It's hard to believe, but there are only a few short weeks left in the 2011-2012 school year. As we wrap up another year, it's a good time to reflect on what went well over the past months and also how we can improve things in our district. Happy Spring, everyone!
252 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 252 of 252Why doesnt East stand with West, Oswego and IP and pull out the kids from the Urban league. Lets not be stupid, East. Remember way back when East thought it was so smart not to annex in the Fox Valley mall? Yeah, come on East all the other districts are not stupid. Could you finally do the right thing and get those poor kids out of the Urban League and into a better program at East.
Will someone please remind Annette Johnson that she has to get rid of Roberts, Clayton and Adams and the whitewash will be complete. Take back our district or else.
6:43 you had your chance to g er t rid of the urban league and you folded under the pressure so either confess it or stifle yourself Edith. Why are former members so bitter? You did not have to quit
I would make bet on West putting another program their next year she will pull the same thing on them that she did a few years back at East. Because he West Aurora board is mostly white they will run and hide when he black welfare mamas load up the board meeting
AURORA — Many strides have been made this year in the East Aurora School District, but a teacher’s work is never done.
As hundreds of district administrators, board members and educators gathered for their annual end of the year celebration, it was a time to not only applaud their accomplishments, but to focus on the struggles of the year ahead.
Superintendent Jerome Roberts took the stage during Friday’s Black and Red Pride celebration at East Aurora High School to look back on the year as a whole.
Several years ago, the district was “bleeding” financially, Roberts said.
“That has stopped. We have solved the financial problems of the district, but another problem looms before us now, and it’s not about finance, it’s about academics,” he said.
According to School Board President, Annette Johnson, the “sad reality is that we do rank on the bottom 5 percent of the state” academically. This year’s graduation rate is the lowest ever, she said.
Before her mother died earlier this year, Johnson said her life-long mentor impressed something very important upon her.
“She said never give up. Never settle for second best, and continue to push,” Johnson said.
And the East Aurora School District staff believes it is ready to step up to the challenge.
In the last year alone, the district has added a new gifted program, introduced new technology into the schools, created a campaign to give financially strapped students extracurricular opportunities, and sent several students to study abroad.
Summer school classes have been added to help those students meeting and exceeding state standards, which is a first in the district. Preschool programs have grown and flourished, and come fall, every classroom will have a new computer, Johnson said.
But Roberts noted that their work is far from over.
“It’s time to take our energy, our power, and our laser-like focus and turn it on the academic performance of the district,” he told the crowd of educators. “This is serious business, and I challenge you to step up to this. To re-energize and refocus.”
“Let’s turn our focus (from finance), and solve our academic problems,” he said.
Maybe with us having the lowest graduation class in years the State will finally do it's job and come down here and remove the Superintendent.
I went to the assembly yesterday I have never seen Roberts that way. The Beacon did not tell the story. He berated a teacher for not teaching he entire class and told everyone he made changes because the district is financially fine but they are the laughing stock with test scores. He also said he is taking charge of the Curiculum because his administrators did not do a good job.
Then Johnson ran the high school down for the drop out rates and told everyone she can not except being in the bottom 5%.
Then Rhodes got up and said the teachers would step up but the administrators needed to as well
The best Red n Black I ever went to finally they addressed the problems lets hope it lasts
I hope you don't get sued for posting that.
It's easy to see where the problems in this district are. Listen to our leaders. Now that all the important things have been taken care of, we need to start focusing on academics. Academics (more importantly the students) should always come first. Simply put, they don't in District 131.
If the leadership in this district is serious about education, there are three major areas the board needs to address.
1st, is discipline. You can't teach a damn thing if the kids are bouncing off the walls. Throwing referrals in the garbage to give the appearance that discipline is down is not the answer. District 131 children are as challenging as any in the State of Illinois. Large class sizes do not work. We must drastically reduce class sizes and crack down on students who have shown a pattern of problem behavior over extended periods of time. Every administrator knows who these children are. They are in their office daily. Unfortunately, until good parents start complaining (and filing lawsuits) this will not change. Good parents should be filing lawsuits because their childs education is being ruined by these disruptive students and a school system that refuses to deal with them. It's called Educational Malpractice.
2nd, scrap the focus on standardized tests. They have not improved education anywhere in the nation. Their only purpose is to control and penalize schools and funnel public monies to politically conected companies. They have been proven to significantly increase the drop out rates, especially in low income areas like Aurora. They focus entirely on minimal skills and ignore any and all higher level thinking skills. These requirements are being driven by companies and rich individuals who want nothing more than people who have just enough skills to do their menial job and not question authority. That's how they continue to make billions while most people can barely afford to stay in their homes.
3rd, improve the Fine Arts, Sports Programs and other extracurricular activities. These are areas that require higher level thinking skills and teamwork. They also create pride in a school district and give the kids the reason they need to keep coming to school every day. You can't educate a child if they have dropped out. We have a graduation rate of less than 50%. This needs to change.
When I see the board and administration addressing these three areas, I will begin to believe they want to improve education. Until then, it's all smoke and mirrors.
To answer 7:31pm
I think they have recently started addressing some of your concerns but remember reducing class size comes with building more building and the East Aurora School District is land locked.
In the beginning I was not a fan of the Magnet School but in recent years it proved a great program and should help with over-crowding since it pulls from all schools. They also hired 151 new certified and support staff.
I also like the idea of providing more opportunities for average and gifted kids in summer school with the sport camps and computer camps. I heard the middle schools are getting more encore classes as well that students will take after school.
With all that they are having a hard time filling those spots with teachers and students. It shows that you can design all the great programs you want but if the parents don't care that is where it all starts.
The Urban League built classrooms and good teaching facilities to work with Alternative children. I do not think it is fair for everyone to leave the program. I think Alternative School is important but if the programs is not working the Schools need to fix it. Kids can not be housed in their home school it does not serve as a punishment. With all the problems at West they should look at a better solution.
Did anyone notice the special meeting held last night at the Service Center? It was a hearing about a waiver modification request. If approved by the state, students in grades 6 through 8 would be able to opt out of PE/Health.
As a parent of a special-needs child, I would welcome this option if my son were being bullied at school.
I don't believe that administrators not doing their job at Simmons and your kid getting beat up because of it, is the criteria that the State of Illinois is looking for exempting children from PE Class.
I am sure the State Board of Education would direct the district to replace the poor administrators and resubmit their application with real reasons for exempting the children.
When exactly did the Teachers Union Membership vote to join unions with the secretaries and custodians? I've been in this district a long time and don't recall that vote. I also asked about a dozen other teachers in my building and they can't seem to recall the vote either.
Somehow or another, our new contract is combined with janitors and secretaries and we're told our vote will be combined with them. We're just supposed to focus on our part of the contract.
That vote must have been combined with the vote where the membership decided to get rid of our Blue Cross/ Blue Shield Insurance coverage and replace it with some no name company that has paying twice out of pocket what we were paying before.
Kids are bullied plenty of places other than PE. Should we allow kids to opt out of math if they're being teased because they can't answer the questions correctly? The problem w/ allowing PE waivers is that multiple studies have shown an improvement in ACADEMIC performance by having a period of physical activity during the school day. That's right, PE has been shown to improve the kids' reading, math, and other scores.
We are now contributing further to the obesity of the youth. Imagine the healthcare cost going forward with all the diabetes, hypertension and other sicknesses associated with obesity. P E should be mandatory for middle and grade school.Studies have shown that exercise stimulates the brain. Kids now days are coach potatoes. Remember the article last year that educators were alarmed that the average ACT score from kaneland, WA, EA, and Oswego had dropped to 19. Could inactivity be added to the list of contributors?
I just read the article about the red and black celebration and it makes me sick . Exactly what do Roberts and Johnson mean by WE. They are the leaders for the district and the board. More money, more teachers, more programs ,more administrators but worse result. News flash!!!! the the 2008 referendum solved the financial bleeding. A lot of Administrators look good when that type of cash is infused into a district. District 131 has been academically lacking for decades it just that less and less are escaping the realities of the system. The superintendent and the board president must accept the reality that even with revenue the graduation rate is the lowest ever.
it is a disgust when you look at the academics at East Aurora. Why has the board not held Roberts accountable? Why???? Many people in the district that I know of are talking about this exact thing.
Where is the State of Illinois Board of Education!!!!
Ever watch one of our PE classes the kids just walk around the do not work out. In fact the High School freshman don't even change for PE because of no locker rooms The PE program like everything else is a mess. I say fine for more academics because at all levels wh don't have PE
As a parent, I think the P.E. waiver is a good idea. P.E. should not be a one-size-fits-all requirement; many middle-school students are physically active outside the school day on soccer teams, softball, riding their bikes, dance classes, etc. My own daughter took gymnastics, cheerleading, and hip-hop dance lessons through the Park District when she was in middle school (very affordable). She could have used a P.E. waiver for extra study time or maybe a foreign language or art class that she couldn't fit into her schedule.
I do understand the concern about obesity, and I agree that physical education is important for students' overall health. But a P.E. waiver would provide the school AND parents the flexibility to consider the needs of individual students--a GOOD idea for all concerned!
It was a start that they got rid of Marin Gonzalez but they needed to go deeper. Why not Aird and Roberts They are directly responsible with all that money put into programs and teachers why has it not improved. It think the low wages the district pays stops them from getting good teachers and the old teachers just because they can not find jobs
I am in agreement about removing Marin and Jerome, but everyone else is following the direction of it's leader. If any other admin is not doing their job or implementing programs that are failing, Roberts & the Board should be accountable for approving the plans allowing failure to happen this long.
If you truly were connected with the district-an involved community member or parent-you'd know the teachers that work in 131 probably could go elsewhere and some have, new & old. The majority have been dedicated educators who have a sincere concern for the childrens education.
They are not magicians. They cannot create their own classroom programs & books. They cannot make children arrive on time, fed and well rested with homework in hand. They cannot give every child as much individualized attention as needed, when they have so many in one class, children not encouraged to learn at home and a school board whose finally seeing our schools rank in the bottom. Not to worry-Roberts woke up,too and says ' Let’s turn our focus (from finance), and solve our academic problems.'
This confirms that 131 students education has been a low priority. (bottom 5% to be exact)I hope the EA residents change their focus to a new board, who will seat a new superintendent that will ALWAYS put students first. Not just on their letterhead but in the work they do for our families.
7:36 I work in a school that does PE waivers for "athletes". The result is we have a bunch of kids on athletic teams who don't belong there, and are always "hurt" so not actually doing the sport anyway. They're just hanging out. They'd rather hang out after school for 2-3 hours (time when they COULD be doing homework), than to do 30 minutes of physical activity during the day. They'd actually get MORE activity if they were in PE. Maybe the PE program needs to be improved, but not thrown out. BTW the waivers put them in "Athletic Study Hall". I've talked to the kids, and the study hall supervisors. Very little studying takes place. And you're missing the point that the studies show improved academic performance when the students do a period of physical activity DURING THE SCHOOL DAY, i.e. the after school activities don't have as much of an effect. I also get a real kick out of you talking out of both sides of your mouth -- you say you "agree that physical education is important for students' overall health", yet you want to let the students out of PE.
I was not "talking out of both sides of my mouth" when I said that physical education is important, because physical education (like any other form of education) does NOT have to happen in a school setting. And the 30 minutes of daily physical activity 11:44 is referring to could include lunchtime recess, walking to/from school, or a sports practice after school. Again, one-size-fits-all is generally a poor policy.
A teacher has the most influence on the student. We have all new books now, smart boards, 151 new teachers, tutors, additional summer school, more money for the band and arts, interventionist, more social workers, conselors , read 180 a national recognized program that works in other districts, and many other things. Yet no results these are tools the teachers have had. The blame needs to go to the many teachers like the High School teacher that stopped teaching 20 minutes early or the ones who allow students to sleep in class. Yes Dr Roberts is to blame for being to nice. Because of tenure some of our teachers are the worst we are stuck keeping them. Yes the Board is guilty of being to nice also we should have a board that adopts a turnaround model and get rid of 50% of the teachers and administrators and make the rest reapply
To everyone who is complaining they are only doing waivers for kids that are behind in reading so what is the problem you complain about the scores and education well at least they are trying I would rather know how to read than take PE it is up to me as a parent to make sure my child is getting exercise. Reading is another story some of the parents can't read so they would have problems teaching that
This districts problems begin and end with the parents.
If you believe the teacher has the most influence, your childhood must have been grim. A parent lays that foundation in the first few years.
Robert and the Board TOO nice!?! REALLY? This must be one of them making that comment-finger pointing and blaming many teachers for the actions of a few. When it is the few at the top who have had their head and focus elsewhere and now are resorting to finding scapegoats for their negligence.
Get on track Dr. and madam prez. quit worrying about how you will keep your "IMAGE." The best thing you can do now is try a new unique approach and try delegating the task of educating to the teachers.
Can you use micro managing in a sentence? Bwaha!
The teachers should worry about education the district provided over 500 professional development opportunies. The problems started 20 years ago in this district and the test scores are higher under Roberts verses the serial bully
The problem is the parents very few of you want to put the blame their. I will agree the administration and teachers are not very good but would you want to come to wrk and beat your head against a wall all day. People come to this d131get experience and leave. The bad ones stay
How can it be better with Roberts when the graduating class is in the bottom 5%? I bet we will be on the watch list 9 years now with Roberts.
With so many homes to chose from for those that want to buy just having a good IMAGE is not going to get the parents we want here that want their children to learn.
I have spoke with many parents who have stories of coming to the district for help, only to be ignored or patronized. So the problems do not start and end there. It takes team work on all levels. The team can only be as good as the head coach is at leading.
Prof. Development is more than a luncheon and back patting of the Board and super. So those opportunities are not that high of number. Bragging about failing at a lesser degree is not an accomplishment!
As a teacher a proud Hispanic member of the d131 staff and community, I am really encouraged by the recent developments in Bilingual. Moving the students faster into sheltered classes and exposing them to more English will improve the scores, it has been a long time in coming. Dr Roberts came to our workshop and announced these changes. In 4th and 5th grade all new research shows 2nd and 3rd generation students need this.
I see Clayton's loser assistant Tony Martinez completed his Masters at Aurora University on the Districts dime. Don't tell me about professional development if you are not in the in crowd you do not receive tuition reimbursement it gone at the blink of eye we all know after Central Office picks their favorites for Doctoral and Masters programs very little is left over for teachers. Administrators and Central OFfice like Martinez get first pick. Our union knows this and does nothing the Board seems more proactive than the Union so Madam Prez please investigate. The people at the Central Office may not like what you find. Joanie G is behind it sending out private emails that money is available. The money is for teachers first not administrators. Please tell me what Martinez will ever teach anyone
Also a large group wants to drop out of the Union the movement started at Waldo, East , Bardwekk and Hermes come look into it and join.
Many companies offer educational reimbursement. Tony M. was a respectful dedicate young family man. If he chose to invest his time and take advantage of an employee benefit...more power to him. Wasn't it stated a couples months back on this blog or in the paper that Tony was no longer working for the district.
An even smarter move on his part to further his education ASAP, while able, since many people can no longer be sure of a job tomorrow.
If the District brags about professional development the teachers should have first rights. We do not get those rights because Central Office gets first choice. I understand the budget can only be so much and not everyone will get the money. But the system is putting a application in through your building and waiting. Joanie G will review them and give them out to who she wants. Tony will never touch the education of a child. What benefit is it for the tax payers of d131 to educate him. I believe he never graduated from d131 and pays his taxes to d129 along with his wife who draws a salary from our District. My point is the Board needs to investigate. I know Madam Prez and Union read this. Rhodes even joked about the blog during Red and Black. So please Adam Harding and Annette Johnson look in to this. We need the money for REAL classroom teachers.
To: May 19, 2012 7:02 PM
There are lots of teachers who are interested in replacing this union and when the new contract comes out this week, I'm sure many more will want to join the movement.
I have heard from many people involved (board members, administrators and union leaders) that the teachers are being royally screwed with the new contract.
You need to get the information out if such a movement has started. There are people in every building who want to get rid of the AFT.
6:32 5/18 is definitely the board president. Im at many meetings and have heard her go on a tangent about the insurance and how she doesnt want to hear any complaining from teachers about the new insurance. She is anti working class people. Assessing blame to everyone but herself is one of her strengths. We should have booed her off the stage at the assembly. It must be nice to have illegals working for you
Coach Bryant and Trejo and lots of union members have used tuition reimbursement and you know there are ton more.
May 19 6:39 AM You think the good teachers leave and the bad stay. What do you base this on? I believe this is your own uninformed opinion. I challenge you to bring in teachers from high scoring districts and see if they can get any better results then the teachers in East. I bet not. They would be so overwhelmed by what teachers in East deal with every day that they would run screaming from the classrooms. Walk a mile then run your mouth.
May 20, 2012 1:56 PM -Booyah! I thought same thing.
I has very happy with Dr Roberts speech at Red and Black teachers are paid to teach the entire class not let the kids sleep. Why was the teacher not fired for stopping class 20 minutes early.
I am so glad the blog master edits the comments now. That means she is legally responsible for the slander that goes on in this blog. If I her she better watch out because someone will sue her for every penny she does not have
To: May 20, 2012 8:41 PM
Did you actually believe that crap???
You believed our superintendent actually sat through an entire class period. That he did so unattended in a building (he didn't even need his escort so he didn't walk into walls). That the class he walked into had a teacher that didn't know who the boss was and worked only half a period, leaving the kids to just bounce off the walls.
What do you think is more likely, that the above scenario actually happened or that the superintendent made up the story to 1) push an agenda against the teachers and 2) deflect blame away from himself?
It was a teacher that taught Expext 21, he is the only one who teaches this class so you figure it out. Conrad, Willis and Adams did witness this as well the teacher did get terminated and yes he did not know who he was. I will not name him because he is applying in for other jobs and sometimes a mention can get your name Googled. He should never teach but he does need employment. Yes all of the teachers have been lumped its not fair but some of my associates just taking working at East for granted. Without a parent or building supervision bad teachers stay bad teachers. What is the old quote when the cat is away mice will play
It sounds to me that the only thing different in this situation is that the administration actually did their job. They observed a teacher that was not doing their job up to standards and the teacher was terminated because of it.
Most teachers in this district do their job very well and are embarrassed when administrators allow a bad teacher to continue. Just as they dislike when administrators do nothing about children they know are disturbing classes and interferring with the education of other students.
It would also be great if these standards of professionalism applied to administrators. They fired a teacher for doing nothing for twenty minutes in class but apparently it's acceptable for an administrator (Wilson Morales) to leave school grounds, while on duty, and fight with a student.
Someone had mentioned to me that the graduation rate at East this year will be less than 50%. I assume she means that more than half of freshman 4 years ago never make it to graduation. This cannot possibly be true. If this was allowed to happen, would not the state completely take over the school operation or something of the sort? Or, does the state not even care because its Aurora and thats the way Aurora rolls? Sounds like a total turnaround would be in order if this is the case. I am assuming my associate is wrong because this is beyond believeable that this would be tolerated by students, teachers, parnets, community, admins, janitors and beyond. Shut it down and reopen it with an ex-marine type running the joint who simply will not take crap from students and have free reign to run a safe, learning environment that caters to those who want to learn and get the "pants on the ground" gangbanging idiots, thugs, bullies and malcontents out of there already. Stop dancing with these criminals and bounce them out-now! If I had the chance, I would ink a deal that gives me full autonomy for what goes on in that current school. The students and teachers who get it will benefit greatly and those who are there to jack around all day would be gone the day I started. It is actually that easy.
There is a way to effectively teach to lower class sizes and the answer is actually simple- toss out the kids who show up every day with nothing more on their agendas but fighting, bullying, screwing around and causing trouble. The hell with scrutinizing referral rates- point the student to the door and say "bye bye"
Duh. Then all those kids that you bounced out count toward the percentage that didn't make it to graduate. Or did you think that all of those kids were still there attending school even though they didn't graduate? A bunch of the kids you're talking about bouncing out DID get bounced out -- part of the high non-graduation rate. The ones who really need the bouncing are the parents.
And as far as the state taking over -- yeah, the state government is doing such a great job that I want them running my local schools. NOT.
She has a Personality Disorder.
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