Indianapolis Public Schools, Anderson Community Schools, and the Anderson Center of Character Education received a three year grant to implement Character Education programs in the two districts. The Center for Urban and Multicultural Education (CUME) faculty are evaluating the effectiveness of the program. Evaluators will examine fidelity of implementation of character education principles. The evaluation examines the extent to which 450 IPS students and 100 ACS students in targeted alternative education programs experiencing Character Education perform academically and behaviorally, compared to 450 and 100 matched students enrolled in traditional alternative education settings.

Washington and Pike Townships working with CUME faculty conducted a study of the Similarities and Differences in Stakeholder Perceptions of the Transition to High School. The study examines and compares students’ and caregivers’ perceptions at the end of 8th grade, of the academic, social, and organizational changes in high school. Caregivers were more concerned about students’ social challenges in high school, such as peer pressure, while students reported being concerned about organizational issues, such as getting lost in the large school building. The study demonstrated the importance of examining areas of discrepancy in light of the objectives and outcomes of transition programming offered at the middle school.

UCASE received $749,933 National Science Foundation Grant for Science Teacher Education Program.

The 4-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Scholarship grant will fund the Teach Science Scholarships worth up to $12,200 per year for up to two years to 30 students in the School of Science in an attempt to meet the statewide demand for science teachers in Indiana. The new award complements IUPUI's existing Noyce Scholarship program for post-baccalaureate, T2T (Transition to Teaching) students at IUPUI.

The Educational Leadership program received the Indiana Department of Education’s endorsement and support for the development of a new Urban Principal Preparation program that leads to a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. The program is structured through two intensive summer experiences of five weeks each with additional online courses augmented by seminars during the school year. A practicum is undertaken by students during the entire program, supporting greater interaction with school-based problems and issues. Emphasizing skills principals need for success in this era of accountability, the intense preparation includes data analysis, systems thinking, action research, collaboration, and curriculum development. Twenty eight students are in this year’s cohort.

http://education.iupui.edu/soe/programs/graduate/urbanprincprog/index.aspx

The youth dialogue program, an Indianapolis Interfaith initiative of the Peace Learning Center (PLC) supported youth discussions from Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions. The initiative is being researched by an AmeriCorps member serving at PLC, through a partnership with The Center for Urban and Multicultural Education at the IU School of Education. Over the course of the year, middle school students from Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, St. Thomas Aquinas School, The Oaks Academy, Madrassa Tul-Ilm and Rousseau McClellan IPS #91 met, shared ideas and concerns and culminated the experience with a celebration on the IUPUI campus.

Expanded description of the program

In partnership with the Indianapolis Public School Office of Multicultural Education, faculty developed cultural audit and instrumentation that can be used by principals, teachers and parents to assess issues of diversity. The audit was launched at School 46 and involved focus groups, observations, and surveys.

Indianapolis Public School Office of Multicultural Education Highlight

A study by The Center for Urban and Multicultural Education is examining The Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB) at IUPUI. The Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB) is an affiliate chapter of the National SAAB Program. Through the collaboration of University College and Campus & Community Life, the SAAB was established as a primary intervention to support the academic achievement and persistence of African American male students on campus. The mission of SAAB is to “assist SAAB participants to excel academically, socially, culturally, professionally, and in the community.” The evaluation will examine the extent to which participation in SAAB is associated with positive social and academic outcomes for African American males at IUPUI.

Supported by a $206,800.00 grant from the Indiana Commission on Higher Education faculty are “Creating High Achievement Pipelines in Writing” by collaborating with three Indianapolis Public Schools. The project calls for two years of professional development with middle school classroom teachers and developing an assessment instrument for tracking student progress.

Faculty collaborated with mathematics educators and students of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Career Academy, a Big Picture school, as the teachers implemented curriculum and programmatic changes in the teaching of mathematics.