When Cindy Long of the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked what Christine Clarahan's school nutrition "wish list" was, Clarahan was ready. She jumped up and produced a small yellow legal pad from her purse. The first page was filled with Clarahan's thoughts on various nutrition policies and standards. "One of the reasons that I am so passionate about my job and everything that I do is that we know that a kid who is hungry cannot learn," Clarahan, director of the Department of Food and Nutrition for the School City of Hammond, said.

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It's been decades in the making and Thursday, one Indiana school has officially been named for the first African American teacher in Hammond: Ms. Annie Burns-Hicks.

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At Irving Elementary School, students learn how to read and do math, along with principles of science and social studies, but unlike at most schools, they do it almost entirely in Spanish.

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The School City of Hammond is significantly boosting pay for its teachers and all other school personnel amid increased competition for experienced workers. New collective bargaining agreements ratified Dec. 21 by the school district's board of trustees provide an 11.3% raise for all employees, retroactive to the July 7 start of the 2021-22 school year. In addition, educators are receiving a $3,000 stipend payment on top of the salary hike, while administrators and support staff are getting one-time stipends equivalent to 6.2% of their annual salaries.

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Challenges both great and small have tested the resolve of the Region’s K-12 public education system, and schools have continued to rise to the occasion. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and schools were ordered closed by Gov. Eric Holcomb, we responded by taking our curriculum online in literally a week’s time. Throughout the pandemic, schools have continued to strive to meet the needs of all students, even when those needs extend beyond the classroom into areas such as health, nutrition, and equitable access to resources.

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