Friday, January 27, 2017

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #271 – January 27, 2017

Dear Friends,

All who support public education are invited to the Indiana Statehouse on Monday, February 20, 2017 for a celebration of public education!

This celebration will be held on Presidents’ Day, a great day to celebrate the institution that has served as the bedrock of our democracy for over 180 years --- our public schools.

Please save the date. Details will come later. Activities and displays will begin in the morning on the 3rd and 4th floors and speakers in support of public education will begin at 2:00pm in the North Atrium.

Public education is under threat, as it has been in Indiana for six years. State proposals to fund Education Savings Accounts and President Trump’s campaign proposal for a federal intrusion of $20 billion for private and religious school tuition pose grave threats to the future of public education.

This is the time to speak up for public education if you believe as we do that our democracy depends on strong public schools and that our public school students are depending on strong public support.

Come and join us on February 20th! See you in the Statehouse!


Thank you for your dedicated support of public education!


Best wishes,

Vic Smith

“Vic’s Statehouse Notes” and ICPE received one of three Excellence in Media Awards presented by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization of over 85,000 women educators in seventeen countries. The award was presented on July 30, 2014 during the Delta Kappa Gamma International Convention held in Indianapolis. Thank you Delta Kappa Gamma!


ICPE has worked since 2011 to promote public education in the Statehouse and oppose the privatization of schools. We need your membership to help support ICPE lobbying efforts. As of July 1st, the start of our new membership year, it is time for all ICPE members to renew their membership.

Our lobbyist Joel Hand is again representing ICPE in the new budget session which began on January 3, 2017. We need your memberships and your support to continue his work. We welcome additional members and additional donations. We need your help and the help of your colleagues who support public education! Please pass the word!

Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information and for full information on ICPE efforts on behalf of public education. Thanks!


Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:

I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998. In 2013 I was honored to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the IU School of Education, and in 2014 I was honored to be named to the Teacher Education Hall of Fame by the Association for Teacher Education – Indiana.

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