At the candidates' forum, Patti Essig stated, "If you want change, don't vote for me."
Is this the feeling of her entire slate which includes Mark Mirabile and Leandra Sedlack?
If you do want change at Pleasantdale School, vote 4 the candidates of CHANGE!
The Pleasantdale School Board is made up of seven members. Every two years, either three or four seats are up for election. This is the first time in four years that a majority of the seats are open. Our slate needs to win all four seats or things will go back to the same old, same old at Pleasantdale.
Same old outdated technology program but hey, they have a computer cart!
Same old "oversights." How many times have you heard that line in the last three or four years?
Same old mountains of homework on a daily basis. Shouldn't kids have a life outside of school?
Same old strategic plan. They've had it since 2003 yet no one can explain it.
Same old unnecessary expenditures. Brick garages and office renovations.
Same old half day kindergarten program. That way, they can keep charging families for daycare.
Same old exclusiveness. They sent the letter to some of the families, what more do you want?
Same old secret society, oops, um lack of communication.
Same old board meetings. Sit down and shut up. They won't answer your questions.
Same old town hall meeting. Let's talk about test scores for the third year in a row and don't veer off the topic!
Same old ethics violations and lies. Those "rogues" are going to "fire teachers."
Same old lack of respect. Same old dictator.
Do you want the same old, same old; or do you want change?
Vote 4 the wonderful teachers and staff. Vote 4 the children, both yours and ours.
Vote 4 a good school to be even better.
Vote for CHANGE!!
Friday, April 3, 2009
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3 comments:
I have just spent two hours looking through this blog for the first time. I am so happy that this outlet is here. It was almost therapeutic to know that I am not alone in my concern for my children and the teachers. I don't normally participate in this kind of banter but you forgot some of the same old-same old and I thought in the interest of getting all the information out to the voters, I would add my concerns.
1. How many times is it appropriate for a principal to respond "gee, I haven't ever heard a single complaint about that teacher." Wake up, we aren't that stupid. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers. There are lazy teachers who are tenured and there are motivated teachers who are tenured. The bottom line is that there are a few teachers who are really lazy and really bad at connecting with their students and unfortunately other teachers efforts are dragged down by these folks. You need to address parent concerns in this regard. You can't continue to dismiss our concerns. Oh, and your biggest mistake is thinking that we don't talk to each other.
2. Let's screw with the teachers who challenge us(the administration) by reassigning them to classes they aren't trained in and then blame student performance on the teacher. We are on to you here too. I don't hold the teachers accountable, I hold the administration accountable and the Board for agreeing to it. Glad I don't have any children going into 5th grade next year. I understand those changes have been nothing short of disastrous.
3. Let's screw with the class who supposedly had some of the highest test scores in recent memory by taking away art two years in a row. Make a decision in May but not communicate it at all to parents because Meg didn't have enough room in her summer letter. The admin is lucky our kids didn't start a picket cause that would have gotten media attention. For those of you unfamiliar with this situation, we found out about this change on the first day of school when our kids got their schedules despite the decision being made the previous May. Remember they didn't have art in 5th grade either. The admin ignored a petition signed by 80% of the parents with disappointed kids because it was too late to make a curriculum change. Well perhaps if you had informed the parents the previous school year when the decision was made it wouldn't have been too late!!!!
4. What's Meg's response when asked about Dr. Wik posting 6th graders test scores by name to his website? "You'll have to take that up with Dr. Wik" Are you kidding me? Isn't her job is to protect the students not some highly paid consultant who doesn't tell us anything more than a free internet site could? There are plenty of sites available to predict test scores yet we continue to pay this guy to do the work for us.
5. I won't rehash this D107 newsletter that just hit my mailbox other than to say, I too see it as a shameless act by the Board and the Superintendent to influence voters days before an election. They should be required to pay back the school for this misuse of taxpayer dollars. Again, we AREN"T THAT STUPID!
Let me close by saying, I look forward to a new day, either with a new board or an old board that at least takes the community's concerns seriously.
And thanks to the people who started this blog. I may be a regular visitor because there is nothing more important to me than the education of our children!
It is a favorite line at this school, "you are tho only one" with whatever issue you have.
And as far as the Dr. Wik data; isn't that what the LT Consortium, that we do not participate in, does? And how much do we spend in consultation fees across the board? How does that compare to other districts??
I'd bet it is pretty high!
OPEN MEETINGS VS. OPEN DIALOGUE
Every Illinois elected body - village boards, public library boards, school boards, county boards, etc are regulated by the same ‘Open Meetings Act’. Which basically requires the Board to do their governing in public (a very few topics such as personnel matters and contract negotiations are allowed to be discussed in private, ‘a closed session’).
THEN HOW IS PLEASANTDALE DIFFERENT?
Why then can other boards have a conversation or talk about non-agenda topics brought forward by the community while the Pleasantdale School Board can not? By choice the Pleasantdale school binds themselves to a set of protocols which they developed. These self enforced protocols found here:
http://www.d107.org/media/Board/board-policy/1.16%20Governance.pdf
They sound pretty simple, but in practice they are understood to mean that:
- board members will not respond or express their individual opinions in a public meeting to community comments,
- that board members are not free to present independent research on a matter before the Board unless it is first authorized by the board or the superintendent.
- that the Board will eliminate the ‘New Business’ section of the typical ‘Roberts Rules’ style meeting (meaning no off agenda discussions)
While under the guise of complete compliance with the Open Meetings Act , these protocols tends to keep vibrant discussion to a minimum at the meetings and also work to eliminate much of the individual ability of each board member to effectively represent a constituency.
I know that at least one attorney has gone before the Board to say that way the Board Protocols are applied puts the Board at risk of denying the voters their democratic rights to be represented by their elected officials. I’m not an attorney, so I can’t say. All I know is that when it comes time to vote I sure would like to know what each board member believes in by having heard their personal responses to issues brought before them. I would like to be represented by board members that took the time to do as the Ill. Assn of School Boards recommends, “The School Board engages in an ongoing two-way conversation with the entire community. This conversation enables the Board to hear and understand the community’s educational aspirations and desires, to serve effectively as an advocate
for district improvement and to inform the community of the district’s performance.”
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