That easily is Sarah Bogard at Tech. It is obvious that Eugene is giving that position to his son so the change might just as well happen ASAP. Tech is a mess and doesn't have to be. Too bad that Eugene won't let Jeff White come back to Tech and straighten it out. That would end the violence and nonsense going on there.
Off the subject but well worth space on this blog regarding Police Sgt. Mark Driskell at BRHS. A young man was saved by the quick action of our IPS police sargent. Today's Star wrote a great column. I'm sure many heard about last week, and it's good to know the student is doing well.
Why laugh? He could turn that place around inside of two years. Sounds like his former boss is commenting on this blog again.
Change is hard and can be painful but he was a catalyst for change at Marshall. He turned the place around and is reverting back to the way it used to be now. Nobody understood or accepted that he got screwed.
To everyone: Eugene White has an ego bigger than Lucas Oil Stadium and Jeff White an ego the size of Conseco Fieldhouse. Both are two proud to pick up a damn phone and call each other to get change going again. A board member needs to intervene and tell them to stop fighting. Jeff, I know you read this blog!! You are wrong for fighting old folks too much.
Sigh. I'll check back in a few days and see if we're having a grown-up conversation yet. Ever once in a while we have one and then the nonsense starts back up. The common consensus is that it's just one or two people that like to do the personal insults and name dropping (after all, how many educated adults would possibly participate in that?) Either way, I agree with those who think it's embarassing. I know most IPS teachers already know the truth, but I always worry that a regular parent or citizen is going to think we all actually think and act like this.
Hey, let's go a step further. Let's start posting teachers names who have to go! Let's start making comments about their personal lives and making fun of the way they dress and talk and how incompetent they are. C'mon. This will be fun.
My God, ok, I am overweight, middle aged, and I have gray hair. But I am in the classroom daily and trying my best to reach my students in the highest ability. I might have some hearing loss in the right ear, but I am working with a difficult group of students.
This topic strand could only incite hateful and ugly responses...isn't there anything better to discuss? If nothing else, how about something like "kids say the darnest things" where we could at least have some chuckles over classroom experiences...
I completely agree with the above post! I've even got a starter. I had a student in my class once make the argument that if everyone in the class thinks tests should be open book, then they should be. I responded good naturedly that my class was not a democracy, it was a benovolent dictatorship. Several months later, the same student mentioned something else in which I had gone against the classroom wishes. Before I could repeat my spiel, the student said, "I know, I know, you're malevolent monarchy." I laughed and told the student that was close enough!
You are right, before you can even think about what principals should go, what makes a good principal should be discussed, and all of these principals have some of the qualities of a good principal. It has been said that a good principal is not an authoritarian, or permissive but authoritative. Which principals are authoritative? Which principals can you go to with a problem or idea and expect of get a helpful or thoughtful response?
Minetta Richardson is a first-class administrator...she is dedicated, organized, above reproach...she is approachable, expected the best from her staff and gave her best. A real asset to IPS.
All IPS high schools (with the exceptions of Shortridge, Attucks, Marshall) will lose an Assistant Principal shortly. The Principal of the high school will have to decide which Asst. Principal will be the one to go.
Minnetta Richardson was a regional director at one point, I was also impressed by her work ethic and fairness. She seemed to make student centered decisions.
"All IPS high schools (with the exceptions of Shortridge, Attucks, Marshall) will lose an Assistant Principal shortly. The Principal of the high school will have to decide which Asst. Principal will be the one to go." QUOTE
I have heard the same thing. So which assistant principals will be selected to leave by their principals?
From Arlington? From Manual? From Northwest? From Tech? From Howe?
Of course, Justin Hunter leaves you alone. He goes on 2 week religious retreats and you don't see him. Maybe more of the principals need to go on religious retreats.
Yes, Kamona McDowell needs to go. It doesn't matter how many complaints or greivances or people leave her building, she still remains. So let's move on, as I said befor, Why isn't anyone talking about the new board polices that are trying to be rammed down our throats? Dr. Johnson sent out an e-mail in Nov. containing these docs. Principals are to report back on Dec. 10th with comments from staff. If you have not read these "proposed" policies yet, you will be in for a big shock! They appear to me to be yet another way to do an end run around the union, seniority, fair pay, etc. They will put even more power in the hands of our prinicpals. Check your e-mails for Nov 25th, "import updates" for Dr. Johnson. Check your trash. If these go thru, which they prob will considering our current school board, all ips tchrs will be impacted. Put the power of budget and human resources in the hands of principals? Hidden meaning, any principal will have total control of hiring and firing without due process? Remove printers from home rooms and place them in a central location? Hmmm, let's see, "Class, let me give you a topic to discuss while I go to a central location to get the copy of this 6 step discipline report. How about the Russion Revolution and it's social implications. Okay, 5th graders, discuss amongst yourselves, and I'll be right back." While some ideas might make sense, I believe the true hidden agenda is to do away with our current system and replace it with one that will include, what is actually merit pay. Do we really want to put teachers in an a position in which they must compete against each other, rather than help and share materials? Believe me, when money is involved, most people will be out only for themselves. Don't believe it? Talk to any salesman who competes for his pay! It quickly becomes very cut-throat, not collaberative. If we really want things to change, we must act now. We must file complaints against our abusive principals. We must alert the media! Come on, people, wake up!
If IPS touts itself as being a data-driven school district, then why not release those principals whose schools consistently post failing scrimmage scores and Benchmark scores (failing equals 50% or lower)? The school principal is first and foremost an instructional leader; therefore, if he can't lead his school steadily toward academic proficiency, then it is time for him to go.
This method would remove the personal factor of who's a good buddy of the Ed Center folks and would provide an objective measure of a principal's performance. Let the numbers make the decision.
I think that's as unfair for principals as it is for teachers. We can't control what happened before us and if a child is quite behind at the start. It's crazy to expect several years of achievement from a student who is behind while not expecting much of anything from high-ability students. Any kind of merit-based system, whether its for teachers or principals, must consider progress not simply who is at grade level or not. Otherwise, really crappy teachers and principals could skate by beautifully as long as they have "the good kids" and wonderful teachers and principals would be fired even while performing miracles with the toughest kids.
Cythnia Perkins at Tech still doesn't know what time it is and still disappears for long periods of time when she is unreachable by cell phone or her radio....Where does she go? What does she do? Staff at Tech has always assumed that she had another job that she was working while on the clock for IPS.
I think the VP statement several posts up needs some more backup. I know my school is about to get a new VP but will still have 2. Why go through the trouble just to have to fire someone immediately?
"Kamona" McDowell!! is the worst principal "ever" :-) She demeans her staff, cheats on the ISTEP, and worries more about who brought what to the Christmas pitch-in than to the safety of the building. PLus, she puts quotation marks around words that don't need them and uses exclamation marks and smiley faces waaaay too much. "Have" a !!! great "night!" :-)
Maximizing our time is key. Now, in order for you to do this, I need you to sit outside of my office for at least an hour and wait for me to call you in. When I call you in, I will berate you for not maximizing your time while waiting on me.
Kamona McDowell cheated on ISTEP and somehow managed to come back to school and verbally abuse her staff. She also told us a few years back - after a very negative climate audit - that she was not the problem in the school. It was Satan in all of us.
I don't know what you people are thinking Robert Guffin Rocks and is one of the best principals I have ever worked for and really backs you! Great man! ;)
Differentiated Accountability coach...nobody knows what she is suppose to be doing. She makes up scrimmages, grades them, and hounds teachers about how poorly their students did on them.
Ummm. Hello- we all know that Hunter's "girl" isnt a teacher! She has a degree but is to scared to actually work unless her man is there to protect her. 15 could be a great place if Hunter could realize what she does in regards to flaunting her privledges.
Alexis Johnson at School 44 is unprofessional, disrespectful, inept, disorganized, memory-challenged, dishonest, manipulative, vindictive, and haughty. She demeans staff, refuses to place things in writing because, in her words, she doesn't want a paper trail, and can't spell or write grammatically correct material. Last year the school lost nearly a third of it's staff in the first 4 months because of her. This year, 7 staff members left in the first 6 weeks because of her tactics. It's sad and unacceptable. Subs come to the school already warned about how horrible it is. Many will not return. No intelligent, successful principal wants to come to this school as it's reputation precedes itself.
My husband already received his pink slip. I do not know what will be worse losing his job or trying to be the only VP in the buidling. He already gets to school by 6:30am and does not leave school until after 6:00pm and does paperwork at home on the weekends. How will he do the duties of two VPs?
I know that there are admin folks that do not pull their weight and treat the staff badly. My husband has been on the receiving end of it - he was a teacher too and not many years ago. He tries to remember that principal really stand for principal teacher. He tries to lead by example. If we are looking for perfection we will always be disappointed.
This week lets try to be good to each other. I know we can come up with many reasons not to but try in spite of it all. Maybe instead of paying it forward we treat each other forward.
Maybe instead of posting about the crap that happens we post about the amazing kid that keeps us going.
That easily is Sarah Bogard at Tech. It is obvious that Eugene is giving that position to his son so the change might just as well happen ASAP. Tech is a mess and doesn't have to be. Too bad that Eugene won't let Jeff White come back to Tech and straighten it out. That would end the violence and nonsense going on there.
ReplyDeleteL.Y.
ReplyDeleteLMAO over the Jeff White comment.
ReplyDeleteOff the subject but well worth space on this blog regarding Police Sgt. Mark Driskell at BRHS. A young man was saved by the quick action of our IPS police sargent. Today's Star wrote a great column.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure many heard about last week, and it's good to know the student is doing well.
Yvonne Rambo and Robert Guffin
ReplyDeletere: "LMAO over the Jeff White comment."
ReplyDeleteWhy laugh? He could turn that place around inside of two years. Sounds like his former boss is commenting on this blog again.
Change is hard and can be painful but he was a catalyst for change at Marshall. He turned the place around and is reverting back to the way it used to be now. Nobody understood or accepted that he got screwed.
To everyone: Eugene White has an ego bigger than Lucas Oil Stadium and Jeff White an ego the size of Conseco Fieldhouse. Both are two proud to pick up a damn phone and call each other to get change going again. A board member needs to intervene and tell them to stop fighting. Jeff, I know you read this blog!! You are wrong for fighting old folks too much.
ReplyDeleteBetty Beene just because she is ancient and she lets her secretary run her school building.
ReplyDeleteBorgard and Yarrell have to go. Overpaid and overrated
ReplyDeleteMontinia Donald - #63 - a joke
ReplyDeleteLinda Davis - BRHS
Brandon Cosby - Shortridge
Kamona McDowell - #43
Quit picking on Larry Yarrel. He is the best shemale principal in IPS.
ReplyDeleteLarry Yarrell, aka George Jefferson, needs to go for yelling and berating teachers ove the PA system too much.
ReplyDeleteLMAO at George Jefferson comment. Is Prudence Bridgewaters Mother Jefferson???
ReplyDeleteDon't insult Mother Jerrerson!
ReplyDeleteEarlier Bridgewaters was compared to Ed Asner.....closer to the truth...................
ReplyDeleteYvonne Rambo
ReplyDeleteSigh. I'll check back in a few days and see if we're having a grown-up conversation yet. Ever once in a while we have one and then the nonsense starts back up. The common consensus is that it's just one or two people that like to do the personal insults and name dropping (after all, how many educated adults would possibly participate in that?) Either way, I agree with those who think it's embarassing. I know most IPS teachers already know the truth, but I always worry that a regular parent or citizen is going to think we all actually think and act like this.
ReplyDeleteKamona McDowell at #43 needs to go. Numerous teachers have left in the last 3 years because of her. Unfortunately, she is one of the "Protected Gals".
ReplyDeleteLinda Davis, she almost broke her office chair during the student's heart attack and then wants teachers to fudge on students grades!
ReplyDeleteHey, let's go a step further. Let's start posting teachers names who have to go! Let's start making comments about their personal lives and making fun of the way they dress and talk and how incompetent they are. C'mon. This will be fun.
ReplyDeleteMy God, ok, I am overweight, middle aged, and I have gray hair. But I am in the classroom daily and trying my best to reach my students in the highest ability. I might have some hearing loss in the right ear, but I am working with a difficult group of students.
ReplyDeleteLarry Yarrell is involved in the school. He does not hide in his office as many principals do. Don't knock him unless you have been elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThis topic strand could only incite hateful and ugly responses...isn't there anything better to discuss? If nothing else, how about something like "kids say the darnest things" where we could at least have some chuckles over classroom experiences...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the above post! I've even got a starter. I had a student in my class once make the argument that if everyone in the class thinks tests should be open book, then they should be. I responded good naturedly that my class was not a democracy, it was a benovolent dictatorship. Several months later, the same student mentioned something else in which I had gone against the classroom wishes. Before I could repeat my spiel, the student said, "I know, I know, you're malevolent monarchy." I laughed and told the student that was close enough!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, before you can even think about what principals should go, what makes a good principal should be discussed, and all of these principals have some of the qualities of a good principal. It has been said that a good principal is not an authoritarian, or permissive but authoritative. Which principals are authoritative? Which principals can you go to with a problem or idea and expect of get a helpful or thoughtful response?
ReplyDeleteI personally like Justin Hunter. He is fair and leaves you alone if you are doing your jod.
ReplyDeleteHigh task. High relationship. Those are the qualities of any good leader.
ReplyDeleteMinetta Richardson is a first-class administrator...she is dedicated, organized, above reproach...she is approachable, expected the best from her staff and gave her best. A real asset to IPS.
ReplyDeleteAll IPS high schools (with the exceptions of Shortridge, Attucks, Marshall) will lose an Assistant Principal shortly. The Principal of the high school will have to decide which Asst. Principal will be the one to go.
ReplyDeleteMinnetta Richardson was a regional director at one point, I was also impressed by her work ethic and fairness. She seemed to make student centered decisions.
ReplyDelete"All IPS high schools (with the exceptions of Shortridge, Attucks, Marshall) will lose an Assistant Principal shortly. The Principal of the high school will have to decide which Asst. Principal will be the one to go." QUOTE
ReplyDeleteI have heard the same thing. So which assistant principals will be selected to leave by their principals?
From Arlington?
From Manual?
From Northwest?
From Tech?
From Howe?
Of course, Justin Hunter leaves you alone. He goes on 2 week religious retreats and you don't see him. Maybe more of the principals need to go on religious retreats.
ReplyDelete====So which assistant principals will be selected to leave by their principals?====
ReplyDeleteArlington --- K. Phelps
Yes, Kamona McDowell needs to go. It doesn't matter how many complaints or greivances or people leave her building, she still remains. So let's move on, as I said befor, Why isn't anyone talking about the new board polices that are trying to be rammed down our throats? Dr. Johnson sent out an e-mail in Nov. containing these docs. Principals are to report back on Dec. 10th with comments from staff. If you have not read these "proposed" policies yet, you will be in for a big shock! They appear to me to be yet another way to do an end run around the union, seniority, fair pay, etc. They will put even more power in the hands of our prinicpals. Check your e-mails for Nov 25th, "import updates" for Dr. Johnson. Check your trash. If these go thru, which they prob will considering our current school board, all ips tchrs will be impacted. Put the power of budget and human resources in the hands of principals? Hidden meaning, any principal will have total control of hiring and firing without due process? Remove printers from home rooms and place them in a central location? Hmmm, let's see, "Class, let me give you a topic to discuss while I go to a central location to get the copy of this 6 step discipline report. How about the Russion Revolution and it's social implications. Okay, 5th graders, discuss amongst yourselves, and I'll be right back." While some ideas might make sense, I believe the true hidden agenda is to do away with our current system and replace it with one that will include, what is actually merit pay. Do we really want to put teachers in an a position in which they must compete against each other, rather than help and share materials? Believe me, when money is involved, most people will be out only for themselves. Don't believe it? Talk to any salesman who competes for his pay! It quickly becomes very cut-throat, not collaberative. If we really want things to change, we must act now. We must file complaints against our abusive principals. We must alert the media! Come on, people, wake up!
ReplyDeleteIf IPS touts itself as being a data-driven school district, then why not release those principals whose schools consistently post failing scrimmage scores and Benchmark scores (failing equals 50% or lower)? The school principal is first and foremost an instructional leader; therefore, if he can't lead his school steadily toward academic proficiency, then it is time for him to go.
ReplyDeleteThis method would remove the personal factor of who's a good buddy of the Ed Center folks and would provide an objective measure of a principal's performance. Let the numbers make the decision.
I think that's as unfair for principals as it is for teachers. We can't control what happened before us and if a child is quite behind at the start. It's crazy to expect several years of achievement from a student who is behind while not expecting much of anything from high-ability students. Any kind of merit-based system, whether its for teachers or principals, must consider progress not simply who is at grade level or not. Otherwise, really crappy teachers and principals could skate by beautifully as long as they have "the good kids" and wonderful teachers and principals would be fired even while performing miracles with the toughest kids.
ReplyDeleteCythnia Perkins at Tech still doesn't know what time it is and still disappears for long periods of time when she is unreachable by cell phone or her radio....Where does she go? What does she do?
ReplyDeleteStaff at Tech has always assumed that she had another job that she was working while on the clock for IPS.
I think the VP statement several posts up needs some more backup. I know my school is about to get a new VP but will still have 2. Why go through the trouble just to have to fire someone immediately?
ReplyDelete"Kamona" McDowell!! is the worst principal "ever" :-) She demeans her staff, cheats on the ISTEP, and worries more about who brought what to the Christmas pitch-in than to the safety of the building. PLus, she puts quotation marks around words that don't need them and uses exclamation marks and smiley faces waaaay too much. "Have" a !!! great "night!" :-)
ReplyDeleteMaximizing our time is key. Now, in order for you to do this, I need you to sit outside of my office for at least an hour and wait for me to call you in. When I call you in, I will berate you for not maximizing your time while waiting on me.
ReplyDeleteKamona McDowell cheated on ISTEP and somehow managed to come back to school and verbally abuse her staff.
ReplyDeleteShe also told us a few years back - after a very negative climate audit - that she was not the problem in the school. It was Satan in all of us.
I thought that Satan was only in the Jewish people at 43 (at least, according to Kamona, not me!)
ReplyDeleteMerit pay will only cause some teachers to cheat.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you people are thinking Robert Guffin Rocks and is one of the best principals I have ever worked for and really backs you! Great man! ;)
ReplyDeleteMy mind isn't made up yet about the principal, but there is a DA coach at 15 that needs to go. She thinks she's a principal.
ReplyDeleteDA Coach? What's that? Is that what the coach at 99 is called? Whatever she's called, she does nothing.
ReplyDeleteDifferentiated Accountability coach...nobody knows what she is suppose to be doing. She makes up scrimmages, grades them, and hounds teachers about how poorly their students did on them.
ReplyDeleteOne teacher at school #15 gets a lot of attention and special treatment from Mr. Hunter, the principal. I wonder why she gets such special treatment.
ReplyDeleteAnd what teacher would that be?
ReplyDeleteI heard that principals will get their walking papers on the 14th day of December. I hope Kami Phelps is packing up her desk.
ReplyDeleteI worked for two good principals in IPS: Diana Gunnell and Chad Gray.
ReplyDeleteAll of the staff at #15 knows who she is and why she is granted special favors.
ReplyDeleteThe beatings will continue until morale gets better!
ReplyDeleteIPS administration
ok.. I dont know... can we get intials?? LOL
ReplyDeleteI agree that Chad Gray is an excellent principal. He's very approachable and not given to temper tantrums. He's refreshing!
ReplyDeleteUmmm. Hello- we all know that Hunter's "girl" isnt a teacher! She has a degree but is to scared to actually work unless her man is there to protect her. 15 could be a great place if Hunter could realize what she does in regards to flaunting her privledges.
ReplyDeleteI like Burke at Washington. He treats people with respect.
ReplyDeleteAlexis Johnson at School 44 is unprofessional, disrespectful, inept, disorganized, memory-challenged, dishonest, manipulative, vindictive, and haughty. She demeans staff, refuses to place things in writing because, in her words, she doesn't want a paper trail, and can't spell or write grammatically correct material. Last year the school lost nearly a third of it's staff in the first 4 months because of her. This year, 7 staff members left in the first 6 weeks because of her tactics. It's sad and unacceptable. Subs come to the school already warned about how horrible it is. Many will not return. No intelligent, successful principal wants to come to this school as it's reputation precedes itself.
ReplyDeleteShould be intersting considering today is suppose to be the day that administrator get their pink slips.
ReplyDeleteMy husband already received his pink slip. I do not know what will be worse losing his job or trying to be the only VP in the buidling. He already gets to school by 6:30am and does not leave school until after 6:00pm and does paperwork at home on the weekends. How will he do the duties of two VPs?
ReplyDeleteI know that there are admin folks that do not pull their weight and treat the staff badly. My husband has been on the receiving end of it - he was a teacher too and not many years ago. He tries to remember that principal really stand for principal teacher. He tries to lead by example. If we are looking for perfection we will always be disappointed.
This week lets try to be good to each other. I know we can come up with many reasons not to but try in spite of it all. Maybe instead of paying it forward we treat each other forward.
Maybe instead of posting about the crap that happens we post about the amazing kid that keeps us going.
Ditto on A.J.!
ReplyDeleteGood principal at#60 Melissa Richards.
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never, Brian Sappenfield at 107 is doing a good job in his first year.
ReplyDeleteWHAT HAS IEA DONE ABOUT THE REAPPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS FROM WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
ReplyDeleteIPS 96 has a fine staff and student body....be glad when they get a good Principal......
ReplyDelete