Four parents representing the District 150 Watch group met today with Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Ken Hinton to present their alternatives to shortening the school day. You can read their recommendations here (6-page PDF file).
The document was put together as the result of a lot of collaboration, but was ultimately written by Chris Setti, a Whittier Primary School parent and Six Sigma Black Belt for the City of Peoria. It’s respectful, well-documented, positive and constructive. It presents several ways that the Board of Education could provide additional common prep time for teachers as well as cut expenses, all without shortening the school day.
Of course, no decisions were made yet as a result of this meeting. Hinton is meeting with PTO presidents and primary school principals right now, presumably to hear their concerns. If you haven’t already, please write to your school board representatives and ask them to reverse their decision to cut the school day; encourage them to take seriously the alternatives presented to Mr. Hinton today.
Here is the contact information for all District 150 Board of Education members:
David Gorenz
President (Dist. 3)
(309) 688-2824
david.gorenz@psd150.org
Martha M. Ross
Vice-President (Dist. 1)
(309) 674-2574
martha.ross@psd150.org
Linda Butler
(Dist. 2)
(309) 688-7912
linda.butler@psd150.org
Rachael A. Parker
(Dist. 2)
(309) 688-5990
rachael.parker@psd150.org
Mary Spangler
(Dist. 3)
(309) 691-1752
mary.spangler@psd150.org
Jim Stowell
(Dist. 3)
(309) 692-4128
jim.stowell@psd150.org
Debbie Wolfmeyer
(Dist. 3)
(309) 681-9567
debbie.wolfmeyer@psd150.org
To e-mail all board members at once, click here.
CJ – Thanks for posting the link. While you mention my position and my employer, please know that I did this as a concerned parent and taxpayer. Like they say for infomercials: The views expressed here are strictly my own.
Chris Setti was awesome! Thank God he is on our side and not the other 😉
Thank you Chris Setti and other contributors to this proposal. Very thoughtful and well planned!
Hey CJ, HOI just linked to your site. Thanks Ashley.
http://www.hoinews.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=137916
This may be a first. News organizations in Peoria have on occasion linked to a blogger or two — when the story is about blogging, usually. But in this case, HOI linked to a specific post from a specific blogger because they thought the information presented — the REPORTING — complemented their own reporting.
Kudos to C.J. and HOI.
GREAT JOB AND GOOD INFORMATION!
THANK YOU!
I have been doing research on the validity of the presentation to the BOE regarding the shortened school day. I too have been questioning why Thom Simpson!! I have been trying to find out his exact title as a consultant.. Is he now the Director of Curriculum and if the answer is yes why are we paying Art Ellis…Under any other administration he would be the one making the presentation. Check out his salary. Anyway we have Thom Simpson..
The one research that Thom presented was supporting the Professional Learning Communities by Rebecca and Richard DuFour. The Professinal Learning Communities is very intense and would require additional training for teachers and adminstrators. According to DuFour, “The fact that teachers collaborate willdo nothing to improve a school. The purpose of collaboration–to help more studentsachieve at higher levels–can only be accomplished if the professionals engaged in collaboration are focused on the right things..” They further state that in order to be effective collaborative teams must be monitored by administrators. In talking to several principals with the way the day is proposed they will not have time to monitor to meet the criteria of Professional Learning Communities. There reasoning is that children will be on the playground unsupervised. Many children will still come to school early.
If Professional Learning Communities is what the district administration wants to improve student achievement it should be needed in every building including the high schools. But for some reason this board has not learned to ask the correct questions before voting on a proposal which offers a “separate and unequal education.” In the 1950’s we unseeded “separate but equal”. Now 58 years later we are proposing in Peoria, Illinois, “separate but unequal!” We have fifth graders in primary buildings receiving 45 minutes less instruction than in the middle schools. We have children at Valeska, Northmoor, and Franklin receiving far more minutes than their peers in the other elementary buildings. Teachers having more imposed on them in the chosen primary buildings than teachers in the other primary, middle, and high schools.
I wish the board members had done their research…Do they not represent those who elected them. I know I am totally disgusted with my board member who tries to lead as President. I only wish four board members could see that this is not the correct decision to be making for the school year 2008-2009. They have not done their homework or passed their tests. They have failed our children. Someone on that board has to have some leadership skills. I have seen none from Spangler, Gorenz, Butler, or Wolfmeyer. All I have seen is parents like Diane and her group take time away from their own families to care about all our children.
k.power…. Thank you! Thank you! I just e-mailed all members of the board!
Peoria District 150 Board of Education,
I was shocked the evening you voted to shorten school days in Peoria District 150 schools. I was even more shocked in the minutes following the vote with the questions you were asking, which led me to believe you did not have all the information ahead of time that you needed to make this type of decision. Not only am I concerned with the hours of education lost forever, I am concerned with the unemployment of excellent educators. I was shocked when I heard Terry Knapp talk about the Manual teacher with two Masters in his subject who is now unemployed. My guess is there are many more to come down the pike and many we don’t know about who are afraid to speak out because of repercussions. We are not only losing valuable education time, we are losing outstanding educators. Educators will be forced to move on to other school districts and we will lose their expertise forever.
I have read the proposal put together by the new District 150 Watch and agree that there are other ways to make funding cuts without shortening the school day. Please get rid of some of the consultants! Especially the ones that recommended this fiasco! I absolutely believe that common prep time is a ruse! The teacher from Garfield had it right when she said you are closing Loucks and they have had a common prep time for years! You are elected by the citizens of Peoria, not the administration of District 150 and not their consultants. You represent the voters and families of this city and you need to remember that. Shame on you for forgetting it!
I beg you to reverse your decision and bring this item up for action at the next board meeting. This is the dumbest mistake I have seen you make all year!
Is Linda Butler still on the board? I thought she was voted out. If so, your list is flawed. Maybe some facts are flawed also?
No Randy, Linda Butler was just elected last year from District 2. Also running in that district was incumbent Alicia Butler. The same last name has caused some confusion.
Chris and Diane and company — great job! 🙂
Randall: Alicia Butler was not re-elected and Linda Butler and Rachel Parker were elected to the open seats in District 2.
k.power
BRAVO – what an outstanding post!
One point of clarification – Art Ellis is leaving 150 on June 30th so perhaps that is why they have temporarily slipped Dr. Simpson in to that position.
^oo^~
I’m guessing we’ll have to wait until Monday’s Word On The Street to read about this in the Journal Star.
I don’t think so PI. I talked with Dave Haney last night.
Did anybody else listen to the 10:00 am news on WMBD a few minutes ago? They interviewed Hinton and he acted like he had not had the time yet to read what it was the group had proposed! I thought that 6 page document was the backbone of the discussion. Of course those of us who know the King knows what that means…he didn’t listen!
^oo^~
I think this is a doable plan, from a teaching perspective. However, with your monetary figures, you are accounting for 5 grade levels in a building – K-4. There are 4 buildings, currently, that have K-5 & at least 2 more that are going to be K-5 next year. Have you looked at the financial aspects using those calculations?
I am always willing to correct “flawed facts” Please let me know….I would never had put Linda Butler’s name down as a BOE member had she not been. I do better research than that. Please once again, anyone, let me know the “flawed facts.”
One Feral Kat – it is entirely possible he did not have time to read it. It is very detailed and comprehensive… and I know he had a full day yesterday. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt and accept that he has not had time to appropriately review it. At our meeting yesterday we discussed the broader points.
Oops. You are right. I stand corrected.
Julie – this has been mentioned before, but you bring up a very important point. There are currently 4 primary buildings that house 5th grade classrooms. The rest of the district’s 5th grade population is housed either at a middle school, Washington Gifted, Roosevelt, or the Edison schools.
By reducing the primary day 45 minutes, are you not, therefore, creating (as stated above by k.power) separate but unequal educational environments for the 5th graders?
This past week was the anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that struck down the practice of segregated, “separate but equal”, schools in this country. What a proud legacy for the District #150 Board and Administration to launch their misguided policy of “separate but unequal” schools for our 5th graders. What a black eye for the City of Peoria.
http://www.week.com/news/local/19222299.html
Congrats! You made week!
I asked it before and I’ll ask it again…where is Don Jackson and the NAACP on this education robbing idea? Last I saw Red Carpet only had a FEW employees that look like you. If the stats that D150 puts out are true then there are more African American children and their parents impacted by this ill-conceived, money $aving, bonu$ paying to King Hinton $tupid idea?
^oo^~
People have to understand that low socio-economic people of this community often do not have access to the internet and all of these blogs. Often they do not have televisons and the resources to be able to get involved. These people care deeply about their children and some how we need to reach out to them through the African-American Churches and take flyers to the south end of Peoria and hand them out. I think that often they do not believe they can fight these things and win. My personal opinion is that District 150 takes advantage of their lack of knowledge and education. Often low socio-economic families do not know the law and do not have the resources to fully understand the repercussions of what District 150 is doing to their children’s education.
Good thinking prairie celt. I heard today that there was just a small minority of the community who is against this proposal. Can I tell you many people aren’t understanding the full impact yet. We must continue to educate the Peoria communicate not disguise the truth. Disguise sounds better than the other word. Will save that for later. Julie you have the real perspective…Has the district mentioned to teachers the Professional Learning Communities to the staffs yet. Once again for everyone to think about, it is only for some schools…What about everybody else. We do not give raises just to certain teachers.in selected buildings. Why can we not offer equal education instead of unequal.
ImaSwede and Feral Cat…I am ready to go house to house in the Garfield area. Most of those children walk to school. What are the kids going to do on a nice, warm sunny day…They will go to school at 8:00 because that has been their routine. Who will be there to supervise them? According to the research by DuFour, administrators must be directly involved in the monitoring of the Professional Learning Communities.
I wander what came out of the PTO presidents’ meeting on Thursday. Anyone know.
I am ready to start getting my petitions signed next week.
Efforts for a demonstration are underway. We need everyone to continue to walk neighborhoods, get the downloadable petition signed with phone numbers and tell them to stand by for details re: a peaceful demonstration. If you need me to e-mail you the petition please contact me. I’ll work on a flyer to hand out.
If there is a small minority opposing this measure, then there must be a huge majority that just doesn’t care or doesn’t know about it. I can not imagine there being ANYONE, who has an interest in educating children, being in favor of it. Common prep time… puh-leese.