March 12, 2014
The Doings Weekly
By: Chuck Fieldman | cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com | @chuckwriting
At least two members of the Pleasantdale Elementary School District 107 Board believe the district is playing catch up with its math curriculum because of inaccurate information provided by Superintendent Mark Fredisdorf...
Read the full article here.
http://burrridge.suntimes.com/news/schools/math107-WYD-03122014:article
Despite spending over $100K in the 2013-2014 school year so far on a curriculum coordinator, a math curriculum audit, professional development, staff surveys, etc. one thing is certainly true:
Superintendent Mark Fredisdorf does not know much about curriculum and instruction!
We could have told the school board that a long time ago and saved the district a lot of money.
Earlier this year, when asked to provide board members with the middle school language arts curriculum, he handed over a pile of papers. There was no mention of curriculum maps, pacing guides, textbooks, etc. Just a pile of about 1,000 worksheets and assessments!
The man has been a fraud for years and sadly it has taken board members this long to finally figure it out. He hides behind a hand picked ineffective working group he calls the curriculum council and uses them to push through his misguided agendas and ill thought out plans. Then when things go wrong, he has someone to blame it on. Recent survey results indicated only 11 members of his entire staff of over 100 feel that this group is effective. If that isn't a wakeup call, we don't know what is!
Hopefully this community will wake up and demand a change rather than continuing to spend $250K a year on nonsense.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
District 107 Common Core Time LIE
District 107 Common Core Time Lie
November 17, 2010 - Board
Meeting open forum:
July 18, 2012 – Board
Goals proposed for 2012-2013
August 15, 2012 - District
goals approved:
Implement alignment of Common Core standards for math grades
k-8 and above level language arts in grades 5-8.
Letter to Parents and
Guardians – Math common Core Standards to be implemented in 2012-2013
Fredisdorf announces “relatively minor changes were needed
in our rigorous curriculum to align with Common Core standards.”
October 17, 2012 - Math
Common Core Standards Update at BOE Meeting
October 26, 2012 - Letter
to community announces math curriculum realigned to CCSS and being
implemented!!
April 3, 2013 - Mark
Mirabile (Candidate for BOE) states full math curriculum alignment in campaign
literature.
April 5, 2013 -
Facebook Parent Group P3 – Sharon Rak’s rebuttal to Mirabile/Fredisdorf’s claim:
I
didn’t know if I should laugh or cry when I read in a recent email this quote
from Mark Mirabile and Michael Hawbaker: “Specifically the entire math
curriculum was aligned to the Common Core standards to start the 2012/13 school
year.”
I
would like to make clear our entire math curriculum was NOT aligned to the
common core standards to start the 2012/13 school year! I am a Math Common Core
professional development consultant for the Illinois State Board of Education
as well as the Illinois Principals’ Association who travels the entire state
instructing school administrators and staff on math Common Core implementation.
Common
Core math requires three major shifts: FOCUS, COHERENCE AND RIGOR.
The
first shift of the Common Core is FOCUS. There are a specific number of
standards for each domain and grade level. For example, the study of
probability does not start until grade 6. If your child is currently in grades
K-5 and they have been taught any probability this year, then Pleasantdale’s
current curriculum is NOT ALIGNED TO COMMON CORE. FOCUS means abandoning the
mile wide, inch deep curriculum and therefore we need to eliminate many current
standards.
The
domain of Counting and Cardinality is solely a kindergarten domain and it has 7
standards. There are 22 math standards that kindergarteners must master and
these will not be repeated in a first grade Common Core aligned curriculum.
Between the numerous math and English Language Arts standards that must be
learned in kindergarten, there is little chance it will be accomplished with a
half day of instruction. Students will need more than a half day of
instructional time, and this cannot happen during the extended day program
since no new learning can take place. Good luck to our poor kindergarten
teachers that must accomplish this in two and a half hours a day while staying
true to the kindergarten philosophy of giving children instructional playtime
as well.
The
second shift, COHERENCE, arises from mathematical connections. The eight
standards for mathematical practice should be connected to the content
standards and embedded in classroom instruction, discussions, activities, and
ASSESSMENTS. The eight standards for mathematical practice are NOT in our
current assessments.
Trust
me when I say, there is not a school district in the USA that is fully aligned
to both the Common Core content and mathematical practice standards.
The
third major shift, RIGOR, requires a balance of three things: solid conceptual
understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application of skills in
problem solving situations. These three things need to be embedded in
curriculum, instruction and assessment. Standards need to be taught and
assessed with all three parts of rigor.
This
year my 8th grader has had algebra. His conceptual and procedural knowledge are
very solid but the balance of APPLICATION is definitely not there. The common
core documents state that pursuit of all three requires equal intensity in
time, activities, and resources. We do have level 4 questions on our
assessments, but there is not an equal balance of them.
The
process of curriculum change will take on an average of at least 3 years.
A
common curriculum development practice is using the Backward Design Method. The
Backward Design looks at what the learners need first and targets assessment
and instructional strategies around those needs. Both the Smarter Balance and
PARCC assessments HAVE NOT been written yet and that is why it is IMPOSSIBLE
for Mirabile and Hawbaker’s quote to be true.
In
closing, I would like to thank Mark and Mike for their great quote. I will be
using it in my next common core math workshop and I am sure it will get quite a
few laughs!
Sharon
Rak
Mathematics
Common Core Professional Development Consultant for the Illinois State Board of
Education and the Illinois Principals' Association
Jacqueline M. You Rock Sharon! That email was ridiculous. Also not even sent directly from either Mark or Mike. I find it nice to hear directly from the candidates.
Linda M. As a parent, it disturbs me our curriculum is not prepared for Common Core (lies notwithstanding). This is exactly why we need a change and people who are FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE. The level of discontent among Pleasantdale parents with our curriculum amazes me. What amazes me even more is the denial. I am so thankful to have four candidates who see this and want to make a change. They have put so much time and effort into finding solutions and being forward thinking. I didn't need another reason, Sharon, to know my vote for Kim, Kristen, Doug and Greg is the right one. But thank you for this information and giving us the heads up. It will help me be better prepared to help my son. April 6, 2013 at 9:12am
Alexis E. Sharon - thanks for taking the time to explain the Common Core standards. It is refreshing to hear information straight from an expert. Sometimes things get a little murky in the midst of all the rhetoric...especially now that the election is coming up. I always like to believe that our district has a lot of well-meaning parents, people and professionals whose main goal is to make sure our district provides a good education to all. I have my own reservations about putting all students on the same page at the same time but I will leave it to the experts to figure things out. I hear you when you say it will take several years for all the changes to take place. Now can somebody please address the No Child Left Behind program? Good luck with that... April 6, 2013 at 10:41am
Jolene C.
April 7, 2013 at 3:12pm
April 7, 2013 at 3:12pm
May 2013 – Curriculum
Council Common Core Update
June 19, 2013 June
Testing Report – Scores are down but will go up as district is aligned with
Common Core and being Implemented!
August 2013 – Letter
to School Community again stating CCSS were implemented last school year.
September 4, 2013 –
Curricululm Night presentations announcing alignment/implementation to CCSS:
Mrs. Berwick 2nd grade – Curriculum night
presentation
November 18, 2013 –
Common Core Parent Meetings
Dr. Fredisdorf audio track that D107 is completely aligned
and implemented in Common Core in Math.
“What have we done? We
started first with mathematics. That started a couple years ago and we began
this school year fully aligned in mathematics to the common core standards.
Math was kind of the
first one out of the chute and so we jumped on that pretty quickly and teachers
received support, curriculum writing time, we had trainers come in…I’m not
going to go into all the gory details of it, but our math right now is
completely aligned with the common core. What does that mean? Because we
already had a challenging curriculum, it wasn’t a wholesale change. It wasn’t
like okay one day this, and one day something else. What happened was in
certain grade levels there were like certain functions or whatever that were
moved down like multiplication started down in second grade, the end of second
grade, whereas before it that may not have been until sometime in third grade.
That’s just one example. So we took what we did and common core and we aligned
those and also we’re updating our materials…
Language arts, middle
school language arts is aligned to the common core and we’re starting that
process in elementary and by the beginning of next year we will be completely
aligned there as well. What are teachers finding? When we look at what we have
been doing and common core, it’s not like a momentous shift.”
Evening Session with
Nan Ochs presenting
Mrs. Rak: “I just want to confirm, so you’re saying that in
math, our instruction and our assessments are already common core math
aligned?”
Nan Ochs response: “Yes.”
Following meeting Dr. Fredisdorf refuses offer of free help
with Common Core, loses patience and refuses to allow Mrs. Rak to meet with
himself and board member or colleague.
November 19 Email to
BOE
From: Sharon Rak
Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 11:20 PM
To: <tegtmeier@board107.org>, <violante@board107.org>, <Houk@board107.org>, <gilman@board107.org>, <mirabile@board107.org>, <Scaletta-nelson@board107.org>, <barker@board107.org>
Subject: ITBS & CCSS Parent Meetings
Dear Board of Education,
By definition, ignorance is a state of being
uninformed. “The word ignorant is an adjective
describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult to describe individuals who
deliberately ignore or disregard important information or facts.
Individuals with
superficial knowledge of a topic or subject may be worse off than people who
know absolutely nothing.
Ignorance can stifle
learning, especially if the ignorant person believes that they are not
ignorant. A person who falsely believes he or she is knowledgeable will not
seek out clarification of his or her beliefs, but rather rely on his or her
ignorant position. He or she may also reject valid but contrary information,
neither realizing its importance nor understanding it.”
This definition epitomizes superintendent Dr. Fredisdorf.
On Monday evening I attended the ITBS/Common Core presentation put on
by Dr. Fredisdorf and Nannette Ochs. As an educator that has traveled the
country providing professional development, I work with a lot of
superintendents and I have never come across anyone as ignorant as him.
His presentation was incredibly confusing, riddled with misinformation
and false information. When questioned on the district’s math Common Core
alignment, he became downright mean and unprofessional.
Board members Doug Gilman and Gina Scaletta-Nelson, in addition to
administrators and other parents in the room, witnessed this demeanor.
If a staff member ever conducted himself or herself in this manner,
Dr. Fredisdorf would undoubtedly put a letter in his or her file.
I would like this letter added to Dr. Fredisdorf’s personnel file as a
permanent record of how disrespectful he was when I questioned his knowledge
and offered to help our district with Common Core math alignment.
It is disturbing to me that our school board would allow Dr.
Fredisdorf to continue to behave in this manner with his lack of
intelligence. It makes me sad to think that the children of our community
have this man making decisions that will impact their future.
Sharon
Rak
"The
essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make
complicated things simple." ~ S. Gudder
December 4, 2014 - Mrs.
Rak sends second FOIA request for information. Few questions were answered
completely.
December 18, 2013 - Open Forum:
Curriculum council begins to back pedal on former claims by Fredisdorf.
The Curriculum Council facilitator states staff did not want professional
development…someone to tell them what to teach and how to teach. They just wanted time,
time to do it on their own. Their greatest gift was time.
January 2014 - Board
of Education approves scope of Common Core Math and ELA Audits and cost.
Audit begins but
Fredisdorf misleads staff into thinking it is Professional Development. He then
tries several times to stop audit while attempting to discredit Math auditor Jennette
Winters on numerous occasions.
January 23, 2014
Dear Pleasantdale School Board,
I am writing to request that, if the audit of our
math curriculum continues, some of the following concerns be considered. During
the audit process, some of the teachers felt uncomfortable with the line of
questioning and type of questions. One teacher expressed to me that she felt
the method of questioning was leading to discredit the work she and our
district had done. The teachers would like an administrator or teacher to be
sitting with them when they are questioned. They would like the purpose and
expectations of her visit given to them beforehand so that the time is used
effectively. I want to reiterate that teachers welcome additional professional
development and consultative services that would further successfully implement
the Common Core State Standards. I hope we can work to ensure that, as a
district, we are collaboratively moving forward.
Sincerely,
Erin Berwick
President Teachers’ Association of Pleasantdale
President Teachers’ Association of Pleasantdale
January 24, 2014
Superintendent’s Board of Education Weekly Update
Independent Math and ELA Common Core Auditors
Per my work with Mark Mirabile and Kim Barker, Jennette
Winters was selected to conduct the math audit.
Ms. Winters indicated she was able to begin on Friday, January 17. I met with her in the morning informing her
of the Board’s desire to gain an outside assessment of the District’s progress
in implementing math Common Core Standards.
I informed her that I would need a cost proposal from her, but that she
could begin her work immediately given the Board’s desire to have the audit
conducted as soon as possible. Ms.
Winters spent the remainder of the day interviewing teachers who serve on the
math committee at both the elementary and middle schools.
On Tuesday morning after the holiday weekend, several
teachers approached me at the beginning of the Institute Day complaining about
Ms. Winter’s interviews, which they described as being “pressured”,
“interrogated” and “drilled.” The Teachers’ Association submitted a letter
(see attached) expressing concerns about Ms. Winters.
I received Ms. Winter’s cost proposal on Tuesday (attached)
indicating she would require 10-12 days to conduct the audit at a cost of
$20,000-$24,000. I was very surprised by
the cost, as I never expected the cost to exceed the $10,000 threshold that
would require Board approval. I
immediately emailed Ms. Winter’s indicating I was not authorized to approve an
expenditure exceeding $20,000 and that she should stop her work until further
notice. My email exchanges with Ms.
Winter are attached.
I believe Ms. Winter’s costs for an audit are exorbitant and
unjustifiable, particularly since no other cost proposals were solicited. In retrospect, I should have required Ms.
Winters to submit a cost proposal before conducting any work. In addition, I should have checked
references. I sincerely apologize to
the Board for this oversight. I
absolutely will not commit that mistake again.
Regarding the ELA Common Core audit, Gail Bohnenstiehl is
scheduled to meet with me on February 4.
Given my experience with Ms. Winters, there will be no charge for this
initial meeting and no work will begin until a proposal is submitted.
At this point, the full Board needs to discuss how to
proceed with the math audit and, perhaps, the ELA audit as well. Spending $20,000-$24,000 without conducting
an RFP process is inadvisable. I believe
the audit could be conducted at a much lower cost by a consultant of equal or
higher quality. I will be discussing
next steps with Doug.
March 11, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Overall Satisfaction - New Leadership Clearly Wanted!
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How would you describe the strengths of Pleasantdale to someone new to the community?-- Strong academic standards; great teaching staff-- I love working at Pleasantdale and the relationships that I have made with staff members are lifelong and our supportive. -- Teachers are passionate about their work. Our school is a friendly and inviting place. The principal loves to spend time with the children: playing kickball, playing UNO and greeting them every morning. -- The teachers work well together to support each other and the the students. The teachers will do whatever they can to advocate for the best interests of students. The parents and school board are also supportive of both the teachers and the students. -- The teachers and support staff will work their hardest to make sure that each student succeeds. -- This is a great school district with many dedicated teachers that are wonderful at their jobs. It is a good community with alot of parent support. Their are many opportunities for children's growth at all age levels -- amazing staff and great students/families -- The teachers and staff at Pleasantdale are hard working passionate people who want each child to succeed academically and socially. -- Friendly community, good teachers, provides a variety of services, nice facilities. -- The teachers--hands down. They hold this entire district together for the good of the kids. -- Small class size, high academic achievement, dedicated teachers -- Supportive staff, principal -- Teachers work well with each other and have the students interest in mind. We are passionate and committed to give the students learning experiences to better themselves. -- We have a great group of students. Our staff is child-centered and caring. The new principal is actively involved in the school. -- Good staff, principals and support staff. Great kids and parent support. -- most of our students arrive ready to learn, the teaching staff is sincere and caring -- Teachers are well trained, compassionate, knowledgeable, kind, caring, and respectful. PTA is strong, very student-focused, and great to teaching staff! We have a great classroom budget to help with classroom supplies and curriculum materials. We differentiate to student strengths and challenges. Our schools are bright, clean, cheery! We have wonderful creative arts programs!!!!...Art, Music, P.E. Our Pre-k-K program is strong, developmentally appropriate, and student-centered Our Spec Ed program -- Both schools have wonderful principals that really do care for their staff and students! -- There are teachers that will work hard everyday to ensure students are learning and loving what they learn. Our schools are comfortable and have a multitude of resources. -- Clear mission and set of Core Values. Dedicated, qualified and caring teachers. Amazing, supportive and involved families. Excellent, qualified, and respectful administration. -- We do have a lot of strengths -- most teachers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, supportive. -- Most of us all have a passion for our jobs and are here because of our love and concern for children. -- Teachers, kids, parents, resources, extra-curricular activities, gifted program, teaming idea -- The district is financially sound with many resources. The teachers truly care about the students. -- Pleasantdale has dedicated, educated, hard working and caring teachers. The teachers do their best to meet the needs of all their students. -- Teaching staff and financial stability of the district are our strengths. Class size is fabulous. We have the finances to be a leader in the area of technology. -- Beautiful school with wonderful resources to support teaching. Teachers that love kids. Wonderful teachers and great parents. A Principal that loves kids and spends time getting to know all of them. -- 1. Caring staff within the schools, trying to do everything in their power to make kids successful, prepared students. 2. Students are treated with love and respect by all within our school 3. Safety for our students is always first -- The staff makes our environment a happy place for students. New students adjust very well. -- Great staff-leader of the middle school has great vision. Families are great and support the teachers well. -- Pleasantdale is a caring community of educators that work very hard in providing students with an optimal learning environment. -- The teachers work hard to do what is best for kids. They work well together. -- Loving passionate community. Aware in implementing latest teaching trends. Great resources available. Caring staff. -- We have caring, dedicated teachers who are trying to provide the best education they can. -- Dedicated and caring teachers, supportive families, small class sizes, great access to resources -- Students return from LT, they say they are doing well academically and enjoy highschool but miss the close, nurturing atmosphere of Pleasantdale's school community. I think we have a competent,caring staff, great families and enough money to fund what is important. We should be able to thrive. -- Teachers, support staff, and school administration are constantly working towards giving our students the best educational opportunities they can. -- Caring, hardworking teachers and support staff. Supportive parents. Wonderful students who work hard and experience success in school. -- Dedicated professional teachers, beautiful building, classrooms, library music and art programs, materials, parents who volunteer and respond to teacher/child needs, great PTA. -- Caring hard-working teachers, eager students, strong families, great resources and facilities. High academic expectations, Good test scores. Successful graduates in high school and beyond. -- Pleasantdale is filled with adults in every capacity who want the best for the children in the school. This applies to teachers, support staff, administration, the superindendent and the board. The school strives for excellence and takes steps to achieve it. Students are cared for and loved. -- The staff is very dedicated to the success of the students that go to Pleasantdale. (I rated #3 with an A because of the hard-working and dedicated staff.) How would you describe the weaknesses of Pleasantdale to someone new to the community?-- Challenges in the area of supporting "non-typical" students-- The staff is overworked and underpaid. We are offically the lowest paid staff in all of the surrounding areas. For the amount of work we are expected to successfully complete and the salary that we are given the balance is flawed. Our district has no vision for the future. -- There is a disconnect between the staff and the administration. The staff has trouble prioritizing initiatives because there are so many. Teachers want to teach and with so many new responsibilities and committees, their time is being compromised. -- The amount of new initiatives is creating teacher overload. Unfortunately, teachers are not as focused on classroom instruction when this happens. Compared to other school districts, Pleasantdale teachers are underpaid; this along with the work load creates the potential for high teacher turn over. -- Many dedicated teachers but the leadership is in transition. -- We are falling behind many other neighboring districts in regards to technology and the common core. -- Too much time is spent documenting every thing that is done for every lesson. Teachers don't have time to teach. -- Superintendent does not know what he is doing. -- The current curriculum/curriculum writing structure is concerning, conflicts between the board and superintendent, salary scale is low -- Overworked and underpaid teachers Fear of consequences for speaking out BOE and Superintendent at war lack of professional development money not spent appropriately on technology -- Behind on required initiatives such as RTI and Common Core. Behind on integration of technology. The very small size makes flexibility in scheduling to meet individual needs difficult. -- Communication between adm. and staff -- communication breakdown between administration and staff. Part time position for special ed director which needs to be full time to meet the needs of students and teacher support. -- I do think we need to work on communication to the community. The community does need to be aware that it is a two way street. I always contact parents within one day of contacting me. I have some not contact me back at all when I have initiated the contact. Initiatives need to be clearly defined and the reasons for them stated to the public. Especially prior to implementation. -- Teachers have a lot on their plates. Teachers overwhelmed/overworked and underpaid. -- I would not. Publicizing our many weaknesses would not be professional, polite, or proper. -- Administration to Teacher relationships Communication between admin and staff Unnecessary heavy workload...fixing things that aren't "broke" Too many plates spinning -- The school boards approach to getting what they want is extremely ineffective. They need to work more as a team with the administration and staff if they want to make real strides. -- The Board, Administrators, Teachers, and support staff are not a team. The morale of staff is VERY low. People do not feel respected or recognized. -- If you have a special needs child, make sure the minutes or goals are really being met. Make sure the child is paired with the classroom, whether an aide in the classroom, or one-on-one is required, that the school is really providing that. -- Taking on too many changes in a limited amount of time. -- student support for kids with special needs, focus on testing, fighting school board, lack of trust in leadership at the district level, study hall for 5th and 6th graders as inappropriate -- They are behind on implementing CCSS and need leadership and unity to be successful. The district is in disarray right now. No one has a vision and we lack cohesive leadership. -- The greatest weakness is the lack of collaboration between the school board and the superintendent. -- I would focus on the positive. -- The current arguing between the Superintendent and Board. A principal, while a fine person, avoids making tough decisions and leaves it up to the teachers. -- 1. Breakdown of power and unclear "jobs" within the upper ranks (between BOE, Superintendent and Principals). 2. A lot of negativity and lack of trust within the district 3. Many unqualified people taking on roles that are forced on them 4. Many of the SAME staff members chosen to represent the whole group (on committees, etc.) and then SPEAKING FOR THE GROUP without asking the whole their opinions!!!! In other words, too many "pets" keep ending up on decision making committees. -- Our salary is ridiculously low. It is so depressing to hear all the new teachers leave within 2-3 years and then tell us how they are making 10-15,000 more! I am a veteran teacher, have a masters degree, and am not making $60,000. It is so crazy to talk to friends in neighboring districts and how much more they make. We don't even have a pay scale. This is unheard of in other districts. It feels like a secret. I have been here long enough to know that we have lost 8 amazing educators...all based on money reasons. -- The need for unity between board and administration. -- The administration does not work well with others. -- Not up to par on Common Core. -- Our school board and superintendent have not implemented Common Core in a timely fashion. -- Changing direction (curricularly) over the past several years, seems behind with Common Core, discord between the school board and superintendent -- I think the uneven leadership and lack of empowering teachers to do what they think is best for their classrooms has inhibited growth. -- A board and administration that are fighting. We are then asked to do additional work to prove which side is "right." Why can't they just work together to help us be the best teachers who can best service our students? A discrepancy in salary for our new teachers. How are we supposed to keep talented teachers in our district when we don't pay them fairly? We are focused on being #1 in testing instead of looking at each student and his/her life pursuits. We need to focus on each student and his/her growth and potential. -- Administration is difficult to work under, many pressures placed on the teachers -- Lack of clarity of how to best accomplish the mission. Low teachers salaries for 0-15 year teachers. Unhealthy relationship between the board and the superintendent. -- Pleasantdale's weakness lies in the adults between groups occasionally lacking trust between each other. While each group (teachers/support staff, administration, school board)are working exceptionally hard to do their absolute best, there seems to be a disconnect in the vision or process in achieving district initiatives. The primary example of this is between the superintendent and the board of education not seeing eye to eye. This damaged relationship has begun to affect the moral an trust of the teachers and staff. -- The greatest weakness is our superintedent and the insulting salary for highly qualified and educated teachers. Final comments:-- We need strong leadership and clear direction. We need to restore trust among the staff and the administration.-- The board may benefit from a less. Negative attitude. It is seen as attacking, not helpful. I am seeing Pleasantdale going in a unpleasant place if the current climate continues. The dysfunction among decision makers is creating many problems -- Common core needs to become a priority sooner rather than later. The district needs to commit to implementing them. Curriculum needs to be written by a professional that feels comfortable with the common core instead of an overworked and under payed teacher that doesn't have the appropriate training to write core aligned curriculum. -- I believe that the leadership at the elementary school is a disgrace. Some of his practices are both wrong and illegal. New students are coming into the school with IEP'S and no aides. Aides and teachers are being pulled in too many different ways. There is not adequate supervision at recess time outside. There is special treatment given to certain people on the staff who "know " the principal. Considering that there are so many that come from his church, know him or his family, live in his neighborhood, ect. It is becoming a hostile environment. -- I wish we could turn the clock back and have the same atmosphere we enjoyed years ago. Everyone is so busy we no longer have a moment to enjoy our coworkers. Many of us feel guilty for taking a couple of minutes just to catch up. We need to feel comfortable and appreciated by administration. The kids will benefit from an atmosphere where their teachers are happy. -- Pleasantdale is a nice school, but above areas need to be re-assessed. Special education coordinator should be a full time job (this is the norm in local similar sized districts). The district does bring in some continuing education, but is it directly related to meeting the needs of our students. Many staff members attended Larry Huggins training, but I question the impact it had directly on my students. Other continuing education conferences or speakers would likely have more of an impact on my teaching skills. -- Please help this district rebuild. It is worth saving. -- If something is broke you fix it. I hope we can restart with a new spirit of collaboration and trust. -- We will be losing many qualified and excellent teachers if the salaries are not adjusted during the next negotiations. We are at the lower end of the pay scale for the surrounding districts. This causes a revolving door and thus loses continuity for the students. It is a shame to lose competent and dedicated teachers for this reason. Especially when we are fiscally solvent. New initiatives need to be preplanned and clarified prior to implementation. Ongoing support for them needs to be there and then afterwards there needs to be a review of the validity to them. I see a school that has the potential to be phenomenal if the teachers were respected and looked as colleagues. Curriculum Council needs to be revisited and revamped for better use or increase Core Team and eliminate Curriculum Council. -- We used to be a high performing district. The decline in test scores and rankings relative to our neighboring districts is sad. Morale is low, teachers are burned out. We need knowledgeable instructional leadership and we need it now. -- It's time for a change. -- I feel the few voices that represent all of the teachers on Curriculum Council are only voicing their opinions and not the opinions of the whole staff. I feel there has been a breakdown between the school board and teachers because the few teachers sent to the board meeting to represent all the teachers voiced their opinion and not what all the teachers feel. -- It is my hope that Pleasantdale will find its way back to being a place I am proud to be part of. I would like to see our teachers/staff receive quality training allowing us to be the best at our jobs. In addition, recognition or rewards would do wonders for morale. -- I am always grateful for the many opportunities to share my insights in a confidential, respectful manner. I have become accustomed to change stemming from staff concerns. I hope I can expect the same positive change I am used to in this amazing district. -- ThI believe the staff of District 107 continues to work hard to ensure that each student is given the opportunity to be academically successful. What is lacking is strong Adminisrative leadership.We need someone who will support the staff and include staff in making critical decisions regarding the best interest of a student. Often, Administration will allow parents to dictate the course of action of their child (academically, social or emotional) without including the appropriate staff members in decision making process. A successful environment, MUST have strong Administrative leadership and the support of the staff. -- I really like the teachers/staff that I work with. It is such a shame that years ago the atmosphere under the old superintendent was better. The teachers/staff do not trust the superintendent or principle to provide the leadership needed to be a great school. AND we were a great school years ago. It is time for new leadership. -- I love the community as a whole. I do, but I don't like working with a hammer over my head and always waiting to see when I will be punished again for doing what is right. -- The salary of the Pleasantdale teachers does not reflect their hardwork and dedication. Why is Pleasantdale one of the lowest paying districts compared to the neighboring districts? -- There has been an uneven quality of administrators in the district in the past. Outstanding administrators have been hired but have left the district after a short time. The district has not supported special education services and social work unlike neighboring districts. SEL education and training of staff has been an after thought. There has been an unusually high rate of turnover at the middle school. The base salary is not attractive enough to keep people here. It will continue to be an issue in the future if it is not addressed which will effect the pay scale for others. The turnover will effect the education of students. The lack on continuity does not work. Sub pay needs to increase to attract quality subs. Subs need to have a lunch and not be assigned to staff lunch duty if they are subbing for a staff member who is being paid extra for lunch duty. Pay the sub extra or offer to pay a staff member for taking that duty. -- Assign an ipad to each teacher. Stop fighting at our highest level. I have heard several times from several staff members that the Superintendent yells at people in his office when he is angry and in disagreement with them accompanied by pounding on his desk. This is unacceptable behavior. -- We are losing focus on the children because of the animosity between Superintendent, Admin, and BOE! We need to make changes and get on with what we are here for - to best serve our children and prepare them for their futures! Can we reconsider the roles that we all play and quit using unqualified personnel to "save a buck" and not hire the people/positions needed to get us on top? Give staff an equal opportunity to be heard before making major decisions, too. One person cannot effectively represent the whole without having time to communicate to them. Can we get our time back with our grade level teams, where we can effectively impact our students instruction and success? -- Thanks for giving us the opportunity to voice our opinions. -- The term RTI is unknown to many teachers in this district. The school board has many missions-Is there anyone who can be unbias and begin to prioritize them? We are behind the other districts in terms of science opportunities. Our students need more training after school and during in the means of engineering and computer readiness. Taking the technology "teachers" away in both schools has really been visible. I know we have a mod tech teacher, but I am talking about helping our students be creative, technology literate and smart. -- Question 4 on this section (how do we compare) seems to be one of the board's major concerns this year. We constantly compare our district to surrounding feeder districts for LT. This "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality is not beneficial. We need to look at where we are and see how our students are growing from year to year instead of constantly obsessing over how we stack up against the other feeders. -- Pleasantdale has great potential in being a top performer but would benefit from a plan to provide teachers with training on Common Core practices. Potential is there but so much is needed to improve curriculum. Teachers should not be SOLE writers and curriculum council comprised of "non-educators" should not be making decisions about assessments/curriculum. Professionals in curriculum writing should be consulted. Further, the need of a FULL time curriculum director is needed to provide PD and be a communication piece between the state and our community. We are in a box with air holes for breath! There is such potential for us to grow. -- We have the potential to be a stellar district. We need to work on one thing at a time and do that at its best. Don't overwhelm the teachers. Pay the teachers what they deserve. Respect the talent in our district staff. Decisions made with what is best for children. I want our district to be the one everyone wants to copy. We can be that way! -- I think if we had a strong feeling of trust throughout our district, we would be a stronger and more cohesive team of people. -- I think the Board, Administration and Staff all need to work together to move forward. I also think we need to raise the salaries of the new staff (people with less than 15 years of experience). It is not good for the school to have teachers that cannot make a decent living and raise a family without working two jobs. Too much teacher turnover, even if we get good new people, takes away from continuity and stable leadership within the staff. Even if people stay with jobs being tight we want people committed to our community to help it grow not constantly looking to go elsewhere. -- We are a very human business. Some have better "human skills" than others. We've had seminars in transforming the organization, synergystics sessions in how we function, surveys and end of the year evaluations. Sometimes I wonder if they've helped. Overall this is a great district. We have some work to do to repair relationships and get on track with how we plan to move forward. -- As Superintendent, I am very committed to having a better relationship with the current School Board. I believe we are all committed to making this the best school district possible for students. I appreciate all the time and effort Board members commit to the district. I am confident we will become more effective and efficient. Mark Fredisdorf
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