Few people attend the meetings, and the Beacon rarely comes and reports what transpires. I’d like to share a few things that have been decided in open session in the last few months in 131.
The Board decided to not approve a raise for the administrators at this time.
The Board has decided to make a change and do business with a local attorney who resides on the Eastside.
Policies are being changed and spending is being monitored more closely.
The Board has created it’s own mission statement:
“To create an environment of accountability, trust and open communication, to empower students, staff and community members.”
The 131 School Board is working hard for it's students.
Please support them, attend meetings.
84 comments:
I love that mission statement!
It should be engraved on a plaque and displayed prominently at the Service Center.
My question is why did the board decide not to give the administration a raise/ Is it because they are not doing their job or they are over paid?
You state that policies are being made but what ones. If you look at the polices there are no dates on them so we don't really know what is changed and what isn't. You can change policy all you want but is the superintendent and administration following them? Is the board?
The mission statement is good and I know the board wants to follow it but will the board make sure the superintendent and administration follow it?
I see many small steps being taken but we as a community wants to make sure that things are followed through.
Getting rid of the lawyers that we had before is a step in the right direction.
July 21 @ 8:16PM
Yes, the board is going in the right direction. I actually think they have done alot in a short time. Changing lawyers is defintely a very good step. You sound so negative. What has happened in the past will take awhile to change. Why don't you e-mail the board with your question about the administration? They will get back to you. It takes awhile for the policies to be done. Give this board a chance. As far as following policies, we, as a community need to pay attention. Hopefully more will come to the meetings that are able to, to support and keep on top of things. We, as a community, need to be apart of the solution and to make sure things are followed through on. These board members do this for free and have to take off of work for some things and make their personal agendas around their school board duties. Are any of the rest of us willing to do that? I think if we were we would have run for the board to make the changes ourselves and listen to negativity before being given half a chance.
No I don't think they are being negative just asking questions. It is stated that The Board decided to not approve a raise for the administrators at this time. So why not say why? If they are going to make that statement then it should be followed through with why that decision was made.
It is the Superintendent and Board that should make the administration follow the policies and also the board follow their own policies.
Yes, being a board member is time consuming and you don't get paid but I hope they realized that before they ran. This board is doing a good job and it will take one step at a time to get out of this mess.
Decisions for raises everywhere involve discussion about cost issues. Especially, in times of budget concerns as we have seen in 131. Ultimately, the reason a referendum was approved by the community.
Issues about employee performance anywhere you work should be between the employer & employee and not any other employees or outside people.
The policies not being dated has been brought to the administrators attention. Individual policies are being looked at as issues come up pertaining to specific district business. I requested over a year ago to have our committee start cleaning out & cleaning up some of our policies. There was a change in admin in that dept. and changes were taking place in other areas. With new board members getting involved, this idea has been brought forward, again.
Please, see the 131 website if you want to direct specific questions, email addresses are listed.
Thanks for the encouraging comments.
As always suggestions welcome, too.
Rayanne you are wrong you are the one that brought it out and said the paper didn't print anything about it. These are public employees and I don't see why it was stated why no raises. If it was something about one employee that would be different but all the administrators didn't get a raise so it shouldn't be a problem. If you feel like you have done by sharing that the administration didn't get a rasie and not stating why you haven't it would of been better if nothing was stated.
Since the policies are made up mostly by the board and then the committees shouldn't the board handle most of this.
My understanding is that the board is the ones to approve the policies. If administration is going to make policies then why even have a board? ONe of the problems in the past is that the superintendant overrode policies whenever he wanted to which is what caused problems. I can understand talking to administration about something, but not for them to make the policies. If they did this, there would be raises,etc. for the superintendant and administration or whomever they felt like without the boards approval. We would be in a bigger mess that what we are.
No raise
Money saved
Who cares why
it's a start
4:56, is that supposed to be a poem?
Are you setting it to music?
If so, maybe you can perform it on D131 TV!
LOL good one!
made me sit and try to think of a tune to sing it to.
No it isn't a start if they don't say what the reason is. Is it because they have an axe to grind with the administration or a real reason for the better of the district. Is this a step for a better district? Does this board think that our administration is not doing a good job and they need to get rid of some of them or is it just an axe to grind. You say you want things open for the community so let us know why you made this decision so we know you have the best interest of the students at heart.
There is give in take in those decisions how do you know that money is saved. Did something in this decision come from some other payback the administration get that off set the reason the administration get that will cost the district more money even though they didn't get a raise. Smoke and mirrors is what I see the administrators got something that offset their raises.
This is some posting from the Beacon article about the Magnet School.
playfast3r wrote:
It's no secret that administration is lacking in the decision making department. However, there are so many under performing students in 131 that I'm sure the 'gifted' students aren't being pushed academically.
Oh well, who cares. It's just East Aurora kids. Right?
Seriously though, administration is the anchor weighing this thing down. They need to do what Elgin did...purge the bad teachers and administrators. I could tell you after having worked in 131 that the level of pride in developing your craft as a teacher is lacking in 10% of their teachers. They are also extremely under-resourced. It's ridiculous. I honestly believe there is no permanent solution to EA problems.
7/21/2009 6:57 PM CDT on suburbanchicagonews.com
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kp1999 wrote:
That's a cheap shot about the West side schools. If district 131 needs help paying for the program and wants to expand it to include students and funding from the West side, it's not a case of discrimination.
You are right that the situation is ridiculous. From the information in this article, it looks like the program was not very well planned. It sounds like they did not have a concrete method or timeline for evaluating the program and making critical decisions like this.
7/21/2009 4:36 PM CDT on suburbanchicagonews.com
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kwhiteshepard wrote:
I think this is absolutely ridiculous that the administration of the Magnet Academy have waited until this point determine that they may not launch the program for another year. Statistics and data should have been collect long before now to determine the effectiveness of the program. Perhaps the real issue is that it is not being offered on the West side so why should the children on the East side need it? Get for real - it is most needed on the East side, but again who cares about the under served and the under priviliged? Obviously not our administrators.
7/21/2009 1:27 PM CDT on subur
Rayanne you have opened a Pandora's box here when reading the postings. The person who stated if you were not going to say more you should not have stated anything was right. Also, are the raises done individually or across the board? No one was asking about their performance or lack of it, just the reason why. See, you did open a Pandora's box. Are you not on the personnel and policy committee? Since you brought up the subject over a year ago about cleaning up the policies, why is this not being done?
This is the committee's job that you are on. I am sure that there are many that just need to be okayed by the board and signed, not just as they come up. That sounds like something the old board would have said. This is the board's responsiblity and not the administrations in checking my facts. It is beginning to appear that you might be in the long run causing more problems than helping this board now. I am sure this is not what you wanted to do, but it does appear this way. Or is it that you wanted some kind of recognition for no raises? Sometimes some things should just be left alone.
Didn't administration help themselves to huge raises last year? I know that the superintendent got a $12,000 raise (although I don't know what the other admins got--maybe someone can enlighten us).
And haven't they gotten a lot of $ in "perks" (travel, for example) that taxpayers have paid for?
I don't think it's necessary to explain why there were no raises, in this economy. Some of us are just thankful to be employed right now!
Pandora's box? Isn't that a little dramatic. You accuse someone of not giving enough information, then say they are giving it for their own recognition. If it was for self serving purposes wouldn't it seem logical they would have said much more.
Just because you didn't get as much info as you wanted, doesn't mean what you got wasn't worthy information.
The state just now is telling the schools it is cutting major funding for many, but EA is getting criticized for possibly cutting a program that caters to less than 100 students. They are not the "gifted" students as one person said. There are honors courses in the school for those wanting to "pushed academically."
Get your facts straight, before you start making accusations.
Is anyone getting raises today stop making a mountain out of a mole hill.
In light of the forward thinking and the problems with the state the board is that much further ahead. Can you image if this were the old guard. Thank-you Weaver,Carlson, Lewis and Johnson. They are also ahead of the game on the Magnet school also
I'm getting a rasie a little one but I'm getting one. The teachers are getting one too I bet. This board claims to want to make things transparent so they should explain why.
Hopefully things will work out and the Magnet School will be no more but the board is going to take some pressure on this and we will see what happens.
8:01 a.m. - I am a teacher in the district. It was publicized last year that the administration (as a whole) received a smaller raise than the teachers did last year in an effort to cut costs. The standard operating procedure for years had been for administration to receive the same increase as the collective bargaining agreement for teachers. This was changed beginning last year.
Now this year it is no raise at all. I don't know the information either surrounding the reason, but the administration are the only group without a collective bargaining agreement so perhaps it was an effort to cut costs. You would think the board would state this for two reasons: to dispel rumors, and let the public know they are holding costs down.
There is a great deal of administration bashing on here. Some criticism is deserved. What will begin to happen after a couple years of lower than usual rasies and no raises at all is that the good administrators will begin to leave. I see what my building (middle school) administration goes through and for the most part they are quality administrators. I have been involved with summer school and have seen none of them complain about this or even talk about it.
Just my thoughts.
On the magnet school - as a parent I would be livid that you would make a decision on a program two weeks before school starts. If there was a problem with data reporting or something, then that should be dealt with - but stopping a program two weeks before school? If the board felt that strongly about it they should have made their decision in early May at the latest. There were new board members, yet there were enough of the other board members to bring the new one's up to speed and move this along. The only one's to be affected by this are the students. This is an unnecessary move at this late time in the year.
The Magnet School at best was a segregation move. From the start it was handled badly. The administration should have had the board vote on it before it even started. Now that it has the administration should have keep the board informed of the progress. Yes, waiting until school almost starts to stop it is bad but if this administration really thought that they where doing good the would of kept the board up to speed with the progress that is how most districts do it but this administration has got away with not informing the board of things have got them into a tight spot. But when you really look into the reason for this it is because they want to move even average children into this to make the scores of the students look better.
Yes, maybe the administration does not complain about the summer schools but they are being paid a good salary to be there. When you have a low achieving district you have to do something to make your self look better.
If as you state their are good administrators then they need to hang in there and wait for the change so they can help with it.
I think I would be livid that this district doesn't give every child the right to have a good education. If the administration can't give data to the board about how a program is doing then we as a community are not doing our job. All the children of our district should be getting the best education we can give.
You state you are a teacher in the district. Do you not know how to read. Have you read the Beacon or listened to the local news. The state is making big cuts. Should we educate 39 children expand the program to 100 and compromise all the other children. I hope the board takes a strong look at this. I read the administration did not get this information to the board. Maybe they do not deserve a raise if they can't follow directions.
Unfortunately the administration in this district has a reputation for making decisions against our children's best interests. Our new School Board members are in place partly because of backlash against administration's disastrous decision 4 years ago.
But yes, there are a few good administrators in this district--Wilson Morales and Cam Leadbetter, for example.
Closing the magnet academy would not save money...those are already East students and teachers...they would all have to be placed elsewhere which would raise class size (which is already at 30+ per room) and push teachers into other buildings...possibly causing non tenured teachers to loose their jobs. With all of the state budget cuts alreadu, you would think we could keep the positive thing we have
I read the papers too. Just last week Governor Quinn announced cuts of state workers, school funding and social services. At the same time he announced 31 Billion dollars of spending in infrastructure projects that will put thousands of construction workers back to work. Quinn has the money for what he wants, he apparently doesn't believe he should be spending it on our kids.
No ones taxes have gone down, the money is there. We need to open our mouths and let Quinn and our other representatives know what we value and where we want our tax dollars spent.
Doesn't the Magnet Academy use existing classrooms? These students where already in the district and going to school so the classrooms if they go back will not have more since when they started the Magnet School that took students out of some of the existing classrooms. Administration is asking for more money for the Magnet School also so how is that helping?
Things are going to change with the state not giving as much money as they said they would and things will have to be cut.
My understanding is that the students in the Magnet School only go to it for so many hours a day and they are inregular classes for the rest of the day. I could be wrong. This I do know and that is the administration is asking for more teachers for the Magnet School. This school was not suppose to cost this district any monies, but it has. The teachers that are teaching now would just go back into the regular school system which is as it should be. Did it ever cross anyone's mind about where the books this Magnet School came from? Would they really have used the outdated books the other students in the mainstream use? Let's get this district straightened out before continuing this unorgainized Magnet School that administration cannot even get the information to the board when asked. If I was on the board I would say that the school would not be done again just due to this fact.
It is very funny how a board member started this blog, posts things that will push buttons (like mentioning no raises for administrators, etc.) and then watches all of the anonymous people get all riled up over nothing. We are all playing into her hands and assuming the words on this site are true!!! If you have questions, visit the schools, and make an appointment to see the administration... you will then see the truth about this situation and about who is really spinning this situation.
President Obama has said the there is 4 Billion dollars he will give to School Districts that will base teachers pay on their performance not on tenure. What a wonderful idea to make sure our children get the best education they can get. Where will our district be in this situation? It was stated that already 4 states would be out of the running because they can not do that because of contracts and law. Are we ready to base pay on performance or what districts are made to pay. I believe that should go also to Superintendents and Administrators also because they lead the teachers. It was stated when he ran that YES WE CAN CHANGE and many voted for him are you willing to do it? If you haven't seen this statement watch the news you will see it.
It should be stated that the 4 Billion will not go to just one district but all districts if they are willing to change. Yes it is time for a change for our children.
First off, you should read your constitution. It states that any power not given to the federal government in the constitution is allocated to the states. The constitution does not provide the federal government any power in regards to schools. Historically, it has always been a state power.
That is why the federal government has never made a law regarding education. How they get around it is by taking our money and then telling us that if you want some of that money back, you must follow their directives.
Secondly, there are no real reforms in their directives, it is simply union busting. Get rid of unions and get rid of even the basic protections such as tenure. Let's be clear about tenure. It simply means that a teacher before being dismissed, must have due process.
That means, the teacher goes before the board and the administration says, these are the reasons why this teacher should be dismissed and the teacher has an opportunity to rebut the charges against them. The board then says you're fired or not.
Without tenure, an administrator can dismiss a teacher for no reason at all. The simply say your fired and the teacher has no recourse whatsoever.
As we have seen repeatedly in this district, the administrators do need to answer to some authority. There needs to be basic checks and balances. Getting rid of unions and tenure would leave nothing but a bunch of employees that have no choice but to constantly kiss the A$$ of their superiors.
Arnie Duncan did this in Chicago to many of the schools and education did not improve at all. Now, Arnie is in Washington pushing his same union busting agenda on a national level.
It's really very simple. Who do you want making the educational choices for your children? Educators or politicians?
If you go back to the 1950's, the U.S. led the world in the education of our children. Since then, politicians have taken all decision making away from educators and established basic skills standards. The more they intervene, the further behind our country falls behind the world.
I saw that the discrimination case by Mr. Green was settled this week. The case was supposed to go before the federal judge this past Tuesday but was settled out of court.
You know that this suit must have cost the district some big bucks to settle. They would have had to pay their own legal fees, Mr. Green's legal fees and whatever it took to compensate Mr. Green. I am guessing the district had to pay at least six figures to settle this nonsense.
It's amazing to me that if the district simply acknowledged that there was a problem and enforced board policies and state laws, all of this could have been avoided.
Mr. Green simply wanted an application process for coaching that allowed the most qualified people to coach in this district. He was dealing with a redneck athletic director who did not hold any interviews and hired almost exclusively all white people for coaching positions, many of which were not teachers and not qualified in any way, shape or form. The district was fully aware this was going on because Mr. Green and other teachers had been filing greivances about it for years.
This is yet another example of how poor decision making by administrators costs all of us significant amounts of money. Don't forget the article Clayton put out atating that Mr. Grren was not discriminated against but rather Clayton claimed that Mr. Green was incompetent. That simply opened up the district to a defamation suit as well.
11:14, I certainly hope they're not trying to do away with tenure! Especially with some of the administration in this district over the past few years.
If not for tenure, a teacher who refuses to kiss bigwigs' behinds but otherwise is an outstanding educator (like, for example, Kevin Kaisershot) would have been fired instead of reassigned. But because of tenure, he's still teaching in our district and our children are the better for it.
And I'll be looking at the check register to find out exactly how much the district paid out to settle Mr. Green's case. If it was indeed six figures, that would be a huge waste of money that COULD have been spent for our kids, but instead had to make up for administrators' arrogance.
I do not get the Beacon News (Be confused)
Is that where you read about Mr. Greene? I could go on line and find it if that is where you read it.
Let me know, please.
What other union group has tenure for their employees where if they get a certain amount of time in it is almost impossible to fire them even if they are not performing their job effectfully. Why should this union be any different than any other?
You state that administrators or the Superintendent would only want people that kiss ass. Isn't that how it is now certain teachers will align with administrators to get ahead. This happens in the real world everyday in the workforce but if you feel that has happened there are things you could do.
What the President said was money would be their if the paid teachers for performance and not because a contact states how much they should be paid no matter how effective they are. He did not state the government was going to come in and change learning but how they pay teachers.
I do believe the NCLB is not working but if all districts would of made sure all children where getting a good education they would of not stepped in. Now it is time for districts to step up and teach the children and not worried about their paychecks and pensions.
I would say that the information about Mr. Green has been posted by someone close to him or a board member because nothing was in the paper and I don't think the district would do that as a press release.
As you can see there are ways when you get fired or feel you where our looked for a position that there are things you can do so don't hide behind that tenure stuff.
I say good for Mr. Green for going through with this lawsuit so people can see how this district really works. You are right this shows how administrators and the Superintendent does not think about the best of this district because if they had we would not be paying out that money. Hopefully with the new board members they can make sure we have the right leaders in charge and if not they don't stay in the district to long.
Court proceedings are a matter of public record. It's very easy to get the information if you go to the right place.
I am sure that the district will do the best they can to hide the cost of that lawsuit. Their own lawyer costs have been paid out over the past few years. So you would have to look at legal expenses over the past few years to get an acurate accounting of the districts side of the cost. I spoke to Mr. Green about a year ago and he stated that his legal costs at that time were over forty thousand dollars.
I would also look at Mr. Green's salary over the next several years and see if he is getting the same raises that all other teachers are getting or if they are hiding some of his settlement there. You may also want to see if Mr. Green starts getting extra duties, such as coaching, clubs, etc.
There are many ways the district may use to try and hide the cost of the Green lawsuit against the district. I would tell you to go to a meeting and ask but I can already tell you their response. We don't discuss personnel issues.
So certain board members want to close the magnet academy because they have not been given data on the magnet school? How can anyone make a decision without any facts. The board first started the magnet academy without any research or evidence to support their decision and now they want to close it under the same circumstances.
The question should not be whether or not to close the magnet academy but rather, whether or not to remove the administrators who refuse to give the board the information necessary to make informed decisions.
School boards in other districts would not retain a superintendent that deliberatly withheld information from them. Or had a history of making poor decisions that do not keep the best interests of the students in mind.
The question is, when is this board going to stand up to these central office administrators and start doing what is best for the students of this community?
The District 204 school board is discussing accountability of enhancement time, school bussing, Anti-bullying policies, improvements to their web-site and finding more economical meals for students. And that was just at their last meeting.
The District 131 board is busy discussing pictures in the board room and telling eveyone they need time before doing anything of importance. The only issue they have looked at is the magnet academy and by their own words, they have no data on which to make a decision. Jerome Roberts was asked what the cut in state funds would mean to the district and he was quoted in the Beacon "East Aurora School Superintendent Jerome Roberts said he wasn't sure what the cuts will mean to his district".
He apparently makes decisions without any data or simply is incapable comprehending such data and processing it into an intelligent decision.
Is there anyone in the leadership of this district who is competent, has current data and is capable of making the decisions that these kids need to receive a quality education?
AMEN!
You ought to try effectively doing your job in spite of the indecisive, inconsistent, autocratic leadership at the main office.
Here is something that is written by Christopher A. Koch from his weekly news letter.
In the coming weeks we will send program grantees communications detailing the impact of the budget in each specific ares. Again until you hear futher from your contact at the agencies I would urgue you not to spend any Fiscal Year 2010 State funded grant funds at the time.
You can read the whole message at:
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/board/archivemessages/2009/message_072009.pdf
Now as they talked about the few in the Magnet School and I believe some one from administration said some money was comming from a grant are we will just to give a few the best education we can or is it our job to give all the children a good education.
It looks like it is going to be a bumpy ride and things will be cut. Are parents willing to have maybe some sports, band, clubs and who knows what else so a handful of children can go to a Magnet School?
Our superintendent may have other things on his mind right now, like worrying about a grievance being filed against him by the teacher's union.
He should be able to multi-task and the information about the money from the state has been talked about for awhile. The man is lazy he really doesn't care about the district just about his salary and pension as does most of the administrators in this district because they also should know about the budget problems.
I don't think that is the first grievance he has had against him and I don't think it will be the last. In fact I'm surprised your union did something like that they seem to be very close to administration.
The superintendant and administration went behind the board's back and started this Magnet School. Those of us who go to meetings are aware of this. At the latest meetings the board has asked for the information since they have been put in their positions. The question in this is why did not the old board members that are gone and the ones that still are there not asking these questions. Mrs. Weaver has all along to the best of my knowledge and Mrs. Carlson also, I believe. It takes awhile to get things straightened out so give this board a chance. They actually have come along way in a short time. If anyone can come to the next meeting and speak before the board. If anyone has questions and can't come to the meetings, e-mail the members with your questions as they have been good about answering them.
In reading the latest postings I see that many are worried about the Magnet School and what will happen to it. I think what parents of this district really need to see how the state is cutting back on grants and monies to the districts. When the administration started the Magnet School they said it wouldn't cost the district any more money which we knew was a lie. Now they are asking for more money for teachers and I believe textbooks and say it will come from a grant. The grants are drying up people and don't the kids in regular school need textbooks? If you been reading the Beacon even the West side stated that the money they thought was coming from the state for text books weren't coming and now they have to budget it.
I believe the board is finally seeing how the administration has been not telling the truth about the whole budget and they will have to make some hard decisions. about what to cut. So if you think it is more important to keep a Magnet School that the administration lied about how much it would cost to run and then if they keep it for just a few and maybe cut sports, drama, and clubs and maybe teachers (they are always thrown into the mix) to keep a Magnet School that they want teachers for and wasn't suppose to cost the district any money is the best thing for district then you are about as selfish as the Superintendent and the administration.
The district is too do the good for all the students in the district and not a few.
I read in the board bits that the board wants to publicise the fact that the administration is receiving no raises this year. They neglect to mention that Roberts received a very large raise and a contract extension this year and that's not mentioning the large raises that all the administrators have been receiving in recent years. Some more than 30% in one year. The administrators in this district went from the lowest paid just a few years ago to the second highest paid administrators in Kane County recently. I will wait to see some real change before I get to excited.
Certain board members also spent a significant amount of time talking about the large number of students in the summer band program. About 100 of them. In a district of 13,000 students, that's less than 1% participation. There are schools out there that have 95% or more of their student population participating in band programs. I wouldn't be publicly stating that we can't get 1% of our students to participate.
They also talk about board outings to workshops and golf outings. This must be an example of frugal spending and using monies in the best interests of our children. Once again, our board members take far more field trips than our students.
I also saw that the new Gates principal comes from U-46. U-46 just fired a large percentage of their administrators because they were not providing the leadership necessary to get students to pass the basic skills tests. In U-46 the central office administration fired all administrators they considered dead weight. If there was not improvement of if scores dropped, they were fired. Why would our central office administrators consider highering any administrator just released from U-46. It makes no sense unless they don't give a damn about our students or test scores.
11:16 - The new Gates administrator was NOT released from U-46. This is just one example of how this blog breeds and spreads ignorance and lies!!! How can you ASSume that she was let go????? She CHOSE to come here, but with the hate that some spread she may regret it soon.
Maybe the administrators are going on golf trips but I know some of the board members and they do not play golf and wouldn't on the districts dime. I also know that the board members have not been on any field trips but I hear they do plan to take some to the schools to see for their selfs the shape the schools are in.
As far as U-46 and the administrators it as when the new Superintendent was brought in and he listened to the parents of the High School with their complaints and administrators where let go. You can't just let employees go without proof that they are not doing their job or you would have more people like Mr. Green sueing the district.
Not all info is lies, a recent example being the info on Green, seems to have gotten on the blog before becoming public news. I confirmed thru a friend of a friend.
The board did not have a golf outing! It was some other group, as a fundraiser.
The majority of the board have not taken trips. Just the administrators, and the 2 oldest members have been to CA & FL and taken many opportunities. You can hear them talking about it at the meetings.
The proof was that the school they came from did not make AYP in 2008. Any administrators in U-46 whose schools did boy make AYP were dropped. The fact that they did not make AYP was evidence enough that they were not doing their job. Whether that was all they needed or U-46 was smart enough to add a clause in their administrators contracts to cover their rears, I don't know but it was made public this past spring that U-46 was terminating all administrators from buildings that did not make AYP. And there were a bunch of U-46 administrators terminated.
There's an idea board put something in the contracts of the administrators contract so we don't have to keep these lazy administrators around.
11:16 p.m. says that in a district of 13,000 students less than 1% are in the band. Totally false and misleading!
First of all, only about half of the students in D131 are even old enough for band, because the program starts in 5th grade. And of the several hundred students who participate in bands, many who might want to attend summer band camp are unable to go because of family trips, work obligations, or finances. So the 100 or so kids who represented us so proudly in the 4th of July parade were just a fraction of our band program.
Looking at just one school, Simmons, there is almost 25% participation in the music program (band and choir). Yes, it would be great if more kids were in these groups--and one way to help that to happen is for our community and School Board to recognize their accomplishments.
You have to give credit to U-46 for bringing in a Superintendent that thought of the children and the community members of the district. I hear he turned down his raise this year and he was the one to get that clause in the contract. Imagine that a Superintendent that had to good of the children in mind first and not administrators pocket books. It is a good start for U-46 and it would be nice if we saw some of that leadership in this district.
On the East High Marquee it says:
We Excpect the Best and Nothing Less lets hope we see this from our Superintendent and Administrators. The community deseerves it and so do our children.
I believe U-46 had to pay to get rid of their Superintendent but look what they got in turn for that. Maybe it is time for this board to think about it.
Here's a field trip the board could take is to U-46 and see how they are getting their district in shape.
It is hard to grow a well rounded music program, when some at the administrative level are trying to squash the elementary band by making it outside the normal school day. Then at the higher grade levels, they make the schedules most difficult to include music.
It seems some are trying to kill band from the bottom up and music from the top down. Or pacifying a few elementary level music teachers and keeping the HS band director with an easy daily schedule.
Which still accomplishes the task of killing the programs but with a clear conscience of giving a few teachers what they asked for.
No, I stated that I wouldn't brag that less than 1% of our students participated in band camp. In Hobart Indiana they have a combination jr high/ high school. There is a total student population of 350 students and 325 were in band. Now that's sometimg worth bragging about. Each year they perform at Disney World. They are gone for a week. They have to close the school and arrange the school calendar around the band. Again, I would not brag about 100 student participation in 13000 or if you prefer to only include 5 th through12th grade, 9-10 thousand.
6:34, I just went to the Hobart (Indiana) High School band website. There is no mention of any trips to Disney World, either upcoming or in the recent past. The band sent a grand total of 14 students to the state-sponsored solo & ensemble contest. The jazz band won a competition, and the students who participated are listed by name--12 students. Hardly an example of huge numbers in a band program!
Oh, but the Hobart band did have a reputation as one of the country's best programs, way back in the 1930's (under legendary conductor William Revelli). Back then there was a lot more community support for the arts, and a greater percentage of students in every district were in band. But to use the Hobart program as an example TODAY is just plain wrong (or maybe you were just assuming that no one would bother to check for themselves).
And speaking of Disney World, the East High band USED to perform there every other year--but that hasn't happened since the band was "improved" 4 years ago.
All this talk about a band program and we can't even teach our children. The band people don't even realize that until you have a good Superintendent and administration we will not have a good district. You are worried about children going to Disney World for band and most of our children are not getting the best education they can get. Yes, some of these things are important for children s education but we are in the business of giving all the children the best education they can get.
WE USED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST DISTRICTS IN THE STATE FOR EDUCATION and now we are not. If all we can do is be a district that sends there children to Disney World because of a band then we are failing as educators of the children in our district.
So complain if you will because of one things in the district about the band but for me as a community member that wants our children to have the best education they can and that means the arts doesn't mean anything if the can't read, write or do math.
Our kids deserve the best education in academic subjects as well as arts and athletics. It's not either/or; it's both/and. When any program in our district is strong, it should be celebrated. Where there is room for improvement, that should be mentioned, also.
This was in the Beacon about St. Charles renewing their Superintendents contract. Don't you wish our distirct was this open?
SC School Board courts super for second term
Comments
July 29, 2009
By PAUL DAILING For From Staff Reports
ST. CHARLES -- When Donald Schlomann became St. Charles school superintendent, he took the reins of a district mired in board infighting and a contract controversy involving his predecessor.
Two scandal-free years later, Schlomann is in the last 12 months of his contract. With negotiations starting in the midst of the nation's worst financial crisis since the Depression, the School Board and superintendent are looking back to see what it will take to keep Schlomann around.
» Click to enlarge image
Donald Schlomann
For his part, Schlomann said he'd like to continue his work in St. Charles, where he replaced former superintendent Barb Erwin.
Schlomann, who came to the district from Belvidere following the retirement of Erwin, said he is interested in staying.
"I know the board has expressed interest in keeping me around and I've expressed interest in staying around," said Schlomann, who served as the top administrator in Belvidere's school system.
Board Vice President James Chimienti said negotiations have begun on a new contract.
But talks on a six-figure contract, difficult in the best of times, are hampered by the current recession. Under the current contract, which was signed in March 2007, Schlomann makes $225,000 a year, plus benefits including a $7,200 automobile allowance and a cell phone for district and personal use.
"The next question is what is it going to take to keep him and what that involves in these economic times,'" Chimienti said.
Schlomann would not comment on whether he would seek a raise in a new contract. He did not receive a raise last year, which Chimienti said was due to financial conditions at the time.
"It's just how things turned out in terms of how the economic times are," Chimienti said.
Schlomann said a new contract is not a priority for him. He could continue working under the terms of the current contract if new terms aren't reached by the contract's June 30, 2010, expiration date.
"For me it's about having things that you want to work on more than having contracts in place," he said.
Any mention of superintendent contract extensions is likely to resurrect memories of Erwin, who took over in St. Charles in 2004 and had her contract amended less than a year later. That contract extension was later revealed to have been approved by the School Board in closed session, which is a violation of the state's Open Meetings Act.
Chimienti was appointed to the board in 2007 to fill the vacant seat of former board member Chris Hansen, who was present during the closed meeting and later resigned because of media attention. Chimienti credited Schlomann with helping the board move on.
"I think he's done a great job over the last couple years in taking us from where we were to where we are today," Chimienti said. "He's helped us move out of a tumultuous time."
Since the Erwin controversy was before his arrival in St. Charles, Schlomann said he could not comment on it.
"I'm not sure what made up all of it," he said. "All I can say is there was clearly a lot of angst in this community about where the School District was and what they were doing. I think we're getting closer to what people desire from their School District."
7:56 I didn't say Hobart High School, I said a junior / Senior high school in Hobart Indiana. The school you need to look up is River Forest Junior/ Senior High School in Hobart Indiana. I don't know much about the school you looked up but River Forest in Hobart has An awesome band program and it has benn that way for several decades.
You really should do a little better research before you start making derogatory statements about people.
You really should give more info when making claims. Then your comments can be validated.
It is amazing to me how some will keep talking about the band program and not see how this district as a whole needs to change. Until we get a Superintendent that really cares about what is going will we get a good district. Complain all you want about one thing like the band but a district is more than that. When you see how other districts are handling their problems and we keep our heads in the sand about the whole of this district we will be no better off. We can't change what has happened but we can try to make a change of what will come. Money is getting tight and we need to think of the whole district and not the few.
So you band people if you think so much of this band program and how it effects your children than you better see that money in this district is running out and that there will be cuts. Is it the education of your children you want or are you willing to pay to make your children play good in a band or be able to read.
The band program is usually the crown of your district. It is a very public expression of the things happening in your school district. It is the best way a district has of motivating parents, community members and businesses to participate in it's childrens education.
There is an extensive amount of research which shows how playing music helps in brain development and is a large motivating factor in keeping children in school, not dropping out. It is a great experience for children in being part of something that is greater than themselves. These experiences stay with a person all their life.
When a district does not value an activity that is this public, important to a childs development and is so fundamental to community involvement in your school district, it shows how poor the decision making is by your school board and administration. If they can not make the right choices in activities so fundamental and important to a district, how can the community trust any of their decisions for our children.
7:42, I did exactly as you suggested and looked up "River Forest Junior/Senior High School" in Hobart, Indiana. I found out that their 2008-2009 enrollment (combined 6th through 12th grades) was 678 students. Then I downloaded programs from their most recent band concerts (again, 6th through 12 grades), and counted the names. Total: 92 students.
So 92 of 678 students are in the band. How is that an "awesome" band program?
You were correct about one thing, though--they are planning a Disney trip in 2010. Just like our own East High band used to do, before it was "improved".
And 9:11, I do want the best for our kids. That means good quality academics, athletics, AND arts programs. It's what they (and we) deserve and there's no reason to settle for less.
Well first off, I will admit it's been several years since I worked with the River Forest Bands and it's very possible that the school population has grown, as have our school populations. You may want to double check your numbers though. It's quite possible that you only included one of their bands. When I was there, they had a concert band, marching band, wind ensemble, jazz band, orchestra, etc. and while there were some students that played in more than one of the bands, most were in only one or two.
You also don't need to go that far to see awesome music programs. Just go over to 204. They have to perform concerts several times because they simply can't fit everyone into their auditorium. The last performance I went to at Waubonsee, they had 4 showings and had 700-800 students involved. They also had 8 directors not including the dozens of private instructors they need for all their students.
The fact is that this districts leadership doesn't value anything except their own paychecks. Not the music programs, not these kids educations, not even the kids safety. Until it's bites them personally on the a$$, they won't do anything for our kids.
Yes, D204 does have an outstanding band program (I know, because both of my kids graduated from WVHS and both were in Wind Ensemble). One reason is the fact that, as you mentioned, they have 8 band directors. But the biggest difference is parental support.
Parents need to be willing & able to provide plenty of time and money to support their child's interests (in the case of my kids, their dad and I paid for private lessons, quality instruments, and attended countless concerts & boosters meetings). This applies not only to music, but to sports and academics as well (for example, parents should check homework and be willing to get after-school tutoring for kids if necessary).
We parents need to do more than just pay our taxes. We need to be INVOLVED in our children's education if we want to see the best results!
"Until it's bites them personally on the a$$, they won't do anything for our kids."
I think this sums it up. When the care-less admin are replaced I believe we will see ,more parents "be INVOLVED in our (their) children's education" and we will see better results!
Just because an administrator may be bilingual, does not mean they have a better interest in or have the best communication skills with our 131 families.
Parents do need to be more involved in this district. It is a lame excuse about the administration, being involved is how to get and keep your children motivated and also a way of getting rid of what is the bad administration. Yes, there is illegals and low income in this area(alot), but there is also parents who are better off and live in areas that are more affluent who are not involved. Everyone just passes the buck and makes excuses. Be a part of the solution and not the problem. This should not only be for the band, but also for anyother thing a student is involved in as not all students want to be apart of the band, but education should come first as what good is it if they are good in band, sports, clubs, etc. if they cannot do the basic's in life, like reading, writing and arithmetic? None.
According to the agenda for next Monday's board meeting, there will be a motion to rescind the Magnet Academy.
I'd love to see the expression on Dr. Marin Gonzalez's face when that happens--it might be worth it to go to the meeting!
Yes, parents and other community members need to get involved in the school districts. I have a Hispanic family that lives next door to me and tonight when their son was having someone pick him up for soccer and it look like a coach or someone involved in a league they talked to him in Spanish. I know for a fact that this child has been in school since kindergarten and should know now who to speak English. We can not grow as a district if as the children as they go through school from a early age are still encourage to speak Spanish instead of English by their own race. How do the Hispanic help the children in our district if they still speak to them in Spanish at the middle school level and not encourage them to speak English. We have many problems in this district and administration is part and they need to be more aggressive with our partners of the district to encourage children to speak English to improve our district.
I will say Family Focus does a good job with this. I remember some Manny guy out their who is Hispanic and I believe he works for the city and might be a Alumni what is he doing to help this situation. He seemed to have a lot to say when some members questioned the Bigelow donation but what is he doing to help his own in being part of the community? Oh, I forgot he is busy giving the Round House a bad name because he said he found a fly in his salad and made sure the people that worked for the city knew about it.
This was in the Beacons Openline today and I think it sums it up about the Magnet School.
Cancel so-called magnet school
I understand the East Aurora School Board is thinking of canceling the so-called magnet school. I say good. First, it is not anything more than a few routine classes, not what you would typically expect of a magnet school. Second, the students who are voluntary participants have extremely low attendance records. Third, their test scores have not improved. The board says there are better ways to use the money and resources that would better benefit more students. I say go for it. This new board seems to be on the ball and committed to improve District 131. Finally.
The Administration couldn't really give the board all the facts concerning the Magnet School and that is because they didn't want them to know how much it failed. It is true in the beginning of any new program that there is going to be problems but from the start they did it the wrong way. I believe since this administration and Superintendent have lied so much to the board before they thought they had it made but there is a new board now and they are going to ask the right questions to make sure the whole of the district gets the best education they can get.
all of this negativity and hating is going to force all of the good, hard working people out of the district. The web site and all the hate mongers on it need to do more than stir up rumors - go volunteer in the schools and THEN talk about what everyone should be doing...the fact that a board member started this site and encourages lies to be spread about the district is just a damn shame.
What lies are being encouraged to be said? Is what being stated here really negativity or just the plain truth? Which part is "rumors"? From the sounds of what is going on now it will help make all the good hard working people to stay in this community due to the fact that something is finally being done to improve this community. That this district is finally being fiscally responsible, transparent and open to this community. This was not done in the past. To the person who stated that them might go to see the expression on Marin Gonzales face, hope to see you there. Since there is just a few of us who do go, it will be nice to have company for whatever reason one might have. I believe she was on vacation and did not have done what she before she left, but do not quote me on that. I think something was mentioned at the last meeting that she was on vacation. Watch all of the faces when things are said and done as this always makes it worthwhile to me since this current board has been on board(forgive the pun).
7:42 p.m., you're talking about Manny Maysonet. I know him and his wife Sandra from my church (Good Counsel). They're good people, an asset to our community. The incident with the fly in the salad was just a one-time thing, a slip of judgment that could have happened to any of us after a bad day at work.
And about your young neighbor speaking Spanish--knowing two languages is a good thing! I tutor Hispanic kids, and most of them are excellent English speakers by the time they're in grade school. They get plenty of practice with their English just from TV, school, video games, etc. So a coach's speaking to them in Spanish helps reinforce their knowledge of their heritage. Being bilingual should be encouraged!
Being bilingual is a good thing and should be encouraged. The boy has been speaking spanish since he was young because his parents only speak spanish and the is the only language used at home. In this case it is his English that he needs to work on and I bet he is still in the bilingual programs at middle school since at home and then it looks like other places Spanish is the laugauge he speaks.
Here is a statement by the State Superintendent about the state budget for Education. You can also read the whole letter at:
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/
As you know The General Assembly approved a budget for FY2010 that while increasing General State Aid and Mandated Calegoricals cut Illinios State Board of Educations budget for other programs by $442 Million. I supported increased funding for GSA & MCAT as these dollars provide the most flexibility to districts to meet local needs. On the other hand I am incredibiy dishearted by the fact that our board was forced to make $442 million in cuts from other critical programs.
These cuts are painful. I know that, the board knows that and you know that. The public is only now beginning to learn the reality, ver months as the new school year begins, this pain will become even more evident.
Sadly, as the new school year begins and Illinios citizens begin to understand the FY2010 budget reality, we need to begin preparing legislators as well as citizens for the catastrophe that lies ahead in FY2011 when we will need an additional $1 Billionto make up for the Frederal stimules funds that supported us in FY2009-nd again in this years budget-but will disappear after this fiscal year.
The Magnet School should be a mute point. Some in the Administration have been lying to the public by saying we had no money problems but it looks like we are in for a bummpy ride in this district. I think the board will be making some decsions not all well like with budget cuts but they have to think about all the children in the district and not a few.
FYI July 30 @ 10:14pm
I started this blog in 2006 BEFORE I ever considered being a board member.
I don't encourage lies. I do encourage people to speak their minds.
One persons negativity is another persons constructive criticism.
Too bad the mission statement isn't written in a grammatically correct format. It is, after all, supposed to represent the Board of EDUCATION.
What Mission Statement. can't find one.
went to registar at waldo yesterday and no administarter was there! i had to give my bills to teachers to look at for my address. is this right? this is not their busines to see. where was ms. barnes the principle? when i asked the teachers made snide comments and said she sitting in her office. i wish they had some better people in chrage there.
There are no grammatical errors in the mission statement that I can see (and I have a master's degree). The comma after "communication" is a bit awkward, though--I think I would have added the word "and" after that comma.
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