Home Care In Kingsford Heights, IN

Adrian Martinez-De La Cruz

LAPORTE — Supporters of Kingsford Heights Elementary School showed up and spoke in favor of keeping the school open on Monday, as LaPorte Community School Corp. faces growing financial concerns.

During the LaPorte School Board meeting, residents, parents and elected officials from the small town — located 11 miles south of the city of LaPorte — argued against the school's closure, raising concerns that it could lead to issues with transportation, overcrowded classes and students leaving to surrounding school districts, such as South Central or Oregon-Davis Community School Corp.

LaPorte County Commissioner Joe Haney noted Kingsford Heights is a growing community, with around 70 houses currently being built in the town.

Some also argued the decision to consolidate schools should wait until a permanent superintendent is in place.

Last month, former LaPorte Superintendent Mark Francesconi abruptly retired after leading the district for 13 years. Peggy Hinckley, a longtime educator and school administrator, was appointed as interim superintendent.

Hinckley had previously served as LaPorte schools chief from 1989 to 2001. Most recently, she served as the emergency manager for Gary Community School Corp. when the district first entered state control in 2017.

The speakers all urged LaPorte schools to look at all other options before considering school closure.

"The school is located in the community in which the children live. Removing it removes the heart of the community, it removes a resource for the children," said Erika Stallworth, a parent of a Kingsford Heights Elementary student.

Declining enrollment in LaPorte schools has forced the district to consider school closings and job cuts.

A study presented at a school board meeting on Feb. 28 showed the number of students in LaPorte schools had dropped by 900 since 2008.

Additionally, Hinckley has blamed school choice for the loss of students in the district.

The loss of enrollment has also led to financial loss and the district being forced to dip into its budget surplus, which has dropped from $10.5 million to $7.3 million since 2019.

The LaPorte School Board has a work session meeting planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kingsford Heights Elementary to further discuss the potential closure of the school.

The Laporte School Corporation is considering closing a school due to dropping enrollment. Some are speculating that Kingsford Heights Elementary is at the top of the list of schools being considered for closure. (WSBT photo)

The Laporte School Corporation is considering closing a school due to dropping enrollment.

Some are speculating that Kingsford Heights Elementary is at the top of the list of schools being considered for closure.

Families of the Kingsford Heights Elementary community shared that, if approved, the school closure wouldn't just affect students but the neighborhood as a whole.. which is currently undergoing new development.

“This community is growing.. and so, to take that school and bus our kids to another school would be travesty,” said Orlando Dunlap, neighbor.

Talks of school closures has left a LaPorte community worried for its children.

A study presented at a school board meeting revealed since 2008, the total number of students in the LaPorte School Corporation has dropped by 900 students.

The lack of enrollment has caused the corporation to dig into its budget surplus, bringing totals down from 10.5 million to 7.3 million since 2019.

Interim superintendent Peggy Hinckley says there is a potential for, if any, one school building to close. Some people speculate it will be Kingsford Heights.

Hinckley has not confirmed if Kingsford will be closing.

However, the school cooperation's communication director confirmed the school is under consideration.

The Heights community is speaking out.

“We’ve got a lot of kids out here trying to bus all these kids to another school. That’s the same size as this one is going to lead to severe overcrowding, understaffing, and it’s going to be a disadvantage all the kids,” said Mike Easley, neighbor.

Easley says the closure could drive people away, especially with the new housing options currently being built.

Others in the community agree, Orlando Dunlap says he grew up in the neighborhood and the attendance of Kingsford Heights Elementary goes back generations.

“It would be a travesty for that elementary school to leave. That’s been a beacon of this community for years,“ said Orlando Dunlap, neighbor.

He explains it would also make it harder for students to get to school as they can currently do by walking there.

“Some kids that grew up out of that elementary school that did some great things, and have the ability to do some great things, and that they should really look at the foresight of what it will do to these kids, and what it will do to this community,“ said Dunlap.

Officials have scheduled a tentative public work session on Wednesday, March 13th, at Kingsford Heights Elementary, where residents can voice their concerns.

To write a book is no easy task. Academics, scholars, and writers sometimes spend much of their professional lives developing, researching, and writing a book. This process is a difficult undertaking for anyone, but one PNW history student has gone above and beyond and shown that passion can get the job done. Christian Porter is majoring in History at Purdue Northwest and not long ago, Christian wrote his own book about basketball in the Hoosier state.

The book is entitled Those Were the Days: The Story of a Small Town, A Wild Coach and Indiana Basketball, and is about the history of the Union Township Tigers and their coach, “Wild” Bill Yates. The Union Township Tigers were a high school basketball team in southeastern LaPorte County that saw a lot of success during the “Golden Age” of Indiana High School basketball. Playing out of Kingsford Heights, the Union Township Tigers were a racially diverse team during the Civil Rights Era. Coach Yates led the team to four county basketball championships and LaPorte County’s first ever undefeated regular season in the early 1960s. Cal Evans, an African American that was instrumental in the Tigers’ success, is also highlighted. The Tigers are also believed to be the first team in the county’s history to start five African American players. The book not only tells the story of this amazing team, but also the story of those who lost their identity as Union Township High School was absorbed into LaPorte High School during the 1960s. Christian says that the book is a “nonfiction creative narrative based on real players, coaches and games that made up this exciting time in Indiana Basketball.”

Inspiration

Christian was inspired to write the book because his grandpa grew up in Kingsford Heights and graduated from Union Township in 1964. His grandpa witnessed the glory days of this significant piece of history. And, not to mention, Christian is a self-professed basketball junkie and considers himself to be the closest thing to an “Indiana Basketball historian.”

Interviews were the foundation to Christian’s book and he got the opportunity to sit down with a number of people who witnessed the Union Township Tigers firsthand. Not only did he conduct numerous interviews, Christian also collected nearly 200 pictures for the book. The pictures were a revelation for Christian as he was able to get a visual on the history that many of his interview subjects described.

Those Were the Days: The Story of a Small Town, A Wild Coach and Indiana Basketball was published through a company that gave Christian the freedom to lay the book out the way he wanted. The book can be purchased on eBay, locally at the Historical Society in LaPorte County, or in the JB Grocery located in Kingsford Heights. Christian provided some advice to aspiring writers by saying, “Go for it, especially if you are writing a piece of history never told, like I did. As history majors, our chances grow slimmer everyday as those who lived the history we write about or artifacts we need to examine, pass away or disappear.” Christian has done something truly amazing with his book. This is only the beginning for Christian, and we’re eager to see what is next for him.

According the Indiana Department of Education, the purpose of the Indiana Reading Evaluation And Determination (IREAD-3) assessment is “to measure foundational reading standards through grade three to ensure that all students can read proficiently before moving on to grade four." All Indiana public schools take this assessment.

The teachers and students at Crichfield and Kingsford Heights worked tirelessly to improve literacy within the classrooms. From group work to individualized lessons, each kid was pushed academically.

“We [teachers] studied the IREAD blueprint so that we had a focus to our instruction. We delivered many engaging mini lessons based on this blueprint, some being team taught and/or worked into our Literacy Group time as well, and utilized a variety of different tools and methods. We provided parents with monthly packets to aid them in helping their child prepare as well,” Wendy Hiemstra, 3rd grade teacher at Kingsford Heights, said.

The excitement was palpable in the schools after the results of the assessment were announced. Months of hard work proved successful for the Cougars and Tigers.

“We were thrilled when we found out 100% passed IREAD! We were so happy for the students because they worked so hard to accomplish this goal,” Crichfield 3rd grade teacher Sharon Nash said.

This achievement is one of many for Crichfield, already named an Indiana Four Star School, but for Kingsford Heights, the 100% pass rate is the first in recent years. Marcia Alexander, Kingsford Heights’ principal for the past 11 years, had a heightened sense of pride walking through the halls of her energetic school.

“The staff and students at Kingsford Heights School work hard every day to be successful learners. Having 100% of our third graders pass the IREAD-3 test demonstrates the commitment to learning shown by our students, parents, and staff members. We will continue our efforts and strive to make this an annual event. I am blessed to be a part of such a warm, welcoming school. I wouldn't want to be any place else,” Alexander said.

Donna D’Elia, 5th year principal at Crichfield, echoed the same sentiments. She and her staff have set a high bar of expectations, but the students clearly have no plans of lowering them.

“Achieving 100% Pass on IREAD is a celebration of student success. This includes all of the hard work that the students, their parents, and teachers put forth to ensure that EVERY STUDENT is achieving their personal best. We are proud of each and every Cougar,” D’Elia said.

3rd grade teachers at Crichfield include: Katie Talbert, Sharon Nash, Jennifer Shelton, and Kay Younggreen. 3rd grade teachers at Kingsford Heights include: Wendy Hiemstra, Nathan Marcum, and Chris Frank.

LA PORTE, Ind. (WLS) -- The parents of a child with autism say their second grader was forced to sit at a desk designed to confine her without their knowledge. They said they were tipped-off by changes in their daughter's behavior.

"I noticed the behavior of my daughter changing. She would have frequent meltdowns when she'd come in," the girl's father, Charles Castle, said.

It's been nearly a month since 7-year-old Kennedi Castle last set foot inside Kingsford Heights Elementary in LaPorte County, Indiana.

Her parents withdrew her after one day her father walked into her second grade classroom only to discover a specially modified desk with wooden panels surrounding it to stop her from trying to slide out. Kennedi is diagnosed with autism.

"It was never notified to me that there was ever a problem. It was never documented. It was never told to me that my daughter had a behavioral problem that was escalated to the level to justify this contraption around my daughter's desk," Castle said.

According to Indiana state law, "seclusion or restraint shall not be used as routine school safety measures; that is, they shall not be implemented except in situations where a child's behavior or action poses imminent risk of injury." The parents must also be notified.

"The director told us, 'the teacher's heart was in the right place,'" the child's mother, Heather Castle, said.

That was not enough for the Castles, who have now filed a complaint with the state's Department of Education. The school district must wait for their resolution before taking action.

"We always have the child's safety as our first and foremost concern. If we've erred, it will come out and we will do everything we can to right that situation," said LaPorte Community School Corporation Supt. Mark Francesconi.

For now, Kennedi is taking what are known as homebound classes three days a week out of the local library. LaPorte's Department of Special Education has offered two other schools as alternatives, but Kennedi's parents are reluctant.

"What they did was wrong and my daughter has been traumatized. And I don't trust them at all," Kennedi's mother said.

"Any school should never restrain a child unless someone's life is in danger," said Scott Badesch, president and CEO of the Autism Society of America.

The ASA shares the Castles' frustrations and concern.

"Imagine if your son or daughter goes to school and you find out the school is doing something to physically restrain that child and they don't tell you, you would be livid," Badesch said.

The Castles want everyone involved and authorized to use that modified desk to be disciplined. They're also calling for cameras to be installed in special education classrooms.

The Department of Education has 40 calendar days to investigate and resolve the complaint.