Here's something great to howl about! Here was the headline on Thursday, May 26th in The Indianapolis Star...SCHOOL 84 IS HAILED AS THE TOP U.S. MAGNET. Did you see it? That great announcement was on the second page of the second section. There has been such bad press about our schools, seven of which the state wants to take over so here we have one that is the best in the whole United States I would have liked to see this more prominently displayed. I attended School 84 and have two grandchildren currently enrolled so I was especially pleased to read the news.

Here are excerpts from the article (written by Scott Elliott) in case you missed it:

IPS learned last week that School 84, a Center for Inquiry on the city's northside at 44 E. 57th St. was picked by the Washington D.C. based Magnet Schools of America as the top elementary program in the nation.

As a magnet school, School 84 is open to all IPS students, but incoming students are chosen by lottery because of the demand. It has 332 students enrolled in grades K-8 and nearly 400 students on its waiting list.

What a nice piece of news! As if that wasn't accolade enough it was further announced that the school's middle school curriculum was ranked third in the state by the International Baccalaureate program. This is an international course of study often compared to high school advanced placement courses.

It wasn't but a few years ago that I attended neighborhood meetings where architects presented their visions for the renovation of the old school. The discussions were heated. Neighboring Meridian Kessler homes were on the chopping block to make room for the expansion. Thankfully it was all achieved without any houses being sacrificed. And what a wonderful job was done! The brick work is beautiful. It doesn't even look like an add-on was done for the gym. I went to my grandkids open house and got to tour the classrooms. The tile on the hall walls and the terrazzo floors were still there and transitioned nicely with the new addition. The cloakrooms were gone. Who remembers those? This is where we hung our wet, snowy winter coats and stashed our goulashes (what are those in today's world?). It brought back old memories. I remember kindergarten naps on little rugs and lining up in the hallway where nurses in white uniforms and caps gave us Polio shots. We were all afraid and trying to be brave. Were we afraid of shots or Polio? It was a scary time. Scary because we practiced "duck & cover" under our desks and air raid drills in case of nuclear bombing attacks. I remember the old gym that had a stage where we performed the Christmas program. And I will never forget standing in line to go up on that stage and sing in front of the parents. The boy next to me was so nervous he threw up all over my new black patent leather shoes. I cried. I remember my 2nd grade teacher, Miss Pearcy, who was mean and my 3rd grade teacher who was young and beautiful. I remember how we all walked to our neighborhood school in groups. Buses were not an option and parents were not afraid to send us on our own. I remember being a "Bingham Bear" and the school carnivals. I remember learning the reality of how the "other half" lived. We were the kids that lived in bungalows on Winthrop and Guilford and they were the kids that lived in mansions on Pennsylvania and Meridian Streets. It was inspiring.

Thank you for to Chris Collier who directs the Center for Inquiry programs. Thank you to the teachers who are making new memories for the students of School 84. Thank you for a job well done. Thank you for making IPS, our city and our neighborhood proud. You are a "howling" success.