The Illinois Report Card for the school year 2021 – 2022 has now been published at IllinoisReportCard.com and it’s chock full of information, though tedious to pull out the particulars. To see how the district fared, I compiled some of the key numbers: how each school did, on an overall basis and split out by… Continue reading Illinois Report Card – The 2022 update is in!
The “Supporters of District 214” have failed in their school board responsibilities – here are the two latest examples
What are the duties of a school board member?Ask any of the current board members and they will likely give you an answer something like the following: To provide oversight of the operations of the schools in a manner that ensures that students receive a high quality access to education in core subjects, career education,… Continue reading The “Supporters of District 214” have failed in their school board responsibilities – here are the two latest examples
Sex Ed and District 214: The good news and bad news
What is District 214 doing with respect to Sex Education and the new state law? Here’s the good news. Dr. Schuler had asserted that they are not changing their curriculum in response to the new state law, and parents had been struggling to make sense of this assertion in light of the requirement in that… Continue reading Sex Ed and District 214: The good news and bad news
School Board Candidates Wanted
Yes, there are elections coming up this November — governor, state house & senate, and so on. Some readers may be active in campaigning for the candidate of their choice, others may believe that in Illinois, re-election of incumbents is a foreordained conclusion. But fall is also nominating petition season for the spring 2023 election… Continue reading School Board Candidates Wanted
Update on D214 and Sex Ed
Before reading this update, please read the prior article describing the state’s new mandate for sex ed using the so-called National Sex Education Standards. On July 21, at the board of education meeting, Dr. Schuler addressed the new state law being implemented in the fall, and said, according to the transcription, District 214 is not… Continue reading Update on D214 and Sex Ed
Pulling back the curtain: What the Equity Audit reveals about District 214’s current practices
Last Thursday, the district presented its Equity Audit at its board meeting, and subsequently posted the document on its website (in the “Equity” section of “About D214”). The document itself is laden with buzzwords, its authors don’t clearly distinguish between text authored by district staff and by the outside vendor, and it’s hard to make… Continue reading Pulling back the curtain: What the Equity Audit reveals about District 214’s current practices
Important information on the new Sex Ed law and District 214
Concerned by the information below? Go to this webpage to send an e-mail to the school board! Sex Ed — that’s a hot-button topic if ever there was one, but in a community like District 214, there’s a general consensus that it’s appropriate to teach about reproduction and contraception, as well as topics such as… Continue reading Important information on the new Sex Ed law and District 214
An update on “earned honors” – and its embrace by the school board
We are now coming to the end of Year 2 of the implementation of “earned honors” in District 214, so I wanted to provide an update on the classes and the district’s activities. Some of this recaps my most recent article on the topic, from back in January, but I add in more recent information… Continue reading An update on “earned honors” – and its embrace by the school board
What is the district hiding about financial education classes?
I apologize in advance for the long backstory but it seems best to share this as a narrative: Back in the fall, I’d heard that, at Rolling Meadows High School, the financial education class had been cut from a full semester to an 9 week class, with the remaining half of the semester taken up… Continue reading What is the district hiding about financial education classes?
What is de-tracking and why does it matter to me? Some information for new parents
The following information is lengthy because it’s my attempt to share with parents the full extent of what I know. What is “tracking”? If you have a child in middle school, he or she may have been placed in a “track” for math class – algebra, geometry, or general math, for example. At the high… Continue reading What is de-tracking and why does it matter to me? Some information for new parents