tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post5146559516578341950..comments2023-05-05T03:15:17.710-05:00Comments on D181 Parents for Accountability and Transparency: Curriculum Mess in D181 Has Come Full Circle Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-28392036774715773872016-06-07T10:29:25.048-05:002016-06-07T10:29:25.048-05:009:55: I am just now catching up on reading the bl...9:55: I am just now catching up on reading the blog. I am a D181 staff member, and like many other teachers in the District, am sad that the blog is going to end. So I am compelled to send you this information in response to your comment on Dr. Schneider. Here is the text from an email the D181 staff members received from Dr. White on May 23, 2016. It provides some information answers and raises more questions. I am a staff member who will not remain silent. After reading Dr. White's email, I was left feeling very empty and disappointed in an administrator who may be gaming the system. I will comment further after the text of the email:<br /><br />"Dear Colleagues,<br /><br />I know that many of you have inquired about Dr. Kurt Schneider's status. As you may know, he has been absent for several weeks. I am pleased to share that Dr. Schneider contacted us today and he is doing well and will return to D181 for a few days starting June 2nd. His last few days in D181 will be spent on transition work with Dr. Christina Sepiol. He is also planning to visit schools and meet with key stakeholders during this time.<br /><br />On a related note, Dr. Sepiol began her work today in D181. I am confident you will enjoy working with her. She will become a great asset to D181.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />Don"<br /><br />What you should all know is that Dr. Schneider hasn't just been absent for several weeks. Several suggests 3 weeks and everyone on staff knows he never returned to D181 after Spring Break -- that was NINE weeks ago. Staff was led to believe that Dr. Schneider was out sick, so no one was going to suggest otherwise. I am glad for him personally if he has recovered from whatever ailed him that he can return to work, but I am not naive enough to be fooled by the verbiage in Dr. White's letter. Dr. White says Dr. Schneider is going to return for a FEW days starting June 2. What does FEW mean? Two, three, four or five days? It certainly doesn't mean more than that under any definition. My understanding is that Dr. Schneider resigned some time ago with an effective date of June 30, not June 5, 6 or 7. So is he being allowed to leave earlier than that now that Dr. Sepiol is here and on staff full time? If so, is he being paid through June 30? I certainly hope not and further hope he hasn't been allowed to game the system by using accrued vacation days. Past administrators who have left have worked right up to their final day. As a teacher, I know when administrators leave, if they have unused vacation days, they are cut a check. They are not allowed to spend their last few weeks on vacation. For me, that would be so wrong and I hope it is not something that Dr. White or any BOE member is endorsing. It sends a wrong message to all other D181 employees. Like I said in the beginning of this comment, I am left feeling very empty and disappointed in what I am seeing play out. This district is not a game, even if some administrators are treating it like one.D181 Staff Membernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-42007931998240370842016-06-06T16:57:12.208-05:002016-06-06T16:57:12.208-05:00Very good points, 1:53. The board is burying thei...Very good points, 1:53. The board is burying their heads in the sand. Some are hoping that their double faced, back stabbing tactics towards us and our children will be rewarded just like certain principals and administrators are. Very naive of the BOE. At least the staff has contracts and are getting paid. If the BOE continues to protects these administrators, their children's educations and their property values will suffer along with our losses. <br /><br />Undoubtedly, the BOE and the administration will do all they can to paint the families faced to hire lawyers as bad guys and trouble makers. That's what the district's defense attorneys tell them to do. This is yet another way the district bullies parents and students to prevent them from complaining. It might take time, but the truth always comes out. Karma has a good way of leveling the playing field. <br /><br />I agree with 10:07 and 10:42 also. The staff with weak ethics definitely are rewarded here. The ones who don't play ball with mafioso mentality of the administration have the common sense to run before they get get sued and/or caught. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-221626100608430852016-06-04T13:53:58.479-05:002016-06-04T13:53:58.479-05:00Monroe isn't the only school in the district w...Monroe isn't the only school in the district with huge problems. If it was, our district test scores wouldn't be so low. <br /><br />Our schools are doing awful compared to the Western Springs schools which spend thousands of dollars less per student than D181. I don't think Western Springs students are smarter than D181 students. I think they are taught better.<br /><br />Putting aside the education fiasco, look at the bullying problems at our schools. Elm is the perfect example. Parent after parent have complained about some staff members. The offending staff members at Elm have been moved to other schools in the district or moved to higher grades because, I guess, older children can better take the abuse.<br /><br />Parents have pulled their children out of Elm School. The principal knows of many of the problems and has done nothing. Like the earlier writers have said, Elm School's principal has allowed the code of silence to continue.<br /><br />A few D181 families have hired lawyers. I've heard that lawyers have threatened class actions. <br /><br />The BOE should be concerned about the families hiring attorneys. The administration may claim these parents are the squeaky wheels or crazy. The BOE should realize they aren't protecting the district's interests by burying their heads in the sand and protecting the administration.<br /><br />One of these days, these families with lawyers with find each other. When they do, the stuff is going to hit the fan and all of the administrations' excuses will cost D181 big bucks. <br /><br />It won't cost the administrators because they don't live here and will have moved on to other cushy jobs or will be enjoying their pensions with bumped up payments. It will cost the D181 taxpayers.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-42608883860196682192016-06-04T10:42:14.436-05:002016-06-04T10:42:14.436-05:00The Monroe Principal is a perfect example of an ad...The Monroe Principal is a perfect example of an administrator who has leapfrogged to the top of the food chain in a startlingly short period of time. He went from being a relatively young 5th grade Math teacher at the Lane to being the principal of one of the largest elementary schools in the district. Was he really the most qualified to take on this position after the revolving door of past Monroe principals? Shouldn't the then superintendent (the one with the supersensitive nose that declared there was no mold at HMS right before all H-ll broke loose and millions were spent to remediate the infestation) have looked for a principal who had proven him or herself in a comparable school district? For those who have followed district happenings, don't you find it coincidental that the year before his internal promotion, he was the HCHTA president who negotiated a 3 year teacher contract where the teachers took a pretty raw deal -- including a salary freeze for one year? Is it remotely possible that he was rewarded for negotiating such a bad contract for the teachers, with the end result being a positive one for him? And is it coincidental that he has now become one of the right hand helpers to White on curriculum matters, along with another middle school principal who has somehow survived not one but two scandals? What is happening in D181 is really horrendous. But will it ever change? I doubt it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-44759259828185579532016-06-04T10:07:16.389-05:002016-06-04T10:07:16.389-05:00I've only really experienced the "code of...I've only really experienced the "code of silence" once. A teacher had left the district so I innocently asked one of the other teachers what happened. They were told "don't ask." Usually, it's maternity leave or a medical condition. If that was the case, I would have respected the teacher's privacy and not pry. However, when the teachers are told to not even ask, that's sketchy. If the teacher was harming our kids, we have the right to know.<br /><br />Other than that, sometimes when I e-mailed someone in the district, I wouldn't get a response back. Besides that, I haven't really experienced a code of silence. If anything, it's just the people not knowing. Unfortunately, a lot of people of people who should know certain things don't. I hate to use the word incompetent to describe the administration, but in many cases, I think it's valid. I've seen so many administrators not even know the basics of the curriculum, like what textbook we use. And I've heard from teachers way too many times that the administration makes decisions without actually checking with the teachers/committees first. Or if they do, the administration just cares about stuff that looks good on paper rather than the actual benefits/utility of it.<br /><br />I'm also curious: with all this talk about how poorly Monroe is doing, do the teachers even talk to the teachers in other schools? Do they get a chance to share lesson plans, what works and what doesn't? If not, is it just that they choose not to, or is the administration not giving them the appropriate time and resources to do that?<br /><br />8:44, I'm a little surprised by the statement that the principal doesn't want to challenge the advanced learners because the kids at the bottom won't catch up. Can anyone confirm this? Is there something in writing? If true, that's extremely disturbing. While I can understand not being at the same level. There are 8th graders taking Geometry, which I didn't take until 2 years later in my sophomore year. Does that make me feel a little stupid? Sure, a little. But I'm not asking the top students to be dumbed down. I've learned that people learn at different speeds, and people are good at different things. While I don't want the high achievers to show off and make the the lower kids feel stupid, but (and forgive my bluntness) the lower achieving kids and their parents really need to grow a backbone. Parents complained about how their kids didn't get into the accelerated math courses, and we saw how that ended. We got the 4th grade compacting thing where a good portion of the kids needing tutoring. It's not the end of the world if our kids don't go to Harvard or some other Ivy League school. I've met way too many people who got great educations at the College of DuPage (myself included) and people from Harvard as dumb as a stump. However, I also think the administration's failing us. They really need to define what is gifted, and how to identify such kids, as well as SpEd/IEP/504 students. Both ends of the spectrum, along with those in the middle, are all falling behind. We really need to step up and hold the board & administration accountable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-43263368279254842622016-06-04T09:32:37.495-05:002016-06-04T09:32:37.495-05:00Just an observation - the teachers who do not beli...Just an observation - the teachers who do not believe in the learning for all nonsense are bullied into silence. The believers are promoted into top positions (principal spots with no prior experience , cushy coaching positions, admin positions). The believer teachers are the pets and they feel free to come to board meetings and tell off the BOE. The rest cower in fear in the shadows. Pathetic. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-79100389959388752902016-06-04T08:44:57.277-05:002016-06-04T08:44:57.277-05:00It sounds like Monroe has bigger problems than we ...It sounds like Monroe has bigger problems than we all thought and it seems like the problems all point to the top management at the school. So what is Dr. White going to do about it? The principal does not believe that advanced learners should be challenged because then the kids at the bottom cannot catch up. He thumbed his nose at the math directive all year and went along with ability grouping in name only but it is still learning for all (really none) at that school. The parents get education double talk when they complain. It sounds like the teachers are bullied into a code of silence. And the scores are the lowest in the district - again and again and again. Enough already! This should of ended when Monroe fell to 109 in the rankings but instead the problem is only getting worse. It is time to get experienced leadership to take the reins at Monroe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-50943989490490308812016-06-03T21:44:33.677-05:002016-06-03T21:44:33.677-05:00The truth is the district has posted some criteria...The truth is the district has posted some criteria on the Board Docs for fall, but it is vague. 90th percentile in the grade above the standard grade? And 80th percentile and 90 percent class average? This is too broad and frankly, too vague. We have no idea what this will actually translate too and the idea that they will do this work over the summer and then miraculously present it in the fall means that once again parents will be in the dark.<br /><br />I've been in D 181 three years and guess what? There has been three different criteria for math in those three years. I'm really disappointed with the academics here. Let's get this show on the road. SHAPE UP. We look terrible to other feeder school districts to HC.<br />Our children are not getting their needs met. I"m frankly just so disappointed DOL. I will be voting NO till you clean up this mess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-12061032369203257092016-06-03T18:55:25.202-05:002016-06-03T18:55:25.202-05:00Sounds far too familiar to my experiences at HMS. ...Sounds far too familiar to my experiences at HMS. Especially regarding the cover ups, directions to staff to not talk to the parents, and special education staff lying to both parents and teachers. Disgusting behavior.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-6150885716573068322016-06-03T16:28:06.868-05:002016-06-03T16:28:06.868-05:00Yes Yes Yes, there is a code of silence. Sadly, I...Yes Yes Yes, there is a code of silence. Sadly, I have known some of the incidents that occur from the elementary level. They are covered up and are not disclosed to the parents in full. From aggressive behavior between students to blatantly lying to parents about their child's development...specifically at Monroe on the Admin level (hint hint: Principal), all to save face. We do have children with needs and they try hiding it or just act as a baby sitter. <br /><br />Teachers indicate that they are in the dark and are asked to 'cover up' incidents or 'don't talk to the parents'. Teachers are moved to different locations after the Admin promises a parent their child will have certain attention devoted. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-182856623419599232016-06-03T12:31:30.457-05:002016-06-03T12:31:30.457-05:00Sadly, I have just reread the 5/27 blog post on th...Sadly, I have just reread the 5/27 blog post on the D181 curriculum mess. To think that the last five years' MAP scores have declined is just awful. Having been involved in the operations of D181 for the last 29 years and had two children successfully educated in D181, it is so upsetting to realize how D181 has slipped from being a high performing district that successfully serviced all students.<br /><br /> I want to make a couple of observations. In a high performing district such as D181, it is crucial that there be knowledgable, experienced educational leadership that puts what is best for the students first. The superintendent MUST BE knowledgable and experienced in ALL ASPECTS of elementary education, not just management and technology, but finance and CURRICULUM, too. D181 has NOT experienced a superintendent of this caliber for 10 years. I won't go into all the details/specifics, but it is TRUE! The administrative personnel blunders that D181 has experienced the last 10 years demonstrate what happens in a district when the WRONG people, who may have degrees, but no knowledge and genuine experience, are in charge. D181 was actually blessed when so many of the "bad leaders" jumped ship and then the BOE demanded that Schneider and Benaitis be "coached out." The interim personnel that D181 has experienced, going all the way back to Dr. Sabatino and up to the present, didn't work out well in our high performing district either. At best, interims help a district "tread water" and, hopefully, the district will not regress until a qualified permanent replacement is found. We know what has happened the last ten years. 6/2, 9:30am's comments are 100% correct. Also, 6/3, 10:50am has it right, too. The D181 community must end its "code of silence!" The entire D181 community, both parents and empty nesters, is to blame for allowing this unsatisfactory performance to continue in D181. Action needs to be taken! Go to BOE meetings and speak, contact the BOE members, serve on the Hinsdale Village Caucus that recommends BOE candidates, run for the BOE, demand that a new superintendent be found. There are current BOE members who know the current administration is inadequate, but just don't want to go through another superintendent search!!! They don't want tobe bothered to put in the time and effort....shame on them!! Not doing their job is negatively impacting our children's education. The only thing I take exception to in 6/3 10:50am's statement is the impression given that BOE members Rich Giltner and Leslie Gray are the only BOE members who have put their reputations on the line and acted correctly. Their are other current BOE members who have worked enormously hard for our students, devoted their time and put their reputations on the line, too. A couple others not so much. <br /><br />Anyway, with new permanent SpEd and Curriculum Asst. Superintendents in place, hopefully, circumstance is D181 will greatly improve. However, dedicated, knowledgeable BOE members are needed and a knowledgable, experienced superintendent is mandatory. An engaged community that will take action is a must, too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13113367776252751860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-67271582295238326622016-06-03T12:10:04.249-05:002016-06-03T12:10:04.249-05:00I agree 10:50. My children are long grown, but I...I agree 10:50. My children are long grown, but I served on the Caucus and went to a number of school board meetings in my day. I follow this blog and our local papers, but that is it. We get the schools we deserve. Many drink the Koolaid that Hinsdale schools are outstanding. This is driven by the still strong results of Hinsdale Central. When the current group of 4th through 8th graders start making their way through high school, it will be interesting to see how the scores hold up. <br /><br />I for one would like to see honest, fair reporting by the Hinsdalean and The Doings. The local press should be much more than cheerleaders for our town. Many people that are not aware of this blog will peruse the local paper once a week. The test results MUST be published and COMPARED to the results of 5, 10, and 15 years ago. Math and Reading scores must be published by school. I talk to former Monroe parents, and they are literally clueless about how far a once top school in the state has fallen. Parents of young children need to be INFORMED, they need to GET MAD, and they need to ACT!. My child is done, my child was an AP scholar at Hinsdale Central. My child got a great college degree and a REAL JOB!!!! My child worked her tail off starting in 2nd and 3rd grade. My child knew math facts in second grade and was required to learn 50 vocabulary words PER WEEK in 5th grade, plus all the countries and all the states. Learning is NOT a GROUP PROJECT. No one is going to take the ACT or SAT for your child. No one is going to take AP tests for your child. <br /><br />Parents of young children, you have to wake up. Our district has fallen very far in a short period of time. Cleaning house in the administration is the first step. We need disruptors on the school board, not the "go along to get along" types that fall for every educational fad that comes down the pike. <br /><br />This situation can be fixed. It starts when the parents of school aged children are informed and take the initiative to get their schools fixed. As a taxpayer, I will tell you we don't need more money or fancy new buildings. We need a solid curriculum that challenges all students. We need differentiated learning for our top students. We need much improved special education for a population of students. Please get informed and get involved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-66509303007736271882016-06-03T10:50:59.921-05:002016-06-03T10:50:59.921-05:00There is a code of silence - but only we are to bl...There is a code of silence - but only we are to blame for that. How many parents have contacted the authorities to complain about this behavior? Not enough. 8:00 am needs to write an email to the board, file a FOIA, and contact the Attorney General. It is not enough to sit around and read for entertainment. If we allow the administration to continue to give our children's educational money to a revolving door of undeserving, impotent administrators, then why is anyone surprised when they get away with it? Not enough people have complained. Have you insisted for a response when you are ignored? Have you called the media to expose the problems? Have you publicly called out the offending administrators or board members when you are robbed blind? Treating these folks with kindness does NOT work. The golden rule does not apply to people without morals or a value system. It is better to be feared than loved. D181 knows this Machiavellian tenet. Do you? This administration is not using the same rulebook we are. What will you do about it? <br /><br />Like Dr. White's quote says at the end of his emails, if you "dream" instead of "act", then nothing will ever change. He and his followers are all counting on the fact that parents are busy with their jobs and lives and won't have the time,money, or energy to take action against them. They want you to be afraid. Will you let them intimidate and embarrass you when THEY are the ones who should be embarrassed? People reading this blog - stop dreaming that this blog is the "action". This blog is the well that provides us will all the information you need to take action. Use it. Take your buckets to this well and drink the water. Let the water give you the strength to ACT. Instead, of drinking for sustenance, most of us stare at their buckets of water with parched mouths. Stop complaining how thirsty you are and ACT. GO to the next board meeting. Send more emails. Call a lawyer. Run for the School Board. <br /><br />There are a lot of attorneys, CFO's and CEO's who live in this town who ironically, allow their K-8 school system to rob them blind. If we allow our board members to condone the silence and the wrongdoing, then we get what we deserve. Everyone hanging back on the sidelines, staring at the water, don't be surprised when your children do not get the same treatment that board members children's get. Or, the same treatment that parents with attorneys get. When no one dares to speak up against the corruption or silence, the whole group suffers. The parents who invest the time and the money to fight the corruption get what they want. The rest of us will not. It will not be easy, but anything worth fighting for is hard. <br /><br />I am thankful for this blog, but if you read the story above our posts, you must understand that NOTHING has changed. What is the point of a well if no one drinks from it? I do not blame the bloggers for hanging it up. They have done important, valuable public service for ALL our our children. They and certain board members like Rich Giltner and Leslie Gray have put their reputations on the line while other parents think showing up at a school fund raisers meets their public service requirements. Act. Don't dream. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-32531341558322693772016-06-03T08:00:20.303-05:002016-06-03T08:00:20.303-05:00I'm not 100% on this (forgive me if I'm wr...I'm not 100% on this (forgive me if I'm wrong), but I heard that Dr. Schneider had a "medical" issue, hence why he was out. My question is: does he really have weeks, if not months, worth of sick leave accumulated? If so, the district really needs to change that. Our kids are in school for 9 moths a year. A single month out could have disastrous results.<br /><br />On a different note, is there anyone willing to take the reigns for this blog? I realize maintaining this blog must be time consuming, but I really wish someone would take on the role. I would, but I'm busy enough as it is. Parents, if you're unwilling to reveal your identity, maybe you could set up a dead drop like they use in cop shows to pass on any relevant information?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-30850962212444297702016-06-02T21:55:17.674-05:002016-06-02T21:55:17.674-05:00There certainly does seem to be a code of silence,...There certainly does seem to be a code of silence, but it is clearly beyond our control in certain areas. Case in point -- Dr. Schneider. Nothing on any consent agenda to indicate if he quit, was fired or what the circumstances are for his not being at work for over one month. All we know is that the new Asst. Superintendent of PPS has started and was introduced at the last board meeting. Someone should file a FOIA to see if Schneider is still collecting his salary. If he is, there should be an investigation by an outside agency to find out if there are any abuses taking place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-32004617422418564632016-06-02T14:05:50.219-05:002016-06-02T14:05:50.219-05:00Please don't throw in the towel. We need you. ...Please don't throw in the towel. We need you. Admittedly, D181 is probably worse off under Dr. White than even Dr. Schuster. <br /><br />White has allowed the curriculum mess to proliferate, promoted incompetent people, hired people who don't seem to have a clue or the inclination to do work necessary to fix the messes in our schools. The special education students we know are worse off than ever while they are pushed thru their various grades. Many of us know parents of special education students and have heard them tell stories of special education staff denying the existence of blatant issues that a lay person could easily see. We have watched as bullying by staff members has proliferated in some of our schools. It is covered up and denied while staff are moved to different grades and different schools. D181 still isn't challenging our advanced learners. <br /><br />The code of silence lives among D181 teachers, staff and administrators.<br /><br />Without this blog, most of the BOE and many district parents would be in the dark. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-87457916726842871622016-06-02T12:01:43.863-05:002016-06-02T12:01:43.863-05:00Anyone who has listened to the Learning Committee ...Anyone who has listened to the Learning Committee Meetings and BOE meetings knows that the cut-offs have been a moving target, even this year. Once again, there will be no consistency between past years and next year. According to Dr. Larson, she had a hard time knowing what cut-offs to pick because the district has no philosophy for gifted kids. It was truly shocking to hear her say this since EVERYONE who works in D181 should have been educated on the events of the last 5 years, including the work done by the overpaid consultants who were hired to develop the philosophy that was then board approved. Once we, the bloggers, realized that yet another D181 administrator has been performing her job in the dark, we decided it was time to throw in the towel, because it is clear as day that nothing has changed and we have zero confidence that things will improve in the next few years. For the sake of all D181 children -- current and future -- we hope we are proven wrong. The cut-offs thankfully will no longer impact our kids, but other parents should be very concerned about the unscientific manner in which they were chosen, then tweaked, this year. Where is the research that shows what cut-offs are appropriate? There is none. This was another dart game in the making, as far as we are concerned.The Parentshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06479785630757500730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-90127372259714478762016-06-02T10:31:52.910-05:002016-06-02T10:31:52.910-05:009:46 - while we have waited a long time for criter...9:46 - while we have waited a long time for criteria for placement in accelerated classes, it has been discussed in multiple meetings over the last couple of months. Math criteria can be found on the board website under Learning:<br /><br />http://www.d181.org/learning/curriculum/math/index.aspx<br /><br />This includes math trajectories and placement criteria for both elementary and middle school. As discussed there is still no accelerated ELA for elementary aged students.<br /><br />Descriptions of grade level and accelerated classes for middle school can also be found on the website under Learning:<br /><br />http://www.d181.org/data/files/gallery/ContentGallery/20142015_MS_Course_Descriptions.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-77639170983867073932016-06-02T09:30:06.501-05:002016-06-02T09:30:06.501-05:00All I know is that I am very worried how my child ...All I know is that I am very worried how my child will fare at Hinsdale Central and I blame all of the past and present administrators for screwing with a time proven curriculum, replacing it with an unproven social justice ideology promoted by the now missing in action Schneider, that was followed blindly by building principals and many teachers. Had I known six years ago when I moved here what the future would hold, I would have never moved here. Never in my adult life have I encountered so many professionals who have acted so unprofessionally and in a completely self serving manner. Their behavior has centered around their next promotion, rather than educating children. I am sorry this blog is ending because all the writers have had the balls to call them out publicly. I can only imagine how relieved the administrators must feel knowing that in one week they will once again be free to continue their reign of terror and educational malpractice unfettered and uncriticized. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-10999832920697814582016-06-01T06:34:35.559-05:002016-06-01T06:34:35.559-05:009:06pm - you have it exactly right. I warned Just...9:06pm - you have it exactly right. I warned Justin Horne for years that the language arts program is a disaster and that students are learning a fraction of what they would have learned 5 years ago. He didn't want to listen to me. Now the middle school teachers are trying to play catch up and teach our students how to write. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-45341881724274998632016-05-31T21:46:02.228-05:002016-05-31T21:46:02.228-05:00This post is very apropos at this time of the year...This post is very apropos at this time of the year. Compared to parents of D181 even 4 years ago, parents NOW have no idea where their children will be placed in math. Nor do we know what the requirements are for children to be selected for advanced classes or acceleration. This is a disgrace. <br /><br /> Instead of fixing the problem 5 years ago, D181 chose to eliminate it on paper, yet claim that the program still met individual learner's needs through "differentiation". Hmm. Where on the website, or anywhere at a board meeting, did the curriculum department describe in writing, with details, how they were going to change the gifted/accelerated program? What exactly did they do to make spending $50,000 on Dr. Moon's report worth it? Instead of using the taxpayer's investment to IMPROVE our children's educations, they decided to just scrap it. My my. It sounds like yet another example of taxpayer fraud by the administration of D181, all at the expense of our children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-39441714752620511902016-05-28T09:06:15.926-05:002016-05-28T09:06:15.926-05:00The main problem is the writing score. Writers wor...The main problem is the writing score. Writers workshop, peer editing, lack of grammar books, and unpublished teacher approved writing pieces have all contributed to a cohort of students who cannot put a simple paragraph together. Math is a disaster, but so is writing. Students need to know how to write to succeed in ELA.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-16893850006243755012016-05-27T22:22:11.982-05:002016-05-27T22:22:11.982-05:0011:08: I don't think you were present or list...11:08: I don't think you were present or listened to the same meeting as I. This was never the direction of the board. The board majority has requested multiple times nothing but the highest standards for our students. <br /><br />The incoming 6th grade class for Language Arts will be watered down. The directive from the district, NEVER asked for input by the board, was a MAP score of 224 and a Common Writing Assessment of 3 and above for the Enriched class. Scoring a 224 was the AVERAGE for the district. This is a very low standard, especially for a district like D181.<br /><br />We are so thankful for the Principal we had at the time "learning for all" started, because he is helping every student in the district for 6th grade math. He stood up for what he knew was best practices, within the field of education. The standards are much higher, thanks to him. Ability grouping works, and this is the proof.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-15485368385781927202016-05-27T16:24:23.294-05:002016-05-27T16:24:23.294-05:00Everyone should read the following blog post from ...Everyone should read the following blog post from January 31, 2015: <br /><br />http://www.hold181accountable.com/2015/01/review-and-reflections-on-straight-talk.html?m=1<br /><br />It is long but definitely worth reading. I did and it makes me sick to my stomach to realize not much has changed. Administrators are still not collecting or using data, they are still making excuses and they still don't understand what has or is happening in D181 in the area of curriculum. Really, it feels like we are living in the twilight zone.Mother of 4 D181 studentsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-7567111126923853592016-05-27T11:58:45.045-05:002016-05-27T11:58:45.045-05:0011:08: the boe "directive" referred to e...11:08: the boe "directive" referred to elementary math not middle school courses. That was clearly stated if you listen to the learning committee and past boe meetings. So yes I am correcting you and you are wrong. And if you likewise listen to past boe and learning meetings, the boe repeatedly stated that the 1/3 was not a quota and it was just a guide based on what was done in the past. They also stated placement should be based on performance data and that the administration needed to look at what kids were successful in the past to use as a guide for placement. A lot of misinformation is freely being thrown around.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com