tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post3748599856055777400..comments2023-05-05T03:15:17.710-05:00Comments on D181 Parents for Accountability and Transparency: Series Part 2: A Critical Analysis of the "Doctors" at the helm of D181 and their Questionable Qualifications and Motives– The Assistant Superintendent of Learning (Student Services)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-76782945582579599862013-08-26T17:07:02.131-05:002013-08-26T17:07:02.131-05:00Thank you to Outraged D181 Taxpayer for your last ...Thank you to Outraged D181 Taxpayer for your last comment and bringing this stuff to our attention. We will be listening tonight to the board meeting and perhaps some of your questions will be answered. Either way, we will address the issues you raise in a future post. For now, we will run your Comment as a full post since we want to make sure all of our readers see it. The Parentshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06479785630757500730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-83077449610227537792013-08-26T16:41:41.210-05:002013-08-26T16:41:41.210-05:00Hi Bloggers: Hope you are going to listen to toni...Hi Bloggers: Hope you are going to listen to tonight's Board Meeting and will consider investigating and publishing a follow up post that addresses the following. Checked out Board Docs for tonight's meeting and happened upon "board member" questions, concerning the expense checks the board is supposed to approve at tonight's meeting. I couldn't believe what I saw. It appears there is some potentially shady stuff going on in this district. The board is being asked to approve a check to the University of Milwaukee in the amount of $2,760 for Administrative Professional Development. Looks like this expense caught the attention of Board Members Heneghan and Garg who asked what it was for and if there were any other related expenses. The answer was really disturbing. According to the "administration's" answer to their question, the following administrators all drove up for a week -- at the D181 taxpayers' expense-- to listen to "Dr." Schneider toot his own horn and present on his, Capper and Frattura's ideas about "social justice" and the ICS Model the bloggers have talked about in this post -- Series 2: Dawn Benaitis, Christine Igoe, Kevin Russell, Casey Godfrey, Eric Chisausky and Justin Horne. And more expenses -- for lodging and travel (and probably meals) -- are all still going to be submitted by these 6 administrators.<br /><br />What's more, while Board Member Heneghan asked the administration to post or show him the materials the administrators received while attending the conference, the answer was that these materials are copyrighted and cannot be publicly posted!<br /><br />I hope the bloggers -- Concerned Parents -- are as enraged as I was to see this. First, Isn't it an ethical violation by Dr. Schneider to present at a conference that he is paid for by University of Milwaukee -- obviously with attendee "registration fees" -- and then require his colleagues to PAY TO LEARN what he is teaching? Why couldn't he, or didn't he, present this information to the entire D181 administrative staff FOR FREE???? Why is our D181 tax $ being spent on this kind of "Social Justice" Institute. The "answer" tries to suggest that the topics covered by the Institute are relevant to our administrators because the title of the Institute includes the words "High Achieving Schools" but if you've read up on Capper and Frattura's research, it is plain as day that they are concerned with demographically poor, underachieving districts. <br /><br />As for not letting anyone in the community, let alone the Board Members, see the "materials" the administrators were given -- paid for by D181 taxpayers!! -- that is unbelievable. So what if the materials are copyrighted. Copyright law doesn't prevent the materials from being shared internally by other D181 staff. If so, then I guess only the principals who attended the Institute will be able to read this material and can't share it with the 6 other principals in D181. And if a board member wants to see materials essentially purchased with tax payer $, why can't they? In fact, why aren't these materials (since there are at least 7 sets in D181 -- the particpants who attended and Dr. Schneider's) kept in the Hinsdale library or one of the D181 school libraries for community members to look at, should they choose to?<br /><br />Lots of questions to ask and hopefully lots of answers to be given. Bloggers, have at it!<br /><br />Outraged D181 Taxpayer<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-17822113169836556762013-08-23T09:08:25.622-05:002013-08-23T09:08:25.622-05:00Why does this Board believe it is acceptable to ex...Why does this Board believe it is acceptable to experiment on our children? We had programs that worked and there is evidence to prove it. This new Learning for All is a bunch of hogwash and should have never been approved in the first place. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-7922249841060728272013-08-23T08:05:07.859-05:002013-08-23T08:05:07.859-05:00As a parent of middle and elementary students, her...As a parent of middle and elementary students, here is what I have to say. I spent most of yesterday afternoon reading up on Capper and Frattura as well as going back through the materials posted on Board Docs to see what data was presented. Their research has nothing to do with a community such as D181. It is outrageous that Dr. Schneider is trying to force their social justice model down our throats without presenting data from comparable school districts that shows it will actually improve the performance of all our students. If the data exists, and I just couldn't find it, then I challenge the administration to present it to the BOE and community at a public meeting. Could it be that D181 is being used as a testing ground for Schneider, Capper and Frattura's research, next book and next symposium? I hope not, because our children are not guinea pigs and should not be treated as such.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-23640212901435217372013-08-22T21:01:50.388-05:002013-08-22T21:01:50.388-05:00As a father of two children in this district, I am...As a father of two children in this district, I am disgusted that an administrator would consider dressing so casually to attend a board meeting. If I showed up for work in a tee shirt and sandals, I would be laughed out of the building. If you want to be treated as a professional, you have to act and dress professionally. Maybe Mr. Schneider takes his role with our district too casually and thus, believes he is dressing the part. He's getting paid way too much to look like he's on his way to the beach. Someone clearly needs to give this man some guidance, then again, he should know better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-83898932484247518442013-08-22T14:16:01.721-05:002013-08-22T14:16:01.721-05:00Is this the same gum smacking, food chewing, sleep...Is this the same gum smacking, food chewing, sleepy eyed $140,000 plus taxpayer-paid employee who regularly shows up to Board of Education meetings in t-shirts and slippers? And if you have a special education child in this district, you will not see Kurt Schneider in parent meetings; now we have proof he is too busy consulting with his "higher education" buddies. What a joke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-24042826568114723622013-08-22T09:15:37.165-05:002013-08-22T09:15:37.165-05:00Is it just me, or are they trying to fix an imagin...Is it just me, or are they trying to fix an imaginary problem with this Learning for All plan? For many years our schools have been very highly rated. Sure, not every district is perfect, but I view this current push and embracing Social Justice as destructive. I don't see how it is applicable to our community. All types of parents want their children to attend our schools for the quality of education it has provided in the past. Do we want to be part of this experiment? I think we have way too much to lose. <br /><br />Parent of eementary children Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com