Alex Cohen is the Director of Learning and Evaluation for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. In Indiana, high school students can earn one of three diplomas—a Core 40 diploma, a more challenging Honors diploma and a less rigorous general diploma. But under new federal guidelines that are part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, Indiana would not be allowed to count the roughly 12% of graduates earning the general diploma toward its official high school graduation count. The new ESSA guidelines have sparked debate and raised an important question about the importance of establishing high standards for high school diplomas. Some support the general diploma because it offers […]

Ellen Quigley is the Vice President of Programs at the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation An interview with Jonathan Wright, The Ruth Lilly Deputy Director for Horticulture and Natural Resources, Newfields Background Newfields, a place for nature and the arts, is a cultural campus that is home to The Indianapolis Museum of Art, the historic Lilly House, The Garden and The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park. In Fairbanks Park, guests can experience woodlands, meadows, and the shoreline of a 35-acre lake as well as site-responsive artworks, all on 100 acres. The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation has awarded grants to the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art And Nature Park at Newfields […]