Fellow teachers beware, you might be working for the State soon. If IPS doesn't get it's act together this upcoming school year, the State will move in and take over several schools. IPS B.S wonders if the state could really do any worse than the Central Office?
Oh please, let it happen. After we see how money is being spent, and the hiring of friends and relatives how could it get any worse?
ReplyDeleteUmmmm...yes the State is worst case scenario. As much as many of you have distain for Dr White, The Coach moved yesterday to make it easier to hire folks such as Kline (NYC) and Rhee (DC) to run things. Good luck to you if that happens. You don't know whose those people are? You had better read up quickly.
ReplyDeleteI believe IPS moved 6th grade to elementary & added 7th and 8th grades to some high schools to delay takeover by the State. I do not believe the State wants to run any part of IPS, but that might just create administrative stability and long term planning. After all, the staff in those buildings have already been replaced, so it might be a blessing.
ReplyDelete6:01, do you mean Joe Klein? I don't know much about him other than he's the chancellor of New York DOE, but i think Michelle Rhee is brilliant, and reading about her (as well as other reformers) played a significant part in my own decision to become an educator.
ReplyDeleteWell, I knew this was happening when Bennett cut his staff and fired many wonderful staff members in February 2009. If this happens, then the Board will have to take notice that Dr. White that his adminstration and board are failing the students. Let the rural "Boy Wonder Bennett" run John Marshall. God that would be a hoot, then Bridgewaters could try her little tricks. Too funny for words... You just saw that Bennett has no planning, just shoots from the hip and hopes he hits the target.
ReplyDeleteAs sad as this would be, I would welcome it if it would help IPS. The first thing they would probably do is cut the multi-layers of administrators.
ReplyDeleteIf the state takes over, can't we all get fired? My understanding of the NCLB act is that once a school fails so many times, the entire staff is replaced.....so if the state takes over, couldn't they fire almost everyone? Atleast everyone in the failing schools?
ReplyDeleteThe School Board would be the first to leave if taken over by the State. The School Board would be replaced by the State.
ReplyDeleteThis is something I have wondered about. Is there a procedure in place for taking over a school or district? If so is it published somehwere?
ReplyDeleteThey don't fire the whole staff, just the school board. They might fire more people for cause later on, but that's not part of a state takeover.
ReplyDeleteJust remember this ---- take-overs occur from the top down, not from the bottom up.
ReplyDeleteThe worst that could happen to teachers is that we'd all be displaced, and then we'd all need to re-interview for our positions.
Central Office attempts to scare us with the 'take-over' bit; however, it's simply a scare tactic. In the event of a take-over, the 'higher they are, the harder they fall'.
http://www.doe.in.gov/ayp/docs/2006/2006-AYPFactSheet.pdf
ReplyDeleteWho wants to take a bet the John Marshall will be the first school taken over by the State?? Prudence Bridgwaters will go down in history as the Principal that destroyed Coleman and the Director that destroyed John Marshall. Great job Gene White....
ReplyDeleteI hope the state does take over IPS. That would be the only way to get rid of Dr. White and his incompetent cronies(administration)! I can't wait until this happens!!! Maybe then IPS teachers will get a new contract and a pay raise that has been long over due!!!!
ReplyDeleteRe: anon 6:39 Someone sure is obsessed with Bridgewaters. Wonder why and wonder who?
ReplyDeleteRe: anon 7:19 The state can only take over or resume administrative responsibility of schools that have failed to meet AYP and are the worst stages of school improvement.
I don't think Tony Bennett, the INDOE superintendent, has such takeover plans for John Marshall, considering the school is part of a state pilot for master teachers.
9:49, that's not right. In a state takeover, the state fires the schoolboard (and possibly some administration) and takes over the whole district. This is an option for the state if the district as a whole isn't making AYP for 4 years (see above link) IPS has not made AYP for 3 since 2005, and they didn't make it for 3 years before that (look up IPS data on the same site).
ReplyDeleteThe state cannot take over an entire school district (administrative, etc.). It is not a manageable prospect. That is a fallacy/rumor spread by guess who . . . .Jeff White, who no longer works for IPS, but is sure keen on the happenings of his former employer. Why?
ReplyDeleteAnd 4:52 a.m., r u the person obsessed w/Bridgewaters, too?
ReplyDelete9:24, I'm 4:52. First, no I'm not the person obsessed with Bridgwaters. Second, would you PLEASE read the information at the Indiana Department of Education that another teacher and I have both directed you to. I believe you are the one who is misinformed.
ReplyDeleteThe others are right. After 4 years of the CORPORATION failing to meet AYP, "the state mantains the option to implement any of the following additional corrective actions if previous interventions do not result in progress:
ReplyDelete- Defer programmatic funds or reduce administrative funds.
- Replace corporation staff relevent to the district's inability to make AYP.
- Remove individual schools from the corporation's jurisdiction and arrange public governance/supervision of these schools.
- Appoint a receiver/trustee to assume the administrative duties of the corporation's superintendant and schoolboard.
- Abolish or restructure the school corporation."
6:41
ReplyDelete"Appoint a receiver/trustee to assume the administrative duties of the corporation's superintendant and schoolboard."
Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
Has anyone read about what happened in New Orleans after Katrina? I believe that that has been cited by Superintendent Bennett as a model to emulate.
ReplyDeleteI just don't have any hope that things will be better after a state takeover. The DOE doesn't want to run the school corporation and the governor has stated that all public schools in Indiana should be Charter Schools.
Could that happen on a district wide basis all at once? Maybe not, but the "turnaround" model that the new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan used in Chicago could very well be used to target a dozen or so schools a year. Fire everyone including administrators, teachers, and staff then bring in a whole new group of people. The real purpose of the new certification rules: enhancing the ability of charter schools to bring in large numbers of new teachers with absolutely no connection to the old system. Think how much money there is to be saved by firing veteran teachers and hiring mostly new teachers as replacements.
I agree with the "I'm a professional" comments that another teacher posted on a couple of threads. I'm not going to cry, "the sky is falling" every time something in education changes. Every occupation has corporate b.s. Every occupation has changes and innovations, some good, some not good. I'm not going to cry foul when teachers are not respected like other professionals and then cry foul when they are subjected to some of the challenges of other professionals. And quite frankly, I want to distinguish myself from coworkers like 6:59, who spend their energy on trash talk, fearmongering, and outright untruths. Come on, there are enough real problems and issues for us to address like adult professionals. Let's leave the foolishness to the grade schoolers.
ReplyDeleteIf ips is such a failed system, why are so many administrators retained and recycled?
ReplyDeleteWhy is Jeff White still mentioned?
ReplyDeleteI would love to see most of the current administrators put out on their ears. They are either so overworked that they don't have a prayer of having everything under control or just out and out idiots.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see Mary Busch removed from her position that she has mishandled for so many years...all that ass kissing and she could be humilitated and out on her old sorry ass...then maybe she could go to a beauty salon for an updated hair do.
ReplyDelete