Not buying it at all. White is a joke. How can you go accept an award for music education at a conference and weeks later, cut music programs at an elementary level? Completely eliminating the over/under program? Those kids are unsuccessful in the regular academic setting. With this program, they are at least maintaining their education and attending school. What is going to happen to them now? Sounds like an increase in the drop out/failure rate in IPS to me. No proposals to cut anything on an administrative level?
Why are the special education funds being cut? .. ..by the federal government or is Dr. White misusung the funds? He twisted RW's arm last year for sped funds and used them for general ed. Is this legal?
Re: sped funds -- this year at my school a certified special ed teacher is assigned two Title 1 Reading classes. That's supplanting funds and can get IPS in real trouble with the Feds. She's under contract as a special education teacher, but she's being used for Title 1 purposes. Happens all the time in IPS. Too many of our teachers are not up-to-date on school law, and the Ed Center knows this.
I think you're mistaken. I think it's illegal to use Title 1 funding for special education, but not the other way around. Plus, special education is state funded, right? So even if it is illegal (which I can't imagine how), then you'd report it to the state, not the feds.
The Feds send the IDEA monies to the States and trust that the individual States will use the monies properly toward the education of students with disabilities.
What IPS submits to the State for IDEA funding is where the problem lies. Who knows what creative accounting occurs between IPS and the State? RW is not a strong Director; he'd do anything that White suggested rather than risk losing his job.
When we did "small schools" teachers (and they were math teachers at that) said oh good smaller class sizes. What a laugh, the only way there would be smaller class sizes is if all the kids agreed to diet. The same number of kids and the same number of teachers does not equal smaller class sizes. Likewise less teachers and the same number of kids does equal larger class sizes. Show me the math to prove otherwise.
What I am seeing is some sneaky shifts of people into new positions, administrative cuts being made on the building level to justify raises being given to people downtown. If you watch the board vote on the raises given to the senior administrators you will see Kelly Bentley trying to read the paper that explains these cuts and saying "we just got this, how are we suppose to know what is in it" but they voted anyway.
In this time of economic crisis the board needs to be really looking at the people what are not in the classroom with daily contact with the students. Sadly this includes some principals who never leave their offices.
Note to board members-perhaps you could do a Law and Order thing here, and take a photo line up of people out into the schools, stop at random twenty five kids and ask them to identify their principal, at a least two IPS high schools the kids have seen the principal so few times they won't be able to identify who it is.
"Help! My Dean helps students circumvent the dress code : ("
This is a symptom of the dysfunction in IPS, the top down management encourages this type of behavior, the dean has no "buy in" on decisions, therefore they are being passive/aggressive in their enforcement of the policy. This dean is functioning like a sibling who doesn't like your parents rule, and you may pay the consequence of the behavior. We are treated like children and we react like disobedient children and fight among ourselves. CYA write the kid up and follow the six step plan, keep records, call parents, and when it comes down on you you'll have your records.
Eleanor Roosevelt said "No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent", she never met an IPS administrator, because they will make every effort to make sure you know you are "under" them.
When this dysfunction ends perhaps we can start to work together and student achievement will improve when it becomes a real priority.
More lies from Eugene White!!
ReplyDelete"...and it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summer time."
ReplyDeleteThe class sized are already too large anyway. They need to be smaller in many cases.
ReplyDeleteNot buying it at all. White is a joke. How can you go accept an award for music education at a conference and weeks later, cut music programs at an elementary level? Completely eliminating the over/under program? Those kids are unsuccessful in the regular academic setting. With this program, they are at least maintaining their education and attending school. What is going to happen to them now? Sounds like an increase in the drop out/failure rate in IPS to me. No proposals to cut anything on an administrative level?
ReplyDeleteEugene lies like a rug.
ReplyDeleteWhy are the special education funds being cut? .. ..by the federal government or is Dr. White misusung the funds? He twisted RW's arm last year for sped funds and used them for general ed. Is this legal?
ReplyDeleteI would like to see a special audit of special education funds. Something is fishy there.
ReplyDeleteRe: sped funds -- this year at my school a certified special ed teacher is assigned two Title 1 Reading classes. That's supplanting funds and can get IPS in real trouble with the Feds. She's under contract as a special education teacher, but she's being used for Title 1 purposes. Happens all the time in IPS. Too many of our teachers are not up-to-date on school law, and the Ed Center knows this.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is an anonymous hotline to call in and report these abuses in sped to the Feds.
ReplyDeleteI think you're mistaken. I think it's illegal to use Title 1 funding for special education, but not the other way around. Plus, special education is state funded, right? So even if it is illegal (which I can't imagine how), then you'd report it to the state, not the feds.
ReplyDeleteNo, you are mistaken. Special Ed. funds are Federal.
ReplyDeleteIf special ed funding is federal, than how can the state cut special ed funding?
ReplyDeleteThe Feds send the IDEA monies to the States and trust that the individual States will use the monies properly toward the education of students with disabilities.
ReplyDeleteWhat IPS submits to the State for IDEA funding is where the problem lies. Who knows what creative accounting occurs between IPS and the State? RW is not a strong Director; he'd do anything that White suggested rather than risk losing his job.
Help! My Dean helps students circumvent the dress code : (
ReplyDeleteThat is so wrong!
ReplyDeleteWhat is wrong? That the dean doesn't make students follow the dress code or that someone was stupid enough to post that?
ReplyDeleteWhen we did "small schools" teachers (and they were math teachers at that) said oh good smaller class sizes. What a laugh, the only way there would be smaller class sizes is if all the kids agreed to diet. The same number of kids and the same number of teachers does not equal smaller class sizes. Likewise less teachers and the same number of kids does equal larger class sizes. Show me the math to prove otherwise.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am seeing is some sneaky shifts of people into new positions, administrative cuts being made on the building level to justify raises being given to people downtown. If you watch the board vote on the raises given to the senior administrators you will see Kelly Bentley trying to read the paper that explains these cuts and saying "we just got this, how are we suppose to know what is in it" but they voted anyway.
In this time of economic crisis the board needs to be really looking at the people what are not in the classroom with daily contact with the students. Sadly this includes some principals who never leave their offices.
Note to board members-perhaps you could do a Law and Order thing here, and take a photo line up of people out into the schools, stop at random twenty five kids and ask them to identify their principal, at a least two IPS high schools the kids have seen the principal so few times they won't be able to identify who it is.
"Help! My Dean helps students circumvent the dress code : ("
ReplyDeleteThis is a symptom of the dysfunction in IPS, the top down management encourages this type of behavior, the dean has no "buy in" on decisions, therefore they are being passive/aggressive in their enforcement of the policy. This dean is functioning like a sibling who doesn't like your parents rule, and you may pay the consequence of the behavior. We are treated like children and we react like disobedient children and fight among ourselves. CYA write the kid up and follow the six step plan, keep records, call parents, and when it comes down on you you'll have your records.
Eleanor Roosevelt said "No one can make you feel inferior without your own consent", she never met an IPS administrator, because they will make every effort to make sure you know you are "under" them.
When this dysfunction ends perhaps we can start to work together and student achievement will improve when it becomes a real priority.
IPS putting the fun in dys"fun"ctional. :)
I think Barbie puts the fun in dys"fun"ctional.
ReplyDeleteLADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! Be careful. Barbie "knows" people. Oh, and by the way, Babs, the blogmaster knows what you think you "know."
ReplyDelete