Wednesday, February 7, 2018

New Superintendent Won't be Approved by BOE on February 12th

We have just checked the D181 website and Board Docs.  With no Six Day Compensation Package posting anywhere on the D181 website or Board Docs and no reference to a posting at the District Administration Center, we have concluded that the D181 Board of Education WILL NOT be approving a new superintendent at the February 12, 2018 meeting. No other Special Meetings are posted on Board Docs.

What does this mean? Hopefully, just that the BOE is negotiating the terms of a contract with the incoming Superintendent and the timing just didn't work out for the Six Day posting in time for next week's meeting.

For the sake of the district, and because the BOE must turn its attention next to hiring Department of Learning administrators to take over for the interims, let's hope the BOE can wrap up the superintendent hire soon. He/she should be involved in hiring his/her central office team, so every day matters.

Perhaps the BOE will know by February 12 who they will be hiring and will make an announcement during the meeting!

So stay tuned, and as always, SOUND OFF!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

FYI, school is canceled for tomorrow, Friday due to the expected snow. District website confirmed this. Only way I found out was due to Facebook. Looks like some people got called & emailed by the district, other people, like me, didn't receive anything from the district.

Anonymous said...

I just read one of the later comments on the Feb. 3 post and amazed that the special education students in Oak Brook score twice as high as those in Hinsdale or Western Springs. They are obviously are spending their dollars on quality supports and successful professional development. Oak Brook teachers, parents and administrators understand that if you properly identify kids for special ed early on and provide them the support they need at a young age the sooner they will thrive and become independent. Independent kids are happier, more successful kids. But kids don't get that way themselves. And they especially don't learn this from other kids in the class who finished their work quicker than they did. Most kids need to be taught by expert teachers how to learn before they can become independent, self starters in a regular classroom.

We need 1 knowledgable special ed administrator, or perhaps just one on the ball superintendent who is willing to supervise, re-train, and fire the bad apples in the special ed department. Differentiation people and Rti aides are not part of special education, but parents here think it is. They are not. We are paying far too much for people who are not well trained or supervised to teach the kids who need the most specialized support. Sad to say, but at some schools it seems like the special ed department and some teachers treat kids who learn differently like an albatross around their necks. I am so tired of parents and some teachers who tell kids to suck it up and and accept failure instead of different learning methods that might work. We really need to find out what Oak Brook is doing that makes their special education department so much more successful than ours. Hire that superintendent away from them!

What our kids are getting hasn't been cutting it, especially for what we are paying in property taxes. Don't the kids from Butler Junior High go to Hinsdale Central anyway? How hard would it be to merge the two districts, especially if we don't have to fire or hire a superintendent? Why can't we offer Oak Brook administrators a huge bump in salary to come here and add our district to their plates? Just overhaul our curriculum with everything they are doing. There are so many changes going on right now in D181 that now is the perfect chance to start over with a local superintendent who knows how to prepare students for Hinsdale Central. With all the uncertainly in Oak Brook about Hinsdale Central splitting up, I have a feeling Oak Brookians would appreciate suddenly being tied to Hinsdale D181. They are terrified of getting assigned to South. A marriage of convenience between Butler 53 and Hinsdale 181 could satisfy everyone's needs nicely just about now. Consolidation would cement Oak Brook children's ties to Hinsdale Central rather than Hinsdale South.

Anonymous said...

I agree 9:47, we need to see what Oak Brook is doing, and try to replicate it. However, I feel that with the constant turnover of administrators, I think that there isn't enough consistency. How can teachers really teach our kids if administrators keep telling them to do different things? You're also right about knowing the kids' learning styles. I went to a 4 year college, barely got my bachelor's degree. I later went to College of DuPage. I learned MUCH better there as I find it better suited my learning style. Plus, look at a few years ago with Dr. Schneider trying to put EVERYONE in above-grade classes. It failed miserably! I know it sucks, but not everyone is able to go 1, 2 3+ grade levels ahead. Sure, it might make people feel stupid if they're not in the top classes. Heck, I feel stupid seeing that 8th graders are taking classes I didn't take until junior or senior year in high school. But guess what? I learned that I learn at my own pace, in my own way. Administrators, teachers, parents & students really need to learn that, learn know how to identify learning styles, and learn how to cater to them. Easier said than done, but very important. I feel too many people are too arrogant, and too much about names of schools and what classes people are in and not about actually learning the information.

As for consolidation with Oak Brook, it could work. It'll save a lot of time & money looking for a new superintendent & other central office administrators. Plus, getting in on the mall's sales tax would be good for us. However, I don't see what's in it for them. You say "Consolidation would cement Oak Brook children's ties to Hinsdale Central rather than Hinsdale South." Do you have a source? As much as I'd like to believe that, I fear it may just be wishful thinking on our part. Plus, the only way I can really see us guaranteeing going to Central is if D86 broke up, and all of Central's feeder districts stayed there. Also, some people have said that we go to the mall, so we should get some of the tax revenue. Here's the thing: why would Oak Brook want to share the sales tax revenue with us when they can keep all of it to themselves? Plus, as you said, they're scores are way higher than ours. Wouldn't they be afraid that we'd bring them down? We'd be the Hinsdale South of the combined district.

Frustrated said...

Please create a free-standing post for Special Ed.
Under Don White, Special Ed interventions have almost disappeared, and this at-risk population continues to fall further behind. The suggested budget cuts will remove almost all the specialized instruction these at-risk students receive; they already lost writing lab. What's left if they remove academic strategies, reading lab, and math lab?

Statistically, only 15% HMS and 13% CHMS Special Education students are prepared for the next step.
Almost all neighboring districts do significantly better.
• Hinsdale Central Feeders: Butler 29%, Westview 18%, and Gower 15%.
• LT feeders: Highland 33%, McClure 23%, Park 25%
• Westmont 25%
Why are these districts doing to help these at-risk students reach success?
The Board of Education needs to know the true state of Special Ed in D181, and recognize that our special ed students need more, not less, to close the gap.

Does your child have an IEP or a 504? Do you feel part of your child’s IEP team? Do you feel supported?
Are your child’s needs are being met at school? Do you use private tutors and therapists?
Have you resorted to alternative education to help your child close the gap?
Have you hired an advocate? Have you hired an attorney?