OPEN FORUM: D181's 2013-2014 Math Pilot Programs

Today we received several comments asking that we open a new topic for comment on the Math Pilot Program taking place throughout the district. We are happy to oblige. To kick things off, below are the comments we have received. Please keep the discussion going. As the math pilots roll out, please share your compliments and concerns about the programs and let us know any questions you send to the administration and the answers you receive.   

Anonymous said...

I'm wondering if the bloggers would be willing to open a new topic for comment on the math pilot programs that are taking place throughout the district. Except for a brief and unsubstantive mention of them at the BOE meeting on, I

D181 Staff Accepts ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Congratulations to the D181 Administrative staff for accepting the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  We are proud of each D181 who made a personal donation to this worthy cause.

Click on the following link to watch the video:

http://youtu.be/eW2mP_fcUsg

Community Concerns 2014-2015

As we stated in the last post -- Final Curtain Call --  although we, the "bloggers," will no longer be making regular posts, we will immediately begin accepting posts and written transcripts from our readers. We will also continue to accept and post comments that are sent to this blog. This open forum will allow various topics of concern to be posted on this blog at the request of our readers.  If you wish to write on a certain topic or issue, please do so and submit your blog post or comment to THIS post. Any submitted post must be written within the same guidelines as those stipulated for comments. We would like to provide a forum for readers, parents and community members to voice their concerns, though the original bloggers will no longer be submitting posts on a regular basis.

We look forward to your continuing involvement in bringing D181 issues to the forefront.  Keep shining the light of transparency on all things that will impact D181's students and taxpayers!

The Parents

The Last Curtain Call . . . A Final Message From the Bloggers: An Invitation for Open Forum Posts From Our Readers

(Taken from Wikipedia curtain images.)

As the saying goes, all things must come to an end. We would like to share with our loyal readers that for the time being, this post will serve as the last of our own on this blog. From day one, our goal has been to inform the D181 community of the state of our district, good and bad, and provide a link to the information that should have been forthcoming from the administration and the BOE for several years. But now we believe it is time to bid farewell. We’re certain there are members of the BOE and remaining administrators who will be thrilled the posts written by us bloggers will cease, but we want to emphasize that we will cease our posts to allow the new superintendent, Dr. White, to begin his work to hopefully quickly address the numerous issues this district faces, and to do so without scrutinizing his every move. Dr. White deserves an opportunity to get to know the district – from staff to students to parents to other community advocates – and to both identify and implement needed changes that will bring D181 back to a state of excellence. We do have concerns as to how effectively he will begin to foster change and improvements given the recent changes he has made within the administrative organizational structure, but more on that in a minute.

Though the bloggers will no longer be making regular posts, we will immediately begin accepting posts and written transcripts from our readers. We will also continue to accept and post comments that are sent to this blog. This open forum will allow various topics of concern to be posted on this blog at the request of our readers. Following today’s substantive post, we will set up one up that is titled:  “Community Concerns 2014-2015.”  If you wish to write on a certain topic or issue, please do so and submit your blog post or comment to the “Community Concerns 2014-2015” post for our review. Any submitted post must be written within the same guidelines as those stipulated for comments. We would like to provide a forum for readers, parents and community members to voice their concerns, though the original bloggers will no longer be submitting posts on a regular basis.

During the past year, we have learned a great deal about District 181, the community and the Board of Education. We know that no school district or community is perfect, but we certainly had high expectations of a district that once was, as one parent put it, a “beacon of light” within the community.  Time and time again we searched for truth and common sense, even when it seemed most elusive during the Schuster reign of chaos, along with a Board of Education that basically rubber stamped anything her administration requested. As a result of our extensive fact checking and analysis, we would like to share several perspectives that we believe will be important for parents to consider during the next academic year, for it will be a year of great significance due to the change in district leadership, the board of education election in April 2015, and the many academic concerns our children will face.

Before we present our list of perspectives, we feel compelled to share with you a traditional Native American saying, to which we will then explain its significance:

“Which wolf inside us wins, Grandpa?”

(Taken from Wikipedia wolf images.)

“The one you feed, my child.” 

Oh, yes. This ancient saying gives us great relevance of the here and now. Because truth be told, there are many wolves among us. They are lurking about in the community and within the ranks of the D181 administration and BOE. We have seen countless examples of these wolf packs gone wild with hidden agendas, mantras, slogans, and delusional double talk. And while the – in our opinion -- loony toons rhetoric of Schuster is now permanently gone, we must remember that some of her highly paid protégés/foot soldiers are still employed in the D181 central office. Which leads us to the first of our perspectives: