It appears that D41 overcame so many challenges -- "stress on our programs (from "crowding"), "a school's worth of children in portables," etc. -- and earned the Bright Red Apple award.

I wonder where the district would be today if it had not wasted time, effort and untold amounts of money on a bricks-and-mortar plan that a majority of the community did not want. The district should find no mystery in the stunning defeat. They had two versions of the community's feelings in the surveys for which we paid, yet they have chosen to ignore the results.

The administration and board need to move on from this ridiculous idea. To continue to try and dissect the vote, without ever having bothered to talk to the organized opposition is an insult. Take a good hard look at where enrollment is today and compare it to the NIU demographic survey results that started the ball rolling under the He-who-shall-not-be-named regime. We ended 2007 with 3,511 K-8 kids. Even adding in the PreK at-risk (financial, not special ed) we are still below 3,600. 3,511 compared to 3,566 three years ago, before the district made the decision to move the PreK program into the schools. I see a trend here and any further talk of expensive bricks-and-mortar plans will likely earn the district a rotten apple award from the community.

hi ohma....speaking of demographics...have you seen that Rainbow Preschool (a program I just loved!!) is advertising both outside Faith Lutheran and in the Glen Ellyn News? And I have heard that for the first time in over 15 years everyone who wanted to send their kid to St. Pet's for kindergarden got in (no waiting list!) So, from those "unscientific" observations could we conclude that the school enrollment may just be DECLINING!!??? Red Apple indeed...there were alot of worms in it in April!

Look at the criteria for the award

Glen Ellyn School District 41 is one of 84 Illinois school districts (out of 872) to be awarded the 2007 SchoolSearch Bright Red Apple Award of Excellence. All school districts in Illinois are considered for the awards, which are based on five factors: academic performance, pupil-teacher ratio, expenditure per pupil, educational level of teachers and average teacher salary. These factors are considered key to families who are relocating and want to evaluate the quality of the schools. SchoolSearch uses data from the Illinois School Report Card, which is posted on www.d41.org.
Only one is related to actual school/student performance the rest is how much money we spend on teachers,salaries, how many teachers etc we have. It's a stupid meaningless award only handed out to those districts who are willing or able to fork over a lot of money. Hell why don't they just call it the NEA award.

this weekend's St. Pet's sunday bulletin(newslatter): letting parishioners know there are OPENINGS for kindergarden, second grade. These have to be the first openings not filled in kindergarden at St. Pet's in almost 17-18 years. The tide has turned, in my opinion...now watch district 41's TRUE enrollement start to drop. Overcrowded...give me a break!

quote:

Originally posted by howdy60137:
this weekend's St. Pet's sunday bulletin(newslatter): letting parishioners know there are OPENINGS for kindergarden, second grade. These have to be the first openings not filled in kindergarden at St. Pet's in almost 17-18 years. The tide has turned, in my opinion...now watch district 41's TRUE enrollement start to drop. Overcrowded...give me a break!

No. They will just spin it to say this only shows the Glen Ellyn Catholic population is dropping. They are having less children than they used to.

Then they will point to the number of languages spoken at the different schools as a sign that the population is not only diverse, but an expensive population to serve. We could never have predicted this demographic shift.....It's an anomaly....our studies show slow and steady growth...the refugees...the special needs of adolescents these days....

And they will be off the topic of population growth, or decline, for another day.

Several years ago, around the time of the campaign for the 2001 ref, the question was raised "do we have enough space?" The answer from that administration was "yes, we expect the enrollment to peak at around 3,600 in 2006 and start to decline." We were told at that time that we were experiencing an enrollment "bubble."

Fast forward a few years, along came our former superintendent. While still new to his job, he described enrollment growth as an "oval" -- I guess that was supposed to mean a prolonged bubble.

When the numbers just didn't make the case for a $40 Million referendum and for creating a SuperSized Hadley, the focus became the programs. With the air of "you can't possibly understand" the pro-ref forces told us that we are crowded because of the programs. That was supposed to be the drop dead line. But that theory starts to get as holey as swiss cheese, when pressed for more explanation. Which programs? The PreK at-risk that the district made the decision to move into the schools and nearly double in size, even though there were viable alternative sites within the community for this non-mandated program? The possibility of all-day kindergarten, that was pulled out of the hat at the last minute? Just to name a few.

Is there any wonder that anything coming out of the Central Services Office of the district has zero credibility. The continual shuffling of deck chairs on the Titanic referendum did nothing to keep it from sinking. There are a few life boats left on the horizon -- one is named "contrition and remorse" another "trustworthy" and yet another "accountability." Best to swim away quickly from the sunken disaster.

And I thought Melbourne and myself were the crown rulers of the land of Metaphor and Analogy! My wife and daughter are going to dinner tonight in DC at a place called.....Thaitanic!

ronkas said..."They (D41) will say the Catholics are having less children..." ah ha!!!!! so that's it?! i got a real chuckle from your response! I'm still going with my gut...less kids. and how can you explain rainbow place? and i wonder what other preschool enrollments look like, especially the park district(lower cost program.) hoooooey!

quote:

I'm still going with my gut...less kids.

15% fewer kids last day of school 2007 versus last day of school 2006!

Just like those interested in the long ago sunken vessel, there are no doubt a few in the district that would be interested in re-surfacing a mega-million bricks and mortar plan. With the administration bringing a "why it failed" discussion to the board at an August workshop, the spectacular sinking should not give us cause to believe that we have seen the last of a district referendum. The ref supporters in the community (whether on the board, in the administration or in the community at large) are counting on the rest of the voting community to have lost interest in the drama.

I see the "be positive about our community" goal of the new BB doesn't apply to our public schools. The same old cranks will drone on about the same old compost, over and over again.

Is the mutual goal for all of you malcontents to scare people out of town, keep them away, or both?

Maybe you'd like all of Glen Ellyn for yourselves?

quote:

Originally posted by Robin Hood:
I see the "be positive about our community" goal of the new BB doesn't apply to our public schools. The same old cranks will drone on about the same old compost, over and over again.

Is the mutual goal for all of you malcontents to scare people out of town, keep them away, or both?

Maybe you'd like all of Glen Ellyn for yourselves?

The only thing I want to scare away is a lack of common sense. I want people to question authority. Trust but verify. That's not being negative. It's my idea of being informed. It's the free marketplace of ideas.

If the Administration wants to use an August meeting, when everyone is out of town , to discuss "what went wrong" in the last referendum, should we close our eyes and ears? Maybe we should just say "something has to be done", even if the schools are winning awards.

Or maybe we should ask "why are you asking for answers to the obvious, thereby taking up your valuable time analyzing the referendum?" Robin, you call it a compost. Why not ask them why they are going to stir the Administration compost and let off more hot gas and stench?

Why is it that when government comes up with a question and puts the question to the voters, the ones who vote no are regarded as "cranks"? It's the first time I voted No. I really want to believe that the Administration respects the voters. Did I just tumble into the abyss of crankdom? I don't think so. I can tell you this: I dropped the subject (for the most part) at the end of April. The hard feelings remain on the 23% side. Many still do not talk to me.

I thought the April 17 question was put to us as an "up or down" vote. I guess the concept of a referendum is a fluid concept. I guess it means the same as pre-season. The voice of the people just doesn't count in the standings.

Blah, blah, blah.

You people just don't get it, do you?

Try to think about this from an outsider's perspective. You complain the same tired rant over and over and over, all vilifying the school board.

Try to imagine...try with all your cranker might, to see this from the perspective of someone who doesn't live around here, reading about our town. THIS IS A PUBLIC BULLETIN BOARD. THAT MEANS EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD CAN READ IT What would they think? Why would they want to live here?

Can't any of you crotchety lonely people think of anything positive to say ever?

quote:

Originally posted by Robin Hood:
Blah, blah, blah.

You people just don't get it, do you?

Try to think about this from an outsider's perspective. You complain the same tired rant over and over and over, all vilifying the school board.

Try to imagine...try with all your cranker might, to see this from the perspective of someone who doesn't live around here, reading about our town. THIS IS A PUBLIC BULLETIN BOARD. THAT MEANS EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD CAN READ IT What would they think? Why would they want to live here?

Can't any of you crotchety lonely people think of anything positive to say ever?

Well, my white bread plants are coming in just fine this year. My children are both above average. My wife never ages, and children in the 2 local high schools always call their teachers sir and ma'am. And we all go to church and have a fried chicken picnic every Sunday.

If you don't want to talk about politics, go to the gardening thread. Many a person coming from Chicago (our market for home buyers) would read this and say, "now there's a group of voters who get involved". That's why it's called "public" discourse. You might not like it, but this BB is a source of information for many people. And it's tame compared to some that are in Chicago.

I bet we cranks are also to blame for the housing slowdown. If we would just not say anything controversial, or .....BAD, things would be perfect. People would not avoid living here.

Funny, nobody is saying people avoid Naperville. They are vilifying each other over Libraries, parking lots, park districts, and school boards. They have a housing slowdown there too. But it's the best place in America to live!

Ron, don't forget that the women of Glen Ellyn can be seen grocery shopping wearing hats, white gloves and long dresses pushing a cart with two equally fine groomed, happy children. They smile and greet everyone they meet, because everything is perfect.

I have a relative that was house hunting a few years ago. He really liked Glen Ellyn and shopped around here. He finally bought elsewhere, having taken a hard look at the tax bills here and laughing all the way home. (He never did read the cranks on the bulletin board.)

This bulletin board contains many positive comments about life in Glen Ellyn including the schools. If we didn't believe in the schools and the teachers here we wouldn't be raising our kids here and wouldn't be as passionate as we are. It's best to believe that people like Ron and myself have never stepped foot in a classroom. It's better to have school board problems splashed around the headlines of the paper, like what is happening in St. Charles.

I'll gladly keep company with "crotchety lonely" people who are actually engaged in doing something about what so many other people whisper about.

Someday, Ron, I'll have to tell you a story about the district's coveted "Those Who Excel" award and what happened to one recipient.

quote:

Originally posted by Robin Hood:
Blah, blah, blah.

You people just don't get it, do you?

Try to think about this from an outsider's perspective. You complain the same tired rant over and over and over, all vilifying the school board.

Try to imagine...try with all your cranker might, to see this from the perspective of someone who doesn't live around here, reading about our town. THIS IS A PUBLIC BULLETIN BOARD. THAT MEANS EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD CAN READ IT What would they think? Why would they want to live here?

Can't any of you crotchety lonely people think of anything positive to say ever?

I find the "crotchety and lonely" comment quite hilarious since no one I know on this BB is either. If outsiders read this BB and then don't want to move here, quite frankly that's fine with me and here is why: If they aren't willing to dig deep into any community in which they wish to live, then I don't want them here. The thing is NOT ONE COMMUNITY IS FREE OF PROBLEMS!!! Not one. If people think they are moving to some kind of never-neverland or heaven on earth, they will be depressed individuals no matter where they go.

As for the discontent: Should we try to move past and offer solutions? Yes. But if at every turn, the district never admits to their mistakes (I would venture to say that the superintendent has come the closeness to sincere and contrite behavior and comments). Does that mean that those who have been personally chastized should simply forget the horrid treatment they have received when, initially, asking genuine, sincere questions and trying to look out for the financial benefit of the entire community? I don't think that's possible.

It's interesting that once again, I applied for a committee and was not contacted in any way about joining it. No opportunity to discuss it, nothing. That doesn't do much to instill a sense of trust or genuine desire to field the ideas, thoughts,and concerns of the whole community. If this district wants to truly "mend fences" they will reach out to the "nay-sayers" for committees. They should make sure that some of the "oppostion" (as others put it, not me) is on every committee. It demonstrates true transparency.

I have consistently tried to walk fine line - to know what school sytems are like from the inside while questioning whether what "we" do is the best answer. I have tried to always remain polite and respectful of individual human beings that happen to serve on the board but that does not mean that I will not criticize their statements or efforts as a board member. There is a difference. Yes, some people slip toward personal comments and I'm not fond of it but I understand it. Particularly from several people who have had their names personally "dragged through the mud" by board members. It's hard to expect people to be perfect in their attitudes all the time. We are human and if someone reads this board and says, "Hey, I'm human too!" then they are the PERFECT people to move to our town! I welcome real humans with open arms and will forgive anyone who asks for my forgiveness as I hope others will forgive me if I have done anything hurtful. It has certainly never been my intention.

Dear Robin Hood: your arguments are getting tiring. Very much along the same lines as "it's for the kids". This town is not going to take the propaganda from the school districts hook, line, and sinker anymore. We demand accountability and should in fact, not have to fight for it in any way, shape, or form and should be forthcoming as a matter good manners and civic responsibility. This town has awoken in part due to the existince of this BB and the hard work of a great many people uncovering the subterfuge generated by the educational machine that exists today in this country and in particular, the districts in GE. The assualt of our intelligence and downright thievery by previous school admins is the crime you should be concerned with. The exhorbinant taxes levied on this town by an inefficient school system is the culprit for many not choosing to live here. And lets not kid ourselves, D41 and D87 are at best, marginal in their results as compared to the amount of money poured in. It's high time you look at the big picture, unless you have more money than God and can afford the situation at hand.

I ditto Gus.

Sincerely,
a happy Crank.

quote:

Originally posted by Robin Hood:
Blah, blah, blah.

You people just don't get it, do you?

Try to think about this from an outsider's perspective. You complain the same tired rant over and over and over, all vilifying the school board.

Try to imagine...try with all your cranker might, to see this from the perspective of someone who doesn't live around here, reading about our town. THIS IS A PUBLIC BULLETIN BOARD. THAT MEANS EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD CAN READ IT What would they think? Why would they want to live here?

Can't any of you crotchety lonely people think of anything positive to say ever?

I never get tired hearing about D41 stuff. Keep it coming 24/7. I think Robin Hood may be in bed with D41, after all isn't Robin Hood considered the Prince of Thieves?

Gus, where in the hell have you been?

I think Robin Hood is the cranky one. I won't waste my time responding to his posts.