Last spring I was on the communication committee with board members Mark and Karen and several other teachers and parents. One of the things we discussed was the lack of communication between the school district and the community.
Over the last two weeks I have seen that the lack of communication in our district has not changed and probably will not change.
On August 5th, the village of Willow Springs was awarded $400,000 to build sidewalks to our schools. Not just sidewalks, but a paved and striped crosswalk and a school zone with flashing lights and signs.This grant, called the Safe Routes to School grant, will help our district and the kids in our community in many ways. It will enable children that live close to the school to walk or bike ride to school. This in turn will promote health, fitness and combat childhood obesity. With more kids walking, there will be fewer cars on the road. This will mean cleaner air and less traffic. We will be on our way to a greener community. It will also, in the long run, help the district to eliminate some bus routes which in turn will save the school district and its taxpayers thousands of dollars every year.
Look at the schools in LaGrange School Districts 102 and 105, Western Springs 101 and Highlands 106. Almost every kid in these districts walks or bikes to school. I realize that our district is spread out and many kids here can’t walk or bike. But there are many who would if given the opportunity.
On August 5, an email was sent to everyone on the Safe Routes to School team including Mr. Vandercar. I telephoned Mr. Vandercar that day and left a voice mail but never received a phone call back. How’s that for communication?
When I spoke to Jennifer Zimmerman of the Doings, she told me she contacted Mr. Vandercar about this grant and he said he knew very little about it, that a couple of parents worked on it and he just that he signed off on it. He directed her to contact Dr. Fredisdorf for more information. So she did. She left 5 messages and did not receive a single call back. How’s that for communication?
Last Thursday, the village of Willow Springs discussed this grant at their monthly meeting. They were asked if they had received any type of communication from the schools involved and they said that only school district 108 in Willow Springs sent a letter of thanks and congratulations. They had not heard Pleasantdale. How’s that for communication?
Last week, a resident emailed Dr. Fredisdorf to ask about this grant and he got no answer to his question. The resident also contacted school board president Leandra Sedlack to discuss this grant and the fact that no one from the school has reached out to Willow Springs and she told him she didn’t know much about the grant to answer any questions. How’s that for communication?
Why didn’t Dr. Fredisdorf inform the school board members about this grant? Why isn’t this posted on the school website? Why hasn’t the school district reached out to the Village of Willow Springs?
Where is the communication in our school district?
Isn’t this grant money something you want to celebrate or isn’t Pleasantdale interested in making the route to school safer for our kids?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
What every happened to "you attract more flies with honey than vinegar"? Negativity only breeds negativity and lack of productivity.
Please, our school district administrators take honey and binge on it until they are drunk from the sugar coma. Vinegar has alot of medicinal properties of its own you know. For example its wonderful on a sunburn when your skin is heated and red with rage. Infact, that's similar to how many of us that have experienced the lies and manipulation in the last several years, feel.... burnt out! I say, out with the truth and the corruption and those blind to the devasting effect that it has had on our children and their education! Please detail exactly what productivity you think has happened in our school district lately from honey?! Stop being so blind, dumb and happy. Get informed!
Congratulations Gina - your hard work paid off. This grant will definitely benefit our community. Oh by the way....I find it hard to believe that you are being negative when all you are doing is reporting the facts. If you were so negative, how were you so productive in getting this grant? I think whoever the 6:36 p.m. post is needs to be more productive and reviewing their posts before submitting them (ever, not every).
I too would like to congratulate Gina and her team for a job well done. I would also like to thank her for starting and continuing this blog. It is a great way (actually the only way) for the Pleasantdale School community to see/hear what is going on in the district. Kudos!
Our teachers (and administrators) are so welled trained by outside professionals that they are losing their innate ability to teach from their love for teaching. (Passion is a derivative of love. You cannot make someone love something and therefore have passion.) It is as if their personality is being slowly replaced by outside sources. The statements they make to you as a parent leave you wondering if they have any of their own cognitive abilities left to evaluate the rhetoric that they have been taught about teaching. These philosophies they have learned from the conferences have been drilled into their head. Some of them, then in turn, turn around and drill them into you as a parent. You walk away feeling like this person was trying to brainwash you. Your ability to reach people comes from inside of you. Yes, you can be trained, but an observant listener can see that the speaker doesn't own their own words and has been well trained. As a parent you leave with not being able to believe anything they say. Sending the teachers to all these conferences shows little faith in their own abilities to teach. What could be the motivating factor in all this for some people? Could it be passion or $$$$$$$$$?
Post a Comment