School may suffer from Lilly layoffs

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Monday, Eli Lilly announced it would reduce its worldwide workforce by 5,500 employees by the year 2011. As the region's largest private employer, the ripple effects of Lilly layoffs could be felt across Central Indiana. One institution that could feel Lilly's pain is the International School of Indiana.

Proud parent and president of the board, Gary Vigran, has two children that go to the school. 24-Hour News 8 visited his daughter's classroom where she sat at a table with a number of freshmen students learning about a country a continent away. They were playing a game popular in Ecuador as they prepared for a mission trip to the country.

The student's experience is indicative of the ISI experience. Children at the International School not only learn about a country and its culture, they are also immersed its customs and language. That global focus and emphasis on the sciences make the private school an attractive option for many Lilly parents, many of whom are scientists who come to Indianapolis from around the world.

"The International School offers an international education based on worldwide accepted standards of excellence," said David Garner, the head of school.

The International School's Lilly connection is apparent before you come in the door. The high school bears the name of Lilly's retired CEO Sidney Taurel and his wife Kathryn, both of whom were instrumental in raising funds for the building.

Eighty-five children, 15 percent of the school's students, are the children of Lilly employees. The school expects to feel the effects of the Lilly layoffs.

"It's fairly typical of international schools elsewhere in the world that when a particular local company downsizes for whatever reasons there is some short-term impact on the school," Garner said.

But he stressed that he believes the effects felt would not be long-term. Garner points out that Lilly is not the school's only corporate partner, albeit an important one.