Indiana's Resources and Questionable Programs

We certainly do need good ideas and good people to work on Indiana schools but the question here is a good one.   Why is IDOE partnering with private colleges (or now the Governor's outsourcing to Utah) when we have a fine higher education system to work with?  Will this be another high-speed, low-experience program that puts people in systems they don't understand?  Almost certainly, oh....and, Bennett's wife happens to have a new job at this particular private college.  Just sayin'

Do we really need a new program?

Posted by Susan Blackwell

The Indiana Department of Education announced recently that a small, local university was awarded half a million dollars to develop a principal leadership academy focused on using data and research to improve school performance. There is no doubt that effective leadership is fundamental to a school change process. And, if I were to survey the leadership programs already in existence in Indiana, I would learn that they already address the "innovative " elements cited in the Indianapolis Star story. So, then, I have to wonder: Why is the IDOE is giving money to start one program when multiple programs with the same focus already exist in abundance?

Current programs already teach the elements of leadership. These include best practices in teaching and teacher evaluation, data decision-making, conflict resolution, change processes, and supervision of employees. These are the basics of accredited programs.

Given the additional cuts in funding to schools, it is unclear how the IDOE can justify the promotion of one program (with the funding that accompanies it) that duplicates efforts already in existence at universities across the state. It is also unclear how this program is anchored in the research on effective leadership preparation. Finally, while school districts are cutting faculty and closing schools, parents and others should be asking about the use of state resources at this critical time.

Focusing on Learning in School Reform

Hey! How about some good news.  Here's an effort to really to work on instruction that values the expertise of teachers and gives them the time to work together on strategies for learning.  So much of reactionary, politicized efforts at school reform do the opposite: blame the teachers, pile on more paperwork, test & test again.  What we know works is giving teachers the space and time to work as the professionals they are.  The DOE could take a lesson.

June 29, 2010

Teacher-initiated reform

Posted by Susan Blackwell

This week more than 300 teachers and administrators from Indiana and beyond are participating in a project-based learning (PBL) workshop at Ben Davis High School. PBL reflects a reform effort coming from the efforts of educators, not politicians. Unfortunately, when politicians use the term "reform," they often mean increased competition and entrepreneurial schools. When educators use the term, they mean an increase in the quality of student learning.

IUPUI and CELL have taken a lead in providing the opportunities for educators to make meaningful changes in classrooms that address 21st century skills. PBL promotes rigorous projects that also engage community members in reviewing the work students create. My institution, University of Indianapolis, is focusing on PBL at the college level in teacher preparation, the medical professions, the arts, and the sciences. In particular, the UIndy Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship Program is preparing beginning teachers to teach with a project-based approach. Teachers at Tech High School, Decatur Central High School, and Ben Davis High School have made this commitment to more rigorous learning standards and are mentoring beginning teachers to do the same.

We educators understand that the quality of student work needs to become more rigorous. We know what needs to be done. It sometimes appears that educators are making little to no effort to reform schools. This initiative demonstrates that, despite the ongoing negative critique of teachers and schools, educators are looking at their methods so as to improve academic learning for all students.

Misunderstanding Advanced Placement

In another ill-thought and under-researched move the IDOE is pushing for higher numbers in AP classes.  A little history might be helpful here: AP classes were designed for the top 2 percent of students, those capable of taking a college-level class.  With the push for more classes and higher enrollment, the state (and others as well) are pushing folks to water down the curriculum and its showing in passing rates (i.e. they're going down). All of these pushes for AP, early college, and dual credit actually have absymal performance rates and show the pathology of looking for easy fixes and cheap answers.  Ultimately it hurts kids....what's wrong with a high school kid doing high school work??


AP quota spells trouble for ill-prepared students


Posted: July 1, 2010
I have read with interest opinions about Advanced Placement classes in Indiana high schools, . As an experienced AP teacher in Indianapolis Public Schools, I can offer insight into this discussion, which is based on Indiana Department of Education's assertion that one-quarter of all high school students should pass at least one AP exam. Unfortunately, that is forcing schools to water down the curriculums to accommodate the lowest functioning children, and the result is ever-lower passing rates on the national exams.


I had one student enrolled in my AP class who could barely read and write. When I told the principal that he needed to be removed, she dismissed my suggestion, claiming he was just being lazy. He failed the class, which doubled as his senior English class, postponing his graduation. Unfortunately, this young man was not the only one in that predicament. To appease their higher-ups, administrators and superintendents are pushing more and more unprepared students into these college-level courses and then are surprised when they fail the exam or even the course.

For students to be successful in AP courses, they must begin preparation in middle, or even elementary, school. That is where bright children should be encouraged to enroll in accelerated or honors classes. Sticking low-performing or unmotivated students into AP classes to fulfill someone's quota is a travesty.


An Indiana AP Teacher