Teaching and Learning Takes a Hit in WI.

Any way you put it, the item added to the Wisconsin State Education Budget at 1:30 am (yes, really!!) is a travesty. The rider or amendment, whichever term you want to use, states that anyone with a bachelors degree can be hired and licensed to teach core courses in Wisconsin.

This means that a person who earns a Bachelors in agriculture can potentially teach a literature class. A person earning a BA in Accounting can teach Chemistry. If this is the case then Wisconsin education, namely, student learning will suffer.

The law also states that someone with 'relevant experience' can teach a non core course. It appears that a college or high school education is not needed in this instance.

This is another sad case of a government body getting involved in an area, education in this instance, where they have no business passing such ridiculous legislation. The concern is that teaching expertise and student learning are being sacrificed and for what reason or to what end?

I am tired of the gutting of public education in this country. When will it end?!

Dick

More Troubles for CPS

As if the CPS system didn't have enough issues with its finances and an investigation of its CEO, yet another problem has surfaced in recent days. The Chicago Sun Times has uncovered disturbing information about a firm that was suppose to bolster the performance of some of its schools.

Synesi, which was suppose to help four struggling CPS schools, was found by the Illinois State Board of Education to have "failed at a fundamental level to show how it would actually help schools improve if they were awarded the money."

Of course all of this adds to the controversy and investigation of SUPES.

Here's my take on all of this. Going to outside consulting firms to improve school performance is not a good idea. Better to hire the best staff to run your schools from inside the building. Far wiser to bring aboard the very best teachers. You don't have to head all over America to bring in consultants.

If you have superiors teachers, principals, deans, assistant principals, lunchroom staff, coaches, custodians and the like, inside the building, you will avoid these problems. Every school ought to heed this path.

Dick

Still Searching, Still Yearning

With June 6th right around the corner, with tons - yes tons - of school supplies I am reaching out to any and all of you to pitch in to help us sort, bag and box school supplies. If you don't think three hours (9:00 am to noon) of volunteering makes a difference; well, you couldn't be more wrong.

The more people who lend a hand, the more we can sort and the more children we can serve. Yep, it is as simple as that!!!

Besides helping the cause you bound to meet like minded people and good friends!! It is a 'win-win' all the way around. Please take a few minutes out of your busy day and busy weekend (Sat., June 6th) and head on down to Mokena to give us a hand. To be a part of the morning that helps children who are often going without the needed resources in class just shoot me a note at rich219@comcast.net.

Thank you,
Dick

Let the Collecting Begin

Today officially marks the kickoff to the school supply collection season. Our charity collects from far and wide; from Mokena north to Elmhurst and west into Naperville. Often, at the end of the year, everyone is in a hurry to 'call it a year' and too many valuable and perfectly useable supplies are thrown in the dumpster.

With nearly 40 schools participating in our 'Go Green' program we are able to rescue these resources and can get them in the hands of students who will make great use of them.

Our first stops today are at Lockport East and Lockport Central. These two school have participated in our program for many, many years. The effort has long been spearheaded by Sarah Steinke. This is the same person who helps us deliver supplies in August in addition to being responsible for our charity garnering $4,000 in cash from the Daughters of the American Revolution so that we could buy music instruments for John Hay Elementary School.

So here's to Sarah, her colleagues at Lockport and all the other kind hearted school personnel who participate in our recycling program.

Let the fun begin!!

Dick

Dump the Turnarounds

The other day I pointed out the lack of progress made as a result of the infusion of $3 billion in turnaround schools. Let me be clear, the money ought to be spent on education. Just how the money is allocated and what it is spent on is the real question.

The structure of the school shouldn't really be the issue. By that, I mean that getting rid of a certain percent of the teachers, staff, principals, etc. isn't really the answer. What remains undone, untouched are the conditions that exist within the larger school community that goes unearthed and unresolved.

I have long talked about these conditions - blight, poverty, unemployment, low wages, family issues/concerns, and more - and they are as ever present as they were before these 'reform' programs.

Creating more charters, selective schools, and charters hasn't got the job done and building more of these will likely render the same results.

Dick

Calling All Volunteers

The student school supplies are rolling into our garage at a furious pace!! That means that we need to sort them, box them up and ready them for our annual August delivery. We sure could use some help. Why not head down to Mokena on Saturday, June 6th and lend a hand?! It is always a fun time while visiting with friends. We'll work from 9:00 am to noon. To be a part of helping children-in-need just shoot me an email at rich219@comcast.net

Thanks,
Dick

Post Script

As a follow up to yesterday's blog concerning the largely failed infusion of $3 billion federal dollars into 'turnarounds,' I want to add a couple of thoughts. It should come as no surprise that many of the 1,500 schools receiving 'turnaround' funds had problems.

Those concerns are not borne simply out of a lack of staffing, expertise and technology as the U. S. Dept. of Education points out. The issues confronting the schools go far beyond these considerations. Until every government body, doling out funds, realizes this fact then 'turnarounds' or any other hybrid will likely encounter difficulties.

The school community as a whole, along with the neighborhood in which the school/students/families reside, must be examined and taken into account when determining the path forward. Simply removing staff, part of a staff or having some other sort of pre-determined and ill conceived criteria that dictates which schools get money and which don't won't suffice.

We can and must do better!

Dick

Turnaround or Not?!

The Washington Post recently came out with some hard hitting results on turnaround schools which were provided with funds as they were among the poorest schools in America. None other than the U.S. Dept. of Education's own research arm said that the $3 billion provided to 1,500 schools was pretty much a wash if not a failure of sorts.

The findings saw 1/3 of the turnaround schools performing better, 1/3 performing the same as prior to the infusion of federal money and 1/3 performing worse. Not exactly a resounding success.

The question that many will ask is why? Those schools responding to the follow up survey regarding the failure of the poorest performing schools to get turned around had some stark reminders relative to the difficulty of turning around. The three biggest obstacles were a lack of staffing, technology difficulties and a lack of expertise.

To those who toil in schools and who follow the plight of poor communities and struggling students, the news is nothing new. Without the proper resources, aside from funding, nothing will improve in schools. Chalk this up to the Dept. of Education not getting it right from the get go.

Dick

If it's May then it's Supply Time

With Memorial Day and the end of May in sight then it must be time to collect student school supplies. Many area schools are generously donating perfectly reusable supplies to School Count so that we, in turn, can get them in the hands of children who have such great needs.

So as the supplies start rolling in please keep in mind that we need volunteers to go out with me to load the trucks. Beyond that I'll need people to come to our home in Mokena on Sat., May 30th and Sat., June 6th to sort and box the donated goods. Sorting/boxing will take place from 9:00 am to noon.

To be part of the fun and important work or assisting children just shoot me an email at rich219@comcast.net to let me know you can lend a hand.

Thanks,
Dick

A Lesson in Learning

It doesn't matter if its the classroom or the principal's office or the board room of the Board of Education. What counts in all of these arenas is the component of cooperation. Unless it is pervasive and ever present not much in any meaningful way will take place in terms of educating children.

Students need to cooperate with teachers and the staff, in turn, must do likewise with the students. The building administration has no choice but to do the same with their entire staff...B & G, the teachers, students, parents, cafeteria personnel and the Board of Education. The same goes for the Board of Education. They have to find meaningful avenues to work collaboratively with one another, the community, the various staffs and more.

In this day and age of reform, high stakes standardized testing, and more, the time tested lessons that have always been part of education, since we all entered kindergarten, are as true and proven today as decades ago. Cooperation has always been a hallmark of the process of learning and today, more than ever, we need a healthy dose of it.

Dick

Take Heed!

Recently NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia made some remarks to the Detroit Economic Club concerning where education needs to move in the future. Ms. Garcia framed her comments around the oft-used them of the "whole child."

But her points should surely be taken to heart. As the NEA boss said, "the pillars of 'whole child education' are equity (every single student having the tools and resources to succeed), education that inspires (a collaborative effort between school staff to design the most exciting and engaging learning environment imaginable), and a personalized relationship between teacher and student and home and school."

These may not sound terribly new when examining the long history of education in America but, in my view, they have gone terribly absent in the recent couple of decades which have been highlighted by a homogenized system that has as its guidepost standardized testing.

Garcia is right on point regarding the way forward!

Dick

An Unspoken Truth on School Finances

It is an elephant in the room. Whether in negotiations or informal talks the topic regarding the monetary effect of providing Educational Services (Special Education and other related services) is simply not discussed. And we shouldn't kid ourselves, Educational Services take up a sizeable portion of the funding of most schools. That's fine!

My point is this...when people discuss teacher salaries, spending on capital projects, insurance, property taxes, state funding or any other money related issue, recognition has to be made concerning the rapid increase in spending, in recent years, that has to be devoted to providing Educational Services.

Often people lament the fairly large increases in spending in schools without understanding that it isn't merely teachers asking for more. The public may be surprised to find that spending on traditional education programs has remained fairly stable in recent years. I am aware of the fact that some schools have witnessed a rapid expansion of Ed. Services in recent years.

The public at large needs to realize that as there is a demand for more services then more money will be needed. At the same time, I tire of people saying that the increase in school expenses is somehow the fault of teachers.

Dick

That Time of the Year

Graduation, prom, final exams and Common Core. Okay, I get the first few elements but adding in Common Core and other standardized testing at the end of the year seems to be poor timing at the very least. Yeah, I get it, we want to check for progress.

But terrific teachers (and that's the vast majority) are checking for progress in many areas throughout the entire school year. Besides, students and staff are pretty tuckered out by May. It is likely that this is one of the worst times of the year to be administering high stakes tests.

Celebration is but one part marking the end of the school year. There are proms, retirement parties and more. It seems to me that, though classes should continue, the work load in May and June should not be the same as the rest of the year particularly if you want to keep students engaged in real learning.

That's just my take on things!
Dick

A Pay Cut Offered to CPS Teachers

Over the past two days the words have been flying right and left concerning the proposed CPS offer for Chicago school teachers to take a 7% pay cut. I get it...it's posturing, it's early in the negotiation process. But, to start with that large of a CUT is more than insulting, it's a bad bargaining salvo to fire so early in the process.

Sure the district is in dire financial straits. I get that. The CTU understands that and knows that there is an untenable financial mess. If you want teachers to be part of the solution to end the crippling effects of budget shortfalls then you'd better find a better way than offering such a substantial reduction. You may want to offer a 0% increase but to start bargaining by saying you will lower salaries is simply ugly and unnecessary.

When it comes to solving problems, you had better understand that respectful and trusting relations must exist between the parties. Right now, that's not the case and it doesn't bode will for anyone going forward.

Dick

Feed the Children

Feed the Children is a remarkable charity that enables young people to flourish. You name it and they have it!! Food, school supplies and so very much more.

I ventured to Elkhart, Indiana today and this terrific agency provided me with 12 pallets of school supplies. Yes they were donated to our charity so they we can, in turn, provide them to students in the Chicagoland area this fall. Talk about well organized, friendly, eager to serve and generous. This is no exaggeration. What a terrific group of people to work with; from the manager to the office staff, all the way to the forklift operator. What a great agency!!

Thank you Feed the Children,
Dick

Contining Money Crunch

CPS has its hands full when it comes to financial concerns. The school district is facing a $1.1 billion shortfall and billions more in pension payments. A new note of doom arose recently when the CPS Administration notified the teachers union that it would not exercise its option to extend the teachers contract for an additional year.

Here's why...If CPS DID extend the contract then CPS would be granting raises amounting to $105 million, an amount that CPS says it simply can't afford. So, look for protracted negotiations.

With a good number of communities suffering from blight (an absence of industry and other businesses that would provide a tax base) the various neighborhoods simply aren't able to establish a steady and reliable tax base to properly fund the neighborhood schools. That and other issues are part of the 'money crunch.'

Dick

Times are Tough at CPS

Last year CPS had a capital budget of just over $1/2 billion. That's right...$510,000,000! Things are different this year as the CPS brass just announced that the capital spending for the 2015-16 school year will be a 'meager' $160 million. What a change.

This large scale cutback in the CPS capital budget shouldn't really come as a surprise as the district has a monumental deficit and is faced with rapidly escalating pension costs. Throw in the fact that a new teacher contract is on the horizon and it's easy to understand the enormous cut.

Make no mistake, there are plenty capital needs particularly since there are some very old buildings and because there are some schools where overcrowding is a real issue.

The way forward will be difficult and it will take a number of years to get the school system on sound footing. Here's hoping the kids don't take too much of a hit because of the financial difficulties.

Dick