During a lengthy meeting Monday, the State Board of Education voted to assign turnaround operators to run one Gary high school (Roosevelt), one Indianapolis middle school and three Indianapolis high schools (Arlington, Howe and Manual). Indianapolis Washington and Broad Ripple (a magnet school) will be assigned to improvement specialists, leaving them under IPS control but subject to takeover if they don't improve. The IDE pointed out that the schools that were taken over refused to sign a memorandum of agreement for restructuring with the IDE last year. In other words they were uncooperative. Although no one said why during the meeting, it's probably because the Indianapolis teachers union wouldn't go along.
FW South Side and North Side undoubtedly would have faced the same fate if they had refused to restructure and raise their passing rates. But Wendy and FWEA (kicking and screaming) wisely went along. IPS superintendent Eugene White said Howe and Arlington were graded unfairly because they have combined with middle schools, whose scores were figured in with the high schools. He's threatened to sue the IDE, which makes it look like it's all about control instead of the kids.
At least Tony Bennett has shown that he's serious. Being willing to take over failing schools will keep some pressure on the ones that escaped takeovers. But as he said in a press conference, being able to escape for another five years by making "minuscule" improvement one year is not acceptable. PL 221 needs to be tightened to avoid backsliding. At the same time he should look at his rating system. When almost half the schools in the state get a grade of "A", he's made that meaningless.
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23 comments:
I worked in a school that should have flatly recieved an F, for ineffective teaching methods (videos and worksheets - I am mean 6 hours of worksheets, day after day!), yet they recieved a C.
I've never paid much attention to the state ratings or AYP, which figures into the ratings. I just look at the test scores and hope the IDE is being honest keeping the diffculty the same.
The (over)ratings just gave Mark GiaQuinta another reason to move his lips, like he did in the JG this morning.
Don't worry Evert. Your hero Tony Bennett has made the evaluations for teachers so that principals will have the ability to let 25% of their teaching staffs go after two years. Yeah! Now we will be able to hire young teachers that we can pay $32,000 a year. Hell I bet schools will be like other American companies and just hire a bunch of Mexicans. Who cares if they can't speak Spanish! They are cheap and that is what Bitch, I mean, Mitch Daniels and his BFF Tony Bennett cares about.
Are you saying that 25% of FWCS teachers are "bad" and need to go? There's no way to know right now unless you "know a bad teacher when you see one". Or are you saying those who are the oldest and make the most money will be targeted? That would get them in trouble with the Feds for age discrimination.
I don't believe that your scenario will happen. I think we probably have 10%, young and old, who should be doing something else. 10%who are really "great" and the rest are in between. If the best ones end up making the most money, I don't see the district going after them to cut the payroll. We didn't do that at the oil company, although we did fire the botttom 10% every year.
Sweetwater Sound starting pay is $28,000. We all jokes with their new hires, they can go be a FWCS work and get paid more, and have a free summer.
What kind of professions does Sweetwater hire? Engineering graduates started at an average of $60K in 2010, so it can't be for EE's. The type of degree is becoming more and more important and the more diffcult degrees (Can you do math?) are going to command more and more money.
And why would anyone who's good at math want to teach in an urban school?
On the 25%, that is what the new rubric calls for if administrators that are evaluating want to get a good rating themselves. I am not saying it is right to do this, but we all know it is not about quality education anymore. Instead it is about eliminating costs. That is what you get when you run education like a business. Thanks Mitch.
So 25% are supposed to be in the category that requires improvement? That sounds like an arbitrary number. I have worked with systems where everyone was put into one of five rankings which determined their raises. There were limits on the percentages in the upper rankings. But that system was not designed to weed people out like the force ranking at EXXON.
But we were scrupulous in observing age discrimination laws. If there was a layoff or a severance package they would publish the age distribution of the people who left. FWCS will get into a heap of trouble if they fire people based on age (and salary).
The average sound engineer (engineering for music) starts at $28,000, no joke! I have known of computer techs that went and worked their for $35,000! And, Chuck expects his employees to work at least 60 hours a week.
Teaching is easier than fighting with Tom Henry, and the big wigs.
I am sure they are going to come out and say it was for age or salary. Get a clue, they are going to keep who they want and get rid of the rest. It is all about the money. Keep the taxes low baby. Isn't that what you are about?
If Tony Bennett wanted better schools he would make it a policy that students in grades 1-8 could not be socially promoted. Of course he cannot bring this up. It would put to much pressure on parents and students to do their part. Thanks Tony.
Layoffs due to age are nothing new. In the private sector, many people are let go at the age of 50 or 55, because the company can pay someone in their 20's to come in at half the pay and be a lower health insurance risk. For years, Lincoln, Navistar and others have done this obligation to keep their bottom line trim. The fact with teachers is they always have had secure jobs, until now.
I don't know who all the anons are so just a few replies to some comments:
What is a "sound engineer"? Is that a degreed engineer equivalent to the recognized disciplines like mechanical, electrical, chemical etc. Those disciplines earn BS graduates $60K to start.
Social promotion is an admission of failure. Defending it as a way to lower the dropout rate is a copout for looking at each kid and forcing a decision on the parent(s). Until FWCS changes its practice, they're not serious about improving for the sake of the kids. The state has addressed it at the end of grade 3, but that's a half measure.
Longevity and loyalty is no longer a guarantee of job security or pay in the private sector. It's "what have you done for me lately" and what are you likely to do for me now. I was in that position as I approached 50 15 years ago. I was fortunate to survive but I also saved my money in case it didn't go my way.
Thanks assholes. As a teacher I should just quit because now I know that we are like the private sector and that we don't matter.
Code blue I have to disagree with you on the Federal issues on your comment "in trouble with the Feds for age discrimination." WHAT a JOKE...but thanks for the laugh of the day...I have been told to my face the last two interiews that "we were expecting you to be much younger"...really...so I can't work at 50, is that what My Man Mitch and Tony are asking for?Well guess what...congrats to them..it's working. I am not asking for benefits I have OR had those...had two sick days in 15 yrs...jeez so sorry...gave up asking for a vacation, I had one a yr and a half ago...and besides being a great worker with great reviews...it just doesn't matter anymore. And yes at one time I hired new employees and I know the Federal laws and when I mentioned that, not once but twice, I was told the same thing.."go ahead and complain...it's your word against mine, no one else is in this room" so I got the much needed extended vacation that I wanted..unpaid of course...unemp is done...and we were doing "ok" until my husband lost his teaching job this year...no new contract. No explanation...no reason...NOTHING. You see...he is over 40 WAY past the age limit, had an awesome increase in all test scores...won a Teacher-Parent contact award for best communication...and the list continues on and on...NOT good enough I guess..but then again it was a charter school and after two yrs you wear out your welcome, and we all know that the 1st yr teacher doesn't care and wants that new job so bad that they will take it for $24K a year as they are still living at home and can stay on their parents insurance etc etc...this is where Indiana is going with education...it's all about the money...not teaching the kids. Administration and superintendants are the new CEO's of education. Welcome to the business world...
My division of the oil company started reengineering (and reengineering never stops) when I was just short of 50. The question for everyone in the company was whether "they" thought you would fit into the "new culture" not how well you had done in the old culture.
Maybe teachers are entitled to better treatment. I wasn't.
AreyouKidding?- You're right about the age discrimination laws. They only offer protection from losing your job. They don't help getting another one, because it's hard to prove you were passed over because of age.
Evert you are the biggest asshole that I know. I will never read your blog again.
Good riddance, anonymous. I really doubt if Evert will miss a troll like you reading and commenting here. I know it will make things more pleasant for me.
Phil- thanks but I don't expect teachers to agree with me. I'm just relating how things worked in industry, which sucked. But I don't see why teachers think similar things can't happen in their field. Unions couldn't preserve the jobs at the car companies that went under. Ultimately they won't be able to save the jobs in schools that don't work.
Phil,
I will make it a purpose to visit you and "talk" with you in person asshole. Troll Power
Evert,
The biggest problem I have with so many of the teachers who comment here is that whenever you or anybody else suggests an idea to hold them accountable, they automatically attack it as unfair to them. Yet they never propose any reasonable alternatives.
You and I are paying their salaries. If they don't like the fact that we want to have something to say about it, then perhaps they should go into private industry.
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