I know firsthand what is on the other side of not getting a great education that sets you up for success. I know what it is to work multiple jobs and still struggle to pay bills. I know how hard it was to get my life back on track.
I went to an IPS high school, and I dropped out my junior year. I went down a path in the name of survival but eventually found my way back to solid ground. I went back to school and received my diploma after my daughter was born. It was both incredibly hard and incredibly rewarding.
My daughter is now an IPS student.
As a parent, I want to see the opportunity gap close in IPS because I want my daughter to have a better life than I had. I don’t want her to struggle—to have to work as hard. I want her to be more successful at a younger age. I want her to graduate with a great education and go on to fulfill her dreams.
But more than just for my daughter, I believe that all kids in the IPS district deserve an equitable education.
There are schools here in Indianapolis that are doing a better job of closing opportunity gaps and I hope IPS will look at those examples and decide to partner with them or grow their models.
If we don’t close this gap, we are handing our kids right on over to the streets. We are inviting the school-to-prison pipeline. Closing the opportunity gaps in the IPS district would not only help end the cycle of poverty, but it would also help our community thrive. Closing the opportunity gap gives our children something incredible. It gives our children and our community hope.
If you also want IPS to close the opportunity gap by growing proven schools, please join me and add your name to this petition before it closes.
All children are capable of amazing achievement in the classroom. It comes down to the opportunities provided by our public education system.
