Latest news with #Gary-based
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Gary fighting shortage in classroom with online teachers
With less than a month before school begins, Gary Community School Corp. staffers made one thing clear during Thursday's school board meeting – the district is hiring. Staff members and school board members wore white T-shirts with a QR code on the back and the message, 'We are Hiring!' The first day of school is Aug. 7. Teachers are the most prized employees, including special education, physics, and secondary content teachers. Gary's website cited 81 job openings, including 36 teacher vacancies. To ensure students have a qualified teacher in each classroom, the board retained Proximity Learning, an Austin, Texas-based company that operates a virtual teaching program led by licensed teachers. Locally, Lake Ridge Schools have used Proximity teachers and its former superintendent, Sharon Johnson-Shirley, offered a testimonial featured on Proximity's website. She said Lake Ridge had been relying on substitutes, and she praised the impact Proximity teachers provided. In many cases, Gary has been relying on classroom teachers who work under emergency state permits. Those teachers have a bachelor's degree, but they aren't licensed to teach. Chief human resources officer Jovanka Cvitkovich said about one-third of the district's teachers worked under emergency permits last year. She said many had permits that could not be renewed because the teachers didn't meet Indiana's requirements. 'We'd prefer someone who has expertise, albeit on a screen with a classroom facilitator in place,' Cvitkovich said. The district's ultimate goal is to have a live teacher, she said. 'This provides flexibility, they're here for us as that backup…. We can't keep doing the same thing we've been doing for the past seven years, which is having teachers not licensed. This is a backup to make sure students get what they need, which is high-quality instruction.' Chief academic officer Cynthia Treadwell also endorsed Proximity. 'It's a very unique opportunity given what's at stake. We are really trying to drive academic outcomes. When we have teachers that don't have that pedagogy, there's a huge gap. We know high-quality teachers make a difference.' Superintendent Yvonne Stokes said each Proximity teacher would cost the district about $70,000, but the district would also have to hire a facilitator in each classroom as a backup for the online teacher. Proximity vice president Michael Robinson said there's a national teaching shortage with 600,000 open jobs. 'Don't feel like you're in this by yourselves,' he said. Founded in 2009, Robinson said Proximity has served more than 500,000 students in states across the country. The board also gave Superintendent Stokes temporary authority to hire new staff members because the board doesn't have a meeting before school starts. Teachers start work Aug. 4. In other business, the board voted 4-0, without discussion, to allow Gary-based Edgewater Health to offer an on-site student health center at the West Side Leadership Academy. Stokes said the collaboration wouldn't cost the district, other than the space at West Side. Community HealthNet, of Gary, was the other applicant. Board member Danita Johnson-Woods, president and chief executive officer of Edgewater, recused herself from the vote. Cvitkovich said Edgewater has offered day treatment services to the district for the past 50 years, including counseling, crisis and trauma services, teacher training and parenting workshops. She said it should be a seamless transition. Karen Bishop Morris, Edgewater's chief development officer and communications director, said the board's support represented a vote for integrated health services. 'This is an amazing opportunity for us to continue and expand our partnership… improving access to care. We hope it will reduce absenteeism,' she said.
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Gary-centric play Friday at Glen Theatre
Kulcha, slang for culture, is a production about saving a historic Gary theater. It will be presented at 6 p.m. Friday at the Glen Theatre, 20 W. Ridge Road, by Gary-based Morning Bishop Theatre Playhouse Inc. 'I was hesitant to produce the play here in Gary because of the adult language and themes. But, then the cast read the script and fell in love with the characters,' said McKenya Dilworth Smith, the playwright and director. It centers around actors trying to reconcile their differences toward a collective goal. General admission is $20 and VIP tickets are $35.
Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana Landmarks, Decay Devils partner to clean Roosevelt school
Tyrell Anderson, president of Decay Devils, believes there's a lot of community excitement for a project to clean up Theodore Roosevelt High School. 'It's not necessarily excitement for, 'Hey I used to go to school here',' Anderson said, 'but more so, 'I wonder what this space could be.'' Decay Devils, a Gary-based nonprofit, has partnered with Indiana Landmarks to help clean inside the former high school. The two organizations are also seeking volunteers to help with the cleanup, from June 2-6. Those interested in helping cleanup can register at . In May 2024, Roosevelt was named one of the most endangered historic places in the U.S. by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Repair costs are estimated to be about $20 million. The school had a failing heat system in February 2019, which when combined with low temperatures, caused pipes to burst and water sent through the school. Students had to be moved off-site, according to Indiana Landmarks. When the school was built in 1930, Roosevelt was one of three Indiana high schools built exclusively for Black students. In the 1920s, the school district sent 18 Black students to all-white Emerson High School and white students staged a series of protests and walk-outs. City, school and NAACP leaders decided to build a school for Blacks. Roosevelt at one point housed more than 3,000 students. 'It's a big site,' said Blake Swihart, director of Indiana Landmarks' northwest field office. 'It's a very historic site with a lot of emotion, and a lot of meaningful residents and alumni in the city.' It's important for Indiana Landmarks to support communities throughout the state, Swihart said, adding that they want to make sure historic sites are valued and recognized. On April 17, Indiana Landmarks hosted a community meeting where they learned what residents wanted to see from the site. People mentioned a museum and a boutique hotel, among other uses, Swihart said. Swihart believes that it's very important to find a use for the site, especially because of the history it holds. Even before Indiana Landmarks became involved, Swihart said the community has been vocal for years about reusing the Roosevelt site. 'There's been a lot of good collaboration, a lot of good ideas and a lot of interest that we hope will continue as we move along this process,' Swihart said. Anderson sits on the board for Indiana Landmarks, which has helped build a relationship between the two organizations. He also works with Indiana Landmarks' Black Heritage Program about historic structures in Gary. Decay Devils has gone to Roosevelt to archive the site, Anderson said, including identifying books, furniture and memorabilia that needs to be moved. It's important to move everything out so Indiana Landmarks has a blank slate to show interested investors, Anderson said. 'Let's get this building empty, and let's bring in those people who have the funds to push this project forward,' he added. 'So that's pretty much what we'll be asking of the volunteers.' Because Roosevelt was the first high school in Gary for Black students, Anderson believes it's important for the community to protect, especially because Gary has a majority of Black residents. 'Even though I didn't go to Roosevelt personally, and I never set foot in the school until I went with Indiana Landmarks, it's just beautiful to see,' Anderson said. Other developments in the city, including the newly awarded Lake County Convention Center, will help improvements to abandoned structures, Anderson said. 'A lot of investors don't want to feel as though they're investing on their own,' he added. 'They would love to see a collective push moving forward, so we definitely see this as a positive.'
Chicago Tribune
13-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
East Chicago man sentenced to 15 years for racketeering conspiracy
An East Chicago man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes committed while he was involved with a Gary-based motorcycle gang. Roger 'Bo' Burton was sentenced after pleading guilty to a RICO conspiracy charge in May 2024. Burton also allegedly shot and killed Sin City Desciples member London 'Short Dogg' Clayton, during a May 2, 2015, fight at the clubhouse on the 1300 block of Virginia Street, according to Post-Tribune archives. U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon said Tuesday that the recommended sentence was 20 years, but he took mitigating factors into account. 'Who would want to be part of this?' Simon said about Sin City Disciples. 'It was an organization you joined, and you were up to your ears.' Federal prosecutors wrote in filings that Burton was once among the three most powerful members, including founder Kenneth 'Sonny' McGhee and Michael Rivera, who was involved in Clayton's murder. Burton was also a Vice Lords member, 'extremely violent' and sold cocaine to McGhee, according to court filings. Before sentencing Tuesday, Burton apologized to the court, his attorneys and loved ones for the pain he caused. Burton told Simon that he joined Sin City Disciples to find brotherhood, but it wasn't what he hoped for. 'I never want to put anyone through that again,' Burton said. Lawrence Levin, Burton's attorney, said he's spent a lot of time with his client, and he thinks Burton understands the error of his ways and has given up his 'previous life of crime.' Levin asked Simon to sentence Burton with justice, mercy and hope that he will be reintegrated into society. Simon said Tuesday that Burton seemed sincere before his sentencing. 'I hope you're being genuine,' Simon said. Burton's health conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, were mitigating factors in Simon's decision. Another mitigating factor was that Burton has a large family, the judge said. Levin asked for Burton to be sent to a federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky, because of his health problems. Simon told Levin that he'd recommend the medical facility. Burton was one of 15 members and associates of the Sin City Desciples to be charged in racketeering conspiracy and a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, according to an Oct. 27, 2021, news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana. Upon sentencing Burton, Simon said he wouldn't be issued a fine because of his lack of assets, and he would receive credit for his time in prison since Oct. 27, 2021.
Chicago Tribune
28-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Gary's Buffington Harbor lands $4.7 million warehouse development
A tract of land sold by the Gary Redevelopment Commission on Wednesday signals more growth at Buffington Harbor as Mayor Eddie Melton's administration cements the shift from casino boats to industry along Lake Michigan. SP TP Gary Development LLC won the bid for the purchase of 78 acres in Buffington Harbor for $4.7 million. Officials said it would be developed as a warehouse distribution center, but its new tenant wasn't named. The 'SP' in the company also wasn't disclosed, but state filings in January show the company's registered agent is Marc Pfleging, general counsel for Scannell Properties LLC, based in Indianapolis. Robert Scannell, president and co-founder of real estate developer Scannell Properties, is listed on the state's incorporation papers as a governing partner. Scannell has built warehouse distribution centers for FedEx across the country, leading to speculation that the global transportation company would be coming to Gary. The nearby Gary/Chicago International Airport is ramping up a $67 million cargo expansion on its north side. In 2020, UPS began air delivery cargo service operations and later signed a long-term lease with the airport. The 'TP' in the company name is Transport Properties, which purchased 123 acres from Majestic Star Casino LLC in 2023. Redevelopment director Christopher Harris said SP TP Gary Development's plans include a warehouse distribution center with a manufacturing component. He said the company is eyeing a construction start date in the second quarter of 2025 with a 14-month project duration. Harris said SP TP Gary Development plans to invest about $40 million in capital improvements to the site, once home to the Lehigh Cement Co. He said no city or state incentives were part of the deal. 'It aligns with Mayor Melton's vision of providing job opportunities to our residents and leveraging our world-class transportation structure,' said Harris. Previously, the administration of former Mayor Jerome Prince endorsed a controversial plan for Fulcrum BioEnergy to build a waste-to-energy plant on the site. That sale cratered, and the company filed for bankruptcy last year. Tim McCahill, managing partner for Transport Properties, said the company has been investing in Gary properties for about eight years. Last year, Transport Properties sold 77 acres at Buffington Harbor to Indiana Sugars, a 101-year-old Gary-based bulk sugar supplier for the food industry. The company planned to expand elsewhere until Melton and Transport Properties made a sales pitch for the Buffington Harbor site, which offers a deep-water port and proximity to intermodal transportation. After the sale, Indiana Sugars said it hoped to open its new plant this year. When Indiana legalized casino gaming, Buffington Harbor became home to two casino boats in the 1990s, including one owned by President Donald Trump, who also built a hotel. The city hoped to jump-start an entertainment district at the gritty harbor where U.S. Steel's cement division was once housed. That big dream didn't materialize as the Gary boats typically trailed other Lake Michigan casino boats in revenue and popularity. In 2019, state lawmakers authorized a land-based casino, which later became Hard Rock Northern Indiana, off Burr Street. City officials and Melton, who was a state senator then, agreed Buffington Harbor should revert to its industrial roots. Melton added legislation to the land-based bill aimed at establishing an intermodal compact to govern operations at the harbor, but lawmakers stripped it out and instead backed a study committee that confirmed Buffington Harbor's potential to transform the region.
