It's been a turbulent year for Indiana teachers. New academic standards and an overhauled ISTEP were hastily introduced for this school year. Teachers are doing their best to fill-in students' knowledge gaps and get them ready for the more complex standardized exam now underway.

A long-struggling Indianapolis Public Schools elementary on the city's Far Eastside will next year be transformed into a Phalen Leadership Academy under a deal between the district and the charter school group.

The funding for an ambitious program to to make preschool available to around 1,000 children in low-income Indianapolis families was approved by the City-County Council Monday.

Legislation before the General Assembly this session sought to make kindergarten mandatory for Hoosier children by lowering the compulsory school age from seven to five. It's an issue that has lawmakers and educators split, even as the state focuses on funding early education initiatives.

The annual Kids Count report says students who have a job during their high school years are less likely to drop out, and those who participate in programs that give them work experience are more likely to go to college.

The road to this year's ISTEP+ test has been bumpy. Recurring problems with technology and last-minute legislative changes to trim the length of the test have only added to the frustrations many Hoosier parents feel about the stressful effects of standardized testing. Many parents are deciding to "opt out," or withdraw their child from this year's pool of test-takers. But that decision could have serious repercussions for teachers, schools and even the state.

Vigo County students not up-to-date on their immunizations will have to stay home from school starting Monday.

A City-County Council committee Wednesday approved the city's first payment towards a $40 million, five-year, public-private investment to make high-quality preschool available to 1,000 children in low-income Indianapolis families.

Any effort to reduce the length of the test would likely require legislation, something that would be difficult to accomplish with less than three weeks until the testing window opens, said Deputy Superintendent Danielle Shockey