Indianapolis Public Schools named 10 finalists Monday for Teacher of the Year, including two teachers from the district’s popular Center for Inquiry magnet schools.
The educators were chosen by a selection committee from among building-level winners. One of the finalists, nominated from schools across the district, will be selected as the 2020 Teacher of the Year later this month.
The current Teacher of the Year is Alexandria Stewart, a middle school teacher at the Center for Inquiry at School 70.
If one of the two finalists from Center for Inquiry magnet schools were selected as the winner, it would be the fifth year in a row that the district teacher of the year came from one of those programs, which are sought-after by middle-class families.
The Center for Inquiry schools offer the International Baccalaureate program, and they are often at the center of criticism that Indianapolis Public Schools is a district of haves and have-nots. Admission rules give white families an edge in winning spots at some of the most popular magnet schools, according to a district analysis.
The list of finalists also includes teachers from four neighborhood schools, two other magnet schools, an innovation school, and a special program for students who are new to the country.
Here is the complete list
Brian Hoover, Center for Inquiry School 2
Julie Busch, William McKinley School 39
Ethan Hoffman, Newcomer Program
Lori Schneider, Anna Brochhausen School 88
Sabbath McKiernan-Allen, Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School
Rhuperdia Clay, Brookside School 54
Andrew Bartolacci, George W. Julian School 57
Bethany Jackson, Henry W. Longfellow Medical/STEM Middle School 28
Christina Shaul, Theodore Potter School 74
Allison Powell, Center for Inquiry School 70