State Sen. Aaron Freeman receives Crystal Apple award for school choice advocacy - dailyjournal.net

Local News Top Stories X From left, Jamey Callane, executive director of the Indiana Gateway Digital Academy, State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, and Liz Sliger, executive director of the Indiana Digital Learning School, pose for a photo after Freeman was honored with the Crystal Apple Award in Greenwood on Tuesday evening. Erika Malone | Daily Journal Online school students and administrators presented a school choice award to a local state senator this week. State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, has received the 2026 Crystal Apple Award. Parents for School Options, a statewide coalition of Indiana families who believe every child deserves access to a learning environment that works for them, wanted to recognize Freeman for his support of school choice policies at the Statehouse. The award was presented to Freeman Tuesday at Chicago’s Pizza in Greenwood, who was joined by students, teachers and administrators from Indiana Digital Learning School, Indiana Gateway Digital Academy and Hoosier College & Career Academy. “I am very grateful for them to honor me this way,” Freeman said of the award. “The most important thing we can do as a state is educate our next generation.” Freeman said it’s important to make sure that parents have every tool and option available to them for their children to get the best education that suits them. “God bless our public education system, it’s important, and we should support it, but it doesn’t work for everybody,” he said. Mayla Weber and Mary-Katherine Thurner, eighth-graders at the Indiana Digital Learning School, said the flexibility in their school has been a game-changer for their successes. “There are lots of days where my mental health just won’t let me get out, and about so the flexibility really helps,” Thurner said. of 4 State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, receives the Crystal Apple Award on Tuesday evening for his advocacy and support for school choice policies at the Indiana Statehouse. Erika Malone | Daily Journal From left, Jamey Callane, executive director of the Indiana Gateway Digital Academy, State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, and Liz Sliger, executive director of the Indiana Digital Learning School, pose for a photo after Freeman was honored with the Crystal Apple Award in Greenwood on Tuesday evening. Erika Malone | Daily Journal State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, talks with an online student during the award ceremony for the Crystal Apple Award for his support for school choice policies at the Indiana Statehouse. Erika Malone | Daily Journal State Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, speaks with parents about virtual schooling and school choice policies during the Crystal Apple Award ceremony in Greenwood. Erika Malone | Daily Journal Buy photos from this gallery Weber enjoys being able to get her schooling done on her own time so she can show up more for service work like the honor society or extracurriculars. Weber plans to pursue a career in professional dog training for military, law enforcement and service dogs after she finishes high school. Thurner hopes to take her growing art skills into the animation industry while she currently works on publishing a graphic novel. For Bev Hulett and her son Christopher, the stress at home has become nonexistent since transitioning to Indiana Gateway Digital Academy. “I fell behind in my classes because I didn’t like how I was learning, so my mom and I wanted to go more on my pace,” Christopher said. “I’ve been able to learn faster and understand concepts better.” As a mom, Hulett said she feels assured knowing her son is still learning the same lessons and skills as he would be in a classroom, but in an environment they are both comfortable with. “It’s been a huge difference for us,” she said. Olivia Payne, who was in and out of mental health facilities for almost a year, didn’t know if she would ever complete high school. Now with online schooling, she is on the fast track to credit recovery and hopes to graduate soon, she said. Jessica Zepik, elementary school principal for Indiana Gateway Digital Academy, has spent the vast majority of her career in brick-and-mortar schools. Now, as a principal for an online school, she has been able to focus on student achievement in ways that she was never able to in public schools, she said. “We have a lot of students who, for one reason or another, aren’t being successful at a brick and mortar school,” Zepik said. ” This gives them an environment that they’re comfortable with and allows them to work at their own pace a lot of times because that’s what they need.” Liz Sliger, executive director of the Indiana Digital Learning School, and Jamey Callane, executive director of the Indiana Gateway Digital Academy, said policies that help school choice specifically with virtual schooling has seen growth. This demonstrates the need to serve all students. “The growth within virtual schools really demonstrates that we understand in order to serve 100% of students, somebody has to serve the 2 or 3% of students who choose a different path who may not be best served in a brick and mortar,” Sliger said. To hear directly from the students and families in virtual programs, Freeman said it’s important to hear from these constituents. “Obviously, money is critically important to education in making sure schools have what they need, but it’s also about choice,” he said. “Sometimes a kid needs something different, and the state should give them every opportunity to find the school that’s appropriate for them.” Featured Local Savings