THE ECHO

By Alaina Moon // Reporter

The diploma requirements changed again.

To fit these new standards, the English department here at AHS has had to make some adjustments. One of these includes introducing Indy Ink, a class focused on all things Indiana! The proposal was pushed forward by English teachers Mrs. Sara Sever and Mrs. Heather Meunier (the reason being it was a proposed course from the Indiana Department of Education for said diploma changes). Currently, the semester-long class will be an elective that is only open to seniors, but with enough interest others may be allowed as well.

“If we have enough interest, there is some talk about allowing juniors,” Sever said.

Due to the lack of information on enrollment numbers, teachers have not been entirely chosen to teach the course.  However, as she was part of the original proposal, Sever has taken up the torch.

“I think to start I’m the only teacher. But again, if we have plenty of interest, we can open that up,” said Sever.

Even though, class is not in session just yet, Sever has been at work planning the curriculum. She has split her plans across the two quarters, first with a focused read as a full class then an independent novel of each student’s choice.

“My anchor text for the first quarter would be Ashley Flowers [who wrote] All Good People Here. I’m envisioning a murder board and letting people connect the dots as we read along,” said Sever. “Second quarter… students could choose any novel that’s set in Indiana, anything that was written by an Indiana person.”

Literature won’t be the sole component, though. The culture of the Hoosier state will be covered as well!

“We’ll also do some fun things with Indiana culture, like the Indy 500…. some of the true crime…. music as poetry, and we’ve got tons of musicians from Indiana,” Sever said.

The goals of Indy Ink go far beyond education, though. Sever said that literature and culture are focuses but went on to include how sharing the culture of her home state and the love of reading is also important.

“With our diverse school population, we’ve got people from around the world,” said Sever. “So, it’d be great to be able to share that culture and hopefully the love of reading.”

With a plan for the future of this experiment and the goals of it at the ready, Sever has hit the ground running. Ideas are in mind; the drive is in strength, and emotions are at heart.

“I am super excited for next year,” Sever said. “I’m also pretty nervous about this, because I’ve never developed a course from the ground up all by myself…. That’s going to be quite a challenge.”