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.
This post worries me. Don't you think the state is watching this post. Fine, if they do take over, don't we all understand that it will have dire negative results for all of us! Restructuring or taking over any school not only removes the principals but also the staff.
Are we not shooting ourselves in the foot? No matter how bad we may feel concerning upper administration or the building level principals, the end result is that it will casue a drastic ripple to occur for all teachers.
Just look at the amount of schools currently going through the restructuring process this year. I haven't notice any post about how happy those teachers were to be interviewing again for jobs.
If so, where are the wonderful post from the orginial John Marshall teachers, School 51 orginal teachers, Key School teachers, School 15, and School 44 orginal teachers that were originally forced out when they were restructured a year or so ago. Did they state how happy they were to be removed and forced to interview again as a whole?
Those restructuring occured to meet the mandates of PL 221 and NCLB.
In fact, where are the happy comments about how teachers felt when they were told that they were being either removed entirely from their schools with the possible option of being hired back at those particular schools, if the new principal wanted them.
My point, there are no grand results for any of us if the state visits and begin taking over our schools.
The bottom line is that this superintendent and this school board has had several years to make meaningful changes but has failed to do so. They have used phony renaming and shell game techniques. They have forfeited their right to continue to run some of our schools. I agree it will be a nightmare for the parents, students and teachers who are involved but we have no one to blame but ourselves.
To excuse me: Do you really think IPS has done all it can for these students? That the problem is 100% brains (or parents, or poverty, or special education procedures)? That every IPS teacher has done all it can for every IPS student? Because I don't. Obviously brains and parents and poverty and special ed play a part. But MANY of these students are falling through the cracks and MANY teachers don't care. Many students CAN be taught, and we know this because many teachers ARE doing it. I agree with the above poster. It might be unbelievably inconvenient, but I think it might be worth the inconvenience to weed out the dead weight (teachers and administrators) and see some real reform in these schools. It's not my first choice. My first choice would be for IPS to do what it needs to do. But it obviously is not going to do that.
I wonder what the state is going to do or whom they are going to blame when they find the same results as the now.
I agree there are dead waight teachers who don't care and or do anything. The majority though are there trying there best. The problems is the the system, parents, community, etc that don't buy in and help.
If they find out that the sytem would work it is outside. What then will Mr. Bennet and Mr. Daniesl do? Who will they blame?
Though buy that point they would have turned them over to private contractors who will be their scapegoats I guess.
I also wonder whay Bennett and Daniels would do. I don't know what will make a difference but I do know that continuing this nonsense of Eugene White and his do nothing board will not improve anything. Probably what White has done is to make the situation worse.
I agree. At least with Bennett and Daniels, there is a chance that things will be better. We KNOW staying with White and the current school board won't help things. I kind of feel the opposite of "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know."
Who gives a rat's patoot what schools are taken over by the State DOE? Little to nothing would change at either Arlington or Northwest, other than the building level administration. Frankly, for these two IPS high schools, that's not a bad thing.
If Larry Yarrell and Cassandra Shipp were replaced by State DOE people, then nothing worse could possibly occur than what we now have. Yarrell is a loud-mouthed show-off who seldom 'tastes' his words before they pass over his lips, and Shipp is a 'not quite ready for prime time' administrator who can't spell, can't write a coherent or grammatically correct email message, and can't operate as an administrator without Jackie Greenwood's misguided support/backing.
Basically, we have two African-American pseudo administrators who'd never, ever be hired by another Indiana school corporation. Neither of these folks would pass the first round of interviews with any other school district, whether in Indiana or any other state.
Shipp was allowed to teach special education in IPS for approximately 6 years on a year-to-year emergency contract as a special educator because she could not PASS the PRAXIS Exam. Does this not say to everyone that this woman is dumb, clueless, and unprepared for a career as an educator?
And, we in IPS wonder why our schools do not make AYP? Our schools, in many instances, are guided by people who can't even pass a simple PRAXIS exam in their content/subject area.
At this point, I am disgusted with IPS and its top-level leadership for allowing sub-par educators who have 'connections' to serve as instructional leaders of our secondary schools.
In 2007-2008, I taught at John Marshall Middle School. A new Director came in and ruin the entire progress of the school. They also used the "concept" of turning the middle school into a high school. All teachers were removed thus eliminating the relationships that were established with students and parents. Looking the ending of the 2008-2009 school year and based on my conversations with teachers currently employed at John Marshall High School, the school does not have any support and the students hate being there. Best of the luck to Gov. Daniels and Dr. Bennett. Something new is better the doing the same old things.
Don't just take over a few schools, close of few schools. IPS Central Office can't justify keeping Northwest or John Marshall open. Northwest can't compete with Ben Davis and Pike. John Marshall's location on the east side has a declining population. Sorry people, Gene White and his administration have been a failures...
John Marshall is located smack dab in the the middle of Lawrence, IN. Why in God's name does IPS wish to keep that school open? The physical facility is fine and not bad at all; however, it's located in an area that is not Indianapolis, per se, and has only about 500 students in a building designed to house approximately 2,000 students.
After the past few years, John Marshall has earned a 'bad name', whether rightly deserved or not, but it is what it is. No matter what occurs good at Marshall, the school has earned a terrible reputation with the media, the community, and the district. Just sell the building and the property and be done with it.
At present, the new principal, Sullivan, is doing an extemely good job; however, the name recognition of the school carries such a negative connotation that anything positive from Mike Sullivan is negated by the name of John Marshall.
The only way that Marshall could undergo a truly successful school transformation is to spray paint the building another color and then give the school an absolutely brand new name without any mention of Marshall.
It might not be a bad idea for the state to take over. I am completely amazed at the principals that don't even speak proper English. No school is able to build a relationship with its students because the next year they are sent somewhere else. And there are so many children not being serviced even though the funds are there. One more point, I have eight students in my class that shouldn't pass to the next grade. While they have come up 1 to 2 skill levels they are still low.
Sadly I agree that at least one of the buildings needs to be closed. My guess is Northwest. There is no way you can put 500 more students from John Marshall into Arlington without creating more problems. As an FYI, the students and staff can't stand Mr. Sullivan so don't think the problems have been fixed.
Next school year, the Over/Under Program is slated to be eliminated. This means that Marshall will have fewer students because approximately 150 of their students this year are O/U students. The same goes for Arlington. Arlington will also lose all their O/U students.
So, Marshall is looking at around 300-400 students for next year in a building designed for approximately 2000 students. How can IPS continue to pay the operational costs for such a large building for so few students?
As another poster mentioned earlier, Marshall is located physically in Warren Township, so what gives? Arlington is located in Lawrence Township, so what gives with that? Evidently there's a history behind both these schools and their being located in other township districts, but why does IPS continue on with this charade or worn-out tradition?
When a person drives to Arlington on Arlington Avenue, the surrounding neighborhood appears like a really nice pleasant area; however, it doesn't take long to learn that the kids who live in this surrounding neighborhood don't even attend Arlington, but rather, they attend Lawrence Central. This makes no sense to this educator who moved here 10 years ago. What gives with this weird arrangement? In fact, how can IPS even pretend to call Arlington a 'community' high school when the students in the very community surrounding the school don't even attend that school or even reside in the IPS district? Talk about a load of BS...
I am an hourly employee. My department and I have been working diligently for years doing everything possible to improve efficiency and lower our budget. Now I have just been informed that despite our efforts, we will be taking a pay cut in form of being off without pay during all school breaks even though we are supposed to be 12 month employees. I cannot afford this. I am the only income for my family and have obligations that require the use of my vacation time so I may not have enough to cover these losses. We are also being forced to work four ten hour days instead of five eight hour days. This is another huge pay cut for me because it will cause me to lose my second job. One wonders why there are so many employees with bad attitudes. Thanks IPS for caring so much. I am beginning to doubt the need to be so diligent in my job. I do not want to become like so many others I see just collecting a check but I am starting to understand how they got that way.
The arrangement with the townships goes back to when the city fathers did not want African American children going to school with whites. The townships have areas knows as INSIDE because they were inside the old city before Unigov. Those children who are 'inside' go to IPS. Evidence presented in the desegregation case showed that the city would alter boundaries as minorities would move into a area. The townships would cede an area to IPS.
So, Unigov is not really one entity for all branches of city services. Sounds like the schools were not included in this Unigov arrangement. Why not? And, if not way back when, why not now?
"I am the only income for my family and have obligations that require the use of my vacation time so I may not have enough to cover these losses." -------------------------------- I'm just a citizen and not an IPS employee and this situation sounds very unfair to me. I am in a one-income family as well and I can well understand the kind of financial hardship this would bring.
I sincerely hope things do not turn out this way for you and your co-workers.
As I posted elsewhere before this thread was started.....I am an hourly employee. My department and I have been working diligently for years doing everything possible to improve efficiency and lower our budget. Now I have just been informed that despite our efforts, we will be taking a pay cut in form of being off without pay during all school breaks even though we are supposed to be 12 month employees. I cannot afford this. I am the only income for my family and have obligations that require the use of my vacation time so I may not have enough to cover these losses. We are also being forced to work four ten hour days instead of five eight hour days. This is another huge pay cut for me because it will cause me to lose my second job. One wonders why there are so many employees with bad attitudes. Thanks IPS for caring so much. I am beginning to doubt the need to be so diligent in my job. I do not want to become like so many others I see just collecting a check but I am starting to understand how they got that way.
I have lived in Brendonridge (the neighborhood near Arlington High School referenced by a recent poster)for 22 years. When our family moved to this area, our children were enrolled in School #92 (GT); Broad Ripple (Magnet) and Arlington (Academic Diploma). After residing in the neighborhood for a few years, we discovered that the neighborhood association had been petitioning (unsucessfully)for Brendonridge to be annexed into the Lawrence Township school system. We found that each attempt was thwarted by IPS, because of the area's lucrative contribution to the tax base.
We also discovered by researching the history of Brendonridge, that School #106 and Arlinton HS were built to accommodate the residents of the immediate housing development as well as the other nearby neighborhoods with the "Brendon" name. It's interesting to note that in the early 60's when the "Brendon's" came into being, the general "complexion" of the residents (and thus, the school population was quite a bit lighter.
Too bad the state can't take over my school. Maybe then we'd have some real discipline. It totally stuns me to see the student who attacked a teacher, giving them a concussion, back at school acting like nothing happened.
Here are the videos of two John Marshall High School students fighting after school. The Principal is aware the fight and jokes with the kids about the incident.
WOW this is ridiculious!!! And this fight is not the only incident that has been videotaped with student from John Marshall fighting on and off grounds.
This needs to be reported to the media!!! Remember the incident in Chicago.
I want everyone to know that at our school we had a student take a teacher to the ground as he was hitting the teacher. A hearing was held and guess what the student is back in the SAME. So let it be known students can HIT teachers and NOT be EXPELLED.
County prosecutors have been told by a certain female judge, Marylyn Moorse, that hitting teachers will no longer be prosecuted by judges in her courts so do not bring them into the court. Her plan is to dismiss them. How do I know? My husband was at a meeting when this information was released. Will she want prosecution when she gets hit?
The thing that is suspect about the video posted above is: Where was it videotaped?" There is no area that looks like that near Marshall. An ally with an open, wooded area nearby. I am suspicious of the entire posting. Since it did NOT happen at schhol, and I agree a fight of any kind is bad, shouldn't it be something taken care of by police and not the schools? Even if these are Marshal students, why is it automatically THEIR issue. As I said, it is not good to have a fight or videotape them. But again, why is this automatically a Marshall or an IPS problem. It very clearly did not happen on school grounds. I know that school very weel and this is not on that campus.
Students are under the jursidiction of the school while on the way home. They are not releaed from school purview until they reach home. Sullivan at Marshall has his head in the sand and it will come around and bite him in the behind big time when he gets a huge lawsuit for neglience.
About an earlier discussion concerning unigov and IPS. I taught government at a high school in 1969-71 and Mayor Lugar spoke to our classes about the new unigov law. which combined the old city limits with the county government, but excluded school districts. I asked him if he was planning to introduce further legislation to cover schools and he responded, "No, that wouldn't be politically expedient. It will probably come through the courts." But the court only ordered one-way busing, which is being phased out.
So as a teacher, I have the right to protect myself from harm by beating the CRAP OUT of a student who is attacking me! What are the legal ramifications of self defense.............will the students parent try to sue me? There is a posting mentioned 11 postings above this one and I would like to know how in the "Hell" does a student( who has been written up on numerous occasionons(six step discipline on line) not be expelled from an IPS school? The system is failing not the students but the TEACHERS! Basically, IPS administration doesn't give a RAT'S ASS about their TEACHERS!
This student should have been sent to ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL back in the FAll. We all saw this coming.............but once again the powers that be let this student get away with bullying,threaten and intimidating both teachers as well as peers. This needs to STOP!
This was all posted on You Tube. It's not like the videos put it on here first. The STUDENTS posted it. No one here names either students, first name of last. The only way to tell who the students are - if you do not teach at Marshall - is to read the title of the clip the students posted.
The last link posted if a completely different fight. It's hard to keep all of them straight. Looks like Marshall students are being kept under lock and key, and everything has transformed tremendously under Sullivan's watch.
It should have changed tremendously with an official enrollment of 300. Yes, many debate that but the website was updated to say 300 on ADM count day just like my school was. 300, ok, let's say 500 in a school built for 1500-2000 and they cannot control what goes on right in front of the school? Come one people. What are we paying for here? This is a joke! Sad that this type of violence is almost embraced by the lack of anything negative happening to any of the KIDS. I say kids because, in (MOST) cases, they are under 18. Look at the related videos to the one last posted. Kids flashing guns, doing drugs openly, drinking, flashing gang signs. We are not teaching these kids anything. HArd to woryy about Language skills when you have more money that the person teaching it. (Again, look at the related videos and the cash shown.) And yet, these kids NEED not one but two free meals daily?. We are housing them for a day and feeding them twice. Giving them a place to hook up with their homies. Sad, sad, sad. What a waste of OUR taxpayer dollars.
@Way to go IPS BS for violating FERPA by posting videos that identify students!
FERPA, my foot! These students lost FERPA rights when they first posted their own videos on YouTube for the entire world to see.
By the way, did you notice that none of these students appear thin and hungry looking? Also, they obviously can afford expensive cell phones with cameras plus Internet access via computer to upload their video clips. Yet, we talk so often about our IPS kids who are so poor they can't afford lunch or even to buy paper and pencils.
First of all, if someone posts an illegal video of you on the internet, and I post a link to it on a public forum rather than flagging it for YouTube to take down, I'm sleazy. Period.
Second, just because many students in a district are poor, does not mean 100% of them are. It's like finding a Carmel kid who is wearing hand-me-downs and saying, "Ha, see, that district isn't rich after all."
The videos show you the type of lies that Gene White is telling. The schools are out of control. A special thanks to the person who found the videos. The truth has been exposed.
If you are employed at Tech or the parent of a Tech student then you know that Tech is out of control. What is the current count of teachers or school police injured by students? Most of those students are never punished or given only a couple of days out of school. I wonder how Tony Bennett would handle this situation.
it's march. arlington teachers had their meeting today and were told the school could be taken over. that everyone could lose their position. this time there will be no interviewing, everyone will be gone. teachers were told they should be angry because they're trained professionals who know how to teach. same said professionals were told 'i got this. do as i say and we'll be fine'. they were told this in march these professionals were. Dear State Dept of Ed when you come in, not if but when, please consider being really innovative and getting rid of the ips administrators, particularly the ones who sit on their wallets downtown, then the ones who wait until march to light a fire under teachers and tell them it's time to prepare for testing. get rid of the administrators and come in and show them how teachers should be supported, so students can be supported. fearlessly get rid of the teachers you can't work with, the ones who aren't professional educators.
Why in the world would you think that the state department of education would know what to do? Have you read a paper lately? They don't even like public education/educators. Why would someone need to TELL you to begin to prepare students for state testing in March? Don't you know what you are suppose to be doing? You are the professionals that are entrusted with the facilitation of learning. When will teachers be responsible for their own fate? This self loathing and defeated attitude is just sickening here. I am a proud graduate of IPS and am thankful for the education and support I received. I would have been mortified to know that the people I admired were such cry babies.
I'm concerned that a student who threatened to 'shank' another student and had one with him in his backpack, was not expelled but instead transfered to my school! Gotta love the discipline.
The six step discipline is a joke. Our principal certainly doesn't follow it. It really is too bad because it would work. Sometimes I think people think they are helping students when in fact they are enabling the student to continue to not follow the school rules. It doesn't take a rocket person to figure it out.
The state won't manage a school that it takes over. It will hire an outside "turn around" management firm. These TMFs will be another way to bring for profit industry in to make our schools worse.
My guess would include Arlington and Northwest.
ReplyDeleteThis post worries me. Don't you think the state is watching this post. Fine, if they do take over, don't we all understand that it will have dire negative results for all of us! Restructuring or taking over any school not only removes the principals but also the staff.
ReplyDeleteAre we not shooting ourselves in the foot? No matter how bad we may feel concerning upper administration or the building level principals, the end result is that it will casue a drastic ripple to occur for all teachers.
Just look at the amount of schools currently going through the restructuring process this year. I haven't notice any post about how happy those teachers were to be interviewing again for jobs.
If so, where are the wonderful post from the orginial John Marshall teachers, School 51 orginal teachers, Key School teachers, School 15, and School 44 orginal teachers that were originally forced out when they were restructured a year or so ago. Did they state how happy they were to be removed and forced to interview again as a whole?
Those restructuring occured to meet the mandates of PL 221 and NCLB.
In fact, where are the happy comments about how teachers felt when they were told that they were being either removed entirely from their schools with the possible option of being hired back at those particular schools, if the new principal wanted them.
My point, there are no grand results for any of us if the state visits and begin taking over our schools.
Think people!
Sorry...the word is "Cause"
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is that this superintendent and this school board has had several years to make meaningful changes but has failed to do so. They have used phony renaming and shell game techniques. They have forfeited their right to continue to run some of our schools. I agree it will be a nightmare for the parents, students and teachers who are involved but we have no one to blame but ourselves.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me but I can't make brains for students.
ReplyDeleteTo excuse me: Do you really think IPS has done all it can for these students? That the problem is 100% brains (or parents, or poverty, or special education procedures)? That every IPS teacher has done all it can for every IPS student? Because I don't. Obviously brains and parents and poverty and special ed play a part. But MANY of these students are falling through the cracks and MANY teachers don't care. Many students CAN be taught, and we know this because many teachers ARE doing it. I agree with the above poster. It might be unbelievably inconvenient, but I think it might be worth the inconvenience to weed out the dead weight (teachers and administrators) and see some real reform in these schools. It's not my first choice. My first choice would be for IPS to do what it needs to do. But it obviously is not going to do that.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the state is going to do or whom they are going to blame when they find the same results as the now.
ReplyDeleteI agree there are dead waight teachers who don't care and or do anything. The majority though are there trying there best. The problems is the the system, parents, community, etc that don't buy in and help.
If they find out that the sytem would work it is outside. What then will Mr. Bennet and Mr. Daniesl do? Who will they blame?
Though buy that point they would have turned them over to private contractors who will be their scapegoats I guess.
I also wonder whay Bennett and Daniels would do. I don't know what will make a difference but I do know that continuing this nonsense of Eugene White and his do nothing board will not improve anything. Probably what White has done is to make the situation worse.
ReplyDeleteI agree. At least with Bennett and Daniels, there is a chance that things will be better. We KNOW staying with White and the current school board won't help things. I kind of feel the opposite of "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know."
ReplyDeleteWho gives a rat's patoot what schools are taken over by the State DOE? Little to nothing would change at either Arlington or Northwest, other than the building level administration. Frankly, for these two IPS high schools, that's not a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteIf Larry Yarrell and Cassandra Shipp were replaced by State DOE people, then nothing worse could possibly occur than what we now have. Yarrell is a loud-mouthed show-off who seldom 'tastes' his words before they pass over his lips, and Shipp is a 'not quite ready for prime time' administrator who can't spell, can't write a coherent or grammatically correct email message, and can't operate as an administrator without Jackie Greenwood's misguided support/backing.
Basically, we have two African-American pseudo administrators who'd never, ever be hired by another Indiana school corporation. Neither of these folks would pass the first round of interviews with any other school district, whether in Indiana or any other state.
Shipp was allowed to teach special education in IPS for approximately 6 years on a year-to-year emergency contract as a special educator because she could not PASS the PRAXIS Exam. Does this not say to everyone that this woman is dumb, clueless, and unprepared for a career as an educator?
And, we in IPS wonder why our schools do not make AYP? Our schools, in many instances, are guided by people who can't even pass a simple PRAXIS exam in their content/subject area.
At this point, I am disgusted with IPS and its top-level leadership for allowing sub-par educators who have 'connections' to serve as instructional leaders of our secondary schools.
In 2007-2008, I taught at John Marshall Middle School. A new Director came in and ruin the entire progress of the school. They also used the "concept" of turning the middle school into a high school. All teachers were removed thus eliminating the relationships that were established with students and parents. Looking the ending of the 2008-2009 school year and based on my conversations with teachers currently employed at John Marshall High School, the school does not have any support and the students hate being there. Best of the luck to Gov. Daniels and Dr. Bennett. Something new is better the doing the same old things.
ReplyDeleteDon't just take over a few schools, close of few schools. IPS Central Office can't justify keeping Northwest or John Marshall open. Northwest can't compete with Ben Davis and Pike. John Marshall's location on the east side has a declining population. Sorry people, Gene White and his administration have been a failures...
ReplyDeleteJohn Marshall is located smack dab in the the middle of Lawrence, IN. Why in God's name does IPS wish to keep that school open? The physical facility is fine and not bad at all; however, it's located in an area that is not Indianapolis, per se, and has only about 500 students in a building designed to house approximately 2,000 students.
ReplyDeleteAfter the past few years, John Marshall has earned a 'bad name', whether rightly deserved or not, but it is what it is. No matter what occurs good at Marshall, the school has earned a terrible reputation with the media, the community, and the district. Just sell the building and the property and be done with it.
At present, the new principal, Sullivan, is doing an extemely good job; however, the name recognition of the school carries such a negative connotation that anything positive from Mike Sullivan is negated by the name of John Marshall.
The only way that Marshall could undergo a truly successful school transformation is to spray paint the building another color and then give the school an absolutely brand new name without any mention of Marshall.
Geography lesson...John Marshall is in Warren Township!!!
ReplyDelete"The physical facility is fine and not bad at all..." Guess it is ok to inhale asbestos.
ReplyDeleteTo the "in 2007-2008 year, I taught...."
ReplyDeleteCould that Director have been Phyllis Barnes? Someone please tell me how that woman still has her job!
It might not be a bad idea for the state to take over. I am completely amazed at the principals that don't even speak proper English. No school is able to build a relationship with its students because the next year they are sent somewhere else. And there are so many children not being serviced even though the funds are there. One more point, I have eight students in my class that shouldn't pass to the next grade. While they have come up 1 to 2 skill levels they are still low.
ReplyDeleteSadly I agree that at least one of the buildings needs to be closed. My guess is Northwest. There is no way you can put 500 more students from John Marshall into Arlington without creating more problems. As an FYI, the students and staff can't stand Mr. Sullivan so don't think the problems have been fixed.
ReplyDeleteArlington used to house more than the combined enrollement of Arlington and Marshall so it could easily be done.
ReplyDeleteNext school year, the Over/Under Program is slated to be eliminated. This means that Marshall will have fewer students because approximately 150 of their students this year are O/U students. The same goes for Arlington. Arlington will also lose all their O/U students.
ReplyDeleteSo, Marshall is looking at around 300-400 students for next year in a building designed for approximately 2000 students. How can IPS continue to pay the operational costs for such a large building for so few students?
As another poster mentioned earlier, Marshall is located physically in Warren Township, so what gives? Arlington is located in Lawrence Township, so what gives with that? Evidently there's a history behind both these schools and their being located in other township districts, but why does IPS continue on with this charade or worn-out tradition?
When a person drives to Arlington on Arlington Avenue, the surrounding neighborhood appears like a really nice pleasant area; however, it doesn't take long to learn that the kids who live in this surrounding neighborhood don't even attend Arlington, but rather, they attend Lawrence Central. This makes no sense to this educator who moved here 10 years ago. What gives with this weird arrangement? In fact, how can IPS even pretend to call Arlington a 'community' high school when the students in the very community surrounding the school don't even attend that school or even reside in the IPS district? Talk about a load of BS...
You refer to someone as a "Director." What does that position do in IPS?
ReplyDeleteI am an hourly employee. My department and I have been working diligently for years doing everything possible to improve efficiency and lower our budget. Now I have just been informed that despite our efforts, we will be taking a pay cut in form of being off without pay during all school breaks even though we are supposed to be 12 month employees. I cannot afford this. I am the only income for my family and have obligations that require the use of my vacation time so I may not have enough to cover these losses. We are also being forced to work four ten hour days instead of five eight hour days. This is another huge pay cut for me because it will cause me to lose my second job. One wonders why there are so many employees with bad attitudes. Thanks IPS for caring so much. I am beginning to doubt the need to be so diligent in my job. I do not want to become like so many others I see just collecting a check but I am starting to understand how they got that way.
ReplyDeleteThe arrangement with the townships goes back to when the city fathers did not want African American children going to school with whites. The townships have areas knows as INSIDE because they were inside the old city before Unigov. Those children who are 'inside' go to IPS. Evidence presented in the desegregation case showed that the city would alter boundaries as minorities would move into a area. The townships would cede an area to IPS.
ReplyDeleteSo, Unigov is not really one entity for all branches of city services. Sounds like the schools were not included in this Unigov arrangement. Why not? And, if not way back when, why not now?
ReplyDelete"I am the only income for my family and have obligations that require the use of my vacation time so I may not have enough to cover these losses."
ReplyDelete--------------------------------
I'm just a citizen and not an IPS employee and this situation sounds very unfair to me. I am in a one-income family as well and I can well understand the kind of financial hardship this would bring.
I sincerely hope things do not turn out this way for you and your co-workers.
As I posted elsewhere before this thread was started.....I am an hourly employee. My department and I have been working diligently for years doing everything possible to improve efficiency and lower our budget. Now I have just been informed that despite our efforts, we will be taking a pay cut in form of being off without pay during all school breaks even though we are supposed to be 12 month employees. I cannot afford this. I am the only income for my family and have obligations that require the use of my vacation time so I may not have enough to cover these losses. We are also being forced to work four ten hour days instead of five eight hour days. This is another huge pay cut for me because it will cause me to lose my second job. One wonders why there are so many employees with bad attitudes. Thanks IPS for caring so much. I am beginning to doubt the need to be so diligent in my job. I do not want to become like so many others I see just collecting a check but I am starting to understand how they got that way.
ReplyDeleteoops, sorry for the double post.
ReplyDeleteand for putting it in the wrong thread. Sheesh, I need more coffee.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in Brendonridge (the neighborhood near Arlington High School referenced by a recent poster)for 22 years. When our family moved to this area, our children were enrolled in School #92 (GT); Broad Ripple (Magnet) and Arlington (Academic Diploma). After residing in the neighborhood for a few years, we discovered that the neighborhood association had been petitioning (unsucessfully)for Brendonridge to be annexed into the Lawrence Township school system. We found that each attempt was thwarted by IPS, because of the area's lucrative contribution to the tax base.
ReplyDeleteWe also discovered by researching the history of Brendonridge, that School #106 and Arlinton HS were built to accommodate the residents of the immediate housing development as well as the other nearby neighborhoods with the "Brendon" name. It's interesting to note that in the early 60's when the "Brendon's" came into being, the general "complexion" of the residents (and thus, the school population was quite a bit lighter.
Too bad the state can't take over my school. Maybe then we'd have some real discipline. It totally stuns me to see the student who attacked a teacher, giving them a concussion, back at school acting like nothing happened.
ReplyDeleteWhere was this school?
ReplyDeleteHere are the videos of two John Marshall High School students fighting after school. The Principal is aware the fight and jokes with the kids about the incident.
ReplyDeletePart one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5D6dhvO7xU&feature=related
Part two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4NmnfPjN_c&feature=related
Horrible!!!
As to which school was being referred to before the Marshall post, read the "More IPS BS" section and guess.
ReplyDeleteI watched both videos but I didn't see anyone who looked like the principal in either one.
ReplyDeleteCome to John Marshall and look at the boy's face. Mr. Sullivan refuses to address the issue.
ReplyDeleteWOW this is ridiculious!!! And this fight is not the only incident that has been videotaped with student from John Marshall fighting on and off grounds.
ReplyDeleteThis needs to be reported to the media!!! Remember the incident in Chicago.
I want everyone to know that at our school we had a student take a teacher to the ground as he was hitting the teacher. A hearing was held and guess what the student is back in the SAME. So let it be known students can HIT teachers and NOT be EXPELLED.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me the student is back at the same school in the same classroom.
ReplyDeleteGo!! Tigers!! Go!! Tigers!!
ReplyDeleteRemember, now. Eugene told all of us that he liked the way the school was being run.
ReplyDeleteCounty prosecutors have been told by a certain female judge, Marylyn Moorse, that hitting teachers will no longer be prosecuted by judges in her courts so do not bring them into the court. Her plan is to dismiss them. How do I know? My husband was at a meeting when this information was released. Will she want prosecution when she gets hit?
ReplyDeleteIf the above statement is true then Marylyn Moorse needs to go.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that is suspect about the video posted above is: Where was it videotaped?" There is no area that looks like that near Marshall. An ally with an open, wooded area nearby. I am suspicious of the entire posting. Since it did NOT happen at schhol, and I agree a fight of any kind is bad, shouldn't it be something taken care of by police and not the schools? Even if these are Marshal students, why is it automatically THEIR issue. As I said, it is not good to have a fight or videotape them. But again, why is this automatically a Marshall or an IPS problem. It very clearly did not happen on school grounds. I know that school very weel and this is not on that campus.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the above spelling issues. You can derive my meaning though.
ReplyDeleteThe students were coming from school. Therefore, they are still under the authority of theythe school. :)
ReplyDeleteStudents are under the jursidiction of the school while on the way home. They are not releaed from school purview until they reach home. Sullivan at Marshall has his head in the sand and it will come around and bite him in the behind big time when he gets a huge lawsuit for neglience.
ReplyDeleteAbout an earlier discussion concerning unigov and IPS. I taught government at a high school in 1969-71 and Mayor Lugar spoke to our classes about the new unigov law. which combined the old city limits with the county government, but excluded school districts. I asked him if he was planning to introduce further legislation to cover schools and he responded, "No, that wouldn't be politically expedient. It will probably come through the courts." But the court only ordered one-way busing, which is being phased out.
ReplyDeleteSo as a teacher, I have the right to protect myself from harm by beating the CRAP OUT of a student who is attacking me! What are the legal ramifications of self defense.............will the students parent try to sue me? There is a posting mentioned 11 postings above this one and I would like to know how in the "Hell" does a student( who has been written up on numerous occasionons(six step discipline on line) not be expelled from an IPS school? The system is failing not the students but the TEACHERS! Basically, IPS administration doesn't give a RAT'S ASS about their TEACHERS!
ReplyDeletesorry I misspelled occasions...........
ReplyDeleteThis student should have been sent to ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL back in the FAll. We all saw this coming.............but once again the powers that be let this student get away with bullying,threaten and intimidating both teachers as well as peers. This needs to STOP!
ReplyDeleteSorry about my typo four comments up.
ReplyDeleteMarshall Brawl
ReplyDelete-- appears to be at Marshall--school buses in parking lot--recognized one of the Marshall school police trying to break it up near the end of the clip
Posted on YouTube 2/25/10
By User "MrDMorris38"
http://www.youtube.com/user/MrDmorris38#p/u/8/U47G_sIkPeQ
Way to go IPS BS for violating FERPA by posting videos that identify students! Class act this blog is.
ReplyDeleteThis was all posted on You Tube. It's not like the videos put it on here first. The STUDENTS posted it.
ReplyDeleteNo one here names either students, first name of last. The only way to tell who the students are - if you do not teach at Marshall - is to read the title of the clip the students posted.
students = student in the fourth sentence.
ReplyDeleteThe last link posted if a completely different fight. It's hard to keep all of them straight.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Marshall students are being kept under lock and key, and everything has transformed tremendously under Sullivan's watch.
It should have changed tremendously with an official enrollment of 300. Yes, many debate that but the website was updated to say 300 on ADM count day just like my school was. 300, ok, let's say 500 in a school built for 1500-2000 and they cannot control what goes on right in front of the school? Come one people. What are we paying for here? This is a joke! Sad that this type of violence is almost embraced by the lack of anything negative happening to any of the KIDS. I say kids because, in (MOST) cases, they are under 18. Look at the related videos to the one last posted. Kids flashing guns, doing drugs openly, drinking, flashing gang signs. We are not teaching these kids anything. HArd to woryy about Language skills when you have more money that the person teaching it. (Again, look at the related videos and the cash shown.) And yet, these kids NEED not one but two free meals daily?. We are housing them for a day and feeding them twice. Giving them a place to hook up with their homies. Sad, sad, sad. What a waste of OUR taxpayer dollars.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes. I spelled the word "worry" incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteDoes it bother anyone that these kids are in the weight room and classrooms and there are no adults present?
ReplyDeleteSend your problem students to magnet schools. They send theirs to us.
ReplyDelete@Way to go IPS BS for violating FERPA by posting videos that identify students!
ReplyDeleteFERPA, my foot! These students lost FERPA rights when they first posted their own videos on YouTube for the entire world to see.
By the way, did you notice that none of these students appear thin and hungry looking? Also, they obviously can afford expensive cell phones with cameras plus Internet access via computer to upload their video clips. Yet, we talk so often about our IPS kids who are so poor they can't afford lunch or even to buy paper and pencils.
First of all, if someone posts an illegal video of you on the internet, and I post a link to it on a public forum rather than flagging it for YouTube to take down, I'm sleazy. Period.
ReplyDeleteSecond, just because many students in a district are poor, does not mean 100% of them are. It's like finding a Carmel kid who is wearing hand-me-downs and saying, "Ha, see, that district isn't rich after all."
Check out these administrators dancing and rapping about learning objectives being posted in classrooms and how many walkthroughs they've done.
ReplyDelete'No one was harmed during this filming.'
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=30&title=Walkthroughs_and_Learning_Objectives
Hilarious!! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe videos show you the type of lies that Gene White is telling. The schools are out of control. A special thanks to the person who found the videos. The truth has been exposed.
ReplyDeleteIf you are employed at Tech or the parent of a Tech student then you know that Tech is out of control. What is the current count of teachers or school police injured by students? Most of those students are never punished or given only a couple of days out of school. I wonder how Tony Bennett would handle this situation.
ReplyDeleteit's march. arlington teachers had their meeting today and were told the school could be taken over. that everyone could lose their position. this time there will be no interviewing, everyone will be gone. teachers were told they should be angry because they're trained professionals who know how to teach. same said professionals were told 'i got this. do as i say and we'll be fine'. they were told this in march these professionals were.
ReplyDeleteDear State Dept of Ed
when you come in, not if but when, please consider being really innovative and getting rid of the ips administrators, particularly the ones who sit on their wallets downtown, then the ones who wait until march to light a fire under teachers and tell them it's time to prepare for testing. get rid of the administrators and come in and show them how teachers should be supported, so students can be supported. fearlessly get rid of the teachers you can't work with, the ones who aren't professional educators.
Why in the world would you think that the state department of education would know what to do? Have you read a paper lately? They don't even like public education/educators. Why would someone need to TELL you to begin to prepare students for state testing in March? Don't you know what you are suppose to be doing? You are the professionals that are entrusted with the facilitation of learning. When will teachers be responsible for their own fate? This self loathing and defeated attitude is just sickening here. I am a proud graduate of IPS and am thankful for the education and support I received. I would have been mortified to know that the people I admired were such cry babies.
ReplyDeleteIn some posting I read that Dr. White was meeting with the crew at #60. Anyone know what happened there?
ReplyDeleteDid White address any of the discipline problems at #60?
ReplyDeleteNo! As a matter of fact, he told everyone that he liked the way the principal was running the school.
ReplyDeleteI'm concerned that a student who threatened to 'shank' another student and had one with him in his backpack, was not expelled but instead transfered to my school! Gotta love the discipline.
ReplyDeleteThe six step discipline is a joke. Our principal certainly doesn't follow it. It really is too bad because it would work. Sometimes I think people think they are helping students when in fact they are enabling the student to continue to not follow the school rules. It doesn't take a rocket person to figure it out.
ReplyDeleteThe state won't manage a school that it takes over. It will hire an outside "turn around" management firm. These TMFs will be another way to bring for profit industry in to make our schools worse.
ReplyDelete