Mentoring Moment for Dr. Lathan

District 150's new Superintendent, Dr. Lathan, will need to hit the tarmac running when she gets to Peoria in June. It has been reported that she will have a mentor whose job will be to get her up to speed on the intricacies of Illinois and Peoria. Until she has had a chance to meet with her mentor, I would like to take advantage of opportunities to provide her with Mentoring Moments - things it would be great if she could get a handle on them immediately.

Let's take a look at the District's lack of communication about "Choice" schools.

Monday's post about "The List" Arne Duncan kept when he was chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools, brought about an interesting discussion on how perceptions are conceived as to who has the ability to attend the “better” public schools in District 150.

The discussion was based around the availability of information for your average parent to the choices available within District 150 (i.e., Washington Gifted, Edison schools, Valeska Hinton, Roosevelt Magnet, Richwoods IB, Arts Academy, the Manual 7th & 8th Grade Academy, MST Charter School, etc…)

The discussion revealed a shortcoming that if District 150 does not take a serious look at fixing, they too will more than likely be more prone to manipulation of principals and admission policies. Truth be known, I personally can attest to admission rules to a specific District 150 School being different depending on who is calling and/or who answers the phone. This has got to change.


The bottom line is that access to information on enrollment options and admission policies for the District schools is so hard to come by, that only the highly motivated parent and/or the highly connected parent can even begin to ask the right questions for their student. Just basic stuff like what are your admission policies, how can I get my child in, what does my child need to know?

It's imperative that ALL families have the opportunity to explore the best option to educate their children. Parents must be able to access information in a timely manner. Right now, only a limited number of parents know the intricacies of enrollment and admission to the District’s schools. Unfortunately that number is not inclusive of the majority of the clients the District serves.

Because I am a parent who is concerned about access to opportunities and parent involvement, I didn’t like what the discussion with Sharon, Jon and Frustrated revealed, so I sent Stacey Shangraw, District 150’s Director of Marketing/Public Relations, a link to the post and asked her:

“What will the District be doing to better inform ALL parents about all of the enrollment options before the upcoming school year? Will these schools at least be updating their websites so that parents are clear these are "choice" schools?”

Ms. Shangraw responded expeditiously and explained that advertising for the charter school is separate from the District. She pointed out that limited funds, staff and resources makes it difficult to justify spending money on direct mailings, billboards and yard signs. She further informed me that in the past the District has sent letters home with families and they market the information through school newsletters and the publication “Making the Grade”.

Ms. Shangraw suggested to me that if I have a suggestion for free marketing ideas to please let her know.

At this time, I would like to point Ms. Shangraw to the San Diego Unified Schools Enrollment and Option Choice page. Hopefully when Dr. Granita Lathan (Ms. Shangraw's new boss) gets here from San Diego, she will be able to instruct Ms. Shangraw on how to implement this “free” method of getting information about enrollment options and admission policies out to parents.

San Diego Unified District School Choice Application; San Diego Unified District School Choice Catalog

Murder in the Glen Oak School Impact Zone

The Glen Oak Neighborhood Impact Zone, a two-block area in the East Bluff – the city's top target area for crime reduction, neighborhood revitalization and home improvement assistance, surrounding District 150’s new $25 million Glen Oak School.

Last night’s East Bluff murder at Peoria Food Stop Inc., took place immediately across the street from the new Glen Oak School (one block from the Boy's and Girl's Club).

The Glen Oak Neighborhood Impact Zone was identified by the City Council in May 2009 to be targeted for revitalization. The city designated millions of dollars in public investment, with more than $3 million in sidewalk and road projects already completed.

The City has already noted that there has been very few applications for down payment assistance to purchase a home near Glen Oak School. This murder in the Impact Zone certainly won’t help the situation. Unfortunate.

Related read: A Matter of Time

C-SPAN to black for some in the GOP

White flight from C-SPAN? Now I've heard every thing. I blame this mess on Sarah Palin.

The List hurts The Race

It has been confirmed that when Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, was chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools, his office kept a log of nearly 40 pages listing the local politicians and business people and others who sought help getting children into the city’s most selective public schools.

A spokesman for Duncan denied any wrongdoing and said Duncan used the list, not to dole out rewards to insiders, but to shield principals from political interference.
Source

While it totally makes sense that the List was kept, the existence of the list implies that there was undue influence put on principals.

I have no doubt that such practices are already in play right here in Peoria (see Washington Gifted and Richwoods IB). Should we be concerned that the pressure on principals to admit select students will increase as the educational options increase?

Since Arne Duncan knows first hand how the Chicago schools operate, of course Illinois didn’t stand a chance of winning The Race to the Top Funding…

Illinois outta the Race
Illinois lost its bid today for more than $500 million in federal school grants, as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the state was not one of the winners in Race to the Top.

Only Delaware and Tennessee won out of the 16 finalists announced earlier this month. Illinois finished in fifth place with a score of 423.8, more than 30 points behind Delaware, which scored 454.6 points and led all states. Tennessee, meanwhile, finished in second with 444.2 points.

The former CEO of Chicago Public Schools said the two winners separated themselves from the rest by offering an application that affected every student of the state. The winners had cooperation from their schools and teachers unions, helping their chances
Source

The significance of saying "I.Want.My.Country.Back"

EmergePeoria didn't receive the invite to the tea party like other local bloggers. However, as posted throughout the Peoria blogosphere there will be a big ole' tea party on Thursday at 11 a.m. Yes, Randall at 11:00 a.m.

I read on HuffPost that the majority of these folks are retired and/or unemployed and receiving some type of welfare - maybe that's why they have all this time to organize and meet at 11:00 a.m. on a work day and cry about how they want their country back.

My hope is that the Peoria tea baggers can not only spell, but that they possess a little more decorum than the majority of the other tea baggers we have seen around the country. If they do not - can we expect our local "mainstream media" to call them out?

--------------------------------------------

From Jack&Jill Politics
Memo to the Media: Hate matters.

And your failure to call it hate is a big part of the problem.

The media contributes to the instability of this vitriolic atmosphere when it seeks to legitimize the “anger” or “fear” that’s supposedly behind this hate speech. This is not about the “concerns” of “real Americans” nor should the media continue to cloak hateful rhetoric under the guise of “Main Street vs. Wall Street.” This has gone way beyond public policy or populist anger directed at the banks. This has gone beyond conversations about the size of government or even fear of mass unemployment. Such matters might contribute to the chaos, but the source remains as simple as these five words:

I. Want. My. Country. Back.

Don’t make it any more complicated than it needs to be. They keep trying to tell you. It’s really not that hard to figure out.

I. Want. My. Country. Back.

Now, the media can parse these words for all they’re worth, but the meaning remains the same. This land is my land, this land is NOT your land.

The sentiments of racism; this fear of the “otherness”; the sexism and homophobia. . . all of this is as blatant as it’s been in decades. Don’t believe me. Ask yourself, has the argument ever changed from subject to subject?

I. Want. My. Country. Back.

Gay rights. Justice Sotomayor. The Stimulus Bill. Health Care. Immigration Reform. Paranoia over the 2010 Census. Calls for Secession. Parallels drawn to the “War of Great Northern Aggression.”

All speak toward the same cry ...

(more after the jump)

Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn

When I read the invite for this event, I could not help but notice the irony:

The 2nd annual Classic Movie Night event

featuring "Gone with the Wind"

Enjoy the finest in southern hospitality right here in Central Illinois.

Please join Captain Butler and Miss Scarlet for a sumptuous buffet of all the foods and beverages for which the South is famous. The entertainment and lavish decorations make this an evening you don't want to miss. Guests are encouraged to come in period costume.

This fundraising event is being put on by the Boys and Girls Club of Peoria.

As we know, Gone with the Wind takes place during the Civil War and tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner. Scarlett eventually inherits Tara (a plantation located in Atlanta) and at one point wonders if after the War her plantation will still be standing, or it will it “also be gone with the wind which had swept through Georgia”. The prologue of the movie refers to the old way of life in the South as "gone with the wind."

What was the way of life in the South at that time? Well, there was this thing called slavery and the subsequent enactment of Jim Crow laws, which set up the disenfranchisement of blacks, who, by the way, had no voting rights. That same disenfranchisement is still resonating in the majority of black families today - generations later.

The vast majority of the clients that the Boys and Girls Club serve are currently dealing with the social ills that go along with being disenfranchised. Although I am sure intentions are good, throwing a fundraising event with the theme of Gone with the Wind for the Boys and Girls Club is somewhat insensitive.

The invite encourages folks to wear period costume. Who do you think will show up in a costume calling herself Scarlett? Who do you think Rhett (Captin Butler) will be? If I were to go, hmmm…. what could my period costume be? How about a little something like this:

... or this:

Let’s not even speculate about what the entertainment for this period event could be.

"It's Alaska"

The Learning Channel (aka TLC and/or the Discovery Channel) has taught us about the wonders of a whorrific marriage with eight children (see John and Kate) and now they want to teach us about Sarah Palin’s Alaksa.

If you are not smarter than a fifth grader, this Alaska travelogue is for you:

From Mark Burnett, producer of Survivor...

News on the alleged "best City Manager the City has ever had"

Former Peoria City Manager, Randy Oliver's contract as City Manager of Surprise, AZ has been terminated so hastily that the Surprise City Council didn't care that it would cost the city about $200,000 to let him go.

In Surprise, Oliver was paid $185,000 annually and received a monthly car allowance of $583. In addition, he received compensation for moving expenses ($3,267.45) and $4,800 in temporary housing and related expenses. Keep in mind that Oliver only had a two year contract which was effective July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010. Apparently, they couldn't tolerate him for three more months.

As previously reported by Peoria Pundit (upon Oliver's exit from Peoria), one of the knocks noted against Oliver was that "he didn’t manage employees very well". Notice that Councilmember Walcott's comment below alludes to the same thing.

**********

Surprise City Council fires manager March 26, 2010 4:28 AM

4-3 vote ends Oliver's tenure after rocky year

Surprise City Manager Randy Oliver’s contract was terminated without cause at Thursday night’s City Council meeting.The termination without cause will cost the city about $200,000.Oliver elected to have the item heard in public.

Oliver said he was surprised because no council member had approached him to discuss it before placing the topic on the agenda. “I wish I knew the genesis behind the item before it came to council,” Oliver said. “We could have worked together to address the issues.”

Oliver acknowledged he has had to make difficult decisions in his tenure, but had never had to dismiss so many employees in his career.

Oliver gave a presentation to defend some of his decisions, including laying off what amounts to about 10 percent of the city employees, as well as reducing or eliminating employee and council perks such as mileage. Take-home pay was not reduced, Oliver said.

Oliver left the meeting after the vote. Interim Assistant City Manager George Kolb will serve as acting city manager until the city takes action on Oliver’s replacement.

Read the entire article here.

Related articles: Council acts to investigate finance blunder, implement safeguards; City's latest budget moves mean eliminated positions, some layoffs

Public Hearing Re: Peoria High School

Peoria Public Schools has scheduled a public hearing regarding the Public Building Commission renovation project at Peoria High School.

The meeting will be held in the Peoria High School school auditorium:
Monday, April 12, 2010
3:30p.m.
1615 N North St.

Here is a chance for those concerned that the renovations at PHS are not being done in a competent manner to find out what's going on.

Prayer Vigil for Jasmine N. Brittne

There will be a Prayer vigil on behalf of Jasmine N. Brittine, the young lady who died as a result of being shot in the Harrison Homes Sunday evening. The vigil will take place at the scene of the incident in the Harrison Homes, and will begin at 6:00 PM ending at 6:30 PM.

We are asking the community to come and support this family and neighborhood during this time. Please call for more details if necessary. Thank you.

Pastor Harvey Burnett
(309)688-6599ofc

(309)648-8659cell

Mr. Peeples has passed on...

I didn't know this man personally. However, I have many fond memories of him. Growing up in Peoria, I encountered Mr. Peeples many times through out my life. He always seemed to be working in some service capacity. He was consistently kind, caring and always respectful. A true gentleman. Small in stature he commanded great respect. Rest in peace Mr. Peeples.

Trusting our Council will "Do Right"

It's time for our City Council to do what's right and vote to end the contract with the East Bluff Housing Services. The issue has been before the Council more times than I care to recount, but you can read about them here, here, here and here.

There are too many issues that remain outstanding.

The current contract is selling the homeowners in the East Bluff short. The East Bluff can do better and the City Council can help. If in the past the City has been lax on controls to the point that the EBHS is doing a disservice to taxpayers (which *Karrie Alms and team can show), it is time for them to go ahead and admit that this thing got away from them and it's time to pull it in.

From time-to-time the City Council has got to do right by the home owners who live in the older neighborhoods and give some incentive for living there. Now is one of those times for the Council - "Do Right".

*apologies for the mis-spelling

We wanna go to the cool school

Several of my daughter's neighborhood friends told her that last Monday they went on a field trip to Roosevelt Magnet School and it is the coolest school.

They got a brochure from the school that talked a little bit about academics, a little bit about athletics and a whole lot about the Arts Program. They were entertained by current students and invited back for a later performance. The kids (all fourth graders) loved it.

My daughter's friends all live and attend school north of Forrest Hill. Before going to Roosevelt on a field trip, they were all dead set on going to either their neighborhood school next year; the Math Science Charter School; or Washington Gifted. NOW, many of them are hounding their parents to send them to school south of Forrest Hill - they want to go to Roosevelt Magnet School.

Is this a good idea for District 150 to inform the students about educational options (which some may see as influence), or should they just share the information with the parents?

Immediate benefits from health care legislation

As soon as health care passes, the American people will see immediate benefits. The legislation will:

Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all new plans;

Provide immediate access to insurance for uninsured Americans who are uninsured because of a pre-existing condition through a temporary high-risk pool;

Prohibit dropping people from coverage when they get sick in all individual plans;

Lower seniors' prescription drug prices by beginning to close the donut hole;

Offer tax credits to small businesses to purchase coverage;

Eliminate lifetime limits and restrictive annual limits on benefits in all plans;

Require plans to cover an enrollee's dependent children until age 26;

Require new plans to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;

Ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions;

Require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs.

By enacting these provisions right away, and others over time, we will be able to lower costs for everyone and give all Americans and small businesses more control over their health care choices.

Source

Rush to Costa Rica for healthcare

I don't know. I'll just tell you this, if this passes and it's five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented -- I am leaving the country. I'll go to Costa Rica.

- Rush Limbaugh -

Dear Limbaugh: Please check here for the most expedient flight to Costa Rica.

Of course he could still spread hate via his radio show from anywhere in the World. But at least the United States would be a better place for the absence of his physical presence.

"Man" Twitters his desire to assassinate the President

Yesterday’s historic health care vote, angered one "man" to the point he took his frustrations to Twitter.

Jay Martin, a graduate of Vatterott College holds an IT degree and lives in Federal Way, WA. It appears that Jay is an anti New World Order conspiracy theorist. The wallpaper on his Twitter page reads “Say No To The N.W.O.(New World Order). From Jay's Facebook About Me Page: "Socially aware, Deep thinker, Artistic, Hip Hop Aficionado, free thinker, Funny Guy."

Some of Jay's Tweets:
If the FBI comes knocking tomorrow I wouldn’t give a f. I didn’t do anything wrong. Sh. the record might give me street cred..

No..But my account has been reported the FBI account on here..# RT @ForeverDarra @THHEEE_JAY are ppl threatenin u?

But when it comes to their own GOVERNMENT..they are f CLUELESS. and they expect me to waste MY time explaining? F tha

Who said I was being funny? When I said he should be assassinated I MEANT THAT S! F Obama! Fthe FBI. I don’t care! @mdrwhitener

Read the Bill Of Rights… Then look at every law / bill that has been passed SINCE then. You’re Liberties are GONE!

If you voted for that Mother fr ..Just unfollow me.. I hate everything @BarackObama stands for. FYou AND him. Period.

If I lived in DC i’d shoot him myself.. Point Blank. Dead F Serious. RT @Blckdiamond_20 @THHEEE_JAY do you really feel like that ?

You should be Assassinated!! @BarackObama

Source

A Peorian's Haiti Photobucket

When a commenter on the blog mentioned that she would be going to Haiti, I asked her if she would please share with us some of her thoughts and photos upon her return. She has been gracious enough to do so. Here are comments and her Photobucket:

"I made the unfortunate decision of leaving my digital camera at home and using an instant camera since we were unsure about where we were going to be staying and if we'd be able to secure our belongings. Some of the pictures I have turned out pretty well, but I kind of feel that it doesn't quite capture the intensity of the situation. Likely though, nothing would. It was just so crazy.

I really want to write this prolific wonderful summary of my trip, but honestly, words fail me. I cannot accurately describe the vast destruction, the devastating poverty and the absolute beauty of Haiti and the Haitian people. I have never experienced such extreme joy and such debilitating sadness in a matter of a few short days. We spent our time repairing damage to school buildings, repainting classrooms and organizing donations. Our translator, who is an incredible individuals who I now have the privilege of calling a dear friend, took us into the devastated neighborhoods surrounding the compound in which we were staying. The cultural insights he provided were invaluable. He personally lost 3 friends that day.

The children absolutely stole my heart. I become incredibly emotional thinking about the conditions in which they live. One little boy named Woodly worked so hard all week to pronounce our names so he could call out to us and wave every time he saw us. When walking down neighborhood streets, at any given time we could turn around and see a group of between 10 and 15 children following us, often they would hold our hand and smile at us. On the last day I was there, my mom and I walked into a church and sat in the back pew. There were easily 300 to 400 people there on a hot Saturday morning. Within minutes, child after child began sitting in our pew. All in all, 20 children stuffed themselves into that one pew, smiling and waving at us. I would have given anything to be able to speak Creole during moments like this.

The general living conditions were unreal. We stayed at Blanchard, which is situated about 10 minutes from Cite Soliel, the poorest slum in the western hemisphere. For the residents of this community there is barely electricity and plumbing. At night it was so eerie. Pitch black, except for the mountains, which were lit up by the lights of the wealthy Haitians who have access to power. One family near our compound was living within 2 walls. That was literally all that their house consisted of. However, just because it was dark, did not mean it was quiet. There was rarely a moment that we didn’t hear singing. It was unreal and if nothing at all, I hope I never forget how it sounded.

Port au Prince is a mess. The airport building is unusable, ruble and debris litter the streets. Tens of thousands of people are living in tents or under tarps that are set up everywhere; in parks, blocking off streets and some in medians between the lanes of traffic. It literally looks as if the earthquake happened 2 days ago, not 2 months ago. School has not yet resumed in Port Au Prince. One picture I included is of a classroom chalkboard that still bears the date of the earthquake. It as if time is literally standing still.

One evening we were walking past a church that was barely standing. No ceiling, the floor was reduced to complete ruble and the integrity of the standing walls was questionable. The building was packed with people who were chanting. I asked Byambiason, our interpreter, what they were saying. He replied, “We want a better life. We want a better life”.

Oh, one other thing that I wanted to mention that really struck me. Our translator was telling us about what some people are eating in lieu of having food. Mud mixed with butter, dried into cookie shapes. They are being sold for 5 gourdes. Beside the general desperateness of eating dried mud, reportedly they are riddled with parasites. He said in particular, pregnant women are eating them, but I'm not exactly sure the reason behind that. Our first day there we saw a line heading into the US miliary base at least a 1/2 mile long. All women lined up to get a bag of rice. I will never again complain about lines at the grocery store!

I am still pouring through photos, but it’s such an emotionally draining process. Over the coming months, I'll be posting more pictures to the album.

Here is the blog of one of the guys who is staying at the compound that we were at for the next year. He tends to post some pretty good pictures. http://www.harvestforhaiti.com/ "

Okay - I confess - I used to walk in the street

Confession. When I was a youngster going to middle school, I walked down the middle of the street. Not just to and from school, but whenever my friends and I walked through neighborhoods, we walked in the middle of the street. Back then, if you were to ask me why, here is what I would have said:

"We walk in the middle of the street because it is the safest place in some neighborhoods. A lot of people in the area have bad dogs and even though all of us girls try to walk in groups, walking too close to houses is not safe either. So we walk in the middle of the street."

Fast forward to today and I am willing to bet, safety is still the main reason children in certain neighborhoods walk in the middle of the street. Some of you want to call this a part of the "culture", I call it "living in the inner city" and my Momma used to call it "staying safe".

Bottom line - if anybody is walking in the middle of the street for whatever reason and cars are coming - get out of the street. But it is not fair for police officers to sit down at Manual waiting for kids to walk in the street.

As we all know, there are several locations throughout the City that police officers could stake out to find people violating jaywalking laws - not just down at Manual. If we were hearing about police officers writing tickets at other locations as vigorously as they are being written down at Manual, in my mind, the tickets at Manual would be a non-issue.

African American Hall of Fame 2010 Inductees

The African American Hall of Fame Museum, will induct a new group of individuals at the 22nd Annual Red Black and Green Ball, themed "The Battle's Not Over." The Red Black and Green Ball will take place on Saturday, April 10, 2010, at the Hotel Pere Marquette in Peoria, IL. This year's guest speaker is C.T. Vivian a Baptist Minister and a living legend in the Civil Rights Movement. The event will begin at 5:30 p.n. with a cocktail hour and silent auction, immediately followed by dinner. Tickets for the event are $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door. A table for ten can be purchased for $400. To purchase tickets, contact the museum's office at (309)673-2206.

Every year the African American Hall of Fame Museum recognizes individuals in the Tri-County Area. Each person is nominated by members of the community for their great works, contributions, talents and efforts that make a difference in the community.

The following people will be inducted in the 2010 Hall of Fame:
Ollie Gates, President of Gates Bar-B-Q - Business Award Recipient
Doug Oberhelman, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Caterpillar - Romeo B. Garrett Humanitarian Award
Calvin Butler, Vice President of State Legislative affairs ComEd - Public Service Business Award Recipient;
Hersey Hawkins, retired basketball player - Athletics Business Award Recipient
Jehan Gordon, State Representative - Politics and Government Business Award Recipient
Ed Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO State Farm - Joshua Smith Corporate Diversity Award Recipient
Denise Jackson, news reporter WEEK - Media/Communications Business Award Recipient
Chassidy Lewis, 13 year old student Roosevelt Magnet School - Richard Pryor/Lou Rawls Youth Award Recipient
Don Thompson, President McDonald's USA - William Jr. Watkins Founder's Award Recipient.

Another Kickin’ It video

Using the same text books from Peoria to Poughkeepsie-thanks to the Gates Foundation

The Gates Foundation is leading the efforts to create national learning standards. The new standards are to be shorter, tougher and clearer. Being the second richest man in the world means you get to set standards for education? Quite a perk.

A group of educators have released the first draft of a proposed set of national core standards for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. The call for national standards is supported by 48 states, the District of Columbia, two territories and the Obama administration.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, headed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, has had input from teachers, civil rights groups, English-language learners and the College Board, among others. It is an effort "to create the next generation of K-12 standards that help ensure that all students are college- and career-ready in literacy by no later than the end of high school.

The standards apply to English language arts, history, social studies, science and math. They include specific goals, separated by grade and subject. Fifth-grade reading standards, for example, expect students to be able to explain how similes and metaphors give meaning and rhythm to a poem. Fourth- and fifth-graders are expected to read books like "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "The Black Stallion." By ninth and 10th grades, students are expected to be reading William Shakespeare and John Steinbeck, or the equivalent.

The Obama administration showed its support for the initiative by awarding states that adopt the standards 40 points out of a possible 500 in the federal Race to the Top competition, in which states are vying for a piece of the $4 billion pie slated for schools.

Only two states, Texas and Alaska, did not join the core standards initiative.

Source

Should District 150's BOE resign?

Bill Knight thinks so...

"As Peorians anticipate School District 150 interim superintendent Norm Durflinger’s formal recommendation to the board on changes in staffing, the thought of other changes comes to mind. If administrations in business, government or any human institution sometimes deflect criticism by blaming the victims, District 150 administrators and board have plenty of targets in trying to avoid answering for schools’ situation: students, teachers, parents, the community, taxpayers…

But, again, those are the victims, victims of a school system that seems to continue to make large and small decisions based on administration and board convenience rather than the public interest or the common good.

The administrators are supposed to answer to the board; the board is supposed to answer to the people; the people need a new school board."

Read the entire article here.

Do you agree? Would this current BOE be a hindrance to the kind of change that Dr. Lathan may be prepared to make?

LINKing it up in the suburbs

The other day while standing in line at Sam's Club, I noticed something I hadn't seen before - the person in line in front of me pulled out the Sam's Membership Card and then paid for their items with a LINK Card.

The average Sam's Club member is either employed or an entrepreneur (a generalization, I know), these two things usually are not synonymous with a person who also uses a LINK Card. Ever curious, when I got home, I did a little Goggle search and found out that in March of last year Sam's Club started accepting food stamp cards nationwide.

The search also revealed that actually, a lot more stores than you’d think take food stamps: Walgreens, Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, CVS, BJ’s, and Costco all take the LINK Card.

This change in acceptance of the LINK Card, is a clear indicator that people in the suburbs are being hit by the economy as hard as people in the inner city. Looks like it's time for the stereotype of who needs/uses a Link Card to change.

Related article: More Chains Connected to Link Card

Angela Davis lecture tonight - Neumiller Hall

Author and activist Angela Davis will present a guest lecture at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9, in Neumiller Lecture Hall, located in Bradley Hall on the Bradley University campus. The event, which is presented by Bradley’s Women’s Studies Program and the Intellectual and Cultural Activities Committee, is open to the public and admission is free.

Davis, who once appeared on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List,” is now a professor of history of consciousness and feminist studies at the University of California Santa Cruz. In her lecture, “Gender, Race, and Crime,” she will discuss the criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination – with a particular focus on women.

Davis has lectured throughout the world and she is the author of eight books. She also works with several advocacy groups, including Justice Now, which provides legal assistance to women in prison and engages in support for the abolition of imprisonment as the dominant strategy for addressing social problems.

Source

Where schools are failing athletes sports dreams, the NCAA is willing to step up.

I was researching something totally different this morning and came across an article about a local athlete. I read it and realized I had never heard of him. The article, although positive for the athlete, saddened me.

Here is an excerpt of the article - I removed the name of the school and athlete…

With grades and test scores that would have prevented him from playing as a freshman at his Illinois college of choice, in 2008, a local stand out athlete transferred out of a Peoria high school prior to his senior year.

The first time he took the ACT, in Peoria, he scored a 12. "He had a good breakfast that morning. He got a lot of rest the night before. Then he didn't do well," His Mom says. "He said, 'Mom, I tried hard.' And I believe him. I know he did. He always tries hard."

This wasn't a dumb jock treating school as a necessary evil. The athlete had perfect attendance for two years at Sterling Middle School, for example. But while at the prep school he was diagnosed with a learning disability. The discovery allowed the athlete to retake the ACT with no time limit. He scored a 19 and ensured his eligibility at Illinois. (emphasis added mine - what about his high school attendance, etc... and was the learning disability missed at the local schools?)

When he left for prep school "His mom cried for two weeks," said the athletes Dad. "And I don't fly, so I couldn't go see him."
_____________

Then a I followed another link in the article and came across this Suntimes article from August 2008, which just kind of blew me away. In this article it became clear how the athlete and his family couldn’t turn down the prep school offer his coaches at his college of choice offered him.

This time, I didn’t bother to try and cleanse the name and info from the article. Again, maybe I’m naive about how this sports thing is handled, but how is this acceptable? Who, pray tell, pays for this fabulous prep school?

Related articles: Florida State, NCAA Steal Education from Black Athletes ; March Madness Is A Billion Dollar Sweatshop; see Shaun Livingston.

Time to kick the pedestal out from under tenured teachers

I do volunteer work with a tenured teacher. She enjoys working with parents, she will utilize them to the fullest to make sure her children are learning. She dresses professionally, behaves professionally and is known for being no nonsense. She talks to children like little adults and she will tell a parent what they need to do. She wants her children to have a diverse learning experience and she seeks it out. She is highly recommended to new parents who come to the school. She is a wonderful teacher. She is an example of how tenured teacher should look and behave. Renew this contract.

Unfortunately, there in the same school is a tenured teacher who I am surprised to see every year. How is she still working considering the way she treats children? She has a glassed over crazed look in her eye, she is paranoid and obviously unstable. Administrators at the school are aware of this erratic teacher's antics and actually seem to be afraid of her. Terminate this contract.

Keep the best teachers

Many cash-strapped Illinois school districts face the prospect of layoffs in the coming months. Unless outdated rules are scrapped, the schools will have to fire some of their best teachers because they happen to be younger teachers.

They also will have to fire more teachers. Younger teachers have lower salaries, so when schools operate strictly on seniority, they have to let more teachers go to achieve a certain dollar savings.

Yes, there is value in experience. But the National Council on Teacher Quality reports that "teachers in their third year of teaching are generally about as effective as long-tenured teachers."

Seniority can be considered, but along with such factors as competence, drive, classroom performance and willingness to learn new skills. Younger teachers, for instance, may be more computer-savvy and thus more capable of teaching the tech skills children need to succeed.

Some teachers argue that seniority must be the deciding factor because performance evaluations are poorly done. That is a problem, and Illinois and other states are moving toward better evaluations. But that doesn't argue for denying school districts the flexibility to make decisions based on the knowledge of principals, administrators and teachers.

Last year, Arizona approved a law that forbids the consideration of seniority in firing decisions. A handful of states allow other factors to be used. That's the direction Illinois should go. And at the local level, parents and taxpayers should push school boards to negotiate contracts that move away from seniority-based personnel decisions.

All governments have to find ways to lure and keep the best and brightest in their work force. Where is that more important than in the classroom?

(billboards from http://teachersunionexposed.com/, Newark, New Jersey)

Charter school in tough neighborhood gets all its seniors into college

The entire senior class at Chicago's only public, all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted to four-year colleges. At last count, the 107 seniors had earned spots at 72 schools across the nation.

Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman surprised students at an all-school assembly at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men in Englewood this morning to congratulate them. It's the first graduating class at Urban Prep since it opened its doors in 2006. Huberman applauded the seniors for making CPS shine.

"All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream," Huberman said.

The school enforces a strict uniform of black blazers, khaki pants and red ties -- with one exception. After a student receives the news he was accepted into college, he swaps his red tie for a red and gold one at an assembly.

For Rayvaughn Hines, an 18-year-old from Back of the Yards, college was merely a concept--never a goal--growing up. Even within the last three years, he questioned if school, let alone college, was for him. Now, the senior is headed to the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. next fall.

Urban Prep, a charter school that enrolls using a lottery in one of the city's more troubled neighborhoods, faced difficult odds. Only 4 percent of this year's senior class read at grade level as freshmen, according to Tim King, the school's CEO.

"I never had a doubt that we would achieve this goal," King said. "Every single person we hired knew from the day one that this is what we do: We get our kids into college."

College is omnipresent at the school. Before the students begin their freshman year, they take a field trip to Northwestern University. Every student is assigned a college counselor the day he steps foot in the school.

The school offers an extended day--170,000 more minutes over four years compared to its counterparts across the city--and more than double the number of English credits usually needed to graduate. Even the school's voicemail has a student declaring "I am college bound" before it asks callers to dial an extension.

The entire article Chicago Tribune

Who will take the Bartels Challenge

I posted recently about an article that DeWayne Bartels did on Valda Shipp, Principal of Glen Oak School, entitled "Will the real Valda Shipp please stand up".

While the negative comments on Shipp were long and strong, I questioned were there any other principals (white specifically) who were problems (because all we hear are complaints about the non-white principals). I mentioned that I had heard rumors about the "country club attitude" of the Principal at Richwoods. One commenter posted the following:

"Emerge: in a nutshell, he is an egotistical, self-righteous A-hole. Quite full of himself. Even asked Hinton during a principals meeting last year if Hinton would say what he needed to say so he could leave and get back to his job. Now, he said this in a mocking tone----even though he was a 1st year principal (BTW who was given a 4 year contract). He had very little previous experience, yet he is treated like some sort of "savior". My guess, when his contract is up in two years, he will be well on his way, stepping on anybody to get ahead. IMO"

If the Principal at Richwoods is as bad as I am hearing - why are people not posting about him?

At the insistence of angry teachers, Bartels did a follow-up article, which revealed different info on Shipp and this time the article was entitled "Shipp off Course". That's a lot different from the title of Bartels’ first article on Shipp entitled "Shipp leads school from 'zoo' to 'pocket of excellence'".

It was Bartels' conversation with Hedy Elliot-Gardner, vice president and head of grievances for the Peoria Federation of Teachers that has lead him to believe problems with Principals are prevalent throughout District 150. Elliot-Gardner went on to tell Bartels that District 150's administration is aware of the problem principals.

I concur with Bartels when he says that:

"But, we, the public, are largely in the dark about who falls in the category of good and bad principals."

As a result of his conversation with Elliot-Gardner, Bartels has issued a challenge to District 150 teachers:

Good luck with that DeWayne - perhaps a look at the Principal of Richwoods would be a good place to start. I'll be looking forward to that article. Read Bartels' entire article here.

Yes Virgina, white girls can step too...

I was talking to some people at a dinner party last night about the 2010 Sprite Step-off. I was fairly shocked to find that they had not heard all of the controversy about the legendary Alpha Kappa Alpha's Tau Chapter losing out to a group of steppers who BROUGHT IT. I mean, they laid it down - there is no denying. Check it out...

The steppers of Zeta Tau Alpha's Epsilon Chapter...

Now the steppers of Alpha Kappa Alpha's Tau Chapter...

Now the announcement of the winners...

As stepping is highly reverred among African American Greek organizations, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know, it wasn't going to go down like that...
_______

Sprite Step-Off Calls Tie Between Two Teams After Controversy

After an all white sorority beat an all Black set of step teams for the Sprite Step-Off Coca-Cola is announcing plans to award a second team with prize money, calling the competition a tie.

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha's Tau Chapter will be awarded $100,000 after being named co-winners with members of Zeta Tau Alpha's Epsilon Chapter.

Zeta Tau Alpha's win last weekend sparked controversy after the all white team beat out six Black fraternities and six Black sororities for the top spot.

Afte reviewing scoring materials Coca-Cola claims there was a “scoring discrepancy” and made the decision to award the Alpha Kappa Alpha team.

They released a statement saying,

“Due to the extremely narrow margin between the first and second place winning sororities, we conducted a further post-competition review and discovered a scoring discrepancy. There is no conclusive interpretation, nor definitive resolution for the discrepancy."

Scoring discrepancy or just an attempt to cool down controversy?

Hmmmm…I wonder.Source

My opinion on the "kickin it" video

somewhat revised...

I knew that when I posted the video sent by Anonymous that a certain group of District 150 naysayers would think the video is the ammunition to prove that the children at District 150 are bad, or should I say, "the inmates running the assylym" (that's a phrase that folks appear to be partial to).

Did I post it for the hits; unwittingly putting it up, not suspecting that the exposure that the video is now getting is exactly what Anonymous had hoped for (perhaps better)?

I posted it because this video proves something that concerns me greatly - the miseducation of inner city children in Peoria. What this video proves to me is that the children in this classroom are being neglected - some would even say "warehoused". Personally, that saddens me, I don’t find it a reason to start high fiving and saying “I told ya so”.

The video is disturbing and I most definitely wouldn’t want my children in a classroom where the kids are kickin it to that degree. However, children can only get away with what the adults around them allow them to get away with - and on the video - I can clearly see adults in the room.

I have no doubt that once Dr. Grenita Lathan takes over District 150, this type of lackadaisical attitude that some teachers and administrators appear to have will be out the door. Teachers are frightened (and rightfully so) about the clean the house attitude that school districts now have. For some reason, I tend to think that this video link was sent by a District 150 teacher.

If this video is the worst of it - I remain hopeful.

The "kickin it" video is making the rounds at the BOE

District 150 is currently investigating the Trewyn School video that was posted here on EmergePeoria. The link to the video was left by an Anonymous poster.

The District is said to be prepared to discipline the students who appear in the video as well as the teacher who should have been in charge.

The District is also investigating an altercation between an aide and a student at the Greeley Alternative School; and a locker fire at Mark Bills School, which required the school to be evacuated this afternoon.