BUSTED!!!

IPS official reacts badly to memo

The memo from the state Department of Education was innocuous. It simply announced an upcoming community meeting to talk about several IPS schools that for more than a decade have been heading toward a potential state takeover.

With assistance from the Indianapolis Urban League, the memo was sent to a wide range of community activists and neighborhood leaders. It said a goal of the meeting would be to devise "processes to inform and communicate with parents" while learning from those in attendance "how you have been or might plan to be involved in supporting the schools."

The reaction to the memo from one of Indianapolis Public Schools' top officials, though, was fierce, and it underscores a serious problem within a district that sometimes treats those it considers to be outsiders as enemies intent on destroying public schools. It also provides an example of the bunker mentality often found among the district's top officials.

"This is very serious," IPS Associate Superintendent Li-Yen Johnson wrote, referring to the upcoming meeting. "We have to take an active stand on this and speak up for ourselves. DOE is trying to keep the African Americans hooked and quiet so they can go ahead and turn IPS into mayoral control and/or (have) IPS schools taken over by charters and takeover entities."

We'll forgive for now the grammatical struggles within Johnson's writing. The e-mail, after all, was clearly not written in a moment of calm reflection. Consider this next passage:

"Please be outspoken to all the people you know about this conspiracy!" she wrote. "Lies people will tell about us have to stop! We cannot be silent!"

Johnson, who as the district's third-highest-ranking administrator is in charge of curriculum, apparently doesn't realize the debate over education reform is not about race. After all, thousands of white and Hispanic children attend district schools. The goal is to ensure that students of all races have better schools.

One of the most frustrating parts of the e-mail is that Johnson's fury appears aimed at defending the IPS bureaucracy. She uses words such as "us" and "we" in her bizarre message. But you won't find the words "children" or "students."

The district clearly understands how awful this e-mail looks. District spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley said the e-mail included "very unfortunate language" and was a mistake.

It's nice to see the district distance itself from Johnson's message. But anyone who has followed IPS shouldn't be shocked by her words. The district has long tried to stifle important options such as charter schools, and some education bosses are extremely upset about the package of reforms state lawmakers are debating. Johnson wrote that those reforms "will set IPS back for 30 years."

Former Indianapolis Public School Board member Kelly Bentley said Johnson's e-mail, sent through a district account, was more than embarrassing. It was another reminder of how difficult it will be to make the sweeping changes needed to improve academic performance in Indianapolis.

"It is very disturbing that a senior IPS administrator would send out such an inflammatory, paranoid e-mail," Bentley wrote. "Principals, teachers, parents and communities should be free from this type of craziness and be allowed to get on with the work of educating children."

Reach Matthew Tully at (317) 444-6033 or via e-mail at matthew.tully@indystar.com