Articles – A House Divided: One Family, Two School Districts

It has long been understood in Indiana that a “House Divided” is a home that has one spouse who graduated from Indiana University and the other spouse who graduated from Purdue University. Imagine the surprise of many parents in Fishers when they discovered that a “House Divided” was about to become a reality for their children in high school.
With the school district keeping the Class of 2007 intact, approximately 117 families in Fishers have been forced to split their children between the two high schools in the Hamilton Southeastern School District. Many seniors attending Hamilton Southeastern High School now have younger siblings attending Fishers High School. Small things like purchasing two student directories, two student parking passes and two sets of Spiritwear are small annoyances for a “House Divided” family.
However some divided families have issues, especially when it comes to the sports teams, but Jim and Linda Cross see it from another angle. Linda is not upset at all about her children attending different high schools. “We have been looking forward to Fishers High School opening for a long time now,” said Cross. “We have played sports with a lot of these kids and it is fun to see them playing at Fishers High School.” The Cross family shares a friendly rivalry not only with their Southeastern friends, but also within their home. Daughter Meghan, a senior at Southeastern, feels she has a personal connection with Fishers High School. Her brother Andrew is on the freshman football team. Meghan enjoys watching him play and shows loyalty for her brother by wearing Fishers colors to the football games. Meghan says, “It really doesn’t bother me that Andrew is at another school, but I do wish we were together so that I could keep an eye on him.”
Tom and Lisa Peters are also a “House Divided” family, and they have two sons in the Hamilton Southeastern school district. Jay is a senior at Southeastern and Joe is a freshman at FHS. Jay Peters has no qualms about his situation. He enjoys Southeastern but also says that had he been redistricted to Fishers High School he would not have been upset. “I am still friends with everyone who lives around me and would have been happy to be at Fishers High School with them. The redistricting was a disappointment at first, but now it doesn’t bother me,” Jay admits. Younger brother Joe adds his opinion by saying that he would not like to be at Southeastern with Jay because “his friends would probably bug me a lot.”
When Lisa first discovered that her family would be affected by redistricting, she was a little upset. “It has been four years since the boys have been in the same school with each other,” Lisa says. She would have liked them to be together but says, “It is in God’s hands and it will work out for the best.” Tom and Lisa say that the school rivalry is minimal in their house. Lisa kidded that Jay was looking forward to harassing his younger brother in the halls. But since the school year has started and both sons are acclimated in their respective schools, Lisa’s come to this conclusion: “I feel like it is the best place for my senior and the best place for my freshman.”
“GO ROYALS, ah, I mean GO TIGERS, errr ROYALS, um TIGERS!”

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