Friday, March 7, 2014

Weekly "D181 Family E-Newsletter" Silent on Russell's Resignation

We guess the D181 Administration has chosen to keep mum to the parents about Dr. Russell's resignation, ignoring it entirely in the weekly "D181 Family E-newsletter"sent out moments ago to the D181 parents.  The newsletter is copied in its entirety below.  We fail to understand why no mention is made of his resignation in the one document that ALL parents who have emails receive.  Does the D181 Administration really believe it is meeting its obligation to be informative and transparent simply by posting an announcement of Dr. Russell's resignation on the "news" portion of the D181 website but not mentioning it in the correspondence it sends directly to all parents?

Other items of interest mentioned in the newsletter include the announcement that Dr. Moon's follow-up report will be available on Board Docs tomorrow and that it is also accessible on the D181 website under the Learning tab.  So far, however, it has not been posted on the website, and if it is it is buried.  We are eagerly waiting to read the report and see how, if at all, Dr. Moon addresses the parent concerns voiced during the last Board meeting, in particular on the math acceleration model and how it is hurting some students. Also, will the report include a list of which classrooms she visited and how long she spent in each classroom, as requested by one parent during public comment?

Finally, the newsletter points out that the Summer Work schedule will be on the board meeting agenda. Is this a JOKE?  How embarrassing that the Administration would even put a discussion of this item on the agenda in light of the fact that the "proposal" as previously drafted had the central administrative staff working only 4 day work weeks during the month of July.  That will be the first month the new superintendent will be on the job and perhaps other administrators as well -- such as the replacement for Dr. Russell. We would certainly hope that all administrators will work ON SITE five days a week the first month the new educational leader is in the district. It is mind boggling that the Administration has not tabled this agenda item permanently!

Once Board Docs for Monday's meeting is available to us and the rest of the D181 community, in advance of the meeting, we will review the full agenda and documentation and publish a post addressing Dr. Moon's report and any other items of interest.

Copy of 3/7/14 D181 Family E-Newsletter emailed to parents this afternoon:

"Your District 181 Family E-Newsletter
  • Daylight Saving Time on Sunday: Spring Ahead!
  • Superintendent Learning Committee: Applications Welcomed
  • ISAT Testing Begins Next Week; Preparing for PARCC
  • Board Meeting Preview (7:30 p.m. Start Time); Feb. 24 Summary Posted; Dr. Moon Report
  • Health News: Measles in McDonough County
  • Upcoming D181 Events: Joint Orchestra Concert, CHMS Musical, Common Core Science Parent Presentation
  • News from the Community: Event Reminders
  • News from SELAS: Taking the Stress Out of Tests
Daylight Saving Time on Sunday: Spring Ahead!
This is a friendly notice that clocks should “spring ahead” on Sunday for Daylight Saving Time.

Superintendent Learning Committee: Applications Welcomed
We are welcoming applicants for the new Superintendent’s Learning Committee being formed for the purpose of providing input on major curriculum, assessment, instruction, and student services practices and policies. The application for committee membership is attached here and is also available in hard copy at the District Administration Center and posted on our District website: www.d181.org > Resources > Committees > Learning. Applications are due no later than 5:00 p.m. on March 21. Applicants will be contacted to confirm receipt of application and application status no later than March 28. Please encourage fellow parents and community members to consider applying!

ISAT Testing Begins Next Week; Preparing for PARCC
Our students in Grades 3-8 will take the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) between March 10 and March 21. This is the last year that the ISAT will be administered. Illinois is among several states working together as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) to create new assessments specifically aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Starting next school year, the PARCC assessment will replace the ISAT. We encourage all families to visit our website to learn more about this important change: www.d181.org > Learning > Assessment.

Board Meeting Preview (7:30 p.m. Start Time); Feb. 24 Summary Posted; Dr. Moon Follow-Up Report
The Board Summary from the meeting on February 24 is available on our website: www.d181.org > Board > Meetings. The next Board Business meeting is on Monday, March 10 at Elm School. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. to allow for an extended closed session, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. Among other items, the tentative meeting agenda includes an update from the Math Committee, a discussion on the summer work schedule, and a report on a data cooperative being developed with District 86 and our fellow feeder districts. Community members can visit BoardDocs online beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday to access the reports on each of these agenda items. Additionally available on BoardDocs will be the Follow-Up Report from Dr. Tonya Moon following her progress check conducted last month. We will additionally post Dr. Moon’s report and the resources we provided to her in the Learning section of our website.

Health News: Measles in McDonough County
The Illinois Department of Public Health has advised schools of two cases of measles in McDonough County, Illinois. Early symptoms of measles include a mild to moderate fever, cough, conjunctivitis, and coryza (inflammation of the nasal membranes causing a stuffy or runny nose). Fever usually spikes later and can be as high as 105 degrees (F). A red, maculopapular rash typically starts at the hairline, and spreads rapidly down the body. Koplik’s spots or tiny blue/white spots on the bright red background of mucosa in the mouth may be present. If you child exhibits any of these symptoms, contact your child’s health care provider. Click here for the Illinois Department of Public Health online fact sheet regarding measles.

Upcoming D181 Events
  • Thursday, March 13: Middle School Joint Orchestra Concert at HMS (7:00 p.m.)
  • Wednesday, March 19: Common Core Science parent presentation at Elm School (6:30 – 8:30 p.m.) This session will include an overview of the Next Generation Science Standards and their impact on teaching and learning in District 181. Representatives from Fermilab will present information about how inquiry-based science practices are reflected in the standards and careers of the future. All community members are invited to attend; pre-registration is not required.
  • March 19-March 22: CHMS presents the musical “Once On This Island” at CHMS; tickets go on sale starting Monday.
News from the Community: Event Reminders
  • Wednesday, March 12: The Hinsdale Central H.S. PTO Parent Network is hosting an event in the Hinsdale Central Community Room: “Diet & Nutrition: How to Feed Your Kids Right to Improve Performance, Behavior, and Prevent Future Disease” (7:00 p.m.) featuring Lara Field.
  • March 13-15: Hinsdale Central H.S. presents “Beauty & the Beast.” Tickets can be ordered by calling the Hinsdale Central Box Office at 630-570-8165.
News from SELAS: Taking the Stress Out of Tests
It’s March, and even if spring doesn’t come, the ISATs and other tests will. For some of us, test taking is a healthy challenge, but for others it provokes anxiety that can disrupt our ability to be productive and content. Performance anxiety plagues even the most prepared of us, claims Sian Beilock, author of the book Choke (2010). Worrying about a test can detract from the “cognitive horsepower” needed to focus and access the memory during a test. Parents and students are discouraged from putting too many stakes on the importance of a test, as Beilock explains in her blogThere are many strategies that can help us, adults and children alike, feel calmer. Beilock and others suggest meditation and mindfulness as valuable approaches. If you notice that your child is anxious, consider enlisting one or several of the following approaches:
A number of teachers in District 181 have introduced students to breathing exercises and meditation and have been encouraged by the positive responses. Give it a try at home with your children; your involvement and example can be a powerful influence, and you are likely to benefit from the calm, as well. Sometimes situations and conditions cause more stress than these strategies can alleviate. We experience stress when we perceive a situation as threatening, too difficult, or painful and we do not have the resources to cope. Parents must be aware of their children’s unique responses to stress, watch for signs that it is having adverse effects, and seek support if necessary. The key to stress reduction is in learning what works for us individually.  Now that’s how to pass the stress test!


Wishing your family a safe and happy weekend!

Bridget McGuiggan, APR
Director of Communications
Community Consolidated School District 181
bmcguiggan@d181.org
630.861.4924"


31 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a few questions about Dr. Moon's report. First, would, and if so, how, the district edit the report before posting it? Maybe "accidentally" delete any negative comments?

Also, we should ask not just whose rooms were visited during the tour, but were these teachers told that they will be observed in advance? Is it possible that the teachers could have changed their lesson plans just for the observation to make it look better?

I, in no way, am saying that any of this happened, but the administration & board have a habit of putting a positive spin on everything and "forgetting" to mention/take note of the bad.

Anonymous said...

I am a teacher in the district and am rolling my eyes at your comment. I teach what I teach, day in and day out. I regularly have 'visitors' popping into my room, I don't stop and change what I'm teaching to make myself "look better". It happens so frequently that I don't even notice anymore, neither do the kids. Dr. Moon visited my classroom. What she saw was a typical day in our classroom. I have nothing to hide. Also, as much as you'd love to believe the district is conspiring against you, they are not stupid enough to "accidentally" delete information contained in a report. Teachers knew just as much as the community, we knew Dr. Moon would be returning. We were never told to adjust our plans or make our lessons "look better". I'm actually disgusted by your ignorant comment.

Anonymous said...

I think it just shows how much distrust there is in the community. We need to start with a clean slate and build two way trust again.

Anonymous said...

I think the report will be intact. I think the first comment is due to a lack of trust of the administration and not the teachers. Many of the teachers have said they don't agree with this plan but they don't have a choice and that could also be assumed for Dr. Moon's observation visits. The parents don't know who to trust anymore to look out for what's best for their children. It's not about being ignorant but about being told that there will be retaliation if teachers speak up. The administration did have plenty of access to the two consultants and plenty of time to give their version of the implementation and its success. Based on the length of Dr. Moon's visit and comments, she doesn't seem like someone who wants to make sure her original evaluation wasn't misrepresented. That's educational malpractice! People like this should not be allowed to work with anything related to children. We are tired of the games being played with our children and our lives. We also work and have busy lives. Of course we want to help our children with their homework but it shouldn't be to the point where we become the teachers or we are expected to hire tutors. It also shouldn't be about letting kids get bored so that no one feels bad about someone else getting accelerated. Yes we can all care about each other. It's a community after all, isn't it???

Disheartened D181 Parent said...

Stayed up until midnight to read Moon's report on Board Docs. Wasn't live despite Bridgett McGuiggan emailing all parents right after midnight to announce that Board Docs for the 3/10 meeting was live. It is not live yet. (It is now 1:14 a.m. and I just checked. It is finally live.)

But the report was on the D181 website. It does not specify what classrooms Moon and her shadow Dr. Friedman actually visited. Just says they visited 71 classroom over 2 days with each visit lasting 5 to 15 minutes. Described as " brief walk throughs." Nice. They also met with the task force, various administrators and principals. I wonder how long those meetings lasted? I'd bet more than 5 to 15 minutes each. Not quite sure how much you can actually glean from a 5 minute walkthrough, but probably can be sold quite a bill of goods during a longer sit down meeting with the administrators who are the masterminds behind the L4A plan.

As for the content of her report, it is as expected. Since she wasn't asked to evaluate whether or not HER recommendations had been followed, she basically concludes that the 'structural supports" are in place to implement the Learning for All Plan, which was developed after her visit by the task force. She doesn't even attempt to conclude that any of her recommendations were followed. In fact, her first report said D181 lacked differentiated instruction.

She still finds problems with the differentiation going on in classrooms and says more is needed in the area of actual curriculum. You can't just have structural supports. THANK YOU Dr. Moon for at least reaching that conclusion.

But NO THANK YOU for the only comments you made about the many parent concerns that were raised during public comment at the board meeting she attended. She refers to the concerns as "resistance" to the program. How disheartening. Parents poured their hearts out and described how their kids are being hurt by the L4A plan and she didn't bother to address their specific concerns.

Overall, her report is a bunch of gobblygook language. It will no doubt be celebrated by Drs. Schuster, Schneider and Russell. It will not be celebrated by parents whose kids are suffering.

And lest we forget, just how much did D181 taxpayers pay for this latest report?

Anonymous said...

I was just looking at Dr. Schuster's report on BoardDocs. Under the Lunch and Learn heading, one thing they discussed was Dr. Russell's resignation. Has any word gone out to the parents/community yet? Also, when was the lunch and learn? I don't believe I heard about the timing.

I looked on the d181.org website under News and there is a post about it, with a date of 3.5.2014 (Wednesday).

Anonymous said...

This is the author of the first comment. To the teacher who responded, I sincerely apologize for offending you. I had no intention of that. I have a great respect for teachers and staff and for what you do.

It's just that how can I have respect for the board after reading this blog, listening to board meetings, and so forth? Like I said, Dr. Schuster is a master of spin and am afraid she won't give the whole truth, just the part that makes the district look good and minimize any damage.

Anonymous said...

Last night Bridget sent out an additional newsletter and finally announced the resignation.

Anonymous said...


Dr. Moon said in her report.."more is needed in the area of actual curriculum". For the money we paid her, I certainly hope she has given the Department of Learning some specifics. I would also like to hear from Dr. Schneider and Ms. Benaitis to further elaborate on this topic, and what they plan on implementing. By the way-over half the year if over!

Also, back in December, one of the BOE members asked for more information regarding Dr. Schneiders presentations at TASH. The administration said they'd get back to him. Now there are concerns about another presentation. We deserve to learn more about Dr. Schneider's lectures and how they are relevant to our community.

Anonymous said...

On BoardDocs, the summer work plan suggests a 4 day work week again, saying it would save electricity and money. While I appreciate the district wanting to save money, this is the wrong way. We'll have a new superintendent and a new assistant superintendent. They need to be on school grounds, learning the district & position. I was at a board meeting I believe last year. One board member brought up the fact that administrators are contracted to work so many days a year and the 4-day workweek would be less than that. Dr. Schuster said, "I can work from home." Or, if rumors were true, on vacation somewhere while HMS has mold issues. I am sure many things can be done over the phone, e-mail, internet, etc., but a lot of stuff can't. And even for the stuff you can do, I'm sure the quality would be degraded compared to actually being on school grounds. Would she be okay if the district's IT staff worked from home? I'm sure they could do a lot of stuff from home, albeit at a lower quality.

While I appreciate the district trying to cut wasteful spending, they really need to learn what "waste" is and is not.

Anonymous said...

Regarding Dr. Schneider's lecture circuit tour, I wonder why he even stays in his position? Why not quit, and open an education consulting firm with Ms. Benaitis? I'm sure he would get paid a whole lot more in that position and the district would be rid of the people who are wreaking havoc on our curriculum.

My only concern with that is how do we know the board will replace them with better people? If there's one person like Schneider, there's bound to be a bunch.

Anonymous said...

I was a teacher for 15 years in many schools. You can't get much worse than Schneider. From no experience as a regular classroom teacher to no experience or background with accelerated or gifted education, it is unbelievable that he has been allowed to implement his "philosophies" in our schools for both of those groups of children. His only experience is in special education, yet somehow, he has decided he is qualified to re formulate the regular ed and gifted education programs. I have heard he is useless in the special ed or PPS department of our district, though.

The 3-4 pigheaded men (not Heneghan) on the board are so beholden to Schneider, and so impressed by his arrogant, non negotiable stance, that they refuse to consider these facts. Nor to they consider that Renee Schuster was a speech pathologist, not a teacher, before she became an administrator. How this these elected board members become so brainwashed by Schuster and Schneider is frightening.

There is no guarantee of anything better - but it sure can't be worse!! I would rather have the spot empty and NOT pay that man's salary than have him there, continuing his charade. He should go work for Moon. Oops, I forgot, he has no background in curriculum or gifted education. At least if we make sure the new people have backgrounds in teaching and have proof that the new people have been implementing evidence based programs based on best practices in teaching, they would be a step in the right direction. How can someone who is so adamantly "non negotiable" ever cooperate with teachers and parents, or anyone for that matter?

Anonymous said...

Thank you teacher for your insight. I wish there was a way you could email/voice your concerns to the BOE.

Dr. Schneider's field of study was Special Education. He only taught 4 years Special Ed. at the high school level. No elementary experience, yet now he is one of our Curriculum experts. This is WRONG. He is also earning $140,000 and had a hefty 8% raise for all his work.

Anonymous said...

And don't forget the money he will make moonlighting on the lecture circuit! Benefits and pension is worth a great deal, too.

Teacher

Anonymous said...

Why is he getting an 8% raise in this economy? Our homes are dropping in value, mortgage rates are at their lowest rates ever, and unemployment is soaring. Plus, we had to pay an out if state consultant, Dr. Moon, to come in and try to figure out his job for him. 8%? At least t wasn't the +20% that Christine Igoe got last year!

Anonymous said...

Just curious of what kind of experience all of you want in a superintendent and assistant superintendents? Obviously several years of general ed classroom experience.

Anonymous said...

Of course, how else will they know what teachers face every day? And they need to know the population of our students, not only special ed students. They must have successful experience implementing programs and know how to build parent trust, not destroy it. Parents here are not interested in using their children to explore experimental philosophies. That kind of parent would send his child to a private, or university lab school.

Jill Quinones said...

Anonymous,

I personally don't care if the classroom experience was gen ed, special ed, or gifted ed. I do think a social work or speech therapist- only background does make it more difficult to understand the classroom perspective - difficult, but not impossible.

For me, it is more important that someone coming in as a Superintendent or Assist. Superintendent of Curriculum has experience in that very job in a different community - like a smaller district similar to ours demographically. I do not want someone learning the job for the first time given all of the issues curriculum-wise this District is facing. I also think it is imperative that they have educational training in the area of curriculum and not just one or two courses while getting their Administrative degree.

It would be nice if the new Super. had some experience assessing Administrative need and could help weed out excess personnel. Someone coming from a smaller District would have a different view on how tasks could be completed by fewer people - at least fewer top people, but perhaps more Administrative Assistants - because smaller Districts generally do not have the level of Central Administrators we do right now.

We have 11:
(1) Super, (1) Asst. Super for Business & Operations, (1) Asst. Super for Human Resources, (2) Asst. Super of Learning, (2) Director of Learning, (1) Director of Tech, (1) Director of Comm., (1) Facilities Coord and (1) Asst. Business Manager

Look at Butler in Oakbrook with 6: (1) Super, (1) Elementary Principal who is also the Director of Special Ed, (1) Director of Buildings & Grounds, (2) Directors of Technology and (1) Business Manager.

Western Springs 101 with 4: (1) Super, (1) Assist. Super, (1) Coord. of Special services and (1) Asst. Coord. of Special Services

Highland Park 112 with 7: (1) Super, (1) CFO, (1) Asst. Super for Teaching & Learning, (1) Asst. Super for Student Services, (1) Exec. Dir for Personnel, (1) Director of Facilities and Operations and (1) Director of School-Community Realtions

Surely these other high-performing Districts don’t have less complex needs than our District has; yet they manage with a lot less at the top. While Butler and Western Springs are smaller, Highland Park is not and more students doesn’t necessarily mean there is a greater need for administrators anyway. Typically, the Super would absorb some of the Curriculum and/or Business responsibilities depending on background and training.

Anonymous said...

Great points Jill! Please consider serving on the curriculum committee. Does anyone know what the organizational chart was before dr. Schuster ?

Anonymous said...

What about the building level administrators: principals, asst principals, RTI directors, PPS directors, Reading coaches (2). And Chris Cagney, previous principal at Walker who is doing...hmmm....something in the district?

Yvonne Mayer, D181 Parent and Former Board of Education Member said...

Under Dr. Sabatino, who preceded Dr. Schuster, there was Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Assistant Superintendent of PPS (before Schneider, this position was held by Pam Kazee, and before her the title was actually Asst. Sup. of Special Ed Services), Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Assistant Superintendent of Business, Buildings and Grounds Director, Technology Director and Communications Director. For one or two years the district also had a Director of Assessment. Dr Bonnie Strykowski, who had a PhD and was hired specifically to oversee assessment. During Dr. Schuster's first year, this position was eliminated as a cost savings measure. The administration believed that the Assistant Sup. of Curriculum and Instruction could do this job. That person was Dr Janet Stutz. Almost two years ago, Dr. Schuster recommended adding back the assessment director.

Under Dr. Schuster, she created two administrative departments -- the Dept. of Learning and the Operations Dept. Now, Russell and Schneider are under the Dept. Of Learning, and Frisch and Eccarius are under Operationss. When the Director of Buildings and Grounds retired a couple of years ago, she was not replaced, rather that job was put under Frisch's watch with lower level buildings and grounds personnel reporting to him. Recently, the board approved hiring back (out of retirement) Sue Kamuda to be an interim buildings and ground administrator and more recently added a "project manager" position. I would expect that any cost savings achieved by cutting administrative staff in the past four years has been erased.

Jill Quinones said...

Mrs. Mayer,

Correct me if I am wrong, but under former Super Dr. Mary Curley wasn't it originally: (1) Super, (1) Director of Curriculum, (1) Dir of SpED, (1) Asst Super of Business, (1/2) Human Resources, (1) Building & Grounds? Maybe (1) Tech? (1) Communications. Somewhere along the way a 2nd curriculum person (Lori Gehrke) was added and then Bonnie S Data position. Or was that the same position filled by different people at different times?

I can understand needing a little more SPED-wise since we pulled out of LADSE, but hopefully the cost savings there accounted for that. I am assuming there was/is cost savings.

Also, what good is a data position if the person who has been put in place to fill it has no training or background in assessment, data interpretation or statistics?

Yvonne Mayer, D181 Parent and Former Board of Education Member said...

Jill: You are correct that Lori Gehrke was the first assessment person hired. She left and the summer that Stutz was hired to run curriculum, Strykowski was hired to replace Gehrke. I couldn't agree with you more that the person who is to evaluate data needs to have the training, background and experience to do the job. FYI-- I voted no on both Russell and Benaitis stepping into this role for that very reason. I also voted no on Russell's promotion to Assistant Sup after less than one year as the Director of Assessment. I was in the minority and the promotions were approved.

Anonymous said...

My concern is that there are so many staff and administrators in our district with vague or confusing job titles, that people don't really know who to go to when they need help.

For example, in the district's Family Resource Network (FRN), unqualified but well meaning parent volunteers are being burdened with the responsibility of advising innocent parent about educational or special ed issues, however, this is the actual responsibility of staff. When children have legally protected special ed or mental health concerns, the teachers and administrators have a legal and ethical obligation to advise these parents. Parent volunteers don't. Educators can lose their credentials if they don't report abuse, for example, but if someone only tells a parent volunteer, the staff is off the hook. Parents who are seeking help though, have assumed that by contacting an FRN rep, they are getting valid answers, when the truth is, they are not because they haven't sent their request to the person who is really responsible, a special education administrator.

The real, and legal responsibly actually falls on PPS staff, not free parent volunteers. The heads of the Special Ed/Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Department are Dr. Kurt Schneider, Ms. Christine Igoe, and Mrs. Donna Russick - those administrators (and of course, Dr. Schuster) have the special education credentials. They are the ones with the real responsibility to advise and help parents and their children. Yet in the last 3 years, untrained parent volunteers are expected to fulfill this responsibility as unpaid, FRN reps.

By creating so many vague jobs for so many unknown people, it is easier for parents to get lost in the bureaucracy of our district. It makes it much easier for these PPS administrators to hide. If there were fewer jobs, and clear job duties were assigned to each person, the whole district would probably function better. Kids who needed help would get it sooner, and classrooms would function better. Too bad LADSE doesn't supervise our special ed department anymore. That was a big loss for our district. At least parents could be assured that that real professionals were looking out for them.

Any cost savings from eliminating LADSE probably went directly to Christine Igoes 20% raise last year. Maybe because now, no one from LADSE is supervising and ensuring that children's needs are being met. In a dysfunctional district like ours, parents really need an impartial, out of district group to ensure that children's special education needs are being met. Now, if parents don't take a lawyer or an advocate to IEP or 504 meetings, their child will definitely get the short end of the stick.



Anonymous said...

Maybe the BOE can offset any lost savings in requiring 5 day summer work weeks with the reimbursement by Dr. Russell of the tuition reimbursement tax dollars he received. That is "revenue" not in the budget.

Anonymous said...

What exactly is the role of the 'Differentiation Specialist' (formerly know as the Gifted Teacher)? It seems that they still concentrate just on the 'gifted' student.

Anonymous said...

I am a teacher and I agree that we have too many administrators. It seems the more we have, the worse communication becomes, the more unorganized they become, and the more confusion that arises. It seems that they try to solve problems by hiring more administrators, instead of being thoughtful and clean up their own messes. In addition to hiring new staff, they start committees of teachers to work through the problems, taking us out of our classrooms to do so. Why have these people when they ask teachers to leave their classrooms to serve on some committee to do their jobs anyway? It is in my opinion that many of these positions can be eliminated. There are some where we have no idea what they do!

The Parents said...

Teacher: All your points are spot on. Would you be willing to send a letter to the BOE? If not, would you be willing to explain your reasons? We understand that teachers have concerns about identifying themselves, but not everyone who reads this blog does, and it would be good to hear directly from a teacher. Of course, we would appreciate any teacher or HCHTA representative who would contact the BOE with their recommendations and concerns. Thanks to you and all D181 teachers for your service to the district.

Anonymous said...

Please understand that teachers cannot address the BOE. If they disagree philosophically with what is happening in D181, and many do, they are told to go through the proper chain of command. This means their complaints must go through building principals, the teachers' association, the department of learning, and finally, to the superintendent. It would be up to the superintendent or central administration to share concerns with the BOE. How the teachers truly feel on some of these issues will never come out. It's not an open-dialogue. It's not a place that welcomes conversation with differing opinions. It's not a place that values or respects the opinions or concerns of those on the front lines every day. It used to be.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Clarin visited the fourth and fifth grade classes at Monroe school last week and asked the teachers about the math program. While I very much appreciate Mr. Clarin taking the time to visit these classrooms and teachers, I wonder if the teachers felt comfortable telling him the full story (especially in light of the above post).

Anonymous said...

Considering Monroe has a new principal, I have a feeling teachers were no honest. Everyone is protecting their job.