Thursday, April 2, 2015

More Community Members Support D181 Candidates We Have Endorsed -- Burns, Giltner, Gray and Czerwiec

The following letters were submitted to local papers support D181 Candidates we have endorsed:

Retiring D181 board member supports Burns, Gray
As a retiring District 181 school board member I would like to thank the D181 community for the oppor- tunity to serve a community that has so many talented students, dedicat- ed parents, hard-working staff and generous community members. It has been my privilege to serve you.
Last week The Hinsdalean noted that all six D181 candidates are well-qualified to serve. I agree. However, Jennifer Burns and Leslie Gray are uniquely qualified and
are the best candidates. Each has regularly attended board meetings during my term. Each is articulate and has command of the issues. They understand the tax levy and the importance of growing the bud- get at an affordable rate. From my personal knowledge, I know that they have the dedication, commit- ment, patience and the intellect
to move the district forward. For example, Ms. Gray spearheaded the charge to ensure that large schools (Prospect, Madison and Monroe) received an equitable share of resources and Ms. Burns articulately speaks for the education of all stu- dents.
I do not agree with all of their positions. For example, I do not support all day kindergarten, as Ms. Gray does, and I have a different perspective on HMS. Nevertheless, I am sure that each one will take their responsibilities seriously, make each decision conscientiously and treat all members of the community fair- ly. That is all that we can ask of any school board member. I urge you to vote for Burns (1 on the ballot) and Gray (3). Thank you. — Brendan Heneghan, Hinsdale 
(4/2/15 Hinsdalean)


Vote for Burns, Czerwiec, Giltner and Gray for D181 board
I support Jennifer Burns, John Czerwiec, Richard Giltner and Leslie Gray for D181 Board of Education. They will work with the existing board members and administration to bring our district back to its past level of high academic performance.
Each of these candidates brings some-
thing to the table that will make this board a cohesive, well-rounded group that will best represent the stakeholders and tax payers. Collectively, their experience in strategic plan- ning, education, technology, finance, state legislation and tax law enables them to take an analytical eye to the decisions that the BOE is responsible for making. These candidates will make decisions that are fiscally sound and in the best interest of our students.

The responsibility of each board member is great. They must understand the current
educational climate, Common Core and its implementation, data analysis of our stu- dents’ assessments and implementation of a sound curriculum with updated educational resources. The curriculum should meet the needs of all our students, not just the majority. It needs to be standardized and data driven. Decisions to modify and change curriculum should be based on analysis of performance of the students living in this district. These candidates take these issues seriously. They understand that the success of our students hinges on an open and collaborative effort between the administration and BOE to
steer our schools back on course. The time has come for change. I believe that Burns, Czerwiec, Giltner, and Gray will work to make it happen. — Meeta Jain Patel, Hinsdale
(4/2/15 Hinsdalean)

 Four candidates will watch out for special education
As a parent of a special education child, I am voting for Jennifer Burns, Richard Giltner, Leslie Gray and John Czerwiec for the D181 BOE. The needs of special education children will be met under their watch.
This district pulled out of LADSE several years ago under the premise that the needs of our special edu- cation children would be met more effectively in house. There has been no analysis as to whether our children have been better served. In addition, this district does not currently have a dedicated special education director. ISBE guidelines mandate that one employee must be devoted solely to this position. In other words, D181 is in direct violation of ISBE guidelines; this is doing a great disservice to our special education children.
Special education children are the
most vulnerable members of society. School districts are responsible for actively locating, identifying and eval- uating all children who may qualify to receive special education or related services. Instead, as in the case of my son, D181 staff refused to evaluate him for a learning disability because he has ADHD. Moreover, D181 staff told us that if he has dyslexia, it is a medical diagnosis and not an educa- tional issue. Worse yet, district staff suggested that we hire a tutor for him. Statements like these are a clear vio- lation of state and federal laws, and open the district to liability.
Vote for Burns, Giltner, Gray and Czerwiec to hold the administration accountable and meet the needs of special education children. — Nadine Gilbert, Hinsdale
(4/2/15 Hinsdalean)

 Burns, Giltner, Gray bring right mix of skills to D181
I am writing today to express my support for three candidates who
are running for the D181 Board of Education — Leslie Gray, Jennifer Burns and Richard Giltner. These three candidates are parents with children in D181. They have the experience and skills necessary to make a positive difference and to contribute to the continued success of our schools. These candidates
have volunteered extensively in their children’s schools and on district committees. Most importantly, they have been vetted and endorsed by the Hinsdale Village Caucus.

Gray, Burns and Giltner are well
educated on district issues, and they have an impressive blend of financial, legal and business expertise. They
are objective and independent with no conflicts of interest. They are also fiscally responsible. These attributes will allow them to effectively address the host of curriculum, financial and facility issues facing our district.

Gray, Burns and Giltner will bring collaborative, thoughtful and respect- ful deliberation to the board table. They are familiar with the issues and can hit the ground running. Vote Gray, Burns, and Giltner on April 7! — Kim Towery, Hinsdale
(4/2/15 Hinsdalean)

 Vote 1, 2, 3 and 5 for best candidates for D181 board
We are at a crossroads in D181 as data points have dropped while the importance of metrics in changing curriculum has been eliminated altogether. I fully endorse the four best candidates for BOE D181: Burns, Giltner, Gray and Czerwiec. Vote 1,2,3 and 5.
After a successful career in corpo- rate America, real estate purchases and a portfolio prior to getting mar- ried and moving to D181, I have been a 24 x 7 full-time mother to two eager learners for over 12 years.
There are several reasons why I support these candidates. I know Burns and Gray from attending board meetings; they already are well- versed on D181 fiscal and curriculum issues. Respectively, they bring crit- ical strategic planning and tax/legal experience to the table. Giltner brings
extensive financial expertise and Czerwiec offers both municipal and an IT background. I cannot think of a more balanced, objective group to face our critical issues.
These candidates are not running for political or power reasons. They run to maintain and extend the legacy of educational excellence that district taxpayers rely on and expect. We deserve a board who oversees and measures all aspects of learning, just as both public and private company boards require all across the U.S. These candidates stand for transpar- ency, data-driven decision making, fiscal responsibility and ensuring a top-notch education for all. We sim- ply cannot afford or expect anything less. — Joan Fitzgerald Clopton, Clarendon Hills 
(4/2/15 Hinsdalean)


PTO colleague, friend urges vote for Burns for D181 

I am writing this letter to show
my support for Jennifer Burns who is running for a seat on the D181 Board of Education. I have known Jennifer in her roles as parent, neighbor, friend and volunteer for 7 years. She brings excellent creden- tials to this position; 15+ years expe- rience in marketing, strategy and management. Additionally, Jennifer has spent many years (seven) vol- unteering within our community
as chairperson and member of many PTO committees (SELAS, Sister School, PTO executive board nominating committee, Science Olympiad Fun Night), has served as district SELAS liaison and a class- room and school volunteer many times. Having been a PTO president previously and worked with Jennifer,
I feel she exemplifies honesty, fair- ness, thoughtfulness and thorough- ness. In addition to being an active volunteer, I have always found Jennifer to be someone who likes to stay informed and as someone who is willing to share information. At a district level she has attended numerous board meetings over
the past few years and has been an advocate for making data driven decisions, being fiscally responsi- ble and including all stakeholders
in the decision making process. Jennifer possesses all of the personal qualities, and characteristics our community values. Please vote for Jennifer Burns, the common sense candidate, No. 1 on the ballot, April 7.
— Charity Muscarella, Hinsdale
(4/2/15 Hinsdalean)

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Curious as to why none of these great letters were published in my Clarendon Hill's local paper?

Anonymous said...

8:03: LOL! Ellis + McCurry $ = lopsided coverage

Anonymous said...

I would love to know why Dr. White is allowing district employees (Gary Fritsch) to give Amy McCurry "multiple hours" to bring her up to speed on district finances.

It's not appropriate and it is not how our tax dollars are supposed to be used. She supposedly is no longer a district employee although I don't believe her resignation has been accepted. Probably waiting to see the election outcomes and go right back to work if she doesn't win without having to go through the rehiring process.

The Parents said...

8:51: what do you mean that she is getting multiple hours?

Anonymous said...

She makes that claim on her web site

Anonymous said...

Parents - This is 8:51

On Amy McCurry's website, she states that she has spent "multiple hours" with Gary Fritsch to understand district finances (look under Q&A).

It's not acceptable.

The Parents said...

Wow. Nice waste of taxpayer dollars when there are resources online to self educate.

Nadine Gilbert said...

8:03: I am glad you noted that. So there is no question, I sent my letter to all the local papers including the Courier.

charity said...

Hello. My letter to the editor was sent to all four local publishers. All were posted either in their paper or online, except, to my knowledge, the Courier.

Anonymous said...

Do anyone know if Mr. Heneghan's letter was published in the Clarendon Hill's Couier paper?

Anonymous said...

Has the Courier published any letters to the Editor about any candidates?

Anonymous said...

I have 2 questions regarding Candidate McCurry: 1. If she has really resigned, why hasn't the HR department posted a vacancy for her parent liaison position? Don't other parents get to apply or will Schneider hand pick a new one or perhaps her resignation is a fiction that won't become nonfiction unless she wins a seat on the BOE?
2. Where can I find a job description for the parent liaison position? According to one community member's endorsement of McCurry that appears on her facebook page, he claims MCCurry helped "design an educational plan" for his child. Really? At $13.75/hour, 20 hours per week? Isn't that the job of the teachers and PPS administrators during an IEP?

Anonymous said...

There must not be enough work if Mr. Frisch has time to be tutoring BOE candidates. Parents in other districts can't believe how out of touch with reality our district is becoming by just focusing on the standards and refusing to allow advanced classes in the elementary schools. Why would anyone move to Hinsdale if they can get the same common core education elsewhere and pay less taxes and not have a middle school that looks like an ugly UFO? It would be better to use the tax savings to pay private school tuition where teachers are allowed to challenge kids and focus on the education versus on grouping kids by their favorite colors, color of their pants, length of their hair, interest in art, singing voice, interest in skipping (can't be ability based), color of lunch boxes, etc etc.

Anonymous said...

No matter how nice someone might be perceived to be, a conflict is a conflict. A phony effort to diffuse it does not eliminate it. But a phony attempt to make it seem like it no longer exists is a slimebsll campaign tactic and voters shouldn't be deceived.

Anonymous said...

McCurry's job still not posted on D181 vacancies page. What a crock. If this "fiction" doesn't prove the conflict, what will?

Anonymous said...

The job vacancies page does list 2 math club sponsor positions for Oak School. This is another dirty little secret the admin is covering up. Everyone knows a parent has personally hired 2 Math teachers from a private school to tutor Oak only 5th graders in math after school 2x's a week. Why is this posted on the district website and why aren't other schools doing this?

Anonymous said...

Not only does Amy McCurry try to hide all of the conflicts of interest, but today she has also posted on her Facebook page that everyone should just vote for her! Really? I think that's slimy!

Anonymous said...

The biggest "dirty little secret" is how the L4All plan has hurt the current 5th graders in math. That's why there is a math club (tutoring) and why the district paid for tutoring for that grade last year. Big gaps in learning and parents think it is only their children and are hesitant to admit their student is struggling with grade level math. Yet the admin. has not gone on record with what they think went wrong, what they have learned and what they won't do going forward. And our BOE hasn't bothered to ask. No, instead, the new math plan continues with integrated/ability inclusive classrooms, elimination of tiers, hyper-dfferentiation and acceleration/ compacting for all in 6th grade. And I'm supposed to trust these "experts" to do better this time? Why??

The Parents said...

1:24: where does it say this? Please send us an actual quote from her Facebook page.

The Parents said...

We meant 1:18...

Anonymous said...

I think it's irresponsible to tell anyone just to vote for one person. If a candidate is doing that, they are giving voters the wrong advice and do not care about the district and are more focused on their own agenda. The board has 7 people and we should use our voting rights to make sure we vote for four people who are best suited to be on a school board, who are interested in education and not just what's best for the administration. A fully engaged board can lead the district forward, not one that is tied to just what the administration wants. It's time to get the tax payer voice on the board. Mr. Turek needs to move on and let other people have a chance to contribute. The administration is highly paid and doesn't need a cheerleader on the board. They should be held accountable and all that has been given thus far is lip service by the board president.

Anonymous said...

From McCurry's Facebook page:

"Vote for Amy Antrim McCurry on Tuesday April 7th! Your ONE VOTE counts - #6 on the ballot."

Anonymous said...

She makes it sound like people only have one vote. It's a page right out of Kurt Schneider's book. Blur the lines, be ambiguous...

Nadine Gilbert said...

On March 12, a woman named Catherine Johnson wrote a letter to the editor of the Hinsdalean which stated: “I was having problems getting my dyslexic son to get the proper resources at Walker School to address his learning disability. Without Amy's help, my son would likely still be frustrated with low self esteem because of his learning disability.”

I found this letter highly inappropriate for a number of reasons. Amy McCurry is a PAID DISTRICT 181 EMPLOYEE. She reports directly to Dr. Schneider...................As a result of Amy's PAID POSITION in DISTRICT 181, she got HER FRIEND’S SON services that (1) the school district is LEGALLY REQUIRED by state and federal law to provide and (2) most district parents can't get their children who have the same disabilities.

Has anyone figured out why, in a school district with the resources of district 181, a special needs child couldn't get services mandated by state and federal law? I find that to be a significant problem. Moreover, how many other special needs children in D181 are being denied appropriate services? I can name quite a few!

My son was one of them. The administrators and educators in our district refused to acknowledge the fact that my son has dyslexia. In fact, Amy suggested on several occasions that I hire a tutor to assist him. I guess I wasn’t on Amy’s “Friend List”!

Lucky for us that I know the law!

Anonymous said...

Isn't this against some kind of policy or against IDEA law? They will make up some data to justify services for that child. It is disappointing that a district like ours would let students with dyslexia go undiagnosed and unsupported. I thought they want all kids to succeed and have high self esteem.

Anonymous said...

Dear posters:

Today is the day. Go to the polls and vote! We desperately need your support.

There are no lines. Turnout is low so far. There was only one other voter when I was there within the last hour, and he was in his 90's.

Making supportive posts does no good unless you go to the polls and vote.

I know you have other things to do today, but do it for your kids and your neighbors kids.

Anonymous said...

Is there a web site or something with election results this evening?

Thanks

The Parents said...

Cook County results:
http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/elections/results/Pages/default.aspx

The Parents said...

Dupage County results;
http://www.dupageco.org/ElectionResults/

Anonymous said...

Do those tallies include early voting?

The Parents said...

No tallies yet.