Well, good evening.

Good evening, everyone.

I'd like to welcome all of you to the September meeting of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.

And I'd like to also officially call this meeting to order and thank you all for being here.

I want to begin by noting that Angela Smith Jones informed us in advance that she is unable to attend tonight's meeting due to a family commitment.

Otherwise, all other members of the alliance are present and accounted for.

So we'll uh we'll make sure Angela finds out what she missed in tonight's presentation.

We're going to be taking a deep dive into transportation this evening.

You'll hear from multiple different perspectives.

And I want to thank in advance each of the presenters for being here this evening with us.

They each have a unique viewpoint with regards to transportation, and I think it will be very useful for us as we consider our legislative mandate given to us by the Indiana General Assembly in the area of transportation.

After the panel presentation, Mike O'Connor, the ILEA project manager will make some announcements regarding future work structures for our team.

And then, as in prior meetings, we will take public comment.

We ask that all comments stay focused on the topic of transportation.

I would like to thank Dr.

Johnson and the IBS team for hosting us here at Broad Ripple Middle School tonight.

Here to tell us a little more about the school and the various educational efforts taking place here.

Are Lucas Zartman, principal of Purdue Polytechnic High School Broad Ripple, and Jeremy Ball, principal of Broad Ripple Middle School.

I would like to ask Lucas to start and then hand the mic over to Jeremy.

Good evening, everyone.

I want to thank you for welcoming me here tonight.

My name is Lucas Zartman, and I have the privilege of serving as principal of Purdue Polytechnic High School here at Broad Ripple.

We opened our doors in 2019 with a bold mission to rethink what high school could be for young people here in Indianapolis.

Since 2022, we've been proud to call the historic Broad Ripple High School building our home.

This building is more than just a space, it's a landmark of education in this city.

In partnership with Principal Jeremy Ball and the Broad Ripple Middle School, we have been honored to help bring this space back to life as a place of opportunity and innovation.

We serve grades 9 through 12, and because we are intentionally small, we get to know our students deeply, not just as learners, but as individuals with unique stories, strengths, and goals.

When you walk our halls, you feel the energy of a close-knit community where students are supported, challenged, and celebrated for who they are.

At PPHS Broad Ripple, we are committed to breaking barriers for our students, helping them achieve beyond what they think is possible.

This is the culture we strive to instill in everything we do.

We do it by building strong relationships, setting high expectations for every single student, and then making sure we provide the support and guidance they need to rise to those expectations.

So when we talk about who we are, it's not just about a building or a set of facts.

We are a family, a launch pad, and a community where students don't just come to earn a diploma.

They come to discover who they are and to realize that they are capable of far more than they imagined.

Our student body is as diverse and dynamic as the city we serve.

At PPHS Broad Ripple, you'll find students from a wide range of racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

Some are the first in their families to pursue college.

Many are learning English as a new language.

Others receive specialized supports to help them thrive academically and personally.

This makes them experiences is one of our greatest strengths.

It means our classrooms reflect the real world.

Students learn alongside peers who bring different perspectives, talents, and life stories.

And it means we're preparing them not only for college and careers, but for the diverse, interconnected communities that they will one day lead.

At PPHS Broad Ripple, every student belongs, every student has a voice, and every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, and most importantly, the support to make that possible.

Families choose us because they see something different in our culture.

They see a school that believes every student is capable of greatness, even if that student doesn't yet believe it themselves.

They see a place where learning is hands-on and relevant, where students connect what they're learning in the classroom to the real world outside of their outside of it, and families know their children will be encouraged to stretch beyond their comfort zones, take on challenges, and grow in ways they never imagined.

They also see a school where students are known not just by their grades but by their passions, their goals, and most importantly, their potential.

It's the relationships we build, the high expectations we set, and the unwavering support we provide that makes families trust us with their children's future.

In short, families choose us because they know we will help their children achieve beyond what they think is possible.

At our core, we exist to grow problem solvers.

We want our students to leave us with the creativity to imagine solutions, the skills to build them, and the resilience to keep going when challenges arise.

This guiding purpose shapes every pathway and every opportunity we provide.

It's what makes our learning experience hands-on, real world, and future focused.

We aren't just preparing students for tests, we're preparing them for life.

Through our career pathways, students don't just study, they experience.

In engineering, they design solutions to real world problems.

In business, they create, innovate, and pitch ideas.

In agriculture, they tackle sustainability in the food systems.

These immersive opportunities empower students to step into fields where they once might have thought that's not for me, and then they discover, yes, I can do this.