Familiar Faces Named As Principals For Revamped IPS High Schools

Without fanfare, the Indianapolis Public Schools Board Thursday approved the hire of current principals to lead the four revamped high schools that will remain next year.

Leaders for the high schools in 2018-19 are:

• Lloyd Bryant at Arsenal Tech High School. Bryant is interim principal at Arsenal.
• Lauren Franklin will remain principal at Attucks High School.
• Stan Law at Washington High School. Law is principal at Arlington High School.
• Shane O’Day will remain principal at Shortridge High School.

“I think in this group of principals what you see is a lot of experience with operating choice programs, especially in the district," IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferbee says. "But it is also important to note we did an external interview process as well.”

Each principal will be compensated an additional amount per pay period for “launch support as future principal at the newly imagined” high school they are assigned to, according to the September personnel report.

The board voted this month to close three high schools as part of an academic and facility overhaul.

Starting in the 2018-19 school year, students will be able to choose a high school based on their academic or career goals instead of the school’s location. Each school will offer college and career-themed academies and various tracks for vocational training.

Ahmed Young was named district chief of staff and general counsel. Young is the director at Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Office of Education Innovation and charged with overseeing the charter schools authorized by the city.

Young will oversee “issues related to risk management, IPS Police, student and assignment, human resources, and research, accountability, and evaluation,” the district said.

Young, a former teacher, practiced law at the firm of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP specializing in litigation and education issues, according to a district news release. He will start Oct. 23 with an annual salary of $150,000.

"I am profoundly grateful for the work Ahmed has done in the Office of Education Innovation over the last two years," Hogsett says in a statement. "Ahmed brought to the position a unique mix of experiences and his leadership has served Indianapolis students well. While it is always sad to lose someone so talented, I know Ahmed will continue to have an impact on our city's education system through his new role at IPS."

Contact WFYI education reporter Eric Weddle at eweddle@wfyi.org or call (317) 614-0470. Follow on Twitter: @ericweddle.