Save Some Cash

IPS B.S. got an e-mail yesterday asking how we can save money in the District? What suggestions do you have? Don't go for the easy mark of firing Dr. White, anybody can say that.

Testing. 1, 2, 3

Let's have a serious discussion this weekend on testing. Most of us agree testing should be part of any curriculum, but how much? Should it be everything or the only thing? How much should teacher performance be tied to testing? Is a test a true measure of student achievement? Have you ever simply "taught to the test"? Is "multiple choice" really just "multiple guess"? Do standardized tests inherently favor majority populations or is is more income based?

Excuses, Excuses

Indiana Barrister has an interview with Jane Ajabu about how the new computer screwed up our paychecks. The scary part about the whole thing is she said we can expect these problems for years to come.

Are You Surprised?

This came from Andy Gammil's blog. Now we know we know why IPS is such a mess.

IPS BUDGET VOTE RAISES GOVERNANCE QUESTIONS

There was an interesting exchange last night at the Indianapolis Public Schools Board meeting, in which it came up that the board didn't really know all the details of what they were voting on. They had the big picture of major shifts in priority and how much was spent in each fund and where things were changing.

But the documents provided to them wouldn't necessarily have answered questions about how much money was being budgeted for a specific line item. Member Kelly E. Bentley voted against the budget, saying the administration had not answered her questions about how money was allocated in the budget.

Another board member and the superintendent told her that the summaries provided by the administration should have been more than enough. Bentley countered that the board's job was fiscal oversight.

"I think as a school board we have that obligation," Bentley said in the meeting, "and I'm not sure how resources get allocated to schools."

The district's practice has been to give board members ...

... the fund-by-fund budget numbers along with a breakdown of any changes or decreases by area. But the actual line item amounts are in a separate budget that Bentley said board members did not receive.

Board member Marianna R. Zaphiriou told Bentley that she felt her request -- and the suggestion that other board members weren't asking enough questions -- was wrongheaded.

"Part of that implication is that some of us should feel uncomfortable, and we don't," she said. "I have no reason to want that level of information. I don't feel the need to request that information."

Superintendent Eugene White told Bentley she was welcome to make an appointment and go line by line through the budget with district finance officials. But he said he wouldn't waste the board's time by giving them the entire budget to review.

"We have not and we don't intend to give you the specificity of each of those items," White said. "It would be too prohibitive for you to go through that.... We're not going to bring that to you. We're asking you to approve the budget, and to go any deeper than that would take a lot of your time and be ridiculous."

The board adopted the budget 6-1.

Payday

Any more pay problems today?

Size Matters

IPS B.S. has gotten some e-mails about large class sizes lately. How many kids to do you have and is it larger or smaller than years past?

IPS APARTHEID PART II

This is the second article sent to IPS B.S. on the new segregation taking place in Indianapolis Public Schools.

*************************

We would like to thank all the writers who have posted responses to “IPS Apartheid?” Unfortunately the conversation got sidetracked (i.e., parents, or “holding back excellence”) from the main argument of our post:

Let’s get back to the issues. IPS is attempting to draw the white and black middle class back to the city. The “social cleansing” of the system was accomplished by school uniforms. Now, IPS students will not appear so frightening. Any other problem students will be sent to the alternatives.

With the opening of IPS high school magnets, has Marion County become two school systems, separate and unequal based on class and ability (not race), with an upper tier of IPS magnets and special programs (i.e., CFI/Key); all other township schools, and their magnets, special programs; all the private and parochial schools; all charters; and, any other special programs—and a lower tier of all other K-12 IPS schools (especially the community high schools [“hood schools” as someone wrote]), programs, and alternatives. Do these tiers represent equal opportunity for all Marion County students?

And the essence of the argument: Why did IPS put the gifted & talented program at #59 instead of Longfellow School? Or, it can be expressed this way: Which schools have ROTC? Shortridge? Park Tutor? Scecina? Washington Community School?

P.S.
Since we placed alternatives as lower tier schools, where are all the 20+ IPS alternatives schools and programs? Who goes there? Do students stay there? Are “bad” teachers sent there or threatened to be sent to an alternative? What’s IPS hiding there? No one we know knows what’s happening in these places--they are not on IPS website? Are students at alternatives counted in attendance and graduation rates, and test scores of their “homeschool” from which they are sent? Are there text books the same qualiyt as the magnets? Do the staff and/or teachers have degrees/endorsements in alternative education? Are physics or chemistry offered in the science labs at the alternatives? Do students take gym? Can anyone help uncover and explain these mysterious IPS projects?

SWM Seeks SBDM

How is your SBDM functioning?

The list of mediocre teachers has come out from the Puzzle Palace, who is on it? What criteria was used to establish this list? Have they contacted their AR's? IEA? Their own attorney? Have you been put on a personnel improvement plan? Was it based on your previous evaluation? What are the specifics of this latest blame the teacher plan?

This is not a negotiated strategy, but another unfair labor practice in the offing.

Be prepared!

The $83,491.00 Question

If IPS is supposed to be broke and have money problems, could someone please explain the following hire?

Basil Mawbey
$83,491
Activities director BRHS
Board Documents 8-11-09

Doesn't BRHS already have an activities director? And does she make $83,000 a year? Do any other high schools have two activity directors? Is this really a good way to spend money?

IPS Apartheid?

The following article was sent to IPS B.S. Anyone else think they might have a point or two?

*********************

Recent discussions in the IPS B.S. blog (Tues., Aug 18, “White Wash”) over who attends the magnets and who does not (who [“troublemakers”] gets kicked out of the magnets and “punished” by being sent to Arlington, Marshall, the alternative programs), and the associations of this with "”Separate but equal is inherently unequal’ and therefore separate and unequal is nothing but a disgrace. Brown v BOE” is worrisome. This is especially the case in light of the 55th (May 17) Anniversary of Brown which compels us to use equality in education (not behavior or “ability”) as the basis of all discussions

This blog thread dialogue begs a basic question: Do children in Marion County have education equality? A review shows the possibility of two educational systems. What could happen, not only due to the nature and politics of charters, but magnets, township, and non-pubic schools, is the creation of parallel school systems--separate and unequal—based not on race, but socio-economic status and ability. See the 2008 report, "School Choice and Segregation by Race, Class and Achievement” on Durham, NC schools.

The growth of charters, the opening of more magnets and special programs, the growth/success of township schools, and the proven quality of private schools—parochial and academic—leave IPS families and students with what’s left. With a 20 year graduation rate average of less than 50 percent (or even less), what remains may be inadequate.

It is common historical knowledge that over the last 125 years particular schools attract the better qualified/experienced teachers and the more academically inclined families and well behaved students—leaving, by default, the less qualified staff and less academic and more disruptive student to “the rest” of IPS.

Charters, magnets, special programs, countered by the closing of over half of IPS small schools and the sub-system of 20-plus alternatives to warehouse school refusers and enforce the new duality have the potential of creating and maintaining a parallel system of 2nd class schools taking IPS back to before 1954. The possibility of a public school created underclass reflects what could become a more refined type of segregation: tracking for the 21st century.

Marion County Educational Apartheid

Upper Tier

IPS Magnets and Special Programs, Parochial Schools, Private Schools, All Township Schools, All Charters, Other Special Programs

Lower Tier
All other IPS schools, programs, and alternatives.


To illustrate this concern, look where IPS placed its gifted and talented magnet. IPS closed schools in June of 2007. One was IPS 28 on English Ave. One was IPS 59 at Kessler Blvd and College. Although it is common knowledge that the gifted/talented come from all layers of society, it is also known these programs end up with a majority of students from professional families. Placing the magnet at 28 would send a strong message to families/students, the city, and the nation that IPS seeks to discredit and abandon this history. But, there was no way IPS would put this type of program in a working-class neighborhood on the near south side. This was done to please the county’s middle class at the political expense of those labeled "economically disadvantaged."

To conclude, it is highly unlikely the quality of education among charters, magnets, special programs (let alone township and non-public schools) and the remainder of IPS schools and its system of alternatives will be the same. We want equal educational opportunity for all children; we do not want two school systems. This possibility, especially in IPS, must be reviewed and monitored.

M.I.A.?

Are your subs or cadres missing? The talk has started that these guys aren't showing up leaving some classes with no teacher. What's going on at your school?

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

Did anyone read Matt Tully's story today on Manual High. IPS B.S. thought it was pretty interesting. What did you think?

Week 2

Another week has gone by in IPS Schools, anyone have anything noteworthy to report? Are any of you still missing paychecks? Any questions for the new uniserve director? What do you think about Andy Gammill's article on Lawrence Schools? Are your students showing up? Got any questions of your own you want to ask?

Where Are They Now?

There was a comment in one of yesterday's posts about where is Prudence Bridgewaters? IPS B.S. was told she got on Dr. White's bad side and got demoted. Can anyone confirm? Has there been a sighting downtown?

Give Yourself a Raise

IPS and IEA have come to agreement that teachers will be paid the same for a Master's Degree as for Master's Degree Equivalency. This means that teachers who have earned a Bachelor's Degree plus 36 hours will qualify for the Master's Equivalency. The 36 hours must have been earned after the Bachelor's Degree was posted and must be evidenced by official transcripts. In addition, courses taken must be graduate level courses. Once confirmed, the teacher will be placed on the Master's Degree pay table.

Understand that additional hours taken beyond the Bachelor's Degree, that do not result in a Master's Degree being awarded, will not be considered for placement on any table beyond the Master's Degree. In other words, in order to be placed at Master's +15 hours, or Master's+ 30 hours and above table, the teacher must submit official transcripts, which post a Master's Degree award, with the equivalent hours having been earned after the Master's Degree was posted.

You Get Paid Yet?

We all know about the pay slip up this past week. IPS B.S. wants to know if you've been paid yet and if you had any overdrafts because the Central Office screwed up. Let's get the word out and maybe the media will finally pick up on this.

Sexting in the City Schools

IPS is going to consider a formal policy tonight banning "sexting" in schools. If you don't know what that is, sexting is when students use their cell phones to send sexual images of themselves or their friends.

IPS B.S. takes a hard-line approach to this type of behavior and any student caught sexting should be arrested and charged with distributing obscene material. There is no reason for this kind of behavior to be in school and if a few people start going to jail, everyone else would get the message.

White Wash

Dr. White posted this on IPS' blog.

This year’s opening of schools was tremendous! Students across the district arrived to school excited and ready to take on new challenges. Our new Shortridge Magnet High School for Law and Public Policy and the Broad Ripple Magnet High School for the Arts and Humanities each enjoyed a smooth start. I appreciate the students, teachers, bus drivers, administrators and other staff who helped to make our opening memorable for its ease.

I’m especially pleased that our school year was able to get underway with a ratified teachers’ contract in place. According to the Indianapolis Education Association, which represents our teachers, 88 percent of the votes cast supported the contract. The Board of School Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of the contract during a special-called meeting on Aug. 11. Both sides are happy to be able to focus our complete attention on the classroom.

Parents, I encourage you to visit your child’s school as often as you can this year. Get to know your child’s teacher(s) and principal. Let’s work together from Day 1 to have a great 2009-10 school year!

Does anyone else think it's strange that he didn't mention that students who get kicked out of places like Shortridge and Broad Ripple are "punished" by being sent to Arlington and John Marshall?

So Sue Me

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is discussing a new law today that gives us teachers new immunity from lawsuits when they try to restore discipline and order in the classroom.

The immunity is qualified, which means you have to be doing your job for it to kick in. IPS B.S. is all for whatever it takes to put order in the classroom because students shouldn't have their education impeded because of one or two unruly kids.

But if the state is giving us new immunity, shouldn't the union lower our dues since we don't need their legal defense fund to protect us in this area?

The Check is in the Mail

Some employees will find that your payroll deposit has not been processed into your bank account. Your pay will be in your bank account tomorrow. This is not expected to be a ongoing problem -- it was a one-time occurrence. Thank you for your patience. We apologize for any inconvenience.


Mary Louise Bewley | Director
Office of School and Community Relations
Indianapolis Public Schools
120 E. Walnut St., Room 114 | Indianapolis, IN 46204
t. 317-226-4649| f. 317-226-4498 | bewleym@ips.k12.in.us

IPS is revolutionizing education! Discover the new IPS at www.ips.k12.in.us

Did you get your money?

Sandal Scandal???

Indy Star's Andy Gammil blogged Friday about a letter to the editor from a parent who complained about a teacher wearing sandals to work before school started.

Here is the letter...

It seems evident from the photo that ran with The Star's Aug. 12 back-to-school articles that Indianapolis Public Schools' dress codes do not extend to teachers. A teacher wearing sandals? IPS' restricted attire for students states: "No thongs/slippers/sandals/bare feet/exposed toes."A person who does not dress with authority will never be treated as an authority figure.

Here's the blog post...

A letter to the editor today criticized a teacher at School 31 pictured alongside a story this week wearing sandals. The letter writer notes, "A person who does not dress with authority will never be treated as an authority figure." He also refers to the IPS dress code for students, which bans sandals.

I visited with Ms. Amos and the other teachers at School 31 on Tuesday, the day before classes were starting. We wanted to check out how teachers were getting along in getting set up for the first day of school and what all was left to do. That's when the picture was taken.

I don't know whether the teachers at School 31 wear sandals during school, but this picture was taken on what was a workday with no students or parents in the building. Teachers were hauling boxes of textbooks from the school library and moving desks around in their classroom. If you visit most schools during set-up time, you'll find similar casual attire.

It's one thing to dress down when school is officially in session. It's another thing to dress down when you are moving boxes and getting ready for class. What do you think?

Any Surpises?

With the first few days of school under our belts, did you have any surprises, good or bad? IPS B.S. did have a parent step up who hasn't in the past with their other kids who've made their way my classroom. A nice surprise, I just hope it lasts and more of them do likewise.

What's Up With White?

Fellow IPS teachers, what's up with Dr. White? Do you agree with his statement the other day that the reason test scores were so bad because you don't know how to teach? Do you think you're a horrendous person? Do you think if a corporation got the same kind of results that Dr. White gets that he would still have a job? He told the same thing to the principals the day before. And he's giving the same line of crap to the elementary school teachers today. Dr. White needs to study his geography because it's clear he thinks denial is just a river in Egypt.

How Was Your Day?

Today is the first day of school. When you get home, let IPS B.S. know how you're day went.

We Have a Deal

In case you hadn't heard, 88% of us voted for the new contract. The IPS Board unanimously approved it. If you voted "yes" share your reasons why? Some teachers told IPS B.S. some deal is better than no deal. Do you agree?

Dear Dr. White

Eugene,

Thanks for mentioning this blog in your speech the other day. IPS B.S. is happy to know that you read it, or at least your staff does.

IPS B.S. thinks you should know that talking about this blog is all you will be able to do about it. It's not written on IPS time nor using IPS resources.

This is a forum for teachers and staff to get out the truth about the district without the B.S. filter that comes from your administration.

You can talk about IPS B.S. all you want, but that's all you will be able to do, is talk.

Love,

IPS B.S.

P.S. You should have asked the board to put a clothing allowance in your contract because your wardrobe is as tired as your rhetoric.

Week One

School starts this week. Share your thoughts. How are the students? What are your classroom conditions like? What did you have to pay out of pocket to get started? The list goes on. Also, feel free to give advice about what you do to make it through the first few days of class.

Up or Down?

As the details of our new contract offer surface, how do you plan to vote?

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. I need more details.
   

Poster Board

Since everyone can't make the meeting this afternoon, IPS B.S. wants you to use this board to share details and your opinion on what we've been offered. This is a chance for all of us to help each other make sound decisions.

Eugene Says Hi

Here is the message from the Superintendent's blog at the IPS website. Did he leave out anything?

On Aug. 12, students enrolled in traditional calendar schools will head back to school. They join their alternative calendar peers, who began the 2009-10 school year on July 20.

As always, I encourage men to bring children to school on the first day. I can’t stress enough how important it is for youngsters to see that the entire family values education. Moms have carried the burden of ensuring students get to school every day since public schools were first formed. Since I first started asking men to bring children to school four years ago, IPS schools have seen a rise in adult male participation. The message that men need to be more involved in their children’s education is being heard!

Thanks to our friends at the United Way, billboards are scattered around the city announcing our opening day and asking whether your kindergarten child is registered for school. This is a critical message. Youngsters can’t afford to miss even a single day of education.

If you need to register your child for school – no matter what age – visit one of our six Parent Information Centers. You’ll find a PIC center at Arlington, Arsenal Technical, Broad Ripple, Emmerich Manual and Northwest high schools, and at the Center Township Trustee’s Office, 863 Massachusetts Ave. PICs are open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. To enroll your child, bring his or her birth certificate, proof of immunizations, proof of your address (such as a lease or utility bill) and your license or other form of identification.

IPS has big plans for this school year. Please visit this space weekly to learn more about how we intend to improve education in our school system.

Countdown

IPS' traditional calender start next week. What are you doing to get ready for it? If you're at Arlington have you gotten fitted for your bulletproof vest?

UNCLE IPS B.S. WANTS YOU

Fellow IPS Teachers, IPS B.S. has to leave town Friday for family commitments and can't make the meeting Friday Arsenal Tech on our contract. So IPS B.S. needs you to be our eyes and ears. Use your phones or Blackberries to e-mail IPS B.S. the details and the disposition of our fellow teachers. You can either send your messages to ipsbs@hotmail.com or post on open forum IPS B.S. will create that day. We need to get the word out about what's going on.

IPS FUBAR

Matt Tully wrote a great article Friday about the idiots who run our school district. They can't even put up a playground, how in the hell can they run a school district?

The frustrated parents at Sidener Academy aren't asking for much.

Just a playground -- a place for their kids to burn off steam, have fun and get a bit of exercise.

That's all.

It seems like a reasonable request. Sidener is an elementary school, after all, and playgrounds are as fundamental to elementary school as chalkboards and water fountains. But at Sidener, an IPS magnet school near Glendale Town Center, a playground is not elementary.

Take a look at the grassy grounds behind the school and all you'll see is an old soccer net and, on one recent afternoon, a flock of geese.

"All the kids pretty much say recess is boring because there's nothing to play on," Rebecca Klein, president of the Sidener parents association, told me last week. "This isn't just that they're bored; there is also a real need to have activities for them that help with their physical health."


Klein leads a group of parents that has spent a year pushing IPS to provide their children's school with playground equipment. They've asked. They've pleaded. They've waited.

But as Sidener prepares to begin its second year as an elementary magnet serving high-performing students, parents recently learned that IPS will not outfit the school with the climbing walls, sky towers and other playground equipment they sought. So the parents are trying to raise the $7,500 needed to partner with KaBOOM!, a nonprofit group that builds playgrounds.

"It's kind of crazy for the parents at a really small school to have to raise this kind of money," said Klein, whose daughter will enter third grade this year.

Sidener's size indeed makes it hard to raise bucks. It will have only 233 students when classes begin later this month. Nearly three-quarters of the students come from families who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Still, parents are trying. An art auction will be held at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Zest, a restaurant at 1134 E. 54th St. Other ideas also are being developed.

The playground problem started when the building housing Sidener transitioned a few years ago from a standard elementary school to a middle school. As older students arrived, playground equipment was transferred to other elementaries.

Last year, Sidener opened as part of the district's magnet program. A year in, parents are ecstatic about the school, which saw nearly 99 percent of its students pass ISTEP last year. That's 25 percentage points better than the state average.


Still, there is that one issue.

"A playground is part of what is expected at an elementary school," Principal James Whisler said. "It's part of the curriculum. Our (physical education) teacher can use playground equipment to build students' motor skills, cognitive skills and social skills."

Not yet.

IPS recently announced plans to spend $675,000 to sprinkle new electronic signs throughout the district. But you can't play on signs. And for now, Sidener students have nothing to play on.

We Have A Deal?

IPS B.S. got an e-mail today saying he have a deal with IPS. Anybody else hear anything similar?