highly-educated professionals. They either have their Master’s Degrees (or higher) or are working on an advanced degree as they work. There is a teacher shortage in Indiana that has been documented by media outlets and our major universities that are seeing far fewer education students entering that field of study.
Teachers can go to another school district if they feel under attack here. And, many have lucrative private-sector options if the decision is made to leave teaching.
I am not saying teachers should be shielded from all criticism, but be constructive if you believe a change is needed. Anytime Jane and I offered such feedback to a teacher, we had a good, constructive conversation.
This pandemic has not been easy for our local school administrators. They are dealing with a situation like nothing experienced by them before. These leaders face the challenge of providing school virtually, in the classroom and combinations of both. Keeping students and staff safe in the middle of a major pandemic is a high priority. One can suggest other options without savagely attacking these people.
I understand the school board is elected and some say that makes them fair game. I started covering the HSE School Board in 2012 and have either attended or watched meetings online for about eight years. There may be a few exceptions here and there, but what I have mostly experienced are school board members that may not always agree, but always put the students first and work to take care of the district staff as best they can. With some of the budget problems I witnessed in my early years of covering the board, this was not always easy to accomplish.
I recently wrote a story about HSE School Board President Michelle Fullhart’s Facebook post which she described as a “rant” about the tenor of debate among the residents of the HSE School District. Michelle just posted a Facebook message that she was surprised I wrote a story about that. Michelle, you are the president of the board and your comments on a subject like that carry a great deal of weight. If you choose to make such comments, it will get the attention of the news media.
When HSE School District voters overwhelmingly approved an operating referendum, an open house was scheduled for those interested in applying for the many new teaching positions about to open. The turnout was massive. It was difficult to speak with everyone and several school officials stayed late to talk with everyone. Teachers wanted to come and work for HSE Schools.
When I went back and thought about that night in May of 2016 when teachers flocked to that open house, I wondered – would that happen today? I would hope the answer would be yes. But that is why we should all take that deep breath and think before we write. When teachers come under unfair attack by parents, even a fairly small number compared to all in the school system, it hurts the reputation of our community’s attitude toward those teaching our children.
If you have an issue with the local schools and are about to post, just think about a few things … Do I truly understand the issue? Are my facts correct? How will this impact all that I am writing about?
I want to be clear that I welcome a robust debate about issues surrounding our schools, but how we conduct that debate is as important, maybe more important, than winning the debate. I was on the debate team in college. You had to have verifiable facts to win, and you could be marked down for personally attacking the opposing team.
All I ask is that you give deep thought to any messages posted on social media. They can take on a life of their own once posted. Think about your children, their classmates and friends and your own friends in the HSE Schools community. We want the best teachers and administrators to be drawn to this district. Let’s work at not driving them away.