Tuesday, January 27, 2015

"Socialization" Board Meeting Presentation Last Night Left Us Speechless -- Almost!

Last night we listened to a board meeting that left us speechless -- almost.  The Department of Learning's very own Kurt Schneider, along with a small army of staff, explained the report posted on Board Docs that they have begun to craft regarding the state of the Learning for All Plan.  We will be listening to the nearly 3 hour podcast again over the next two days -- yes we bloggers have a life too -- and working on a post dealing with the b---sh-- (yes we are mad) that went down last night will take us some time.  We want to make sure to back up what we say with choice quotes from Schneider, various board members and Dr. White. We hope to have our full post up by week's end.

So please stay tuned.  In the meantime, we want to provide a post for people to submit comments on their impressions from last nights meeting, and to kick it off, here are two that are directly on point.  Like we said, should leave you speechless.....almost!  We sincerely hope that teachers throughout the district will take the time to listen to the meeting and weigh in, even if anonymously.  It is very clear that the administration believes that what the few teachers who spoke last night said is the unanimous opinion of all of our students teachers.  If it is, then we all better put up our For Sale signs.  If Schneider is going to be allowed to continue his experimentation on our children, then we will be the ones who have to rescue our children by getting the H--- out of here.

Comments:
Anonymous said...
Last night - too much for words.

Enjoy inclusive "integrated" classrooms d181. Should not be a problem because it is best practices and all kiddoes are getting their needs met. Trust me. Data not necessary.
Anonymous said...
Schneider that was brilliant last night! Brilliant! Yes, let's group by Popsicle sticks! Brilliant.
Anonymous said...
Yes Nelson and Clarin - your kids got great educations from this district. Things are different now! It is a different district. You told us to trust the experts about math compacting. Turns out the non educational experts - the parents - were right on that one, even though you disrespected them at every single board meeting. How can you be so sure the "experts" are right this time without data?

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Listen to the public comments on the podcast. 3 prospective board members spoke. One will leave you speechless.

Anonymous said...

After listening to last nights board meeting I am curious. Bloggers, what would you like to see this district do going forward?

Anonymous said...

I listened with disgust when Schneider complained and whined in his rambling statement about he and his underlings have been treated and questioned. Well, boo hoo. Cry us a river, Kurt. When your ship sales (and we hope it's soon) please hop on and take Benaitis, White, and Walsh with you.

Anonymous said...

9:31:

1. Analyze the data on our students to see if all students and all ability levels are getting their needs met under this plan;

2. Survey the classroom teachers in the grades affected by this plan and get their thoughts (anonymously - preferably via the union like was done with math compacting);

3. Stop confusing common core with learning for all;

4. Stop disrespecting parents who speak up for their children; and

5. Hold a town hall meeting for community members to freely discuss the plan. No socialization at the meeting please.

Anonymous said...

Most parents in this district have no idea about Schneider's socialistic, one size fits all plan for children. All children are NOT the same. Children all need to be taught at their own level - that is why homogenous grouping continues to be favored by experts across the country. When small groups of children with similar skills and abilities work together they all become independent. Heterogenous groups are when the quick learners do the work for the slower ones. And the slower learners feel even stupider for not being able to keep up.

Homogenous grouping works. It is why all of the other public schools keep their pull out and gifted programs. If you don't give children the individualized support they need when they are in the early grades, they will never catch up and level out with other students when they are in high school. Elementary and middle school is the time to support them so that they will be able to succeed independently in high school and college.

Our schools need to start intensively analyzing the materials, curriculums, and assessment results in order to realize that this Learning for All plan is a terrible sham that is destroying our schools.
Contrary to what Dr. Schneider says, you cannot force or mold all children to perform at the same level. Especially, all of a sudden, when they are in 4th or 5th grade. Our district's dropping scores prove this. Other districts' scores are rising, but ours are dropping because Schneider and Turek have eliminated the gifted and pull out resources to free up our teachers to help the kids in the middle and the bottom. In my opinion, misguided and uninformed parents like Amy McCurrey are ruining our community. She has no business running for the BOE or working for our district.

Come next September, when more parents finally realize what Schneider's cockamamie plan is, parents will be absolutely livid. All hell will break loose at the beginning of the year. I wonder how the new principal at Madison will handle it?

And will Monroe's principal have his contract renewed if his school's scores continue to drop like a rock? How much longer can our district blame the common core for all of the problems that actually were created by Dr. Schneider?

Homogenous is not a bad word. Just like adults, children need to find out where they fit in with others. They need to learn that they are capable of doing work themselves - not to become dependent on others to do it for them. They must be challenged at appropriate levels and at the right pace. To eliminate and ignore the differences among our children is a terrible crime.

D181 Employee said...

I work in the district, and believe me, the teachers aren't very happy with it either. We had a staff meeting the other day, and quite a few people spoke up against it. The principal seemed to take it seriously and believed us when we said it wan't working. The principal also suggested doing something with the union. He said that a person here and there might speak up, but only to be negated by another person here & there saying it's going great.

One teacher said that the central administration was less "Hey, how's LFA going?" and more like "You better get on board." That kind of attitude is a real disincentive to speak up. I really hope the teacher's union (and maybe the support staff union, too, depending on how the aides feel) will organize and speak up collectively. For those of you who feel like putting up a for sale sign on your house, I hope it's a relatively easy process. Unfortunately, for teachers, packing up and moving to a different district isn't so easy. If you have a masters degree and experience, few, if any, districts will touch you with a ten foot pole. Many want fresh from college teachers since they're cheaper. If it were easy to change districts, don't be surprised if you see a mass exodus of teachers.

Just a heads up: one of the math teachers looked up his/her kids' math MAP scores and said that the principal would have to sit down before looking at them.

The Parents said...

Thank you D181 Employee for submitting your comment. We appreciate your honesty and candor. Thank goodness you were willing to share the truth. Schneider made a point last night of painting a picture of full support by the teachers. We knew it wasn't accurate. Please encourage your colleagues to tell us on this blog what they think since it doesn't look like the administration or board majority will be asking you for input and observations via a survey or other method.

Anonymous said...

Switching jobs or moving is out of the question. My neighbors and our teachers should not stand for one corrupt administrator and several idiotic BOE members ruining our district. Those teachers who submit to the administration's bullying are being cowards. Now is the time to stand up for what is right and expose the problems. Teachers, you must call the teachers union and ask for help. Have one of their representatives speak for you. You pay high union fees every year - they need to help you NOW. Our children are suffering, but you will too once your classes' scores keep dropping! The administration will throw you all under the bus.

It would be much easier to get rid of Schneider and this terrible LFA plan than to continue this charade. Teachers and parents are being bullied and disrespected. Our children's educations don't deserve to become a joke, or an experiment for Schneider to cut his teeth on! Dr. White needs to do something NOW. We have to send letters to Dr. White, the BOE, and speak up at meetings. Send Dr. White your children's MAP scores so he can personally see how they have dropped.

The entire problem is Schneider and the lame duck BOE members who are not standing up for our community. Schneider needs to GO! Turek needs to follow him.

Anonymous said...

Thank you D181 teacher for speaking up. The parents support the teachers. This administration is trying to polarize the teachers and parents. The message is if we don't support L4A we don't support the teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. They did the same thing with math compacting.

D181 Employee said...

To 11:09: we are looking into talking with our union leadership in making a statement. Hopefully by the time Schneider does part 2 of his report, we'll speak up.

I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on the "coward" aspect, though. How many people (parents, teachers, community members) have spoken up at the board meetings in the last 3 years, and how often are we ignored? So it is so much cowardice, as much as apathy at this point. What good is speaking up if you're continuously shot down? Like I said, some of us are trying to organize as a union to say "This isn't working." Hopefully a group of us saying it will make them act better than a few individuals here and there. If any of you have suggestions, please feel free to share! We love working with you and your kids, and I'd hate to see our efforts go to waste. I'd hate to see any of you go, so I'd like to help all the parents, community members and my fellow coworkers provide the best education we can.

Anonymous said...

I do not think the teachers are cowards. We need to support them they are victims in this too. Parents and teachers need to unite to fix this mess.

Anonymous said...

Thank you teachers. The parents appreciate your efforts.

The Parents said...

12:21 We, the bloggers, do not think teachers are cowards. You are our heros. We applaud your bravery in speaking out. To our readers, please do not fall into the trap we believe is being set by certain administrators to pit parents against teachers in an attempt to deflect attention against those who are responsible for the mess our kids are in. Popsicle man knows who he is....

Anonymous said...

It's not that teachers are cowards! Most of the teachers who work in this district need their jobs. And what do you do when you need a job? You do what you're told. I think perhaps 11:09 let his/her emotions get the best of him/her?

This isn't about pitting parents against teachers although Schneider would like that. I have no doubt that when I send my children to school everyday that their teachers couldn't work harder in giving them the best education they can with what they are provided to use/parameters they are given to do so.

This is about a fundamental philosophy on how to educate the students who attend schools in this community. Integrated Services/the removal of tiering from the elementary and middle schools is not acceptable. As a parent who completely disagrees with Schneider's view, how can I help the teachers get the message to the Board? What can we do to help the teachers? Do we need media? Do we need major news organizations? What can we do??

Anonymous said...

According to Clarin and Turek, the teachers are the experts, not the parents. That is why the teachers are our only hope to dig our kids out of this mess.

Anonymous said...

McCurry and Turek showed their cards last night. Frightening!

Yvonne Mayer said...

A friend of mine just posted the following article on FaceBook:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/01/26/school-superintendent-writes-warning-letter-on-parcc-common-core-test/

For those of you with students in D181, this deals with the Winnetka school district's superintendent warning parents about the PARRC assessment. Have parents in D181 gotten anything similar this year?

Anonymous said...

Thank you Ms. Mayer for posting the article.

No, we have not gotten anything similar. In fact, my principal, as well as Dr. White, keep talking about how fantastic common core is. This is troubling indeed.

Sounds like integrated classrooms are the norm now in this district. How are we going to tackle this huge controversial shift in the midst of the huge controversy of common core? It seems so reckless and irresponsible on the part of the administration!

I was just looking at correspondence from the district from last year. Everything was about Learning for all being about acceleration. But now there is no acceleration at all. I'm confused. I am new to the district so perhaps I am missing something but it seems like we have done a 180 flip with no notice to the public. What gives?

My children have been in a few school districts yet this is the most disorganized disfunctional one that I have encountered. I thought this was supposed to be such a good school district? I can tell you from experience that it is not. The Chicago public schools - which we moved here to get away from - are FAR FAR better!

D181 Employee said...

I want to thank you all for your support. I just wanted to give a shout out to all the support staff, as well. Without them, the teachers wouldn't be as good. The secretaries help schedule and order supplies, nurses help us and the kids stay healthy, the techs make sure the technology works, the custodians make sure the schools are clean and functional. Plus all that they did with HMS with the "water intrusion events" and mold gate is amazing.

To 8:40: I agree, this district is very disorganized and dysfunctional. We get little support from the central administration in terms of how they want us to implement their plans. They criticize us for copying too much, but don't tell us how to decrease our copying needs. They tell us to use more technology, but don't give us enough. And when we show them that what we're doing isn't working, they bury their heads in the sand, and say we're not doing our parts. I'd love to see Schneider, Walsh and Benaitis create and implement lesson plans. I'm surprised they only need the principal/superintendent certifications for their jobs, and not a Curriculum & Instruction certificate, as well.

However, I would still say despite all that, 181 is great in many ways. That's because we have great teachers, staff, and parents who care about our students, and go above and beyond to do what's needed. If we're this good now, how much better can we be if we had administrators who listened to us and the data.

I admit, I'm not sure what we can do to make Schneider, White and the board listen, so I'm asking for suggestions. Some of my colleagues have talked to the union, so I hope we can do something. If you would like to help us, the teacher union's co-presidents are Heather Scott and Maura Fagan. I'd prefer not to give their personal, non-work contact info on here without their consent, though.

Anonymous said...

http://schoolsandsocietytamumenendez.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/48034923/Segregated%20Programs%20Versus%20Integrated%20Comprehensive%20Service%20Delivery%20for%20All%20Learners.pdf

This is an interesting link from Colleen Capper and Elise Frattura. The date appears to be Nov/Dec 2006.

Here is the title and abstract of the article

Segregated Programs Versus Integrated
Comprehensive Service Delivery for
All Learners
Assessing the Differences
ELISE FRATTURA AND COLLEEN A. CAPPER



ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to address the principles of a comprehensive whole-school restructuring to serve not only stu- dents with disabilities educated in inclusive environments but also all learners who have been labeled to receive services from fed- erally mandated programs, such as special education, limited English, at risk, or Title I. The number of students who qualify for such services is growing. Unfortunately, these students often spend the largest part of their day leaving their classroom to receive spe- cial instruction, resulting in a disconnected and fragmented day. We address the outcomes of traditional programs and the under- lying principles necessary to support inclusive services versus creat- ing segregated programs. The principles are classified into four cornerstones: core principles, location of services, curriculum and instruction, and funding and policy.

Once again, it is very very evident that Schneider is pushing his social justice philosophy and using it on our students. Dismantling tiers is going to be one of the biggest mistakes that this district will ever make. I'm all for differentiation but with ability groups that are flexible. That's when differentiation works. Not when you have a math class with a range of abilities from super accelerated to below grade level. We should not put that kind of expectation on our teachers. It's not fair to them. Using the term Integrated Services and applying it to the needs of our district is reckless. Integrated Services has nothing to do with what Schneider is implementing here.

Anonymous said...

I feel the same as 8:40! We are fairly new too. Last year all I heard was some goofy phrase about a floor and a ceiling. I didn't really understand it but it was repeated all the time. My gut is starting to tell me that the people in charge around here don't know what they are doing.

I just asked for, and received, my child's winter MAP scores. They are way down. My child has a lower RIT score from when she entered the district last year. I'm truly scared.

Anonymous said...

Everyone needs to read the article in the Washington Post that Yvonne Mayer has mentioned. Trisha Kocanda, the Winnetka District 36 Superintendent, has done an excellent job of pointing out the issues with the PARCC test. Ohio just opted out of the PARCC. As a former teacher, my main concern is the extreme loss of teacher-student contact time. It is huge with the PARCC. All of Dr. Kocanda's other concerns about the PARCC are very valid, too.

Since I attended this Monday's D181 BOE meeting and witnessed Kurt Schneider's "cry baby behavior, " I have to comment that I have never in my 40 years of involvement in education ever seen such unprofessional behavior by an educator. For Schneider to whine IN PUBLIC about how mistreated he and his bunch of believers have been was so incredibly inappropriate and, if I had been Dr. White, I would have stopped Schneider from continuing with his statement. I was so embarrassed for D181 when I witnessed a D181 administrator moaning about how picked on he has been by the parents and community. UNBELIEVABLE! It's bad enough that the inappropriate Learning For All program exists in D181, but to then have Schneider complain IN PUBLIC about how horribly he has been treated...well, my solution to his problem is GET OUT OF D181!!!! Go with your so special colleagues to some other school district or back to Wisconsin. I thought Janet Stutz was horrible but she was just clueless as far as curriculum. Schneider is so misguided as far as what needs to be happening in D181 it is an abomination. His "social justice" crap might be appropriate in Bolingbrook or West Chicago, but it has absolutely no place in D181. Parents and, above all, our teachers must make Dr. White and the BOE aware now that you will not put up with this misguided approach. It may have to wait until the April 7 BOE election, but every single parent and community member had better get out and vote in the election so D181 can turn this situation around. Everyone, get educated on the issues and the candidates and then VOTE! Please let us have learned something from the awful debacle that ocurred in the last D86 election.

Anonymous said...

I am the person who posted the comment at 8:40. Thank you district 181 employee for replying.

You should know that the teachers and support staff have been fantastic to my family. They are first rate. My comments applied to the administration. The teachers are incredibly dedicated, talented and sincere. I firmly believe this could be a top rate district if the right people were in charge.

This Dr. Schneider character is a piece of work. Did he really say that we should group children by popsicle sticks? He seems to spend a lot of time talking about feelings, yet everyone in this town is always upset. And why did my child miss math class this week to have yet another assembly about feelings? I think he should concentrate more on educating my child, and I can take care of the rest.

Anonymous said...

I just sat down and read the learning for all document on board docs to see if it is as bad as everyone is saying. I actually think it is worse.

This particular line was so offensive to me:

"....the primary goal of schools is to raise student achievement within integrated environments and in so doing eliminate discrepancies in achievement between students"

Anonymous said...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/get-ready-for-calculus-in-third-grade-kids/ar-AA8GBbi

An interesting read on how elementary math has impact on advanced high school math placement. Notably present is objective ability based groupings.

Anonymous said...

Contact the union leadership. They are great ladies and I'm sure wouldn't mind a brief e-mail to their school e-mail address . Particularly if, like me your teachers have told you that they don't agree with the plan but are worried about speaking up as individuals. If you have a young teacher, a new to the district teacher, or one in K-2 who hasn't had to deal with L4ALL, etc... I think it's unlikely that they will complain, it makes them look incapable or not like a team player.

Anonymous said...

Here are the facts:

1. The administration and BOE ignored hundreds of parents who signed petitions, wrote letters, spoke at boe meetings ect and pleaded not to do L4A and not to eliminate the advanced learning programs;

2. The administration and BOE excluded parents from the advanced learning task force;

3. The administration based "best practices" on a narrow group of scholars who have a financial connection to Dr. Schneider and who all espouse inclusion. No other competing scholars were cited. That is NOT "best practices" (and it is slimy - for lack of a better word);

4. There is absolutely no data - not from our district, and not from other districts - who have done this (we are all theory). Due diligence has not happened;

5. The fifth graders were harmed from compacting - look to the fall MAP. No apology has been issued for this irresponsible and reckless decision;

6. Parents continue to be ignored despite falling test scores and school rankings.

And yet - Schneider is whining that we hurt his feelings! Seriously???? We are talking about children, and he is acting reckless with their futures. Yes, cry me a river. He is lucky he still has a job and that a parent hasn't sued him.

I am seriously considering a class action lawsuit against him, the administration and the BOE. Enough is enough! I am done with this underhanded unethical behavior. It is all crumbling, Schneider et all will flee like the rest, and we are going to be left picking up the pieces.

Anonymous said...

Our feeder schools - notably Oak Brook - are NOT doing this. They do not think this is "best practices." They have advanced learning and ability based groupings. And they are going to kick our butts once our current fifth graders get to central. This is NOT learning for all. I would venture to say it isn't even learning for some.

Anonymous said...

White had the nerve to say that Central may eliminate ability based groupings in the future. When pigs fly!

Anonymous said...

I say yes to the class action lawsuit. Don't be so arrogant to think it cannot happened. Look back a few years ago if you do not believe me. Watch out.

Anonymous said...

Yes, there are plenty of lawyers in this town. Watch out indeed.....

Anonymous said...

Count me in on the class action lawsuit. Nothing else has worked and I have no stomach for this unethical behavior - especially when kids are involved.

My children will also be opting out of PARCC testing. So will many of my neighbors' children. If you read the article from the Winnetka super yesterday, it is almost like she is warning parents and urging them to opt out. I am heading the warning. I will not subject my children to this. People take a stand! I refuse to let my children be pawns in politics.

Anonymous said...

McCurry said in her public comment that this fifth grade compacting fiasco made her son "resilient." She also loves learning for all. It was also inappropriate for her to comment on an experience she heard third hand and to fail to disclose that she is a district employee who works under Schneider.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about opting out of the PARCC test as well. It seems a little radical to do so but, honestly, I think my student will be upset by the whole thing and I would rather have her reading a book in the library for 13 hours than testing. 3 MAP tests this year tells me everything I need to know about her growth. Who knows if they will even be using PARCC next year so the results could be worthless and our students are not going to do well because they are not prepared. How does one go about opting out?

Anonymous said...

I am the parent of a special needs child. My child's needs are not being met under this plan either. This plan is a politically correct way to remove services from students of all abilities and dump them into one classroom. I will be the first one to say that a child with down's syndrome should not be in the same math or reading class as a former ACE student. We can integrate for other subjects, but not for core subjects like math and reading.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Schneider wants all of our students to be the same - "to equalize their educational outcomes."

First, he tried to do this the more palatable way - by accelerating everyone. We all know that didn't work.

So, now he is trying to dumb everyone down to make them the same. Guess what - it still will not work! One size fits all will never fit everyone because all children fall on a bell curve. It will never work!

Cautiously hopeful said...

Somethings really should be "off limits".

My literal best friend from grade school has an older sister with Down's. She is great aunt, a hard worker and a really caring person. She was fortunate to have been raised in a family that bucked a lot of trends in that era.

The research on how best to educate children with some kinds of disabilities is mostly old and rather limited. For a variety of reasons it is unlikely that anyone will update this research.

Numerical ability, general ability and language in children with Down syndrome

There are more than enough examples of how not to conduct a discourse over educational needs / district leadership.

Let's not do or say any thing that is other than focused on the best interests of all the children in our community and respectful of the choices each parent makes.

Anonymous said...

The Doings online is reporting that D181 is extending the school year by 2 days due to snow days.

My questions is two fold: 1) Why was the press informed before parents, and 2) why didn't the BOE have to opportunity to discuss or approve this?

The second part is more troubling. I don't disagree with the decision, but instead the process. This administration does whatever they want without the BOE. White announced that he hired his HR guy without it being voted on by the BOE, they made significant changes to L4A without BOE approval (or discussion), and now the snow days.

I know this BOE rubber stamps everything, but proper procedures need to be followed. And the next BOE is not going to rubber stamp everything so proper procedures must be re-established.

My son is studying checks and balances in school. That is why we have a BOE!

Anonymous said...

Since Dr. White seems to think the PARCC test is going to be better than the MAP test he probably doesn't want the parents to freak out about the number of hours this test is going to take. He doesn't care what parents think and only seems to talk to the chosen ones. Then they will send a survey and claim success based on their predetermined outcome. Marty Turek had full faith in the old administration and now they were no good, no questions asked and no self reflection. Yes the thickness of a document implies how much better our document is compared to Wilmette. Content means nothing. Seriously?

Anonymous said...

This is the very reason I begged the search firm to find a superintendent who came from the north shore. We should demand a refund.

Anonymous said...

Just like some folks incorrectly assume having "stacks of resumes" piled in the district office is an indication it would be easy to line up "replacement teachers" so to is it false to assume that any administrator with experience in a more collaborative / cohesive district of the North Shore would ever care to venture into our district.

The notoriously fast turnover the district has had is not conducive to attracting administrators that might be more steeped in the intricacies of really building a more notable set of classroom practices.

The fact is Dr. White has experience of teaching in actual elementary school classrooms and that gives him a lot more credibility with teachers. He has also earned his PhD and from a nice respectable school here in Illinois as well as an earned Masters from the University of Illinois. He has been "in the trenches" as a principal. He really is a pioneer of not just talking the talk when it comes to technology but is part of the vanguard of those that understand the challenges technology presents to schools and effective learning --

http://stories.illinoisstate.edu/magazine/illinois-state/features/teachers-vs-technology/


There are certainly questions yet to be answered about how the whole district moves forward, though yet another "hard reboot" is likely to do far more harm than good at this point...

Anonymous said...

As a parent who has been suffering with the L4A nonsense for the past several years, I totally agree with the 12:17 comment. Yes, we taxpayers should demand a refund and send Don White packing. How dare he come into our district and immediately buy into Schneider's inclusion/social justice babble without analyzing student performance and the satisfaction of teachers. The community is now polarized because of this plan, and White is unable to see it.
Sorry, I lost total respect for White the second he promoted Schneider.
We can do better. Much better than our current administration.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who is interviewed for a non teaching position to include Superintendent is asked about his/her philosophy of inclusion and learning for all. If you're not in support you are not considered.

The Parents said...

8:15 am: How do you know this?

Anonymous said...

Know from experience. It is always included in the questions generated to be asked.

Anonymous said...

Just like I don't like trendy clothes, I don't want my child to receive a trendy education. Trends tend to go out of style quickly, yet the classics are tried and true and they never disappoint.

Anonymous said...


In my opinion:

1. The kids are the victims in this tragedy. Especially the high performing ones.

2. Dr. Schneider is an intellectual pretender. He fools less educated people, but is being called out repeatedly in d181 for his obvious answer avoidance, double speak, and lack of data. He continues to believe that he can fool people or buy time with misdirection, hiding behind his degree, and playing the victim card, and acting offended. In the short run, it is working, but In the long run, he is wrong. Parents will not stop coming back because their children's education is at stake. They have no choice.

3. Unfortunately, I think that Dr. Schneider has convinced himself that he is doing the right thing. He drank the kool-aid.

4. In the end, there is only one thing on every parents mind. Prove you are succeeding or admit failure. Stop the excuses, misdirection, and double speak. You are fooling no one. .

5. Dr. Schneider will come to the next scheduled LFA board meeting and take one of two approaches.

A. He will once again attempt to convince everyone that the Emperor has the finest apparel imaginable.

B. He will admit that the Emperor has no clothes, but will have excuses, or blame the roll out, or the teachers, and explain a need for "modifications" and staying the course.

6. How long the district will allow Dr. Schneider continue to experiment with our children is inversely proportional to the intelligence of the people who are making the decisions.

7. In addition to parents, and staff, a couple of board members have also sniffed out the turd in the punch bowl. That is encouraging.

8. Turek seems well-intended and trusting, but he is not the sharpest tack, and is allowing Dr. Schneider to play him for a fool. When he finally realizes that, he is going to be pissed.

9. Dr. White seems to be supporting Dr. Schneider so far, but he is too smart to be fooled by the double speak. Does he feel he is too committed to LFA? Does he feel the need to back his team? Is he just giving Dr. Schneider enough rope to hang himself?

Stayed tuned for the next exciting episode.