Community Member's REMIX of "The Yellow Brick Road To Nowhere..."

Because we respect our readers' opinions on topics of concern, we appreciated receiving a Remix -- as we will call it -- of our Modern Tale, The Yellow Brick Road to Nowhere.  We agree that our use of the phrase  "Land of Educational Contentment" may not have been a completely accurate description of what existed before the tornado, but we were trying to simplify, simplify, simplify, so perhaps some of the simpletons who sit on the board of education would actually understand the "deeper" meanings of our post.  However, the Remix version is brilliant and and cannot be ignored.  So, we have published it below:

"I have some quibbles characterizing the "pre-tour guide era" as the "Land of Educational Contentment".

As I recall there were some folks that looked around "the bus" and saw that some seats were a little smaller and some seats were a little bigger. It made a lot of sense to most people because the "bus loading people" mostly did a good job sizing up students to seats. 

The problems was that some folks cried that the different sized seats made them feel bad. At about the same time other people noticed sometimes the "seat sizers" did not get things perfectly right, some kids close to cut off for a size sorta squeezed in and some kids did not. Maybe the "seat sizers" needed measuring sticks that were newer and better. Some people said the seat sizers did not know what they were doing. That was not right and some people sought to get Lady Justice to weigh in on that. Maybe if the bus driver was a little smarter that would not have been needed.

The bus driver was filled with panic. Seeing Lady Justice would be expensive and time consuming, to "fix" this problem the tour guide suggesting hiring their pal. The pal had lots of expertise telling folks about how terrible their buses were but not much else. The expert decided to light their hair on fire. It was a smelly mess. The bus driver and the "board of bus trustees" kind of pooped themselves. The smell grew worse. The people with children who cried about their seats joined the cacophony.

The people late at night decided maybe to take all the seats out of bus. Despite the objections of lots of people that is just what they did. 

The tour guide seized on a buzz word from the pal with the burning hair and decided to make the old seats new seats that were buzz word compliant. The new seats were magic. They were supposed to fit everyone.

Some parents said that is silly, there are no magic seats. Everyone should get a seat that fits them as best as possible.

The tour guide said people that did not like magic seats must be bad, they must want to lock some kids into yucky seats. 

A Modern Tale: The Yellow Brick Road To Nowhere.... (Part 1)

It is time for another modern fairy tale, or as some of you may conclude after reading it, a horror story, for this is not a story with a happy ending.  

There used to be a Land of Educational Contentment. Parents moved there because the schools and teachers were outstanding, children loved to go to school and were excited to learn something new every day. Suddenly one day, the sky darkened and a fast moving tornado swept through the town, leaving devastation in its wake. The tornado scooped up teachers and students and carried them to a far away land, dropping them from the sky onto a vast landscape of unknowns. 

When the teachers and students woke up from the storm, they found themselves in a field surrounded by a long, winding, yellow brick road, a road that the natives of this foreign land told them would lead to a magical place called the Emerald City, ruled by a Great Leader and 7 Trustees.  There they would find the crown jewel of all educational systems, much better than the one they’d left behind in the Land of Educational Contentment. The enthusiastic natives offered them a school bus, the Emerald City’s best bus driver, a tour guide and two assistants, and told them that if they used these expert navigators, they would not get lost. They were told that the journey to the Emerald City would take some time, but not to worry because the path was clear and their destination would be reached. Unbeknownst to them, deception lurked in the fields of promise of a better education.

The prospect of being in a foreign land was daunting, and with no way to get home, and no real choice but to blindly place their trust in the hands of strangers, the teachers and students boarded the bus.  The expert navigators followed:  the Bus Driver -- a lady, who seemed rather cowardly; the Tour Guide -- a soft spoken man who told the passengers that his primary goal was to make sure all of the children felt good about themselves during the long journey; the First Assistant -- a tall debonair gentleman; and the Second Assistant -- a striking lady who didn’t say much.   Once everyone was seated, the Bus Driver started the engine and headed down the yellow brick road.

Almost immediately, she came to a fork in the road.  The fork had two directional signs. One said “Main Street” and the other said “Road Less Traveled.” Dazed and confused by her choices, she turned to the Tour Guide and two assistants and asked for the Map to the Emerald City, but they told her they didn’t actually have a physical map.  The Tour Guide told her not to worry, however, reminding her that he had actually drawn the original Map, had driven down the yellow brick road before, knew exactly how to get to the Emerald City, and would tell her which directions to take. He then told her to turn onto the “Road Less Traveled” assuring her that it was the “best” way to get there.  The Bus Driver shrugged her shoulders, did as she was told and kept driving.

After a few days of driving on a very bumpy and winding road, the bus suddenly slowed to a stop. The teachers and students asked, “Are we there yet?” 

The Driver answered, “No. It is time for me to get off the bus. We are not at the Emerald City yet, but I don’t need to get there anymore, since I have just gotten a job driving a bus for a smaller city.”  Then, with a big smile on her face, she waved good-bye and hopped off. 

The Tour Guide then told the passengers, “Don’t worry, the debonair First Assistant will now be your new driver.  Since I know the roads to the Emerald City like the back of my hand, I will give him directions and we will be there in no time.”

Some of the teachers asked the Tour Guide, “Are you sure?  Has the First Assistant ever been a driver before?  Maybe you should call the Emerald City’s Great Leader and Trustees and make sure the new driver knows the path to take.” 

But the Tour Guide said, “That is not necessary.  The Great Leader looks to me for guidance and if I say the First Assistant can drive this bus, then trust me, he can drive it and get us to the Emerald City. “

The Tour Guide, also realizing that the passengers were getting restless after days of sitting idly on the moving bus, told them that for the next leg of the long journey, they would get a preview of what awaited them in the Emerald City.  As the bus drove on, he and the Second Assistant passed out samples of the curriculum, told the teachers to make the best of the trip and pretend that the bus was one big classroom. The Tour Guide confidently told them that the best thing about the Emerald City was that social justice awaited them there, everyone would learn the same things at the same pace and that all of the students would be better off under this equitable system.  So, in an effort to calm the students, the teachers passed out the materials and told the students to dig in.

Days, weeks and  months passed, with the school bus continuing down the yellow brick road, the journey taking far longer than the teachers and students ever imagined it would.  Whenever the New Driver got to another fork in the yellow brick road, he would consult with the Tour Guide and the Second Assistant about which way to go.  Without a physical Map, they spent many hours discussing their options.  Many times during the journey, the Tour Guide told the driver to go in a new direction.   When the students or teachers occasionally asked if the bus was lost, the Tour Guide reminded them that he didn’t need a paper Map and to be patient.   Every time the bus changed course, they were promised that the Emerald City was just around the next bend.

Yet the bus still didn't arrive at the Emerald City.  To make things worse, chaos broke out on the bus.  Some of the students were bored with the sample materials, others found them to be too difficult.  Some students grew emotionally distraught, while others became defiant and said they no longer liked going to school.   Trapped on the single bus, the teachers were not sure how to get control of the situation.  So one more time, they turned to the Driver and asked for his help. 

STAY TUNED FOR UPDATE OF THE 10/27 BOARD MEETING

We are getting many hits this morning from our readers, probably waiting for a post on last night's BOE meeting. We hope to post something by Wednesday night. Thank you for your patience.  In the meantime, here is a short preview of the post that will be titled:  "Yellow Brick Road to Nowhere....."

"It is time for a new fairy tale, or as some of you may conclude after reading it, a horror story.  

There used to be a land of educational contentment. Parents moved there because the schools and teachers were outstanding, children loved to go to school and were excited to learn something new every day. Suddenly one day, the sky darkened and a fast moving tornado swept through the town, leaving devastation in its wake. The tornado scooped up teachers and students and carried them to a far away land, dropping them from the sky onto a vast landscape of unknowns -- some good, some bad. There was treachery lurking amongst fields of promise of a better education.  

When the teachers and students woke up from the storm, they found themselves in a field surrounded by a yellow brick road, a road that the natives of this foreign land told them to follow until they would reach a place called the Emerald City -- where they would find an even better educational system than the one they left behind. What's more, the natives told them that to guide them down the yellow brick road, they would be led by the best navigators they had to offer. By using these expert navigators, they would not get lost..."

Stay tuned for the rest of the story.......

Don't Treat Us Like We're Stupid, Dr. White. Math Pilot Presentation is the Latest Joke in the "Schneider Era."

Today we break our silence.

Dr. White's honeymoon is over.  What must now come to an end is the "Schneider Era." If Dr. White is unwilling or unable to realize this, then perhaps his marriage with District 181 should end in a swift divorce.  We urge Dr. White to read our concerns and act on them.

As our readers know, parents have been patiently waiting for the Department of Learning, now led by Assistant Superintendent Kurt Schneider, to present a report to the Board of Education on this Fall's roll out of the 4 math pilot programs -- Agile Minds, Big Ideas, Investigations and Math in Focus.

Almost immediately after the Math Pilots started, we began hearing serious concerns parents and teachers have, in particular with two of them -- Agile Minds (HMS) and Investigations (Madison and Elm).  Concerns included:

• disappointment in the administration for not better advertising the board meeting last Spring at which the Math Committee told the BOE what pilots had been selected, 
• lack of information to the parents of students participating in the pilots (some parents didn't even know until yesterday that their children were involved in a math pilot), 
• lack of data analysis to support any of the math programs (not just the pilots), 
• a lack of differentiated instruction within the "inclusive classrooms" using the pilots, 
• poor performance by students in pilots who last year did not have math performance issues, 
• technical issues with computer based Agile Minds, 
• non-alignment with Common Core standards, 
• insufficient teacher training, and the list goes on.  

Parents have repeatedly complained to teachers and administrators that the math needs of students are not being met, regardless of whether they are in the pilots or programs that continued from last year.  In addition, information was provided to the Board last month that indicated that the Learning for All Plan's math component of acceleration for all is no longer going to be the norm, yet no data analysis has been presented to the board members explaining the rationale behind this change (which the BOE did not even approve). The administration's response to the parents' concerns and unanswered board member questions was to promise that a full report on the Math Pilot program would be presented to the board during the October 27 board meeting.

Imagine then, the growing concerns parents had yesterday, especially those at HMS, when they received a letter from Superintendent White -- not Dr. Schneider -- attaching a "Math Pilot Memo" that informed them them that a decision will most likely be made at the 10/27 board meeting to immediately discontinue Agile Minds at HMS, and that a similar decision might be made in the future regarding Investigations.  No specific reasons were given for these proposed changes, nor was there any discussion on the possible negative impact on our students from these pilot(s) or the specific steps the administration will take to remediate the failure of the pilot(s).  Instead parents were just told that a "materials transition plan" will be developed in the next "week or so" and discussed at the 10/27 Board meeting.  (See copy of Dr. White's letter published at the end of this post, excludes the charts.)

Letter to the Doings Online Edition: "District 86 Board Must Work to Regain Trust"

We read this Letter to the Editor this morning on the online Doings.  We couldn't agree more and commend the community member for speaking out during the 10/20/14 D86 board meeting.

http://hinsdale.suntimes.com/2014/10/22/letter-editor-6/

"Civil disobedience is defined as “the refusal to obey certain governmental laws or demands in order to influence legislation or policy, characterized by nonviolent methods.” Even at a small level,  it’s an act I take seriously. As a rule, I favor civil discussion over civil disobedience. I encountered an exception to that rule at the Oct. 20 Hinsdale High School District 86 Board meeting.

Board members were voting on a motion to delay a decision on the teachers’ contract. The argument supporting a delay was the need to share contract details with the public.  Throughout the contract negotiations, the board has either refused information requests (i.e.: the contingency plan) or mailed brochures with conflicting and misleading information. Given that record, I stood with a request: secure an unbiased company to supply that information.

I immediately realized I’d broken the rules. Richard Skoda banged the gavel repeatedly, loudly stating “Out of order. Sit down.” I had a choice to make: sit down and follow the rules or stay standing. I chose to stand. In this small act of civil disobedience, I wanted to make it clear that this board has lost its credibility and my trust. Based on audience comments/reactions at both October meetings, I am not alone. To regain our trust, the board must do something new and big. Approving the teachers’ contract is a great first step. An excellent second step: show your commitment to transparency and facts. Hire a firm that ensures the information taxpayers receive is accurate and unbiased.

Liz Sant
Hinsdale"

D86 Update: HHSTA Contract Approved After Way Too Much Drama

Last night the D86 BOE voted 4-3 to approve the new teachers' contract. This morning, a website called The D86 Report posted an update of the meeting. We are posting a link to this update because we couldn't agree more with The D86 Report's description of the circus that we witnessed last night. The only good news is that the contract was approved. Everything else about the meeting stinks.

http://thed86report.tumblr.com/post/100579159719/d86-report-d-is-for-drama
(be sure to click on the image.....)

Dr. White Proactively Addresses Ebola and Entrovirus D-68 Concerns in Email to Parents and Community Members

The following is a letter Dr. White emailed parents this afternoon that pro-actively addresses concerns they might have about the possibility of  Ebola and Entrovirus D-68 in D181 schools. Thank you to Dr. White for sending this out. The onus, however, will remain on parents to actually keep their sick children home from school, in the event of any illness -- whether it is Entrovirus, Ebola or the common flu. Too often, parents send their children to school with a fever. That needs to stop. It is time to take the district's requests seriously and keep sick children at home.


October 17, 2014

Dear D181 Parents,

Schools are great places for learning and socializing. They are also places where common illnesses such as colds and influenza can spread quickly. As we move into the winter months, students will be inside much more, and opportunities for the spread of these illnesses will increase. There is little that any school can do to completely stop the spread of illnesses, but there are some common practices that can be followed to help mitigate them. District 181 requires students with influenza-like illness to remain at home until they are free of fever without the use of fever-reducing medication. The nurses submit absentee information to the DuPage County Health Department to assist in the data collection for influenza and illness trends. Please let the school know if your child has a temperature of 100º F or greater and a cough and/or sore throat in the absence of a known cause other than influenza.

Recent media reports have included concerns regarding the potential spread of Ebola and Entrovirus D68 (EV-D68). We have no reason to believe that anyone in our area has been diagnosed with Ebola or has been exposed to someone that was diagnosed with Ebola. District 181 has not received any information regarding the spread of EV-D68, but it is very likely that many people within our area have been diagnosed with this illness. According to the Center for Disease Control website (http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/ev-d68.html ), symptoms of EV-D68 include mild to severe respiratory illness which may include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough, and body and muscle aches. Severe symptoms may include wheezing and difficulty breathing. If your child or anyone in your family exhibits these symptoms, please contact your physician immediately and follow their guidance on when it is safe to allow your child to return to school.

Just like the potential spread of any illness, it is important that we work together to make sure all students, employees,and visitors to our schools remain safe and healthy. If you travel to a country or location where there is an Ebola outbreak or you have concerns that you may have been exposed to Ebola, please contact your physician immediately and follow his/her guidance regarding when to allow your child to return to school.

I ask that all parents stay in touch with your school nurse if you have concerns about your child’s health and that you follow the practice of not allowing your child to return to school until s/he is  healthy. In addition, I continue to ask that you contact your school nurse or your family doctor if you have any reason to believe that you or someone else has been exposed to any type of medical condition that could easily spread. By following some common sense practices and communicating with the proper medical professionals, we will all be safe and healthy throughout the coming winter
months.

It is always our goal to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for all students. Your continued support in our efforts are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Don White, Ph.D.

Superintendent

D86 Update: Video Highlights from 10/6 BOE Meeting

It seems that the D86 BOE meetings are even crazier than D181 meetings.  In the midst of a meeting that was attended by over 1000 people, at which over 3 hours of public comments were allowed, the beginning of the meeting captured a perfect example of the arrogance and disrespect shown by certain board members, in this case,  "Dr." Skoda, to the community and fellow board members.

For those of you who were unable to personally attend the meeting, the following are links to the video of the meeting.

The first link is to the video posted on the D86 website of what the "entire meeting."  Click on the link and then click on the video for the 10/6/14 meeting. Interestingly, the first 12 minutes of the meeting were not included.  Were they edited out?  And if so, by whom and at whose direction?

http://www.hinsdale86.org/sb/Pages/default.aspx

The next link is a video of the first 12 minutes of the meeting that has now been posted on YouTube.  Thankfully, someone else in the audience was filming the same meeting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEmO7AGdQAI

The final link is a clip from the first 12 minutes that shows "Dr." Skoda in action.

http://youtu.be/ePSiVcKXUjs

This final clip is significant because rumor has it that Dr. Skoda plans to run for re-election to the D86 BOE next April.

We leave you with one simple question.  Is this the the type of person who should be re-elected?

D86 Update: HHSTA Asking Community to Remain Vigilant to Ensure that the Board Radicals Do Not Torpedo the Tentative Agreement

From: john.bowman@hhsta.org
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 20:22:34 -0500
Subject: Please Remain Vigilant

Community Members,

First, we would like to thank you for standing up and telling the Board of Education exactly how you feel about their handling of the current contract negotiations at the Monday October 6th board meeting. Because of you, the board chose a new team of negotiators that sat down with our team and hammered out a fair, reasonable, and sustainable tentative agreement that we are quite confident our members will ratify.

Unfortunately, several recent events have occurred since then that we believe are a concerted attempt by the board majority to undermine this recent agreement:
1) The additional round of inflammatory mailers sent out this past week.
2) A recent financial report with questionable financial assumptions that point to a (suddenly) dire financial situation for the district.
3) Rumors of a suspiciously-timed finance committee meeting to take place on Thursday or Friday of the coming week.

We are concerned that these actions are yet further attempts by radical members of the board majority to instigate a strike.

We are writing to ask all community members to remain vigilant in the coming days; we implore you to reach out and share this information with everyone in the community, email the BOE at boe@hinsdale86.org, and show up en masse to all public board meetings and tell the board how you feel. Without your presence and your voice, there is a chance that the radicals on the board will try to torpedo this tentative agreement. Please do everything you can to stop this from happening.

To be clear, if the board chooses not to listen to the voice of the community and votes down this tentative agreement, our last attempt to compromise this past Thursday evening will have been futile. In the face of a total breakdown of good faith bargaining, the Hinsdale High School Teachers Association would have no choice but to strike immediately.

Thank You,

John Bowman (Hinsdale High School Teachers Association President)

Like

Don't be a "Dummy"

(Source:  http://www.how-to-be-a-ventriloquist.com/vintage-ventriloquist-image-gallery/)

In our last post, we published a summary of Monday's BOE meeting that was submitted as a comment. Part of that summary stated:

"Marty patted admin on the back and proclaimed "everyone grew." Did you look at the data Marty?????"

Earlier today we received the following comments:

"Anonymous said...

What has been done to this year's 5th grade class is inexcusable. How are we going to know where the gaps are? Oak kids had no measureable growth last year (sorry Marty, look at the data) and Prospect had growth but has lower than district average RIT scores from their disastrous 3rd grade year and despite district provided tutoring. The district and BOE need to admit that the plan isn't working for many kids and come up with a solution to fix it. Quickly! The only way that will happen is If people speak up and ask questions to teachers, principals, the BOE and administration..."

"Anonymous said...

So am I reading this correctly?

Growth Index for 5th grade from fall 13 to fall 14

Elm -3.7
Madison -2.6
Monroe -1.8
Oak -2.8
Prospect -0.8
The Lane +0.4
Walker -2.9

If I'm reading this correctly, this means that only one school grew slightly in 5th grade. Am I reading that Marty Turek said that everyone grew?" 

We are going to get directly to the point: Board of Education members can not afford to be "dummies." Dummies have no voice of their own. Like wooden ventriloquist's dolls, they cannot think for themselves. They only mouth the words that their ventriloquist is saying. Dummies cannot see through the fog of obfuscation and discern fact from fiction.  

No, not all D181 students showed growth from Fall 2013 to Fall 2014. The facts and data speak for themselves. Sadly, not so for the Board Members, who we rely on to review facts and data, ask questions about what they mean and seek accountability from administrators who present conclusions  that fly in the face of reality.

Our children need thoughtful, committed board members who don't just mouth the words the administration wants them to say. 

So we say to the D181 board members:  Please don't be dummies.  Dummies won't cut it with our intelligent community members. Dummies won't get re-elected.  Our kids deserve better than dummies.