Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Patch asked the question, and the five District 181 Board of Education candidates provided their answers.
In its 2013 candidate questionnaire, Patch asked the five candidates for Community Consolidated School District 181 Board of Education the following questions: Do you support the district’s approach to curriculum changes since the January 2012 report by gifted program consultant Dr. Tonya Moon? Why or why not? Here, in alphabetical order, are the candidates' responses: Gary Clarin: "I am just getting up to speed on the gifted program and the study by Dr. Tonya Moon. If the board determined that this was a strategic goal and asked the administration and teachers to evaluate it, which I know they did, then after proper research and review it is the responsibility of the board to move forward with it." Richard Fitzgerald: "I applaud the …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
District 181 communications director Bridget McGuiggan said more public discussion on the late-start issue is also in the works.
Discussion of late starts in District 181 is expected to continue between now and the board of education's vote on a final 2013-14 school calendar, communications director Bridget McGuiggan said. The eight 10 a.m. starts that are tentatively planned for next school year are meant to provide professional-development time for staff as the district implements its new Advanced Learning Plan (ALP). McGuiggan said the late starts were discussed at two ALP-related community meetings on March 19, and future conversation will take place, though particular dates have not been set. The late starts were the subject of a recent Patch letter to the editor from Superintendent Renée Schuster. READ: Late Starts a 'Significant Change' Requiring Discussion: …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
District 181 Superintendent Renée Schuster submitted the following letter to the editor regarding professional development that goes with the implementation of the district's new Advanced Learning Plan.
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Thursday, March 21
Editor's note: The following letter from District 181 Superintendent Renée Schuster regards the professional development element of the new Advanced Learning Plan and the eight late starts that have been proposed for next year to accomodate it. Dear District 181 Community, In February, our Board of Education unanimously approved the Advanced Learning Plan. We will move forward, together, in providing the best possible educational experience for all District 181 students. The Advanced Learning Plan has impact beyond those students we have traditionally called our advanced learners. Students in all schools, at all grade levels, and of all abilities will benefit from the phased-in changes that will be made over a number of years. This plan is…
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
District 181 Superintendent Renée Schuster provided details about the upcoming meetings where parents can learn and ask questions about the new Advanced Learning Plan in a letter last week.
District 181 administration has scheduled two meetings for parents to learn more about the Advanced Learning Plan passed by the district's board of education last month after it dominated discussion for more than a year. READ: D181 Board Approves Long-Term Curriculum Overhaul Superintendent Renée Schuster released information about the meetings, which will take place March 19 at the Hinsdale Public Library (1 p.m.) and Elm School (7 p.m.) in a letter sent to media on March 4. Here's a slightly trimmed version of Schuster's letter: During the Feb. 25 board of education meeting, our board approved the Advanced Learning Plan with a 6-0 vote. I am extremely pleased that we have our board’s support as we move forward, together, in providing …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Kevin Russell will replace Janet Stutz this summer after a year of serving as District 181's director of curriculum, assessment and instruction.
Kevin Russell is on the move again. The District 181 Board of Education approved by a 5-1 vote Monday night the appointment of Russell to the post of assistant superintendent for learning after the former Walker School principal served one year as director of curriculum, assessment and instruction. Effective July 1, Russell will replace Janet Stutz, who will leave to become superintendent of Orland School District 135. READ: Janet Stutz Leaving D181 for Orland Superintendent Job Russell talked about his approach to the new position after Monday night's meeting at Elm School. "I think when you look at what’s on the horizon with the Common Core, with our advanced learning plan, which is really raising the bar for all kids," Russell said, "my…
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Implementing the new advanced learning plan and the Common Core standards will result in $493,500 worth of new costs over the next two school years, according to the administration's projections.
District 181’s newly approved advanced learning plan, paired with the federally mandated implementation of new Common Core curriculum, will add more than $520,000 in new costs to the district’s budget over the next four school years, according to financial projections provided by district administration. READ: D181 Board Approves Long-term Curriculum Overhaul The administration projects implementation of the advanced learning plan will cost $283,600 in 2013-14, but most of the expenses are not considered to be incrementally new. Common plan time and professional development for staff new to teaching Algebra, the resulting substitutes, and stipends for those performing the staff training—$217,100 total—are all costs that will be paid for …
Monday, February 25, 2013
All six board members in attendance Monday night voted to approve the District 181 advanced learning plan, though two presented plenty of criticism.
After more than a year of discussion, a long-term plan aiming to increase rigor and inclusivity across District 181 has been approved. The District 181 Board of Education approved by a 6-0 vote Monday night an advanced learning plan 13 months after gifted consultant Tonya Moon pointed out problems she saw with District 181’s approach to advanced learning and six months into a curriculum transition year during which an advanced learning task force has developed the long-term plan. While all six board members in attendance voted to approve the plan (Glenn Yaeger was absent), Brendan Heneghan and Yvonne Mayer delivered a prepared joint statement before the vote that pointed out what they see as problems with the plan and the process by which …
Friday, February 22, 2013
Superintendent Renée Schuster encouraged the community to review questions and answers about the administration's proposed plan on the District 181 website.
Editor's note: The following is a letter that was sent from District 181 Superintendent Renée Schuster to district families Thursday concerning the ongoing discussion of the recommendations by the district's advanced learning task force, which will continue Monday night at Elm School. Board members spent over three hours discussing the proposal at their Feb. 11 meeting. You can listen to that discussion via the District 181 podcast, which can be found here. We are committed to keeping you informed about the work we do each day to continually improve the educational experiences of students in District 181. This school year, you have had the opportunity to hear from our advanced learning task force. In the fall of 2011, the board of …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Our Patch poll asks if there's a place in District 181 today for an exclusive program for advanced learners. What do you think?
District 181 board members are holding off on discussion of proposed changes to the district's elementary and middle school ACE programs until their Feb. 11 meeting, but Patch wants to get the community talking right now. The District 181 Advanced Learning Task Force recommended Monday the phasing out of an exclusive ACE program at all district schools beginning next school year. Patch provided details on the proposal in the articles below: Over the last year, there have been comments made on this site and at public meetings both by those community members who have supported a more inclusive approach to advanced learning, and those who prefer to keep ACE exclusive. What do you think? Is the task force's proposal to phase out an exclusive…
Increased standards in math and English language arts, paired with increased application of ACE principles district-wide would eliminate the need for an exclusive program, the district's Advanced Learning Task Force said Monday.
The need for a pullout elementary ACE program in District 181 would be eliminated with the implementation of higher-level curriculum in every general education classroom, according to a presentation by the district’s Advanced Learning Task Force Monday night. The task force’s proposal, presented during the board of education's meeting at Elm School, plotted out ways to increase math and English language arts standards for all grade levels while emphasizing ACE components such as higher-level thinking skills, hands-on activities, increased research and increased rigor in all elementary classrooms, as well as at the district's middle schools. READ: Exclusive Middle School ACE Program Phased Out Under D181 Proposal By doing so, the district …
chet everett
3:52 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The effort on the part of the press is appreciated but the extremely guarded response on the part of the candidates is not -- folks ought to be forthcoming with their real agenda. Oldsters that are supported by the "my tax bill is too high" crowd don't want to tip their hands lest the majority of citizens that live inside D181 primarly for the superlative schools be tipped off to the coming "… more ›