FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Every month, WISH-TV highlights a local school district with “The Morning Bell,” a conversation focused on new or exciting programs and accomplishments within Indiana schools.

This week, the Morning Bell’s focus is getting people ready to head back to school through interviews with superintendents in central Indiana.

On Tuesday, Hamilton Southeastern Schools Superintendent Patrick Mapes joined Daybreak to discuss the upcoming school year which begins on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Before the Bell celebration

On Thursday, there is a back-to-school district-wide celebration. It’s at the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. There will be informational booths and ways for families and students to get involved. There will also be games, inflatables, student performers, and food trucks.

“What’s really cool is all of our schools will have a booth so parents and students can visit, see their building principals, some of their teachers and kind of get ready for that first day the following week,” Mapes said.

Goals for the district

Mapes says for this school year, the most important goal is to emphasize learning.

“We want to make certain that we’re looking at our test scores and make certain our kids are getting better in language arts and mathematics skills. But more importantly, we need to make certain that we’re emphasizing learning, right? As times change, the one thing that we can give all of our students is the ability to learn. And if we do that, no matter what the job or careers that lie ahead, they’ll be able to adapt to make certain that they can become successful,” Mapes said.

District leaders say building literacy skills at elementary grade levels and preparing secondary students to pursue their educational pathway are key factors of the plan.

“We’ll have all of our schools now in the reading cadre that the state provides, which I think will continue to build skills for our students. We’re going to have a lofty goal of 100% of our kids passing IREAD-3, which isn’t really too far off for us as 94% of students currently have done that. So, we’re really excited about being able to help our teachers in the classroom, making certain that the Science of Reading is implemented with fidelity in our school district,” Mapes said.

‘Journey of a Student’ Plan

The district is starting a new plan called “Journey of a Student,” which is described on HSE’s website as a way to provide each student with learning experiences that are deep and relevant, and that integrate the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to thrive as adults in today’s world.

“With the emphasis of pathways that when a student finishes their K-12 experience, we’ve prepared them to go and do what they want to do, whether it’s enroll in school to be employed in the workforce or enlist in the service. We want to start that process even in the elementary – to give them experiences of different careers. So all of our business leaders, community leaders, and educators for the last 18 months came together to kind of plan a ‘Journey of a Student,’” Mapes said.

The “Journey of a Student” looks to introduce concepts of careers early in the elementary level, then follow students through high school by immersing them in real-world work-based learning.

“You need to be able to dream and we want to start that early for what that career is going to be for you. And I really think the experience of being able to go out into our community that has so many different businesses and opportunities and kind of test drive that career before you go to college or before you go into the workforce will be really valuable for our students,” Mapes said.

Mapes’ advice to students and parents

“Start early when getting up early, maybe on Monday instead of Wednesday. And for our parents, please be patient. We have a lot of riders to school and we’ve got construction going on at Fisher’s Elementary and Lantern Road Elementary, let alone just the traffic problems that we have throughout the metro area, kind of plan accordingly, so you can get to school on time.”