Happy New Year

We hope you have a good 2011. What's your New Year's resolution? Ours is to do the best job possible in the classroom, despite the best efforts of the Central Office.

Cheaters?

Did you see the comment in yesterday's post about 70 teachers called down to the Central Office? It turns out IPS is potentially sitting on a major cheating scandal when it comes to ISTEP testing and that's why they were called downtown. Throw this on top of manipulating graduation rates so Eugene can get a bonus, and are you surprised IPS has the reputation that it does?

Did IPS Screw Itself?

If IPS was hoping that the "improving" graduation rates would stave off a state takeover, forget it! The state is supposedly really ticked off that IPS might have manipulated its graduation rates to make things look better and that's just motivated them more to take over part of the district. Hope you like your new bosses; Mitch Daniels and Tony Bennett.

Did You Get a "Thank You"?

IPS' graduation rates are up. Did anyone thank you for your hard work?

Lay off the layoffs!

Don't believe the Central Office when they say they are laying off administrators. Here is what really is going to happen.

IPS is going to move about 150 administrators to the Ed center to make it look like they are eliminating administrative positions. The administrators will have title changes and all cadres and some classroom educators will be laid off and placed on the displaced list for possible call back.

You will still be out of job, but Eugene and his cronies will still get a check.

How Do You Feel?

Notices are going out that a lot of us are going to lose our jobs, meanwhile Eugene is getting a bonus! How does that make you feel?

We're Sorry

IPS B.S. wants to apologize to you for not keeping up on our blogging lately. We know there's a lot to talk about, but we've been tied up with lots things in our personal lives. We will strive to do better.

Know Nothing

IPS B.S. has been taking care of sick kids for a few days so it hasn't had time to post. But that hasn't stopped Eugene White from saying stupid things. He was asked recently in an interview to name one school that was a model of excellence in the district and he couldn't come up with one. He was also asked which teachers or administrators were top notch. His answer, he didn't know. Don't you feel inspired by this type of leadership? We sure do.

Judgment Day

We had a fun discussion around the dinner table this Thanksgiving. IPS B.S. comes from a family of educators and the big questions were about teacher performance. Would more money make you a better teacher and would you rather be judged by your district's performance, building's performance or classroom performance? The answers were all over the place. What do you think?

A Watch or A Warning

Indiana School Data Released Today:

There are 21 individual Indiana public schools which have been on Academic Probation for 5 consecutive years.

Of that 21, seven (7) are IPS schools.

Six Indiana public schools have been on Academic Probation for 4 consecutive years. Three out of those six schools are IPS schools.

Link to IDOE data released Tuesday:

Five years on Probation --- http://www.doe.in.gov/pl221/2010/Probation_Year_Five.xls

Four years on Probation --- http://www.doe.in.gov/pl221/2010/Probation_Year_Four.xls

Residency Requirement

Have you heard there are plans being drafted as part of "reform" that will require ALL new IPS teachers to live in the IPS District.

What Do You Think?

1. What do you think about IPS' "year-round" school plan that really isn't a year-round school plan?

2. What do you think about the Lee Tibbetts molestation lawsuit?

3. What do you think about all the recent news surrounding school bullying?

What do you think?

High School High

Does Eugene really want to open another high school when IPS just lost another 1,000 students? Is he high?

Stuperintendent White

Did anyone hear about Eugene's performance today in front of a group of lawyers? He was horrible.

• He said 270 teachers were getting laid off.
• He said IPS' problems stemmed from the IPS police force.
• No one could understand what he was saying.
• He talked about the shooting after a Tech game two weeks ago.
• He also blamed IPS' problems s on charter schools.
• He justified his salaries and the other administrators.

He was a real piece of work.

Did You See This?

Principals at Indianapolis Public Schools’ five underperforming high schools received six-figure salaries and generous raises in 2009-10, despite a dire budget situation that forced the district to cut teaching positions and student programs.

The salaries are even more disturbing in the context of recent comments made by IPS Superintendent Eugene White, who estimated that 60 percent of the teachers at those five high schools are ineffective, and blamed administrators for their failure.

“The teachers’ unions do get blamed for bad teachers,” White told the Inidanapolis Business Journal in a story published last week. “But the real, real, real fact of the matter is that bad teachers exist because administrators fail to properly supervise them.”

Yet for some reason, IPS rewards that type of administrative incompetence.

Principals at IPS’s five struggling high schools all received salaries of at least $100,000 in 2009-10. They are Richard Grismore, Emmerich Manual High School, $108,000; Jethroe Knazzle, Arlington Community High School, $107,000; Lawrence Yarrell, Northwest High School, $105,000; Stephanie Nixon, Thomas Carr Howe High School, $102,000; and Deborah Leser, George Washington Community High School, $101,000.

Each principal received pay increases in 2009-10, ranging from 3 to 14 percent. All of them, as well as 43 other IPS administrators, rake in more than Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who earns $95,000 per year.

Where's your raise?

More Firings!

Have you heard ? There are more firings on the way and this time it's principals. What are you hearing out there?

More Bad News

Not only is IPS closing two more schools, but Eugene White showed his ass at the Waiting for Superman discussion last month.

Music star John Legend pointed to Zionsville as a successful school district. White told Legend he didn't know what he was talking about and should stick to playing music.

If White wants to point a finger at someone who doesn't know to run a school district he should go stand in front of a mirror.

Rejection!!!

Did any of you hear the Administration submitted its plan for school improvement to the State and the State told them it sucked. Get ready for the takeover.

Is IPS Finished?

Now that the Republicans control the Indiana General Assembly, is IPS finished as we know it?

Happy Halloween!!!

Because there is nothing more scary than Eugene White and Mary Busch.

Click here and watch what happens.

You're Fired! Again!

If you teach in IPS and have less than two years in the system start looking for another job. You won't be here next year.

You're Fired!

Does anyone know or have details about the teachers who were fired at John Marshall?

Empty Chairs

The paper reported more than 1,600 students were not allowed in school today for failure to provide for proof of immunizations. How many students were you missing today?

IPS; The Movie?

One of the Heartland Film Festivals said on the radio Friday she wants to make a movie about IPS and Dr. White. If you were the head of central casting who would play Dr. White and who would play the school board and the IPS staff? Don't hold back.

Straight From Facebook

IPS B.S. just got this taken from Board member Annie Roof's Facebook page. Are you surprised we're losing students and the state is going to take us over?

His ideas are fine, but his comments are what hurt us. I took this off someone's facebook status, "Went to the 2nd meeting with Dr. White regarding the proposed year round schedule... A woman mentioned that if this proposal goes through, her neighbor said that they would leave Indianapolis. Dr. White's...response..... GOOD." This is not good........

Roll Over

Has anyone else heard IPS is waiving the white flag of surrender to the State and getting ready to give up control of several of its schools?

Principal Abuse

IPS BS is hearing a lot about some principals verbally abusing teachers and students. What are you seeing or hearing in your school?

More Teacher Firings

You should get ready for this. Since IPS lost 950 students, plans are being drawn to fire more teachers, but the administrators will still get to stay because they have to oversee programs. Makes you feel proud to be part of IPS, doesn't it?

Done Deal

You all should know year-round school is a done deal. The "hearings" are a joke. Just wait and see.

Year-Round School

Mary Louise says they want to make a decision on year-round by school by the end of this year. What do you think?

Fill in the Blank...

Eugene White is _________________________.

Put 2 and 2 together

Think about this. About a month ago IPS was turning away kids on the first day of school because they hadn't pre-enrolled and the school district was going to report them to the child police. Now the school district is short close to a 1000 kids. Anyone else think there might be a connection?

A New Deal

Have you heard Eugene White wants to extend his contract for another year with IPS? Maybe he really wants those tickets to the Super Bowl.

Lost

Did you hear IPS lost more than 900 students? At about $8,500 each that's $7.6 million in funding out the door.

Technical Difficulties

IPS B.S. had a technical glitch yesterday and put up the draft title of an old post. It was about Dr. White threatening the principals and any staff members who spoke to any board member without his permission. We apologize for the error.

Shot Clock

The deadline is fast approaching for students to have their vaccinations complete. How many students are you expecting to lose because they didn't get their shots?

IPS' For the Taking

Did you see tonight that IPS is going to move forward with taking private property? What are we teaching our students? This is as bad as board members who don't read the budgets and Eugene setting aside funds so Central Office staff can go to the Super Bowl in 2012.

Summer Disadvantage

Did anyone read about IPS' missed opportunity this past summer? It would have been great, but we have leadership that has no vision.

Late Kids

Have you seen more students late to class lately? If they told you it's not their fault they might be right. There have been a lot of problems with the bus service as of late. So when they tell you it was the bus, they might be right.

Labor Day

On this Labor Day weekend, how would you rate our union representation?

Four Questions

1. What do you think about moving to a year-round calender?
2. Have you heard about Pike Township suing ISTA for fraud?
3. How is your school year going so far?
4. Has anyone else heard about a "shake-up" coming to IPS?

Two Schools of Thought

Did anyone read this morning's paper? There were two interesting articles, one was an editorial on pay based on performance. The second was about an IPS who had to rummage through trash bins at Carmel schools to get supplies for her kids. What do you think?

No Layoffs

IPS says there weren't be any teacher layoffs with this year's budget. Eugene won't have to fire anyone a number of teachers have just up and left because their classrooms are out of control, the kids' learning level is at least two years behind and they get no support from the administration.

Place Your Bets

IPS B.S. is taking bets on what will happen at Thursday night's Board budget meeting.

1. The budget will pass 5-2.
2. Only Annie Roof and Samantha White will ask intelligent questions.
3. Marie Busch and her hair will look like a character from "Spaceballs".
4. Elizabeth Gore won't have read anything.
5. Diane Arnold won't have a clue.
6. Michael Brown will master the art of being asleep while pretending to be awake.
7. Marianna Zaphiriou will still be useless.
8. Mary Louise Bewley will post here.

Didn't We Do This Last Year?

From the Sunday August 30, 2009 "Behind Closed Doors" column in the Indanapolis Star:

The Indianapolis Public School Board adopted the district's $448 million budget this week, but don't ask board members for too much detail -- they never saw the actual budget before voting on it.

Member Kelly E. Bentley voted against the budget, saying the administration had not answered her questions about how money was allocated in it.

Another board member and the superintendent told her 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 it 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 budget passed 6-1.

What's changed? Now IPS is spending $509,000,000.

Eugene Fought the Law

Is Eugene White breaking the law by not releasing the budget? Maybe. Check this out.

IC 5-14-3-3
Right to inspect and copy public agency records; electronic data storage; use of information for commercial purposes; contracts
Sec. 3. (a) Any person may inspect and copy the public records of any public agency during the regular business hours of the agency, except as provided in section 4 of this chapter. A request for inspection or copying must:
(1) identify with reasonable particularity the record being requested; and
(2) be, at the discretion of the agency, in writing on or in a form provided by the agency.
No request may be denied because the person making the request refuses to state the purpose of the request, unless such condition is required by other applicable statute.
(b) A public agency may not deny or interfere with the exercise of the right stated in subsection (a). The public agency shall either:
(1) provide the requested copies to the person making the request; or

---

(2) allow the person to make copies:
(A) on the agency's equipment; or
(B) on the person's own equipment.
(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), a public agency may or may not do the following:
(1) In accordance with a contract described in section 3.5 of this chapter, permit a person to inspect and copy through the use of enhanced access public records containing information owned by or entrusted to the public agency.
(2) Permit a governmental entity to use an electronic device to inspect and copy public records containing information owned by or entrusted to the public agency.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e), a public agency that maintains or contracts for the maintenance of public records in an electronic data storage system shall make reasonable efforts to provide to a person making a request a copy of all disclosable data contained in the records on paper, disk, tape, drum, or any other method of electronic retrieval if the medium requested is compatible with the agency's data storage system. This subsection does not apply to an electronic map.
(e) A state agency may adopt a rule under IC 4-22-2, and a political subdivision may enact an ordinance, prescribing the conditions under which a person who receives information on disk or tape under subsection (d) may or may not use the information for commercial purposes, including to sell, advertise, or solicit the purchase of merchandise, goods, or services, or sell, loan, give away, or otherwise deliver the information obtained by the request to any other person for these purposes. Use of information received under subsection (d) in connection with the preparation or publication of news, for nonprofit activities, or for academic research is not prohibited. A person who uses information in a manner contrary to a rule or ordinance adopted under this subsection may be prohibited by the state agency or political subdivision from obtaining a copy or any further data under subsection (d).

Reading Isn't Fundamental

Have you gotten your books yet? There's a rumor running around that there are some schools that haven't gotten their books yet, although teachers have been forced to submit lesson plans.

To make matters worse, the books are here, they're just sitting in a warehouse right now.

What's IPS waiting on?

Figures Lie and Liars Figure

Are you looking for a copy of the IPS Budget? Try this on for size.

http://www.boarddocs.com/in/indps/Board.nsf/files/87ZGEJ4374BC/$file/Budget.pdf

$500,000,000 and only four pages long.

Tell Your Story

Crowded classrooms? No air? Transportation confusion? Incompetent central office administration? We want to know.

Day One

When your day is done, come post on how it went. Don't use an IPS computer. Our spies in the Central Office tell us the administration is really trying to track who comes here. You can post with your Blackberry or iPhone. This post was done last night and set on a timer to go off right now so the administration can't complain.

It's Your Fault

It's one thing if a student isn't learning, the teacher has some culpability. Now Eugene is blaming you even if the kids don't show up. You're aren't doing enough. You should work harder.

Gag Order

Eugene must be really, really, really paranoid these days. At the administrative retreat he told all the principals that he will fire ANY of them who contacts a board member about any issue at their school without his permission.

IPS BS likes most of the principals, so if you need to reach out an touch someone, e-mail IPS BS ipsbs@hotmail.com and we will make sure your concerns get to where they should.

Eugene and his flunkies, especially the fat one, can't stop us.

Another Afternoon with Eugene

Eugene White is about to go on the Amos Brown show and "talk" about IPS. Will they have a translator handy for those of us who speak English?

A Week Away

I.P.S. officially starts school in a little more than a week. Are you ready?

Post Here

IPS B.S. wants you to post your thoughts on tonight's school board meeting. Some agenda items include...

1. Hiring Ramon Batts, who ran for the school board and lost, while teachers get laid off.
2. Taking homes via eminent domain so IPS can take away homes so School 58 can have a new parking lot, while teachers get laid off.
   
3. Hiring a new basketball coach for Broad Ripple while teachers get laid off.
4. Spending $150,000 on snow plows while teachers get laid off.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. start posting at 7:05 p.m.

Dream Come True?

There is a big rumor running around the Central Office that Eugene White is trying to get out of his contract so he can leave IPS. Can anyone confirm this, please!

Hostile Takeover

Has anyone else heard that the state has started its takeover of some IPS schools?

A New Virtual Reality?

From today's Indianapolis Star.

Indiana's second virtual charter school is taking applications for students in first through eighth grades.

Spokeswoman Pat Laystrom says Indiana Connections Academy Virtual Pilot School will serve about 280 students from around the state.Students receive personalized learning plans but do their work from home. A certified teacher will work with them in live, online classrooms and by phone.

The school also will offer extracurricular activities and electives, including online chess clubs, a student newspaper and science clubs.

The program is free and is financed with state education money.

Indiana's first virtual charter was Hoosier Academies, a combination virtual and bricks and mortar school that opened in 2008-09.

White Plays Race Card

Eugene got his evaluation today. The white school board members gave him failing marks, but most of the Black board members gave him high marks. He accused the white board member of being racist. What say you?

Are You Willing to Make the Switch?

Indianapolis (AP) - A new report says health insurance for Indiana's public schools and universities could cost at least $450 million less annually if they joined the state's plan for public employees.

But most of the savings would come through stingier health plans or higher out-of-pocket expenses for teachers, professors and other employees.

The analysis from a consulting company found that it would cost public schools and universities about $270 million to get the same level of insurance they're getting now.

The report said the state would save money by pooling more employees in its health insurance plan and through other methods.

The idea of moving public schools and universities to the state's health insurance will likely be an issue in the 2011 legislative session as lawmakers work on a new two-year state budget.

The Perfect School

We all know there is no such thing as the perfect school, but if there were three things you could do to improve IPS, what would they be. We already know we would fire Dr. White and his minions, but what would you do after that?

IPS Fireworks

What fireworks do you expect to see in the next school year? Happy Fourth of July.

Free For All

Have at it.

What Else Is Out There?

IPS B.S. wants to know what other stories are out there that are not being told?

Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Be careful who you sleep with in IPS. If you are a principal sleeping with a teacher and get caught you will get promoted or nothing will happen to you. If you are a teacher, you get transferred and penalized.

Two ISTEPS Forward, One ISTEP Back

The results of the ISTEP tests will be released today. IPS B.S. found out scores are up slightly at most schools but they still nowhere close to acceptable. At Arlington scores are down which means it is the best candidate for takeover from the state. Get ready to meet your new employer, the State of Indiana.

Back From Break

IPS B.S. was on a little break but is back. What's been going on? Any schools been taken over by the state yet?

Love or Hate?

Matt Tully has a piece today about Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett. What do you think of the job he's done so far?

What's Up?

How are you spending you summer vacation so far?

Say Hi to Summer

This is the last day of school. Do you have any parting thoughts for the year?

Last Days

In these last days of school, here is the question of the semester; if your student didn't do well this year, is it your fault?

Let's Talk About Hazing

We've had this discussion before, but maybe we need to do it again after what's been reported out of Carmel today by the media.

1. How bad is hazing/bullying in IPS?
2. What can we do about it as teachers?
3. What can the administration do?
4. How do we get parents to step up?

Final Weeks

We are in the last weeks of school. Anyone have any thoughts on how the year will close out?

The "N-Word"

There is controversy tonight over whether Eugene used the n-word in a recent meeting with parents. Was anyone there who can verify this? And has he ever used it before in a public forum?

Who Gets Fired?

You all know the stimulus money will be running out soon? Are you ready to be out of a job?

Afternoons with Eugene?

Did anyone else hear that Eugene White is supposed to guest host the Amos Brown show one day this week? That should be fun to listen to; IPS B.S. is looking for a radio with closed captioning to understand what the hell he's saying.

Friendly Advice

Do you have any advice for the two newest members of the IPS School Board? And what can we do to help them?

Get Out

Eugene decided to suspend about 50 students from Arlington yesterday for not following school rules. Does anyone else think it was odd he did the suspensions now with school almost over? Wouldn't it have made more sense to do this at the start of the year and set a precedent that IPS won't tolerate this kind of behavior? Leave to Eugene to be a day late and few dollars short.

The Results Are In

In case you hadn't heard or seen the results from yesterday's election are Annie Roof at-large, Samantha White, District 3, Mike Brown, District 5. Someone should have run against Brown, he would have lost.

Shut Up & Vote!

IPS B.S. is going to bed so we can get up early and vote tomorrow before school. If you don't vote, you can't complain about our work conditions.

Reverse Vote

So who will you not vote for school board next week?

Question of the Day

What qualities do you look for in a school board candidate?

Calling All IPS Candidates

If you're running for the IPS School Board, IPS B.S. wants to know what your positions on the issues are? You can post your thoughts here or e-mail them to ipsbs@hotmail.com and it will get posted here. A lot of teachers and voters read this blog. This is your chance to reach out to them.

Who Are You Voting For?

Who do you think would be good for the IPS school board?

Bored Meeting

Did any of you attend tonight's school bored meeting? With a couple of exceptions we governed by clowns and Eugene White is the Ringmaster. He can't even keep a Super Bowl project because the business community wants nothing to do with IPS or him.

Be Right Back?

Do you expect to be back next school year?

Slow Boat to China

Has anyone else heard Eugene sent a group of administrators to China to look at schools? Maybe he wants to outsource us! I thought we were broke!

Is Eugene Paranoid Or Are They Really Out to Get Him?

The rumor coming out of the Central Office is that Eugene White is going off the deep end. He is getting paranoid and thinks everyone from the State down to the janitors are out to get him. The next time you see him, look in his eyes and tell us if you see someone who is losing his mind?

We Suck!!!

What are going to do about it? Fight or flight?

Performance Tools

What do you think is the best way to measure student performance? Is it testing, or should it be something else?

Read This

What do you think?

Parental Involvement

IPS B.S. has been reading articles on how to get parents more involved in their childrens' education. What are you doing to keep parents involved? What works best? What doesn't work at all?

Did You Hear the One About the Raises?

Has anyone else heard about administrators in the Central Office getting raises because they have more work to do overseeing programs?

Piss Poor PIP?

How do you rate IPS's PIP program? Does it really do any good?

Manual Override

Here are excerpts from the Matt Tully article from Sunday about Manual and the conversation between Eugene White and Tony Bennett.

As Bennett and White talked, both had before them copies of a confidential report documenting conditions at Manual. A team of researchers from Cambridge Education, a company the state hired, compiled the report after spending time at Manual last fall. Its findings were devastating. On 39 of 40 points, from classroom behavior to the quality of instruction, the school received the lowest ratings -- poor or unacceptable.

The report is a laundry list of academic failure: School leaders, it said, "have not established a clear vision for the school." The school, meanwhile, "has not been able to elicit minimum levels of parental involvement," and "low achievement in core subjects has been evident for a number of years." At Manual, one section of the report read, "the attitudes and actions of some staff reflect only a token acknowledgement of the need to focus upon the priority of improving student achievement."

Even more chilling than the report were the candid responses White gave when one of Bennett's aides from the Indiana Department of Education asked him to estimate the percentage of teachers performing at an unacceptable level at schools facing a state takeover.

They started with the teaching staff at Arlington Community High School.
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"I would say 60 percent of them would be questionable," White said.

They moved to Manual.

"Again, 60 percent," White said.

Northwest? "Sixty percent."

The state official then asked about two middle schools, Emma Donnan and Willard J. Gambold.

In both cases, White said, "I would say 40 percent."

Howe Community High School?

"We'll give them 60 percent."

George Washington?

"Definitely you have to put them in the 60 percent category," White said.

Only Broad Ripple High School, transformed into a magnet school a few months ago, escaped such low marks. Even there, though, White said one in 10 teachers is not up to par.

Dr. White is throwing you under the bus to save his fat rear end.

Afternoons With Amos

Did anyone hear Amos Brown today? Even he was ripping on IPS for kicking those Education Action group people out of the meeting. You know the administration must really be doing something wrong when Amos has turned on them.

$120,000

That's Mary Louise's salary with benefits.

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Way to go Bewley! Get us sued because of your stupidity!

Kill The Messenger

Some people have posted here complaining about the recent you tube clips of students behaving poorly. They say IPS B.S. is the bad guy here. IPS B.S. did record the footage, nor did it engage in the behavior. IPS B.S. didn't raise those kids nor did it have supervision over them. There are a lot of individuals who can be blamed for what you've seen this week, but IPS B.S. isn't one of them.

Another Fight

Bad News

Do you teach at Arlington? Have you gotten the bad news yet?

IPS Fight Club

There have been a lot of comments about fights in IPS. IPS B.S. has taken all those links and put them here for your amusement or outrage.

Fight.

Another fight.

Yet another fight.

And another fight.

Dancing administrators.

Racial Tension

You may have read that Ben Davis has a gang/race problem. How are we doing?

No Pay For You

If you are a non-union IPS employee, get ready for this. IPS is drawing up plans that would only pay employees when school is in session, that means if your school is closed in the summer and other breaks, you don't go to work and you don't get paid. Of course that doesn't apply to the central office which is open all year round.

Immediate Takeover

The State Department of Education is visiting IPS schools that haven't made AYP in five years. Place your bets over which ones are under state control next year.

No hacking Required

IPS B.S. got this e-mail this week.

Blogmaster,

There's a teacher I know who claims that they have successfully "hacked" into ips-bs, and they know the names/computer addresses of people who've made comments on your blog. This arrogant little twit also stated that she "couldn't say who wrote things," because obtaining that knowledge was "illegal."

Is it possible to do this? Twit claims she has a relative who's skilled at computer forensics. If this is true, and your site has been compromised, then what? I'm sure that the majority of the people who keep this blog going do so on the condition of anonymity.

If this is a real concern, something that can indeed be done, what can you do to help? I would gladly give you this person's name, just not through an e-mail.

Please respond to this e-mail if this could become a legitimate concern.

There has been no hacking of this cite. IPS B.S. doesn't do anything on company time or use company equipment. We don't like the administration, but we obey the rules. All comments are anonymous and will stay that way.

We Work For Idiots

Has anyone else heard IPS screwed up its budget and shortchanged itself $14 million? You have now.

Question of the Day

Is tenure a good thing that protects teachers from the whims of a fickle school administration or does it protect teachers who should have been put out to pasture a long time ago?

Out of Pocket

What classroom expenses do you find yourself paying for out of pocket? Lots of small items or have you ever had to pay for big stuff as well?

More IPS BS

IPS is looking at budget cuts. Here are a couple places they could start.

1. Get rid of that billboard off of I-465 on the north side of town.
2. Make Eugene White pay back that $1,000 dinner he had at the last conference he attended.

Total IPS BS

IPS says its latest round of proposed cuts won't increase class size. Are you buying it?

Candidate Forum

If you are a candidate for school board, IPS B.S. is happy to take your positions on education issues and post them here. Send your summary to ipsbs@hotmail.com. There's no word limit, but we like to read "War and Peace" in front of a nice fire, not in front of our computer.

Cadre Cuts

Has anyone else heard that Dr. White plans to cut the cadres as a way to balance the budget? Aren't those positions funded with stimulus money?

Bully For You

Carmel school officials say it will take weeks to investigate recent allegations of bullying. How bad is it where you are or has your school come up with effective ways to deal with bullying? Share.

$26 Million Cut

You've heard by now IPS is going to make $26 million in cuts. The Board says it wants to stay away from the classroom, so let's help them out. Suggestions, please; and be specific.

Family Affair

Who is related to whom in IPS? There are lots of undercover relationship in IPS, children of administrators, for instance Quintella Wrights brother used to be the principal of 58 Matthew Stewart...he left and went back to Texas but who else is related to whom? Let's shine some light.

Who's Running?

Here's a list of who has filed for school board so far.

• Roy Schroeder (IPS-3)
• Micheal Brown (IPS-5)
• Andrea Roof (At-large)
• Ramon Batts (IPS-3)
• Glen Eric Sandifer - (IPS-3)
• Leroy Robinson (At-Large)
• Bill Jackson (At-Large)
• Josephine "Jo" Coleman (At-Large)

If you are thinking about running, you have until Friday at noon to file at the Marion County Clerk's Office.

Who's Afraid of Charter Schools?

There is a lot of back and forth on the blog about charter schools in the comment sections, so let's have a discussion about them here.

Frankly, charter schools don't scare me, they motivate me to be a better teacher because I know parents have a choice and I'm not worried about the competition. If charters didn't exist I would still have to compete with private and parochial schools.

Should we in IPS be afraid or worried about charters or should we be more focused on creating a better school system so parents won't want to go somewhere else to have their kids educated?

Have You Heard

There's talk of a shake-up in the Central Office is coming next week? Has anyone heard anything they would like to share?

How was class?

How was class yesterday? Did anyone show up?

Snow Day?!!

Open forum! Go for it!

Undercover Boss

Did anyone watch Undercover Boss after Super Bowl? It's a show where bosses go do their employees' jobs undercover to see what it's really like. Does anyone here think anyone in the Central Office could actually last more than five minutes in a classroom?

Get to Work

Colts lost 31-17. Does this mean there won't be a one-hour delay tomorrow?

GO COLTS!!!

Call the Cops

IPS is going to cut its police force. Will anyone notice?

Superintendent Bowl

Just in case there was any confusion, Dr. White is going to the Super Bowl. Discuss.

60 Minutes

Dr. White got pimp-slapped today by the Department of Education. They told him IPS would have to make up a full day if he delayed school by two hours. Now he's just doing a one-hour delay. Good luck with that one-hour of pay taken away.

120 Minute Delay

School will start two hours late on Monday after the Super Bowl. You better check and see how this will effect your paycheck! And does anybody know if Dr. White is going to the Super Bowl?

Hear This!!!

IPS President Michael Brown defended the administration's raises yesterday on the Afternoon with Amos show. He the adminstrative staff didn't get a raise but "were changes of administrators to different positions which carried a different pay grade”.

Hey Rev. Brown, I'm not saying that's b.s., but it sure "has the aroma of excrement that is emitted from the mammal known as Bos Taurus".

Predictions

We are supposed to find out today what IPS will do if the Colts win the Super Bowl. Would anyone like to make a prediction?

What's Going On?

IPS B.S. is a little tapped out on things to write about this morning so it's turning the blog over to you. What's happening in your school that's good, bad or just a low down dirty shame?

Pants on the Ground

From yesterday's Indianapolis Star

A 14-year-old high school student who wouldn't pull up his pants was arrested Tuesday after taking a swing at a police officer. Indianapolis Public School Police Officer Dawn Austin had asked the John Marshall High School student to pull up his pants and tuck in his shirt but the student ignored her and kept walking. The boy also ignored the vice-principal and a teacher who also asked him to stop and tuck in his shirt, according to an IPS police report.

At the end of the hallway, Officer Damon Boyd tried to make the boy stop. When the student refused, he told him he would be arrested. The student struggled with Boyd and knocked him against a locker. Austin tried to put handcuffs on the boy and he started swinging at her, with the dangling handcuffs hitting her in the hand, according to the report.

After officers subdued the boy, he was charged with resisting law enforcement, battery of a police officer and disorderly conduct. Boyd tore his shirt and injured his left hand and left shoulder. Austin hurt her right hand. Both officers went to a medical clinic. The boy was sent to the Marion County Arrestee Processing Center.

Reading is Fundamental

IPS B.S. won't annoy you with the story of Gene White's 3% raise when we have to make budget cuts, but instead will ask what is the best way to get 3rd graders to read so there's no need to hold them back a year?

Ain't That A B*****!!!

Although IPS is $33 million in the hole, the District is going to go ahead and give pay raises to its top administrators.

Read more here!

Express your outrage below!

Paging Dr. White

Have you ever wondered how Dr. White became Dr. White? Here is an abstract of his dissertation from Ball State.


FUND RAISING PROCEDURES AND PRACTICES IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS OF INDIANA AS REPORTED BY PRINCIPALS

WHITE, EUGENE GORDON. Proquest Dissertations And Theses 1982. Section 0013, Part 0514 114 pages; [Educat.D. dissertation].United States -- Indiana: Ball State University; 1982. Publication Number: AAT 8215986.

The purpose of the study was to investigate and report what representatives of Indiana public high schools have been doing in the areas of fund raising procedures and practices utilized in student extra curricular fund raising activities. A review of related literature was conducted to ascertain research and findings in the area.

A questionnaire was developed and field tested through a pilot study sample. The study population consisted of 355 Indiana public high school principals.

Principals returned 316 of 355 survey questionnaires. Data obtained from questionnaires were analyzed, summarized, and presented in narrative form. Tables were developed to report the raw data.

Major findings were: (1) Indiana Law prescribes the financial procedures to be followed in accounting for student activity funds through the utilization of the "Extra Curricular Account." (2) Principals are responsible for establishing policy and procedures for fund raising activities in seventy-four percent of responding schools. (3) Fifty-four percent of participating Indiana public high schools do not have an official school board policy governing fund raising activities throughout the school corporation. (4) Ninety-nine percent of responding Indiana public high school student bodies conduct fund raising activities within the school community. (5) Principals reported approximately $6,386,494 dollars raised through fund raising activities conducted in participating Indiana public high schools during school year 1980-81. (6) Candy sales are the most common fund raising activities utilized by students to raise funds.

Major conclusions based upon the findings of the study were: (1) Public high school officials in Indiana need fund raising activities to support and maintain student extra curricular activities at the current level of implementation. (2) Principals are primarily responsible for direction and supervision of fund raising activities in the high schools. (3) High school fund raising programs tend to exploit school communities and cause patrons to complain. (4) School administrators should re-evaluate fund raising activities and determine the feasibility of each activity. (5) General school board policies governing fund raising activities conducted by schools are needed.

Socially Promoted

The Indiana Senate is hearing a bill tomorrow that would ban social promotion for third graders who aren't up to proper reading levels. What do you think?

Hiring Freeze?

There's an alleged hiring freeze at IPS. Have you seen any new hires lately?

Big Loss

Anyone who wants reform in IPS needs to step up to the plate. Kelly Bentley and Mike Cohen are not running for re-election. They would always ask tough questions and not kiss Dr. White's butt. Who's going to step up to the plate?

Stopping in the Name of the Law

IPS B.S. got an e-mail last night that the Central Office is going to eliminate the district's police force as a way to save money. Do you think this is a good idea?

We Told You So

IPS B.S. told you this was coming. Twenty-two teachers have been taken out the classroom for not controlling their students or mastering the material. There's no doubt we have some bad apples in our bunch, but this can also be a reason to get rid of "troublemakers who challenge authority." Watch your back, your front and your side.

Tuning In vs. Dropping Out

The new data is out on graduation rates . IPS overall went from 47.2 to 48.6 %. Individual high schools numbers are below...

• Arlington - 48 % to 59.7 %.

• Arsenal - 44% to 46.5 %.
• Broad Ripple - 60.1 % to 59 %.
• Manual - 39.3 % to 44.4 %.
  
• Northwest - 45.5 % to 49.6 %.
  
• Key Learning - 82.8 % to 94.7 %.
• Thomas Carr Howe - 52.5 to 58.3 %.
  
• George Washington - 49.3 % to 47 %.
  

What do you think is the best way to address the dropout problem and improve graduation rates?

Alert!

There is a fire over the Arlington gym this morning. Hopefully, no one is hurt and the kids are all safe.

Need a Good Laugh

Listen to this interview Dr. White gave to District Leader's Podcast. If you can understand a word he says, try to keep a straight face. If you read between the lines he's talking about laying off teachers rather than his overpaid administrators.

Is It Time to Reinvent Ourselves?

Welcome back. We heard this story on NPR over the weekend and thought it might make for some good discussion.

********

America's teachers' colleges are facing some pressure to reinvent themselves.

Larry Abramson/NPR

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been leading the assault, with a series of speeches calling for better teacher training. Duncan says it's crucial that education schools revamp their curricula so they can help replace a wave of baby boomers who will soon retire from teaching.

One university is trying to rebuild its teacher-training program from the ground up.

At the University of Michigan School of Education, Dean Deborah Ball and her faculty have taken apart their training program and reassembled it, trying to figure out what skills teachers really need.

Katie Westin, a senior at the University of Michigan and a student teacher, says that when she compares notes with teachers-in-training at other schools, it's clear that her program is more hands-on.

"We expect people to be reliably able to carry out that work. We don't seem to have that same level of expectation or requirement around teaching," Ball says.

Teacher Education Initiative

The program overhaul — an ongoing process that began five years ago — is called the Teacher Education Initiative. It will cut the number of classes students must take, and it will turn time in the classroom into an experience that is tightly focused on problem solving.

"Image the difference between learning about child development, which is unquestionably helpful, and learning how to have a sensible interaction with a child, which permits you to know exactly what's going wrong right now with that child's reading, or why is this error occurring over and over again in math. That's actually being able to do something with that knowledge," Ball says.

The program stresses what teachers have to do, not simply what they have to know.

Professor Robert Bain says that when the effort is finished, the education program will no longer be a series of courses students have to take, "but rather a program that's building on these experiences, much like most professional schools, like a good med school or law school."

The university has also picked up an idea from medical school: rounds.

You can see the idea in action at North Middle School in Belleville, Mich. Teacher Steve Hudock is talking to four University of Michigan student teachers before seventh and eighth graders arrive for a class on comparative religion.

This is one of several schools these budding teachers will visit as they learn to analyze various teaching problems in different settings. Here, it's how to deal with students in small groups.

Bain says that before class, he demonstrated how the teachers-in-training might approach this challenge.

"What their job is, is to practice the experience with actual students, but then also look to see how Mr. Hudock, a skilled teacher, does the exact same sorts of things," Bain says.

Student teacher Katie Westin says that when she compares notes with teaching students in other programs, she notices a big difference.

"We take on more of an interactive role, I think, than some of the other programs do, because we actually lead lessons, and we get to work with the students in group activities."

Hands-On Training

Once the religion class is over, the group sits down with Hudock and talks about what worked and what didn't.

Hudock says this is a lot different than the student-teaching experience he had 15 years ago.

Background Checks

Andy Gammill has a good story this morning in the Star on state efforts to make sure school districts can't keep records secret when a teacher has committed misconduct. Here's an excerpt.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett, state Rep. Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and state Sen. James Merritt, R-Indianapolis, plan to propose requiring that districts disclose disciplinary problems during reference checks and ban the practice of creating shadow personnel files to hide reports of problems.

They also want to require districts to alert the state to "gray area" cases in which a district thinks a teacher acted inappropriately but opted against trying to dismiss the educator because of fears it could not prove misconduct.

"We have a duty both morally and legally to make sure our teachers in this state are of the highest caliber," Bennett said.

State investigators can review cases or detect patterns only when they know about problematic behavior, he said.

The state teachers union and school boards association said they had not yet seen a proposal but that they support the general principles Bennett outlined.

They did, however, raise concerns that new rules could create complicated situations for school districts or overrule carefully negotiated union contracts.

If you are a teacher and have violated the trust of your students, you should be fired, plain and simple. You are entitled to due process, but once you've had fair and impartial adjudication, you need to go and school districts should not be hiding you.

Cadre Conundrum

Happy New Year. Here's today's question. Have the cadres done any good or are we just delaying the inevitable when it comes to laying off teachers, especially since the stimulus money that made them possible runs out in 18 months.