Krupa calls Gordon “chronic truant”

From a press release:

JEHAN GORDON GETS A “F” FOR ATTENDANCE

Gordon a no show at two debates in two days but comes late to one in between

Jehan Gordon would be classified as a
CHRONIC TRUANT
if she were a student instead of a school board member on the Pleasant Hill School Board because of her abysmal attendance at school board meetings

(PEORIA) As a candidate for 92nd District State Representative, Jehan Gordon is living up to her abysmal attendance record on the Pleasant Hill School Board.

Gordon has missed an astonishing 40% of the Pleasant Hill School Board meetings where she serves as a board member. In addition, board minutes show that she arrived late to one-third of the meetings she did attend.

If Jehan Gordon were a student at Pleasant Hill School instead of a school board member, she would be classified as a CHRONIC TRUANT with that kind of abysmal attendance record.

That kind of attendance record proves that she obviously doesn’t care much about her duties on the Pleasant Hill School Board. It seems clear that she wanted to get onto a school board simply to be able to use that platform to launch her bid for State Representative. Otherwise she would have taken her responsibilities more seriously.

Such an attendance record is a horrible example to the students of Pleasant Hill.

Now, true to that poor attendance record, yesterday Gordon cancelled her participation at the last minute for the Peoria Medical Society’s Candidate Forum which she had formally accepted. Her opponent, Joan Krupa attended as did Congressional candidates Aaron Schock and Colleen Callahan.

This morning Gordon did attend the Chamber of Commerce debate in Peoria—but true to form, she arrived late.

Inexplicably, only hours later Jehan Gordon stood up the Downtown Kiwanis Club for their 92nd District Debate at the Lariat Club in Peoria. Kiwanis leaders had Gordon’s formal acceptance to participate in writing and were furious. Gordon did not even call to cancel, she just didn’t show up for the full blown debate between her and her opponent, Joan Krupa who was there.

So within 18 hours, Gordon skipped a debate she had agreed to attend, then arrived late at a second one and then did not show up at a third debate.

That disturbing pattern exactly mirrors Gordon’s horrible attendance record on the Pleasant Hill School Board.

In recent mailings to voters Gordon says she “has learned from her mistakes.” But she obviously hasn’t changed her ways.

Jehan Gordon’s campaign slogan is: Listen-Learn-Lead. But a Representative CANNOT listen if she doesn’t show up. She CANNOT learn if she doesn’t show up. And she CANNOT lead if she doesn’t show up.

It has been said before: “Some officials vote their conscience, some vote their constituents and some don’t vote at all.” The latter behavior doesn’t solve problems, it makes them worse.

With the legendary dysfunction in Springfield that our state already suffers from, voters ought to be wary about adding to that dysfunction with yet another person who has proven herself unfit to serve.

District 150 has trouble hitting moving target

I’ve had my fair share of criticism for District 150, but I think any critic has to admit that they’re fighting an uphill battle when it comes to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. The Journal Star reports that, even though many of District 150’s schools have made gains in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the NCLB standards have risen this year:

This year, 19 of the district’s 30 schools improved in both reading and math. That is compared to last year, when only nine showed improvement in both areas.

But many quickly note that fewer schools – 13 – met federal “adequate yearly progress,” or AYP, versus those that did not, which this year increased to 18 schools. That’s compared to 16 schools that met AYP last year and 14 schools that did not.

So what’s changed?

Federal testing standards. This year the threshold increased by 7.5 percent – from 55 percent to now 62.5 percent – meaning more students must meet or exceed the threshold to meet AYP.

And it’s only going to get harder. Next year, the threshold increases to 70%. Then in 2010 it goes up to 77.5%. By 2014, the standard will be 100%, at which point District 150 will most likely have only one school making AYP — Washington Gifted.

I appreciate and even welcome high standards for our students. In fact, I think it’s making a difference, as evidenced by the higher test scores many of the schools in District 150 have achieved. And I certainly am against the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” But 100%? That seems a bit unrealistic, doesn’t it?

For instance, they expect special needs students to make adequate yearly progress at their physical grade level, not their mental grade level. Are schools supposed to work wonders of nature now, too?

The other problem is a bit more fundamental. I was always taught that I’m responsible for my learning. The school provides the opportunity, but I have take advantage of it because no one can make me learn. But NCLB puts the responsibility for learning completely and totally on the shoulders of the school. That’s unfair.

If you have a student who has no support at home from his or her parents, has been brought up with little discipline, and shows no interest in doing the work that learning requires, why should the school be blamed when he or she fails? The “soft bigotry of low expectations” in that scenario is coming from the parents, not the teachers or administrators. The government apparently expects schools to be surrogate parents, something they’re not designed or equipped to do — nor should they be.

On the other hand, I’m not saying that District 150 is doing everything right and their low test scores are all the government’s fault. But I do think the federal/state standards are rising too fast, and that their final goal is not realistic.

Annual Awards Spotlight Area Businesses

From a press release:

ANNUAL AWARDS SPOTLIGHT AREA BUSINESSES!

Peoria, IL – Mark your calendars and join hundreds of business and community leaders as we “Excelerate For the Future” at the Peoria Civic Center September 18th at 7:30am during The Heartland Partnership’s Annual Meeting Breakfast.

The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce will present the 23rd annual outstanding small business awards. The chamber will also hand out the Athena Award to a woman who shows outstanding achievement in her profession and not only excels in her chosen field, but is always working to better her community. The Economic Development Council for Central Illinois will present two growth and development awards to companies that make significant contributions to area communities and demonstrate success and growth. The Heartland Partnership will honor a non-profit organization that strives to create a brighter future for our region with the Community Wealth Award.

In addition, we’ll share success stories of The Heartland Partnership Family of Companies and Ken Schmidt, former Director of Communications for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, will shed some light on how he was able to turn the Harley-Davidson Motor Company around and create one of America’s most celebrated businesses.

Media Interview and Photo Opportunities:

Ken Schmidt, featured speaker
EDC Growth and Innovation Award winners
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business Award winners
Athena Award Winner
Community Wealth Award Winner
Jim McConoughey, President & CEO The Heartland Partnership
Vickie Clark, COO EDC
Roberta Parks, COO Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
Steve Jaeger, Director TransPORT, the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District
Kyle Ham, President & COO Peoria NEXT

For more information please contact Renee Charles at 495-5905, 229-7791 or e-mail rcharles@h-p.org.