Anonymous said...
I attended last night's candidates forum and was pleased to see so many interested parents. With such pathetic attendance at Board Meetings, Town Hall Meetings, etc, last night's attendance numbers should send a message to the administration and current board that the status quo will no longer be tolerated.
I have felt personal frustration with the school, its administration and a handful of teachers but I didn't realize how widespread the level of disatisfaction is. If folks were happy with the way things are going, they would not have given up 2 hours of their evening to attend the forum.
The current board's inability to answer basic questions about a strategic plan that they developed; their assertion that "if you want change, then don't vote for me," and Leandra's absolutely irresponsible notion that it isn't her job to research what other schools are doing in technology made my decision on Tuesday a very easy one. It is time for a change.
The fresh ideas that I heard last night from the challengers were spot on in terms of technology, motivating younger kids to learn, transparency and open communication. It was apparent that they did their homework and that the current board underestimated their intelligence and the intelligence of the audience. They simply looked foolish and uniformed. Their body language, snickering, head shaking and eye rolling was childish.
Beefing up our kids' technology skills is a must yet the current board thinks they have more than tackled this issue. Perhaps a day in Mod Tech would make them think differently.
We must also continue to question the heavy emphasis on test taking. Last night was the first night I heard about teachers essentially bribing kids to do well on the Explore Test. Each one of those teachers, as well as the administration, should be ashamed of themselves yet the incumbent Board Members were proud of this practice. What happened to being proud of kids for simply 'doing their best"?
Opening up Board Meetings or creating another forum for parents and the community to voice their opninion is exactly what we need. The idea that parents, teachers and concerned citizens sit through Board Meetings and don't get their questions answered is ludicrous. I would like to see whatever law they believe requires them to ignore the very people they were elected to represent.
Lastly, let me make a suggestion...instead of spending $200,000 to remodel a 800 square foot office under the guise of 'security', let me suggest you buy our children some laptops so they can teach themselves what the untrained technology teacher can't. For $200,000, I can build a 1,600 square foot house with a security system.
Hats off to the PTA for putting the forum together and to the Park District for hosting.
P.S. Did anyone find the Superintendent's attendance and front row seat curious?
(Editor's note: The front row seats were reserved for the administration, school board members, local government officials and media. Dr. Fredisdorf chose to sit there while the others were scattered throughout the audience, a known Delphi technique, to take the pulse of what was being said among the audience.
While we are very grateful for the few staff members that attended the forum, we were saddened to learn that the rest of the staff and teachers were admonished that unless they lived in the district, they were not allowed to attend. Aren't the staff and teachers an integral part of our school community? Sad, really.)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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6 comments:
You can try and win the teachers over but they still aren't voting to elect the four of you. Everyone cares about them and their opinion but why would they put themselves in that position?
Hello, My name is Mary Soudan.I was one of the time keepers at the Candidates Forum. It was brought to my attention that there was some confusion about why Dr. Fredisdorf sat in the front row.
Let me explain what happened. When Dr. Fredisdorf came up to me and said hello, I said to him, that his name, along with the Mayor of Willow Springs and others, were on a index card for reserved seating. (This 3 x 5 index card had a list of names, and was placed on the time keepers table.) I pointed to a reserved chair, in the front row and I said "you sit here." I proceeded to say the same thing to Delores Cizek. I apologize for all this confusion that I might have caused.
As for why Dr. Fredisdorf was on the stage, again, there is an explanation. I, too, was on the stage checking the microphones to make sure they were loud enough in addition to checking the visibility of the time cards. This was to insure that each candidates voice and opinions could be clearly heard throughout the entire room and the time cards were clearly visible to each candidate. All of us involved in the time keeping process were not confident that the microphones volumes were set correctly. Therefore, Dr. Fredisdorf went on stage to test microphones.
Again, I truly apologized for all this confusion that I may have cause.
Mary,
You are very nice to take the fall for this but Dr. F should know better. He should not have been anywhere near the stage nor in a reserved seat especially since the revelation that the teachers weren't allowed to attend unless they lived in the District. If that is true, then he shouldn't have been there either as he doesn't live in the District.
I think that the fact the the teachers "were not allowed" to attend the forum is a perfect example of leading by intimidation. The teachers should be aware that there are people out there that are trying to help them do what is best for the kids. Why wouldn't you want them there. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO HIDE!!
Why was Dr. F's posse there but the teachers weren't allowed to attend? Do Catherine and Ericka live in the district?
I don't see the big deal as to who sat in what seat. The bigger issue is to solve problems. A risk management expert came to the elementary and found a safety issue. As a parent of several students,my children's safety is number one. Any amount of money spent for the safety of the children is money well spent. I attended the candidates forum and failed to have heard any solutions to major problems. Your whole campaign has been very negative and attacking of the current board. This in my opionion is very counter productive. Any one of you could be elected and have to represent the school with some of the current members. With the chip on the shoulder that I have witnessed in this campaign, it will not work to benefit the school.
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