Hard Days Night

Did anyone see Eugene White on Channel 6 news tonight talking about a longer school day and school year? Do you think we need one, or the other or both? Or should we just rearrange the calender to eliminate summer vacation? If we spend more time in school where will the money come from?

Question of the Day?

IPS B.S. has been out sick for a few days. While recovering, we had time to reflect on the District and its policies. So here is the question of the day?

Which IPS policies are good for kids and which ones are harming them?

IPS Pay Problems Make News

Andy Gammill has written about IPS' pay problems.

If you hang around IPS teachers much, you most certainly have been hearing about payroll glitches that have been disrupting their lives for the last few pay periods. The district recently installed a new accounting system and has been working through glitches, including some that would definitely get your payday off to the wrong start if you're an employee.

The biggest problem is that some people's pay doesn't get direct deposited into their accounts as expected or comes in at the wrong amount, said Mary Louise Bewley, a district spokeswoman. Those that get too much money will be required to give it back, and those that get too little get a check to make up the difference, she said.

Those who have not gotten paid or who have been shorted have either gotten a check that day at their job site or have requested that one be mailed to them instead, Bewley said.

"We have implemented a new payroll system, and we are just working through some kinks," she said. "When any new system is put in place in a new organization like this we expect there will be some issues."

The problems have affected less than 3 percent of IPS employees, Bewley said. They are sporadic, however, and people who had encountered no problems for several pay periods may then suddenly have issues. The largest concentration came last Friday, when about 80 teachers at Broad Ripple High School had issues with their checks.

Anyone think things will change soon?

Thought for the Day

Here's a thought for some of you. Is the reason IPS only lost 300 students this year is because of the economy and fewer people could afford to move out of the District? If you look at the white flight of the 1980s and the black flight of the 1990s, both happened during good economic times.

IPS has been losing about 1,000 students a year for the past few years, but that also occurred when the economy was humming along. Now the economy is so bad, a lot of people can barely afford to keep their homes, much less move into a new one, so they stay put.

So is the bad economy good for IPS? What do you think?

Figures Lie and Liars Figure

IPS administrators say the District only lost 300 students this year, but IPS B.S. is hearing a different story.

Dozens of teachers have been talking about how IPS changed the math and if teacher failed to mark a student absent, they were counted as present for the whole day. Second, the day before ADM, Thursday, children had to be marked with a "1" so they could be counted as present. And then you add on the fact teachers were pulled out of class for professional development the cadres were responsible for taking attendance. Anyone else see a possible conspiracy here?

Countdown

We all know what today is in IPS. How many of your students showed up?

The Check Is In The Mail, Not!

Employees,

Unfortunately, we have continued to experience issues with MUNIS, the new computer system. The MUNIS vendor has, however, identified a programming error, and the IT Department has input the "fix." The programming problem has not in any way affected the amount of your paychecks but has caused some delays in payments to third parties for which you authorize deductions. You can use your quarterly statements to confirm that all appropriate payments have been made on your behalf.

Please detail issues or concerns with your payroll in an email. Forward it to deductions@ips.k12.in.us. The appropriate representative will respond to your concerns upon receipt.

We certainly do appreciate you patience.

Jane Hart-Ajabu

Look Here!

Wanna see some ISTEP test scores? Click here!

Kudos To School #2

IPS' Center For Inquiry was named a blue ribbon school by the Department of Education. Kudos to all the teachers who work there. It would be nice if the rest of IPS could be like that.

IPS Fails ISTEP!!!

This just in! IPS' ISTEP tests results are horrible! Heads are going to roll! Who should be held accountable?

Call Me

IPS B.S. hasn't gotten an e-mail from you in a while. Let us know what's going on in your school that the administration doesn't want anyone to know about. You can reach us at "ipsbs@hotmail.com" Spread the word.

More Pay Problems

Word is trickling out that there were more pay problems Friday. Let IPS B.S. know if you were affected.

9-11 Lessons

Did you talk to your students about 9-11 today? We used it to have a good discussion in class. How about you?

Shake Em Up

Anyone hear about the big shake up that's reportedly coming down the pike at the Central Office later this year? The ISTEP scores are supposedly really dismal and some folks are getting fired.

Good Housekeeping

There's a question about whether IP addresses can be determined from this blog, the short answer, "no."

IPS B.S. doesn't keep track of that information.

It's just the administration trying to divide us again.

They should be talking about the next big pay screw up that is coming.

New Model or Same Old S****?

By MIKE SMITH
AP Political Writer

September 2 2009, 4:50 PM CDT

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Department of Education wants to change the way school
accountability is evaluated, with more emphasis on how students improve over the
years instead of focusing mostly on how schools perform on a yearly basis.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-schoolaccountabil,0,7194296.story

Should we change the way we evaluate students? Should we look at schools instead of students?

From the Comment Section

"President Obama will be speaking on Tuesday, September 8 to schoolchildren. His remarks will be carried live from noon to 12:30 on IPS Television Channel 11. It is up to teachers to decide if they would like to participate in this event." (Copy and paste from today's 1:22 PM email message from Mary Louise Bewley)

Who is planning to watch this broadcast with their classes? Who is not planning to watch this broadcast? What are your thoughts about this upcoming broadcast?

Has anyone seen the lesson plans that supposedly accompany this video broadcast from President Obama?

Why Teach?

This Labor Day weekend is a time to think about your job? Why did you get into teaching? Is it what you thought it would be? If you could get another job would you?

Anyone Seen Doris?

Has anyone seen Doris Minton-McNeil?

Makes You Sick

Do IPS School Board members get paid health insurance through the District? Someone should find out and report back!