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Chicago Tribune
01-08-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Earlier school starts not universal in Northwest Indiana
Despite steamy temperatures and tempting beach days, Northwest Indiana students are soon heading back to school. Gary's 21st Century Charter School kicks off the school year Monday, and Gary Community School Corp. students return Thursday. At least one district is pushing back from early August starts. 'In my opinion, I think it's kind of crazy,' said Portage Township School Board president Andy Maletta. He led a policy shift that moved back the start of school in Portage to Aug. 18. Portage has the latest start among traditional school districts. Discovery Charter School, in Porter, opens Aug. 19. It's still earlier than the 'old days' when school typically didn't start until after Labor Day. Many Illinois schools still adhere to that schedule. 'We heard a lot from families about why it's starting so early,' said Maletta. He said, from conversations with tourism officials, the early starts have a detrimental impact on the local economy. 'They have to close down beaches as they lose lifeguards,' he said. Other superintendents think worry over learning loss and the need to prepare students for state accountability testing make the earlier start necessary. River Forest Superintendent Kevin Trezak said testing does play a role as a key concept in its calendar. He said the district tries to provide more class time in the third grading period because of the significant testing milestones. Unlike Portage, River Forest gives final exams prior to the holiday break to give students a better chance to perform well. 'In theory, this helps to eliminate the learning loss a student might experience while being out of school during this time,' Trezak said. Maletta said he doesn't think bumping school back affects achievement levels. 'There' a great deal of tourism here, we have national park here, and Deep River Water Park in Lake County. It's the best weather of summer and we shut it down,' he said. 'We've heard from families and parents how happy they are we're starting later,' said Maletta. 'I think it's a good thing. I'll continue to push it as long as I'm on the school board.' Meanwhile, students and educators will be confronted with a spate of new state laws created in this year's General Assembly session. Attendance, a key factor in the state's proposed new A-F accountability measures, will be monitored at every checkpoint level. The new attendance law calls for K-12 intervention early and for schools to report habitually truant students to a local prosecutor's office. Students with 10 or more unexcused absences must be reported. In Porter County, Prosecutor Gary Germann said his office and the juvenile probation office address the issue together. He said systems are in place to assist parents and students. There's also a temporary ban on suspending or expelling chronically absent students. The ban expires in July 2026. 'Absenteeism is a problem and one of two priorities for our network this year,' said Kevin Teasley, founder and CEO of the GEO Foundation that operates the 21st Century Charter School. He said the school's deans and social workers try to analyze the problems. 'We try to figure out why. The other piece is after school tutoring, making sure it's real tutoring.' The state's new A-F accountability system brings back letter grades in 2027 for the first time since 2018. It tracks students in 'checkpoints' in certain grades throughout their school careers. Unlike traditional school leaders, Teasley is looking forward to some provisions in Senate Bill 1 that provide charters with property tax revenue for the first time, beginning in 2028. Teasley said 21st Century, the largest charter in Gary, is trying to raise funds for an athletic center and waiting for interest rates to go down. 'We only have one gym for K-12 for 1,200 students,' he said. Traditional school leaders are bracing for the impact of revenue losses expected from Senate Bill 1, aimed at property tax reform. Lake Central, Hanover Community in Lake County, and the Duneland School Corp. in Chesterton all are seeking renewals of their operating referendums to ensure that that level of revenue continues as property taxes decrease. Lake Central, for example, could lose as much as $12.3 million in property taxes beginning in 2026 due to Senate Bill 1. A section of the new law now limits referendum votes to general elections. Previously, they could be held during spring primary voting, also. Lake Aug. 7: Gary Community School Corp. Aug. 11: East Chicago Aug. 12: Hanover Community Aug. 13: Highland, River Forest, Lake Station, Hobart, Hammond, Crown Point, Lake Ridge, Griffith, Merrillville, Tri-Creek, Lake Central, Munster, Whiting Porter County Aug. 13: Boone Township, Duneland, East Porter, Porter Township, Union Township, Valparaiso Aug. 18: Portage Township Charter schools Aug. 4: 21st Century Charter Aug. 7: East Chicago Urban Academy Aug. 11: Charter School of the Dunes, Aspire, HIAT, Steel City Charter (K-3) Aug. 12: Gary Lighthouse, Steel City (4-6), East Chicago Lighthouse Aug. 13: HAST, Steel City (7-11) Aug. 14: Steel City (12) Aug. 18: Thea Bowman Aug. 19: Discovery
Chicago Tribune
29-07-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Portage High School fields named in honor of longtime coaches
Former Portage High School coaches Larry Casbon and Les Klein will live on in more than just the record books. Larry Casbon, former baseball coach and athletic director, and former football coach Les Klein will have the appropriate fields named in their honor. 'I am so happy that you took care of Mr. Casbon first. I took care of him for 20 years as his assistant,' said Klein, who attended Monday night's Portage Township School Board meeting. Casbon served as a teacher and coach, 'quickly earning the respect of students, staff, and the greater Portage community for his dedication and integrity,' Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said. Casbon was named athletic director in 1976 and held that position for 20 years. 'During his tenure, Casbon led with vision, fairness and a deep commitment to student-athlete development,' Alaniz said. After his time as athletic director ended, he returned to the classroom, 'continuing to invest in the lives of students until his retirement.' 'Mr. Casbon's influence on Portage athletics, particularly baseball, is profound and enduring,' Alaniz said. 'Naming the Portage High School Baseball Complex in his honor would be a fitting tribute to his legacy and a lasting symbol of our appreciation for his decades of service to our school community.' 'This is exciting,' board President Andy Maletta said. 'It's been a long time since we started looking at the legacy of others.' Anyone who came into contact with Casbon could see 'what a great person he was, a great human being,' Maletta said. Alaniz also spoke of Klein's career. He graduated high school in Morocco, Indiana, in 1956, where he was a three-year football letterman, all-conference running back in 1954 and 1955, football team MVP in 1955, and he captained the football, basketball and track teams. At St. Joseph's College, Klein was the leading rusher in the Indiana Collegiate Conference as a senior in 1960. He was selected as the team's MVP, won Little All-American honors, and All-Catholic All-American. Klein is a charter member of St. Joseph's College Football Hall of Fame. Before his 19 years at Portage, Klein coached at North Judson and Lowell for four years each, with a remarkable total head coaching record of 156-110-3 over his 27 years. The 1977 PHS team won the Class 3A state championship. Klein's PHS teams also won three conference championships, four sectionals and one regional championship. He served as staff coach for the North-South All-Star games in 1975 and 1981. He also has among the top 20 all-time career coaching victories in Indiana. Klein was inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame in June of 1990. 'This room is not big enough' to start naming names, Klein said in the board room. 'The path of least resistance to all success is to surround yourself with successful people,' he remembers his father telling him. Klein recalled starting at Portage in 1979, when the young city was a boomtown. 'The farmland couldn't grow houses fast enough. It exploded,' he said. Throughout his years as coach, Klein dealt with a number of Hall of Fame people, he said. Klein is himself a member of the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. The football field being named in his honor will culminate with an Oct. 10 ceremony. 'This is the greatest honor and the greatest humbling experience,' Klein said. Board member Jeff Smith played for Klein during his four years of high school in the 1980s. 'They coached multiple sports, and they were dads to all the kids in this community,' he said of Klein and Casbon. 'There is no one more deserving than you are for the time you put in,' Maletta said. Board Vice President Wilma Vazquez hadn't met Klein before Monday's meeting but was impressed. 'I know you are a man of wisdom, integrity, you are humble, and you have impacted hundreds and hundreds of people,' she said. Director of Communications Melissa Deavers created posters honoring Casbon and Klein so their legacy will be highlighted for years at the fields named in their honor, Alaniz said.
Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Elected bodies in Indiana now must livestream meetings
Lake Station city council members voiced concern last week over a Tuesday deadline requiring them to livestream their public meetings. The city didn't join the trend during the COVID-19 pandemic when many city councils and school boards began offering their meetings online via YouTube, Facebook Live, or Zoom technologies. Despite Lake Station council members' worry, Mayor Bill Carroll said the city was prepared and its meetings would appear on YouTube. State lawmakers passed the new law in 2023, deliberately giving elected bodies two years to prepare. It requires state and local agencies like county commissions, town and city councils and school boards, to livestream public meetings beginning July 1. The law also requires any public body, like a plan commission, which meets in a space where the council or school board meets, to also livestream meetings. Putting meetings online was one of Portage Mayor Austin Bonta's goals when he took office in 2024. Some were already online, but he wanted to include all meetings. Accomplishing it meant expanding the contract to provide that service. It isn't as easy as just flipping a switch. Someone has to be there to make sure everything is being recorded, that microphones work properly and that when developers, attorneys and others have a laptop to plug in, there is a trouble-shooter on hand so presentations can show on the screen. The Portage Township School Board already had been putting meetings online. The board likes to hold its meetings at various schools throughout the district to showcase programs at those schools, so the technology has to be transported from place to place, not just permanently installed in the administration building. Porter County government used American Rescue Plan Act money to upgrade the audiovisual setup in the commissioners' chamber, the large meeting room where most county meetings are held. In 2023, lawmakers said the goal of the measure was to increase transparency. If a government body doesn't comply, a citizen can file an open-door law complaint with Indiana's public access counselor. If upheld, elected officials would have to hold another meeting. If governments don't have livestreaming capabilities, a recording must be archived and available online for 90 days and include links to the meeting's agenda and minutes. The law's author, state Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, said the legislation encourages civic engagement. 'Hoosier taxpayers deserve to have access to public meetings, and government works best when accountability and transparency are at the forefront,' Smaltz said in a 2023 release. 'The pandemic really demonstrated how widespread and inexpensive livestreaming technology has become,' Smaltz said. He said governing bodies can also utilize free livestreaming on social media platforms or host it on their existing websites.
Chicago Tribune
11-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Portage High School baseball, softball fields getting facelifts
The Portage Township School Board approved a nearly $3 million contract Monday for varsity baseball and softball field improvements at Portage High School. The contract will cover new turf for the fields. New fencing will also be installed, but that's going to be a separate contract, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said. She's hoping there will be enough money left for new scoreboards, too, but that remains to be seen. Work will begin in very early summer, right after the teams' season concludes, Alaniz said. In other business, Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jerry Czarnecki told the School Board that the No Place for Hate project being done with local businesses in conjunction with the school district will roll out around the end of this month. The project is for all businesses, not just chamber members, to let students know that participating businesses pledge not to tolerate hatred toward others. Using the same language in the community as in the schools helps kids understand proper behavior is expected throughout the community, not just at school, Alaniz said. Like schools, businesses displaying the sticker in their window will be identified as a welcoming environment, she said. 'This is language that anyone can understand,' Alaniz said. 'We can best foster the development of being positive and being kind by simply saying this isn't a place for hate. This isn't a community for hate. We don't tolerate those things here.' Alaniz's first meeting with Czarnecki on this project was even before he became executive director on Jan. 1. The chamber is also partnering with the district in hopes of bringing back the Reality Store project to help middle school students better understand what it takes to thrive financially in the real world, Czarnecki said.
