ISTEP collage causes a stir

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New Harmony (Ind.) School officials acknowledged Wednesday that a picture collage of students who did not pass the most recent ISTEP test has filtered out into the community.

They said the privacy breach violates a federal law and they are trying to determine why and how it happened.

The pictures were intended to be given only to faculty at New Harmony's public school, which has students in kindergarten through 12th grade, said Fran Thoele, superintendent of the school district.

Principal Douglas Mills' reason for distributing the collage among teachers, Thoele said, was motivational.

She said Mills wanted to encourage teachers to work hard with students who had not passed the state exam.

ISTEP statistics are used to compute school assessment reports mandated by state and federal laws.

"The principal's message is that it's individuals that count, not the numbers," Thoele said.

Asked if she thought the principal's motivational tactic was appropriate, Thoele replied, "If the teachers would have used it in the way it was Thoele said the leak of the pictures could be a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Thoele learned about the released information from parents who contacted the school district office.

She said she does not know how widely spread the information is.

Mills, in a prepared statement released by Thoele, said:

"It is common for school administrations to share information to their staff about individual students to help guide the school improvement process. The material shared at the January meeting included a composite of individual pictures of students that were considered at risk, with the caption 'Faces, not Numbers' at NHS.

"The intent was to inspire teachers to work together toward making a difference in the lives of these students instead of just focusing on making AYP (adequate yearly progress)."

The principal's statement goes on to say that the school "is taking this very seriously," and "if the person responsible is found, they will be handled in accordance to school board policy regarding student confidentiality and ethical behavior.

"It is unclear why this teacher chose this type of act instead of using the proper school procedure to express concerns."

Mills apologized for the incident and said the school will take steps to prevent it happening again.

New Harmony School, which is one of only a few K-12 schools in Indiana, has 25 faculty members.

The privacy law, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Web site, states "generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record." There are a handful of exceptions to the law.

School Board President Jim Scarafia referred questions to Thoele.


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Comments » 36

cjag#8954 writes:

What a cruel thing to do to a group of children. Just a cruel, useless tactic to use to motivate teachers (who should be already motivated). Sounds like some teachers failed and made it look bad for those who try very hard. Maybe they need to attend summer school with the kids, at no more pay than they already receive. Mandatory summer school for teachers and I bet they would be motivated.

EbbyC writes:

Beavis, your narrow-mindedness on these forums never ceases to amaze me. You constantly take an action by a small group of people and use it to categorize an entire group. Was thas collage a bad idea? Yes. Does it mean all teachers are bad? I don't think so. My children have had some wonderful, creative, hard-working teachers. I have seen teachers go well beyond what should be expected of them (time outside of the classroom) to educate, set an example and help shape the character of my children. I can think of one right now who is working with my son and hundreds of other children on an elective summer program.

I sometimes wonder if you are a real person. I've suspected you are a "plant" by the C&P to keep these forums interesting and stirred up. I guess I would prefer to think there might be that possibility, because I can't fathom that someone with such hatred and bitterness exists.

And by the way, if people address you as "Mr. Beavis, Sir," then why shouldn't a teacher, or any adult for that matter, have the same courtesy of being called "Mr." or "Mrs."

momofj writes:

Beavis is certainly an example of why so many children have lost respect for adults and people of authority.

sportsfan writes:

I'd love to know where Beavis went to school. Obviously education has failed him.

evilmethman writes:

Tragic for all involved. Teachers in other nations are honored, indeed revered, because it is one of the most incredible responsibilities anyone could ever take upon themselves-namely the cultivation of the youth on their road to adulthood.

In America today teachers deserve combat pay. It is very difficult to motivate someone to learn.

How unfortunate it is then that one particular teacher failed to keep those pictures confidential, perhaps by inadvertently tossing them in a trashcan where someone could see them, or worse retrieve them. What would be even more egregious is if the leak was deliberate on a teacher's part. Regardless that is what paper shredders are for.

Might I add, one test should not determine a child's life or station in life. Many D and F students went on to find a passion in life and have blazed a trail for others to follow.

It isn't until some people get out of college that they really begin to apply themselves to become lifelong learners.

Imagine, one test being allowed to determine a young person's fate. That is the grievous injustice.

Evanspatch writes:

The idea of it, that these are really children not numbers, is admirable. The execution of this motivation was terrible. Clip-art would have been just as effective.

Close_Edge writes:

Bombay...I don't think you can say this is "after-the-fact rationale" because the caption on the collage said "Faces not numbers." That was always the intent, not something made up for the newspaper.

The teachers should be ashamed that in a school so small, they let anyone fail. There aren't enough students there to make their job so impossible that they can't commit extra time to kids.

evillewrestlingmom#123068 writes:

I don't know what to think, the title that was supposedly with the collage seemed to try to make teachers work harder, but yet, I cannot see their pictures, real students who did not pass, appearing on there as a good idea, in fact if it was my child and it had been circulated as it had, I imagined I would be pretty peeved,
We have to remember the ISTEP is just a test, not all smart people, or people in general are good test takers, Some really brilliant people are not test takers. Some people are really great ones, the emphasis they put on 1 test, given once a year, is to me crap! Someone could guess on the mutiple choice, not the essay, and possibly pass not knowing nothing, so, I know it is easy to blame the teachers, and in some cases, that may be part of the problem, relying on ISTEP, in itself, is the problem. (In my opinion)
Back to the topic above, How horrible for those children who faces do appear on there, I guarantee the kids will know who is on there, and it would be really horrible to have to put up with the inevitable teasing they will encounter. I think even if it was meant as a inspirational tool, it should never have existed to begin with.

big_thinker writes:

Youch, how distasteful. A decent idea gone horribly awry in the execution. It would have been just as effective to have pulled a stock photo or clipart to motivate teachers. I'm sure they already know who hadn't passed the tests, and using those chlidren's faces was in poor taste. Should definitely have been thought out a little better before they acted on this.

big_thinker writes:

Bombay, though the idea was certainly NOT an intelligent one, I don't think it was intended to be sneaky or cruel. It isn't as though these students were being used as an example to other students. What possible good would it do to belittle students to their teachers who already knew they failed? I don't believe that was the intent at all.

soccerdaddy2003 writes:

I don't see what was wrong with the idea. We tend to focus on numbers and not what the numbers represent - kids that aren't learning what they need to.

I think the principal's idea was great. If some teacher purposely passed this around to cause trouble, they need to be dealt with severely. That person is the one using the kids privacy as a pawn to cause trouble just because they have some sort of issue themselves.

Dog_Pack_Mom writes:

I've thought about this, and can't come up with anything "motivational" about it. Were they trying to motivate the struggling students by creating some kind of scarlet letter for the 2000's? Obviously this pompous ass has never sat home at night with a child who has learning difficulties and comforted them while they cry and assure them that they're not stupid.

emb5071#31190 writes:

In a school the size of NHS there is no need to add faces to a list of names like mug shots. All of the faculty know all of the students. The blame lies with the principal for coming up with bad idea and the superintendent for backing him up and now defending it.

First_Read writes:

Point of interest, several of the students in New Harmony are not residents, but students who were expelled from other area schools for disciplinary problems. These teachers may be dealing with small class sizes, but they're also dealing with some students others refused to deal with. I think the principle had a good idea, just should had thought through the execution, maybe not passing out copies, just showing it during a closed door meeting.

getsmart writes:

I have mixed feelings about this whole situation. On one hand it is very important for the teachers to know which children are struggling. They can then put together a plan of action to help the children succeed. They can draw from all their experience to address the individual needs of each child. When these children are in the work force as adults their bosses and administrators will have personnel files and discuss their performance. However, it is imperative that all privacy laws are strictly adhered to. The method of execution was quite irresponsible. Obviously not thought threw well.

GoColts writes:

You are the same people that would next year be complaining that if they failed again the teachers weren't doing their jobs. She was thinking outside the box and I applaud her for that. Whoever released this to non-staff should be held responsible, not the principal. ISTEP is a joke anyway and people take it way too serious.

hstevens32 writes:


tiredmom3 writes:

NHS Graduating Class of 2007 had TWELVE students in it. TWELVE! There is no way that a staff of twenty five cannot recognize students in a school that size, even if they came from another school. NHS web site reflects congratulations to twelve seniors. I couldn't find a total number of students enrolled. How many can there possibly be with 25 staff? The site states that New Harmony has a 12;1 student to teacher ratio.
The stupidity of this photo is only equal to the stupidity of ISTEP itself.

factotum writes:

Who would be stupid enough, or mean enough, to put the pictures of these kids out into the public. It needs to be investigated and dealt with to the full measure of the law. Let's see --- where could we start --- have there been any teachers lately that were angry with the New Harmony School Board? That might be a good first place to look, since they could cause a lot of ambarrassm4ent and harm in doing what was done here.

organic writes:


how do you read beavis's post as coming from the left? he is a proponent of private schools and for whatever reason hates teachers and public institutions.

dreambig writes:

I think that with a school the size of N.H. that having names is enough, they know each and every one of those students, and in most cases have taught the kids parents, the photo collage was a very Bad idea... and as for the Istep program all schools put to much into this program, not all kids are rocket scientists like the one they modeled the test after.... they need to get back to teaching the basics, your smart brain can help you figure out alot of things but you still have to put your back into it to get it done...

FACTchecker writes:

I'm sure the teacher's union will protect their lazy, demented a**es.

Heck, they'll probably get promoted for this.

caisson06 writes:

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the collage. I see EVERYTHING wrong with it getting outside the confines of the teachers that it was directed to. It was a motivational tool for the teachers, I'm sure, and anyone casting doubt onto that is just being a troll.

Americanzero8503 (Inactive) writes:

ISTEP is a waste of time and does not accurately measure what is taught in a classroom. I go back to the stupid memorization tests where a Baloo was a bear. Stupid and pointless.

ISTEP is just a part of the Bush administration's 'No Child Left Behind' bull. Every person is different and their learning styles are different. You cannot make sweeping generalizations of students and teachers based on one dumb test.

Sorry to inform people, but most of us excell in classroom assignments but do horrible on tests. That's why a final is usally only 20% of a final grade. However, ISTEP is 100% in determining if you graduate and if you're school is doine well. And it's wrong.

Why have a test right after kids get back from summer break? The test needs to be performed in the spring after the kids have been in school for awhile. How would you like three months off from work then have to come back and do your job and exceed at it or your fired. That's too much pressure.

Birdie1483 writes:

ISTEP has been around for a long time, however using it to determine if a student graduates or not came around 1998 or so. I remember taking the test as a child and completely dreading it. We were told we'd be held back in school if we failed the test. Talk about pressure for a 3rd grader...

Birdie1483 writes:

"Why have a test right after kids get back from summer break?"

Exactly. The teachers have to spend 2-3 weeks of their time preparing their students for the test, instead of teaching them new curriculum. And then the students have a few chances to retake the test if the fail. And if by some chance they never pass, they're able to fill out a form to ask to be "pardoned" or whatever to graduate (which most if not all get). ISTEP is completely pointless and a waste of time.

NHparent writes:

As a parent of children in the NH school system whose pictures were on this so called collage of motivation feel that it was a very bad judgement call.some people are missing the point its not the person who leaked its the creator,everyone knows no secret is safe in NH now our kids are labeled as the kids who kept NH from being a four star school as stated by doug mills the so called breach started with him not getting the parents consent first.I am all for children getting extra help not extra ridicule anyone who agrees with them not getting our consent first opens themselves up to anything,we have only had him as princible one year so what do we have to look foward to.

Sturdy writes:

Having taught high school for over 30 years in south central Indiana, I was on one of the earlier ISTEP committees that help to set up the mathematics portion of the test. As originally envisaged, the test was set up to help teachers identify student weaknesses. However, certain politicians decided to use the test for political purposes resulting in today's ISTEP mess. ISTEP, like earlier testing methods such as CAPPS, was a good idea that has became a political hot potato. Unfortunately, politicians will never let teachers instruct students based on their individual needs. This is one of the reasons that I left public instruction.

NHparent writes:

I am so glad you agree on the point,we need to get all the parents of these children together and decide what we want to do and discuss at the next school board meeting I have talked to a lawyer friend of mine and what they did is illegal.If he goes no tears here

NHparent writes:

I just watched channel 14 news why do they and the paper only discuss how bad the person is that leaked why cant our voices be heard by them on the wrong doing by creating the possibility of this to happen.

tiredmom3 writes:

NHS parents- You need to band together and get advice from an attorney. No, I am not an attorney. Just a parent, but not in New Harmony. You need to know your children's rights and your own rights as their parents. Your children have been seriously violated. What difference does it make who leaked it? The photo should never have existed in the first place! Do not allow this principal and superintendent to shuffle blame around. Mills admits he distributed this photo to his staff and Thole appears to support him.
I hope the best for you and your kidos.

GoColts writes:

I think you should all band together and get some advice from a therapist. Everything with you people is some big conspiracy. It was a motivation idea that went bad because somebody released it. Get over it.

rappites writes:

No words can describe the devastation this has caused my family. The wounds will never heal. I thank the person who did leak this to the public. If that person hadn't, I would have never known what had been done to my child. My thoughts now are where to go from here and wondering what else has been done without my knowledge...

hey_there_roger writes:

Why are we all blaming the teachers? Why don't we think for one minute that perhaps it's the kids who don't pay attention to schoolwork like they should? The blame partially goes to teachers, yes, but the majority of it should go to the students who are failing. Now, if they don't have the mental capacity, that's fine, but if they just don't try in school, shame on them. I think posting the pictures of these students might motivate them to actually try to do better next year. Though it was by accident, good job to whoever released this.

NHparent writes:


MSJ writes:

Isn't Mills the same jerk who had the art teacher reduced to part time so he wouldn't have to pay benefits.

I hate to say it, but he needs to GO!
