Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett is recommending the state takeover four of six failing Indianapolis Public Schools. Bennett is says the the state should take control of Manual, Howe, Arlington and Emma Donnan schools. Broad Ripple High School and George Washington will not be taken over by the State but will be assigned a lead partner to help it with its math and reading scores.
The other four schools will be managed by private entities. Arlington will be taken over by Ed Power, a company that operates Charles Tindley Charter School in Indianapolis. Emma Donnan Middle School, Manual and Howe High schools will be taken over by Charter Schools USA. Although all six schools failed to make it off academic probation for a sixth consecutive year, state officials say George Washington Community school and Broad Ripple have strong community partners so a total takeover was not necessary.
IPS officials have threatened to go to court to stop the takeover, saying the state counted the test scores of 7th and 8th graders in its community high schools. The State counter argues that IPS is being treated like every other school district in Indiana. The State Board of Education will make a final decision on Bennett’s recommendations next week.
And before anyone starts to castigate the State for intervening and taking over failing schools you should point your fingers at the clowns who attempt to pass themselves off as educators at 120 E. Walnut who have been engaging in educational malpractice and not addressing these problems five years ago when the schools were first put on probation. And while you’re at it, blame yourself for not showing up either.
Here is a copy of IPS Superintendent Eugene White’s e-mail to the school board asking for permission to appeal the state’s decision regarding the district’s failing schools…
We have received the results of our appeals from IDOE and they all have been denied. I am requesting that Dr. Busch add this item under new business tomorrow evening at the action session and I am requesting that the Board gives your attorney the approval to start legal action against Dr. Tony Bennett and the Indiana Department of Education. Hud has been preparing some materials in case this was IDOE’s decision.
I truly believe that we need a third party’s opinion on this matter. We can not receive a fair decision from IDOE. There is a clear case of improvement on the part of our high schools that exceeds the 3% requirement that the other 9-12 high schools had to meet. There is no justice in this matter because of the educational reform push that is more political than educational.
I can accept the view or judgement of a third party, but I can’t accept the politically driven view of IDOE. I hope you agree and vote to start legal action in this matter. It is truly time to stand up for our children.
Dr. Eugene G. White, Superintendent
120 E. Walnut St. Room 702 A
I would argue the time to stand up for IPS kids was when the schools first went on academic probation six years ago. An announcement is expected from the Indiana Department of Education this afternoon.
Just in. The Indiana Department of Education has turned down an appeal by Indianapolis Public Schools regarding the status of several schools that could be taken over by the state next year. My sources are also telling me that IPS plans to sue the state in Court over the decision.
Howe, Washington, Broad Ripple and Arlington failed to make it off academic probation this year which means they are subject to be taken over by the state. IPS argued that those schools have middle school students which skewed their most recent end of course assessment results and those students should not have been included in any testing.
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Tony Bennett says IPS was treated just like every other school district in the state and is not entitled to any special treatment.
A decision on the fate of IPS’ failing schools could come as early as tomorrow.
The Indianapolis Mayoral race is focusing on jobs with both Greg Ballard and Melina Kennedy staking out their positions. Melina has tried to argue that Indianapolis has lost 35,000 since Ballard took office, although she told WIBC the number was 21,000 jobs. The Mayor, who unveiled his job plan today, has argued the city has had more job commitments in the 2010 than it did from 2002-2006, although some of those jobs won’t materialize for a few years. So who is a voter to believe?
Like a lot of things in this world, where you sit depends on where you stand. Melina cites Bureau of Labor Statistics that employment in the greater Indianapolis area (not Marion County proper) dropped a percentage point from June 2010 to June 2011. The Mayor cites those same sources as Indianapolis area unemployment rate dropping twice as fast as the national average going from 9.1 percent in July 2010 to 8 percent in July 2011, although there 2,900 fewer people working in June 2011 than May 2011.
Melina has hinted that the Mayor’s increase in fees for business is partially to blame. However she fails to acknowledge (either by choice or by accident) that prior to certain business fees being increased, 98% of the city’s population was paying for services that on 2.5% of the people actually used. Now those fees fully cover the costs of the services. And the Mayor has only recently found his footing in answering that attack that easy for the average citizen to understand.
But back to the jobs question. As I said before, where you sit depends on where you stand. If you’re out of work, your unemployment rate is 100%. I personally think Melina would have more traction on the job issue if Indianapolis, just like Indiana and the rest of the country wasn’t in the middle of a national (soon to be double-dip) recession. According to the BLS, up until the bottom started to fall out of the economy in 2008, Indianapolis saw 27,000 jobs created in the first half of 2008. And there are 26,000 more people working today than there were at the beginning of the year. Anyone can make numbers say anything they want them to. For example you could argue when Melina was in charge of economic development for the Peterson administration, the city lost 17,000 jobs. The real fight is one of perception. Do the voters think times are still tough, yes. Do they think Indianapolis is on the brink of Armageddon, no, but we haven’t seen all the campaign commercials either. Time to get back to work.
Just so you know, I’m getting ready to file a lawsuit the nation’s major drug manufacturers. The other day I had a bad headache so I went to reach for the aspirin. I couldn’t take it because every time I tried to pick the cotton out of the bottle, I had this major slavery flashback which just shot my world to hell and I was emotionally traumatized.
Of course that sounds ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the latest lawsuit being filed against the State of Indiana regarding the tragedy at the Sugarland Concert.
The Indianapolis law firm of Cohen and Malad is filing suit on behalf of the 12,000 attendees at the Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair. Yes, all 12,000 attendees. We’re not just talking about the people who were injured or killed, but those who were there and may have potentially suffered emotional damages because they witnessed the event. I find these people offensive, disgusting and reminders as to why people hate my other profession.
It is one thing to file suit on behalf of the guy who saw his wife killed by a collapse of the structure. It’s another thing to sue on behalf of the guy who was in the cheap seats in the back because he was allegedly “traumatized” by the event. By following that logic, my friend who lives in Pennsylvania who saw the story on the news is entitled to damages because he was distraught. And while we are at it, let’s sue the TV stations that aired the footage and all the people who recorded the stage collapse with their camera phones and posted it on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.
This entire ordeal reminds me of the Jerky Boys bit. I’ve embedded it below.
If it weren’t for that part about tyranny reigning, Shakespeare might have gotten the line right in Henry VI.
Here is a copy of State Rep. Phil Hinkle’s statement to the media today. My colleague Jim Shella of WISH-TV is reporting Hinkle has been removed from his committee chairmanship and summer study committee chair assignments.
There were some conflicting reports this morning on whether embattled State Representative Phil Hinkle of Indianapolis would resign his seat. Some media outlets were reporting he was resigning, others said no. I texted Hinkle this morning and his response was resounding “NO”. He also told me he is not running for re-election in 2012. House Speaker Brian Bosma released a letter today calling for Hinkle to step down immediately.
Indianapolis Democratic Mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy sent out a second mailer this week.* She continues to push education, although the Mayor has a limited role in education in the city.
I did notice something in her mailer, when she talks about failing schools she is referring only to Indianapolis Public Schools, not the township, charters or private schools. Look at the the bottom of her mailer and you will see she cites that her stats for the dropout rate and lack of student progress come from the Indiana Department of Education 2009-2010 school year. I’ve embedded a copy of it below.
I think Kennedy is running an excellent campaign for IPS school board. And looking at most of the current crop, I’d recommend voting for her if that was the office she was seeking. And I am sure if asked she would agree that IPS Superintendent Eugene White needs to be fired because of these results. I say that if she thinks Greg Ballard should lose his job because of an education system he has no direct control over, then logic only dictates that the people directly in charge of the failing schools should be fired as well.
* I put the asterisk mark there because if you look closely at the mailer you will see that it is not paid for by the Melina’s campaign nor the Marion County Democrats but by the Indiana Democratic State Party. That means one of two things, Melina is having money problems or she doesn’t trust county Chairman Ed Treacy. I know money isn’t a problem because she reportedly told her fellow Democrats earlier this year that she would have plenty of money to compete, so it must be the latter. And after Ed’s most recent misadventure with printed materials, I frankly don’t blame her for making the decision.
Although it was a violent weekend here in Indianapolis, what I find most disturbing is the following pattern. The first three men were all murder victims. The final below is that of Joshua Jude. He’s accused of shooting two people in the 3300 block of Downey Avenue.You tell me what’s wrong with these pictures. By the way, Blacks make up about 28 percent of the population, but are 57 percent of the murder victims.
