School Involvement Program
The MPO is now in its eighth year of participation in the School Involvement Program which brings real world problem-solving opportunities into Indiana classrooms. This public involvement effort is coordinated through the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) through its Vista program. CILC is a not-for-profit corporation committed to enhancing education in the Indianapolis region though the use of an interactive, video distance learning application called Vista. Vista is intended to create deeper, long-term connections between students, schools, public and government entities and entire communities.
Each year the program is focused on a different community issue, such as public transportation. This year the focus is on Livable Communities. Students are asked to apply their ideas on ways to promote to the public ways to make communities more livable and are encouraged to think outside of the box. Their teachers develop class plans in order to help the students apply their coursework to the topic focused on for the year. For example, a teacher might examine environmental impacts in Science, the development of transportation in History and community growth in Social Studies. Throughout the first semester the students are studying a broad range of possibilities to choose a single, primary question to investigate the next semester.
Several Indianapolis Public Schools are participating in this year's Livable Communities project, as well as Perry Meridian High School. Each school selects its own range of questions, but to illustrate, IPS topics include Alternative Energy Soures, Childhood Obesity, Healthy Eating and Energy Efficient Homes and Schools.
As in previous years, final presentations at the end of the school year will be made to several public entities including: the MPO and other City planners, members of state and local government, business representatives, federal highway personnel, members of the Chamber of Commerce, leaders in the tourism industry and any other community members interested in the study's scope and process.
In past years the students were involved in studies related to the NorthEast Corridor Study (1999), the Marion County Bike Route Plan (2000) and the Multi-Modal Transportation Project (2001).
For more information on this program please email MPO Manager Mike Dearing.