Saturday, March 29, 2014

Hope Springs Eternal; A Spring Break Message from the Bloggers

(Taken from Wikipedia Spring Images)

As we prepare to enjoy Spring Break with our families next week, we would like to extend our appreciation to our loyal readers. Your active involvement and comments help us to continue our quest for transparency and accountability in District 181, which are the very reasons this blog was created. Our goal is to continue with our mission to inform the D181 community, and this will continue until a new superintendent begins. After our new superintendent starts, we want to give him/her the opportunity to provide the transparency that we hope we will no longer need to provide through this blog.

We look to the new spring season ahead as a time of renewal and hope. Yes, we want to believe we will collectively move beyond what has transpired during the past three years to a better direction under new leadership with positive results.

Spring is the season of hope, and we believe that with a change in leadership, good things can transpire in D181. We are looking ahead toward brighter days with cautious optimism. We would like to know if you feel the same way. Regardless, feel free to make a comment.

The upcoming change in D181 leadership gives us something to hold onto.

See you back here after Spring Break.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Board Docs is posted for Monday's board meeting. I was disappointed by how light the agenda is - especially considering the many issues facing this district. What happened to the fourth grade math discussion, Dr. Moon's report, PARCC field testing and so much more? Also, in the Superintendent's report the agenda for the next meeting is listed (end of April). It is jam packed with very important issues - and they will never get through them all. This is very poor planning. Why do today what you can put off for tomorrow? I am trying to stay optimistic and positive, but it is really hard....

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with the last comment. Turek and Schuster set the meeting agenda. What a joke this is for Monday and a slap in the face to parents who have expressed so many concerns recently. You would never know our district is in a chaotic mess right now. Are they trying to put on a good front to finish out the school year? Schuster is riding on fumes until the end of her contract and nothing will change because of the lack of Turek's leadership. Sad but true. I have no hope after seeing the agenda.

Anonymous said...

Just looked at the agenda and noticed the superintendent search firm is giving a presentation on their survey results. Now we know why the agenda is light. Got to look good in front of search professionals!
Our BOE is a pack of wolves in sheep's clothing.

Anonymous said...

This rosy little picture they are trying to paint is not doing any applicant a favor - behind closed doors we are still a hot mess and they deserve to know that. Also there are only a few more boe meetings left this year - we cannot waste one on theatrics. Don't our children deserve better than that?

Anonymous said...

The only hope this district has is that someone will be hired with a strong curriculum background who can straighten out this mess. Anyone with curriculum knowledge will be able to look at what the current administration has done and see the major problems that have been created. And honestly, it doesn't take a curriculum specialist to see the mess we're in. Anybody with half a brain could look at what this so called learning for all plan has done and see the horrific results that have occurred. All I have to say is Karma is not kind to those who use their position of so called "power" to make decisions that benefit themselves at the expense of little kids!! And that goes not only for some members on the board but also to the administration. They should all be ashamed of who they are and what they represent. Good luck wherever you go in life b/c you're gonna need it after what you all have done to our children!!

Anonymous said...

BOE members on spring break can't be bothered with prepping for BOE meetings (not that any beyond Garg and Heneghan do on a regular basis...)

Anonymous said...

After Monday's board meeting, we only have 4 more board meetings before the last day of school. We are in crisis mode - the ship is sinking fast - and this is the agenda for Monday?! I am disgusted and horrified. We owe it to the new superintendent to clean up some of this mess before he/she starts. We owe it to our children too. One gets the sense that the current admin plans to push this until July 1 and then dump it on the new admin's lap. They created this mess against the wishes of the community. They owe it to us to fix it. And they cannot fix it if it is not on the agenda!!

Anonymous said...

I agree with the above poster that this is a huge slap in the face to parents by the BOE. This is the worst kind of leadership in a school district that was supposed to be so wonderful. How quickly it went from the top of the pack to the bottom of the heap! How can you go from putting a motion on the table to offer grade level math several board meetings ago and directing an administration to go to the teachers for input to complete silence on the matter? How ridiculuous is that question....what kind of district do we live in where parents have to beg for grade level math? And I have to agree with the poster that said it doesn't take a curriculum specialist to see that we have major problems! Wake up Hinsdale!!!!! We need someone to LEAD this district, someone that cares about our students, someone that has curriculum knowledge, someone that has Common Core expertise!!! Not these yahoos running our Learning Department right now!!!!

Anonymous said...

Nothing like paying high taxes for a public school district to not offer grade level math and reading and writing programs where my child's fellow classmates are grading his work. This is the premier district of Hinsdale, right? Nonsense. The BOE, especially Turek has been asleep at the wheel for years.

Anonymous said...

I just clicked on board docs and noticed that a special board meeting was listed for Tuesday, but nothing was on the agenda for that meeting. Odd to have a meeting on Monday and Tuesday, especially with the light agenda for Monday. In any event, I applaud more BOE meetings and hopefully the chance for meaningful discussion.

Anonymous said...

I just read the notice closer. It is at 5:30 at Hyatt Lodge. They are probably interviewing candidates.

Anonymous said...

Board questions posted. A few lies and evasions of truth. The admin claims that there currently is grade level math for 4th grade, and this is simply not true. Just ask the 107 fourth graders staying after school two times a week to learn fourth grade math. Also, the admin refuses to answer how many people applied to the learning committee by the first deadline and they still have not answered henneghan's non-negotiable question. And only two board members asked questions.

Anonymous said...

I just read the Board Questions document. Unbelievable! Wasn't there a long, heated discussion about offering grade level math again for 4th graders one or two meetings ago? And didn't Drs. Schuster and Russell say they would look at it and speak to the principals and teachers about it. And didn't Ms. Garg remove a motion to offer grade level math because of what Russell and Schuster said? Now they are saying that grade level math is offered at all grades? How stupid do they think we are?

Also, they absolutely know who applied to the Learning Committee before the deadline. Again, how stupid do they think the community is? I just wish the Board would call them out on all of their lies! They should all be ashamed of themselves!

Anonymous said...

Well, well, well. The search firm just read the survey and community engagement results. Over 350 community members, teachers ect. responded. Strengths of district: teachers, PARENTS, facilities (not HMS), and students. Weaknesses: trust, curriculum, BOE relations. I hope you are listening BOE (especially Turek who is in Mexico). Qualities wanted in a super: integrity, honesty, curriculum experience, sitting super, child centered, good communicator, healer, and prior teaching experience (doesn't sound like Schuster at all). Also, TONS of sitting supers applied - guess the blog and naysayers didn't scare them off. The meeting also ended in an hour but there was no time to discuss anything of importance. Oh, and they are not sure when there will be time to discuss Dr. Moon's report. Pathetic!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting public comments from teacher union. Good for them!

Anonymous said...

My goodness!!! Are there 400 naysayers? You mean 400 people think our curriculum is in trouble? 400 people don't trust our current administration or board majority? 400 people think that integrity in our administration needs to be restored? 400 people think that communicating and actually answering a question when asked is an important quality for a superintendent? 400 people think that actually being a classroom teacher is also an important quality for candidates? Are these 400 people squeaky wheels??

Take notice BOE!! The PARENTS of this community are a strength!!! The parents in this town are speaking!!! It sure doesn't sound like everyone's too happy with the current direction of this district. You were elected to work for our children not to hobnob and fraternize with the admin!!!!!! Stop acting like an extension of this administration and get it done!!

Anonymous said...

Ok Heneghan is awesome! He was on fire tonight!!

Anonymous said...

Can someone who listened to the meeting clear something up for me? During the personnel section, did they fire a bunch of teachers and staff, or rather "honorably discharge them?". I was alarmed by this. Does this mean larger class sizes for next year?

Anonymous said...

Why is the boe ok with firing teachers but not administrators?

Anonymous said...

http://burrridge.suntimes.com/news/schools/math-WYD-03242014:article

The Pleasantdale Elementary District 107 Board is sharing responsibility with Superintendent Mark Fredisdorf for misleading the community about the district’s math curriculum being aligned with Common Core State Standards.
A letter dated March 21 and sent to parents and guardians of District 107 students stated, “Earlier correspondence to parents was misleading about our progress in aligning our curriculum outcomes to Common Core State Standards; for that we humbly apologize.”
Concerned that Fredisdorf’s claims of being aligned were not accurate, the board decided in December to hire independent consultant Jennie Winters to review the district’s math curriculum and audit it to see if it does implement Common Core State Standards.
Winters’ audit, presented at a March 11 meeting, claimed the math curriculum is not aligned to Common Core State Standards.
Fredisdorf said March 12 that another consultant, Fern Tribbey, hired in January to work with teachers on the math curriculum, disagreed with Winters’ assessment. He called the difference in opinions “healthy.”
However, the board decided it needed to send a communication to parents after hearing Winters’ report, board member Kim Barker said. And despite earlier saying that the board and parents had been “grossly misled by the superintendent,” the board shared responsibility by jointly signing, along with Fredisdorf, the March 21 letter.
“The board has one employee, the superintendent,” Barker said. “Given that, the board is accepting responsibility for this. The superintendent is responsible for our curriculum, but he reports to the board.”
Barker said it’s most important now to fix the problem, which is why Winters has been hired to facilitate the development of Common Core alignment and implementation in conjunction with teachers and administration.
The board also plans to soon hire a consultant to assist with an audit of the district’s language arts program as part of the process of aligning it to the Common Core State Standards.

Jill Quinones said...

Every year at this time virtually every District in Illinois "fires" its nontenured staff until it sees what its enrollment numbers look like, and then begins hiring them back. It is a cost savings measure because at the end of the day if enrollment or needs are down or shifted, teachers cannot be let go after April 15, I believe, except for cause. Many, but not all, will be hired back between now and August. The downside is many good teachers who are not tenured and are let go will begin looking for new jobs "just in case" and some will find them. I believe in D181 hiring back is done on a seniority basis - not merit - but I could be wrong.

Jill Quinones said...

I also found the HCHTA comments interesting. One of the most interesting to me was that the Everyday Math book has never been the curriculum. It was interesting because I have now put 3 children through the Everyday Math program in D181, grades 1-6, over a 12 year period and not one of them ever brought home any other materials than the Everyday Math materials. One played some games for homework on the IXL website. While arguably the curriculum is what is taught, not the materials, I would be curious to hear what the teachers believe the curriculum that is not Everyday Math comprises.

Anonymous said...

The personnel agenda is posted. It lists the teachers that were honorably discharged. I think there were about 5.

I also found the teacher union comments interesting. I applaud them for speaking out for the teachers because many teachers were afraid to do so themselves. I was a little confused as to whether they were upset with parents, the administration or BOE? I got the sense a little bit of each, but mostly the administration. Anyone else's thoughts???

My thoughts on the Everyday Math issue is that teachers have always used supplements, but parents are on hyper alert this year (and maybe unfairly reacting to teachers on this subject) due to the lack of materials last year, the lack of communication from the district, the disparity in rankings (15 vs. 109), and the major inconsistencies across schools in terms of curriculum and its implementation.

Anonymous said...

I found the teacher's comments interesting, yet cyrptic. I'm just guessing here, but it seems as if their input isn't being valued by the administration. I also don't think there should be as much leeway, creativity, and discrepencies in math materials as in other subjects. I have one child who is getting loads of extra practice problems, one who is barely getting through the chapters, and not much homework.

D181 Staff Member said...

To the anonymous person who thinks the teachers may not feel valued by the administration: that is very much the case. There is a major fear of retaliation among the staff, feeling that the administration dismisses our needs and concerns too readily, etc. There have been many times when there have been staff meetings with a central office administrator present, and someone said "I'm probably going to get sh** for this, but..." There also have been times where we asked for a product or service that would make our jobs easier/better, but have been told that it's "too expensive". How would they know? Sure some things might be insignificant to do once, but when we have to do it multiple times a day, everyday, it adds up.

Also, when the district came back from winter break, and staff was complaining about mold, I believe it was Dr. Schuster who said that she had a sensitive nose and couldn't smell any mold. I'm sorry, but she wasn't in any particular area for an extended amount of time to really feel the effects, in my opinion.

On the bright side, I have to agree with the letter to the board presented at last night's board meeting about Mr. Peña. He truly was amazing during during the whole mold crisis. As he was here the whole time, he knew that there was a problem and he actually did something about it, and the staff is truly appreciative of him and bios work. However, some people not mentioned in the letter was the building engineer, Tomas Rios and custodial staff for working their behinds off with all this. Tomas is truly amazing. While the leaders like Ruben often get the credit, the people who actually do the dirty work, like Tomas rarely get their due. Tomas really knows his stuff, he's passionate about his work, tries to make things as good as possible, and just works so hard with so little acknowledgement from the administration. It just saddens me that Tomas and Ruben have been telling the central office administration about many of HMS' problems, but the central office admins seem to not listen. As I am not privy to all the information the admins have, I don't want to come off too harshly. With the mold issues, however, the administration has been very negligent.