 In its 10 years of existence, They're Our Kids has gone through several transformations in an attempt to make it easier for Villagers to find the information that they're looking for on the website. I've collected information on so many resources available to Hendricks County parents over the years, however, that it's become pretty unwieldy and cumbersome to list them all in the way I've been listing them. It's also incredibly difficult for me to keep all of the buttons on TOK up-to-date. Websites change, organizations come and go, and just as I get one page cleaned up on TOK, another one turns up several dead links. So to solve the problems of Villagers having difficulty finding what they're looking for, as well as links going dead, They're Our Kids unveils its new membership program for businesses, organizations, sports leagues and other entities that serve the children of Hendricks County!
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 It's closing in on that time of year when parents of preschoolers get a giant lump in their throats and prepare to sign their little ones up for kindergarten. Hendricks County public schools are starting to announce their kindergarten roundup and registration dates for the 2016-17 school year, so if you have a kiddo headed for the bright lights of kindergarten -- or know someone who does -- here we go.  The Indiana Department of Education released its 2015 accountability grades for schools across the state, and Hendricks County schools performed exceptionally well. The results were approved unanimously by the State Board of Education during its Jan. 26 board meeting. “After more than 18 months spent advocating to hold our schools and teachers harmless for the transition to more rigorous college and career ready standards and the results of a more rigorous ISTEP+ assessment, I am pleased to release 2015 school accountability grades that do not penalize schools and communities for this transition," said Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, in a statement. "I want to thank Indiana’s students, educators, and families for their hard work and patience during this challenging school year." Her statement continues, "While I appreciate the work of the legislature to hold schools harmless for the results of last year’s ISTEP+ assessment, Indiana should move away from labeling Hoosier schools, and in turn Hoosier students, based on the results of a lengthy, pass/fail, high-stakes assessment. I support accountability but I support accountability that makes sense. I look forward to implementing Indiana’s new Student-Centered Accountability System which more accurately reflects the great work happening in our schools and communities every day." And with that, here are the results from Hendricks County schools:  They're Our Kids and Macaroni Kid - Hendricks are joining forces to host the second annual Hendricks County Community Youth Fair on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Center in Danville. We are bringing a wide variety of organizations, sports leagues, businesses, counseling services, preschools and other providers of services together in one place for local parents and children to explore. All of the booths at the Hendricks County Community Youth Fair will feature vendors and providers who cater to kids and parents, allowing attendees to discover opportunities and resources available to them in the area.  VIPDesignUSA The Indiana Department of Education (DOE) released its 2015 ISTEP+ results on Jan. 6, and several Hendricks County school corporations performed very well. The results are downloadable from the DOE's website (click here) and can then be sorted by a variety of categories. Here are the scores for all of the Hendricks County public school corporations:  February is a very popular month in Hendricks County for daddy-daughter dances. Fathers and daughters have many opportunities to dance the night away, so we've made an effort to put together a list of father-daughter dances in Hendricks County for 2016 to make it easier for Villagers to plan that special night. This is a continuously updated list, so if I've missed a daddy-daughter dance that you're aware of, please feel free to comment below to get it added. And, of course, check back frequently as this list grows.  The upcoming year, 2016, is a special one for They're Our Kids -- it's our 10th anniversary! We began as the 2006 Leadership Hendricks County group project for Jan Currier, myself (Eric Ivie), Gus Pearcy and Richard Sutton, and the first, very rudimentary, version of TOK went online in November of that year. TOK has been revised, updated, and expanded countless times since Version 1.0 hit the Internet in 2006, and as we close the door on 2015, we celebrate 137,987 page views and 38,654 unique visitors to the website over the past year! Woo hoo! This blog, The Village, is the primary source of those page views and unique visitors, and in an effort to determine what information Villagers are most interested in, I investigated which blog posts in 2015 drew the most interest. Here's how it shook out:  The Grinch stole Christmas from students in Plainfield and Danville schools on Dec. 17 when threats of violence were made toward both communities' high schools, resulting in both school corporations closing all of their schools on what would have been the final day of class before Christmas break. You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. However, just like the Who's down in Whoville in Dr. Seuss' Christmas classic, we will prevail. Why? Because a situation like this one makes for an excellent teaching moment with OUR KIDS.  We have a serious drug problem in Hendricks County in the form of heroin, but heroin is not the only drug that's out there. As we continue the conversation about drug abuse in our community and what we can do about it, it's important to educate ourselves about the drugs that OUR KIDS are exposed to. We started with learning about heroin last week. Now, let's learn about marijuana. Obviously, Americans have differing opinions about the legality of marijuana and the actual harm done by it. This post is not designed to argue one viewpoint or another. It's to educate parents who presumably do not want their kids using marijuana for health, legal and/or moral reasons. ***WARNING: Graphic images ahead.***  Wondering when to send the kids out trick-or-treating this weekend for Halloween? Here is the list of trick-or-treat times for all Hendricks County communities. |
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