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[...]edited by: Douglas Welch,
Illinois Editor
On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed our Constitution setting the stage for the greatest country in the world. We are the shining city on the hill as Ronald Reagan said. People around the world want to come here for the freedom and opportunity we enjoy [...]
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[...]Below is the text of the speech or at the Whitehouse website. District 46 Superintendent will be pre-screening the speech at 11 AM this morning and then allowing the students to watch it between 1 and 3 PM. The will be no accompanying curriculum will not be done. I [...]
The District 46 school board will be holding a community forum tonight. The discussion will be about the finances and the upcoming school years budget.
Grayslake Middle School
6 PM
The last community forum information can be found at Live Blogging D46 Community Forum Meeting
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[...]I an live blogging the responses from the school board community forum. Please check back for updates throughout the night. Currently there are approximately 75 community members in attendance. This excludes school board members and school administration. My comments in (parenthesis).
1). Many people in the community would like to become [...]
The Grayslake School Board has scheduled a community forum for this Wednesday night at 7:30 pm at Grayslake Middle School. Please attend and tell everyone you know about this forum. The more people that attend, the more likely it will be to have future sessions. Listed below are the final [...]
There has been an ongoing discussion among parents, D46 administration and D46 school board members about whether to hold an open forum with the community. A discussion is on the agenda for tonights meeting. The Daily Herald is reporting on this effort this morning.
Smigielski said the possibility [...]
Only 27% of aspiring teachers could pass the math tests. If you have any doubts why fuzzy math, everyday math, new math or whatever name the education schools come up with. Money is not going to solve this problem. Competition, alternative certifications and real world experienced teachers will have the [...]
Several District 46 parents have been asking the school board to hold a community forum. The Daily Herald is finally reporting this story:
District 46 resident Shannon Smigielski said she and other parents want elected board members to host a proper forum so there can be give-and-take on major issues [...]
This coming Friday, May 8th, there will be a blogger meetup at Carlucci’s Restaurant in Downers Grove, IL. This event is sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance and Illinois Review. The event runs from 10 am - 4 pm and will feature Award Winning Investigative Journalist, Trent Siebert. [...]
There is a school board meeting tonight at Grayslake Middle School. One topic being discussed is the Superintendent’s contract. Please attend if you want your voice heard.
I’d like to suggest that the school board freeze pay or at least tie ti to CPI during these economic hard times. [...]
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[...]There is a website that allows students and parents to rate their teachers. It is RateMyTeachers.com. Here are direct links to Grayslake schools that had a listing:
Avon Grayslake Middle School Meadowview Grayslake High School Illinois Schools [...]Powered by Twitter Tools.
[...]The Grayslake Elementary District 46 Schools is preparing to have an energy review to see if solar or wind power can help them save money.
Energy costs are the latest area where Grayslake Elementary District 46 officials want to make significant cuts.
District 46 isn’t alone in trying to hold the [...]
The MacIver Institute has the video of 17 year old homeschooler, Melika Willoughby speaking at the Madison, WI tax Day tea Party. Watch for yourself and listen to her words. She did a great job representing homeschoolers and calling all people to action.
[...]There are 4 candidates running for 3 positions. The Daily Herald has endorsed Tom Meskel and Thomas G. Halloran.
Incumbent Tom Meskel is a strong member of the board who is both fiscally conservative and an innovator willing to explore creative ideas, such as a wind farm that can generate [...]
Grayslake Elementary is cutting 29 jobs to help alleviate a budget deficit. The District did not get as much of a revenue increase from property taxes due CPI being only 0.1 %. Since around 80% of the district’s expenditures are for salaries the only place to make up the [...]
A North Carolina Judge ordered a homeschool mom to place her kids in public schools. [Emphasis mine]
A judge has ordered a mom to place her three home-schooled children in public school – even though the kids were excelling.
North Carolina Judge Ned Mangum told Venessa Mills, who was in the [...]
The Illinois Legislature has introduced 2 bills that could affect homeschooling in the state. Hat tip: Susan at Home Education Magazine and Illinois Review for both of these bills.
The first is HB 3743, “ILLINOIS VIRTUAL SCHOOLS”:
Synopsis: Creates the Illinois Virtual School Act. Establishes the Illinois Virtual School [...]
Lake Villa Christian Academy is accepting registrations. You can request more information by contacing Bob or Mary Parikh at 847-245-7471 or 847-356-1031. More information is below:
The Bible will be taught, faith will be shared and children will be encouraged to receive the life transforming message of the Gospel and Jesus [...]The News-Sun is reporting about how Grayslake High School District is planning on spending $1.6 Million dollars on capital improvement projects. The largest of these projects is approximately $1.1 million to put artificial turf at the new North High School.
The board set aside $500,000 for classroom improvements [...]
Grayslake schools are estimated to receive just over $1.1 million dollars from the stimulus package. The breakdown of IDEA, Part B funds are as follows. Neither district will be receiving Title 1 monies in this estimate.
Grayslake Elementary $813,000
Grayslake High School $336,000
These estimates can be found on page 13 of [...]
I received notice today that there is a community interest meeting for a new Christian Elementary School in Lake County. It would be located in Lake Villa for K-8 students. See details below and please attend and pass this information below along to your friends and neighbors.
We have some exciting [...]
I received the following email about House Bill 643 and House Bill 1097. Please call the representatives listed below and voice your opinion. The hearing is scheduled for tomorrow Feb. 26, at 10 a.m. in the Capitol Building, Room 122B if you would prefer to attend in person.
House [...]
VoicesForSchoolChoice.org have a video of students in DC asking President Obama to continue the Opportunity scholarships in Washington, DC.
[...]
GrizzlyGroundswell provided the image below. This was sent out by the Chicago Teachers Unions members today.
[...]I received an interesting link about candidates for school board in Palatine District 15. Watch for yourself below and you can see why it so hard to get fiscally responsible candidates elected to school boards.
[...]
The largest Home School Conference in the midwest takes place in Cincinatti, OH April 16th-18th. For more details click the links below:
Huge vendor exhibitors
Schedule
Incredible speakers
Sessions & Workshops - there will even be a Teen Track this year.
Affordable Registration Costs [...]
The News-Sun has a story about the Big Hollow School Board creating a job for one of their own. Their story is a result of me sending them a copy of my story entitled Big Hollow Taxpayer Pressure Forces A Little Transparency.
You will also notice in the [...]
This is a quick reminder that if you are interested in helping review math curriculum for Grayslake Elementary District 46, the deadline is today. Below is more information on the process:
Meetings held monthly on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday Meetings will be held during the day (8-11 or 12-3) with [...]The Big Hollow Taxpayers have won a small victory. On Monday, the school board backed down in hiring one of their own as the technology director. The pressure brought about by district residents in this situation forced the board to reopen the process.
Wright had been volunteering at the district [...]
Big Hollow School District 38 is hiring a Director of Technology. This position and how it is being handled is being questioned by residents of the district. The job posting can be found here. Below is the email I received from a resident providing background for the approval [...]
Since I am not keeping up with blogging as I should, I thought I’d do a quick news roundup of stories about Grayslake Schools:
Math Committees at Grayslake Elementary Schools How should District 46 communicate with the community?Grayslake Elementary District 46 board members Monday night discussed the pros and [...]
Grayslake Elementary Schools is seeking community involvement to review math curriculum. They want 2 committees:
Kindergarten - 5th grade 5th grade - 8th gradeMembers of the community who would like to serve on a committee should send a letter of intent to Lynn Barkley by Jan. 23.
Be sure to include any [...]
Blue Collar Muse has an interesting picture from a local Elementary School showing their word of the month, “Fairness”. In ironic fashion, the school is not meeting AYP and has had the “word of the month” up since at least October. I guess this is a small example [...]
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Arne Duncan will be named Secretary of Education. This appointment most likely means Obama and Duncan will make the NEA very happy while the taxpayers and children will suffer the consequences.
For those of you who do not know Arne Duncan, he is [...]
Sorry I have been so busy lately. Now is the time to think about running for your local school board. Monday is the deadline for getting in your petition signatures. For most school baords it will only take 100 voter signatures to get you listed on the ballot. For more [...]
No details have been released as of yet, but there is a notice on the D46 Website and in the News-Sun. The following is from the D46 Website.
UPDATE: The Daily Herald has posted an article about this as well, here.
CCSD 46 NOTICE: 11/01/08
Tentative agreement [...]
Since yesterday, the teachers of District 46 schools are working strictly to the letter of the hours outlined in the contract that expired June 30th of this year. This was first reported in the comments of the Daily Herald. I confirmed this with Superintendent Correll this morning.
I did ask [...]
Yesterday, the Grayslake Teachers Union voted to approve an intent to strike. They cannot strike however until Nov. 6 at the earliest. I am not surprised by this move in the least. A strike threat is just the beginning salvo for the teachers intent to use the children they teach [...]
The article from the Chicago Sun-Times is highlighting the need for Recess and other activities in Chicago Public Schools. In doing so they pointed out how the kids came up with a cost-free way to have after school programs to help the kids stay off the streets.
They asked parents [...]
The bond referendum for Warren Township is one of the strangest and most manipulative I have seen. The board voted to lower the tax rate only if the voters allowed them to borrow $30 million dollars.
Warren Township High School officials would cut their tax rate if voters grant permission to [...]
The Daily Herald is reporting that the Grayslake 46 teachers union will be voting on Monday whether or send a notice to strike. Once they take this step, they have to wait at least 10 days before they can actually call a strike.
Negotiations will be continuing and a [...]
On Monday of this week, Real Debate Wisconsin was notified that the Racine Unified School District was using a text book that contains a 15 page love-fest for Obama. (Story below)
I have confirmed that this same book is being used by Grayslake District 46 as well. I [...]
Here are a couple of recent stories on how our public government schools are indoctrinating our children.
Real Debate Wisconsin has been notified that the Racine Unified School District is using a text book that contains a 15 page love-fest for Obama The Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco [...]Students in Fairfax County tried to donate books to school libraries. These Christian books on homosexuality were denied donation.
This is ironic since librarians and teachers are fighting to keep books that are age inappropriate in their libraries.
[...]We continue to dumb down our students by Rewriting American History to be politically correct. It is time we stopped this practice and started teaching what really happened and why we became know as the melting pot. Today we are separate pots. The following quote is from the [...]
From the Champion:
To use economic terminology, the school reform debate is about a bottom line: student achievement. After years of pouring money into the public schools, public school students have not shown commensurate improvement in academic achievement. Parents, taxpayers, and concerned citizens are still not being given adequate answers [...]
For those of you who do not know who Tim Tebow is, he is the Heisman winning quarterback of the Florida Gators. In addition, he was home schooled, but was allowed to play football for Nease High School. Tebow laws are efforts to try and allow home schoolers to [...]
Everyone is now receiving their blue cards (Property Tax Assessments). The government is greedy and continuing to take more and more of our money. Yet for all the money they take, they want to continue to hide where they spend our tax dollars.
There are 15 referendums/advisory [...]
Dear D158 Board Members,
I would like to encourage you to stand strong and do what is fiscally responsible. Below are tactics used by the Michigan MEA. Some of these very tactics have been used in districts here in Illinois. Please continue to share data with the public and you will [...]
The Lake County Assessors Office is holding its annual property assessment forums and help centers. In fact their are tax help centers open tonight from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm at the College of Lake COunty Southlake Education Center in Vernon Hills and the University Center of Lake County. See [...]
The Huntley District 158 teachers have rejected a 17.8% increase over the next 3 years and called a strike today. The District’s Press Release is below:
Date: September 15, 2008 4:00 a.m. RE: Union Turns Down 17.8%
Salary Offer; Calls Strike for Monday, September 15.
The Huntley Education Association (HEA) leadership [...]
UPDATE:
I was emailed last night. The student is now enrolled at Lakes and will be tested. The school is being cooperatative at this time. The credits transfer will be determined after testing.
UPDATE:
I recevied a phone call from Principal McKay of Lakes Community High School Friday morning. I wasn unable to [...]
Thankfully, the 1-percent sales tax for school construction will not be on the ballot this November. Of course, the schools will regroup and try again. They always do and there is nothing the voters can do about it. The best we can do is continue to watch school spending [...]
Here we go again. The State is re-scoring tests. This is ridiculous. The education bureaucracy is inept in even the simple task of scoring tests. How are we ever supposed to believe they can actually educate our children? How are we ever supposed to believe they know better than [...]
In Illinois, the government continues to mandate more and more expenses on families. This time they are requiring eye exams before a student enters kindergarten.
Illinois kindergartners already faced a lengthy to-do list before they could report to school: mandatory vaccinations, tuberculosis tests, physicals and dental exams. This year, they [...]
It is so interesting that so many teachers believe their union is there to protect them. Yet, the union forces them to make contributions in most states with the use of language called “fair share” in the contracts. These forced contributions are then used by the unions for political [...]
The Rev. Al Sharpton has joined State Sen. Meeks boycott of Chicago Public Schools over the funding inequities in the public government school system. See the video here and here.
I have been saying a lawsuit has been in order for several years now because of the [...]
The South Town Star article stating Illinois funds 29 percent of public schools’ costs is disengenuous. This is an average across all schools in which some schools get the majority of their funding from the state and some get nearly zero. In addition, the property tax system that [...]
In a reversal of an earlier ruling, the California Court now says homeschooling is Constitutional.
the California Court of Appeal ruled that the state’s education code allows parents to home school their children. That decision means parents do not have to obtain state credentials in order to home school. [...]
State Sen. Meeks is encouraging CPS students to skip school the first day and attempt to register at New Trier and other so called elite schools. This is a gimic that highlights the inequity in our current school funding model of funding bureaucratic districts leaving many children behind. Unfortunately, [...]
This is a great video showing the idiocy of arguments opposing funding the child instead of public government school bureaucracies. (Hat tip: Liberty is for me)
[...]Does the Illinois Lottery pay for education? That is the question the Daily Herald answered a few days ago. [Emphasis Mine]
First, an answer. Yes, millions of dollars from losing Illinois Lottery tickets go to fund public education.
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The lottery began in 1974, but the money wasn’t specifically earmarked for education until [...]
This report is from the Schott Foundation for Public Education and reported in EdWeek. [Emphasis mine]
Since 2004, the foundation has tracked the school performance of African-American boys. This year’s report, released last month in Chicago at the annual UNITY convention of minority journalists, shows that 53 percent of [...]
Are we are not our brother’s keeper? is a letter to the editor in today’s Daily Herald.
The preamble of our state constitution holds state government responsible for, among other things, to “provide for the health, safety and welfare of the people,” to “eliminate poverty and inequality,” and [...]
District 46 School board approved contracts to install new lighting in the Frederick Parking lot. They are also considering putting cameras in both Frederick and Grayslake Middle school.
Grayslake District 46 is taking steps this summer to make its schools safer for students and staff as they start the new [...]
This falls in the no surprise category. The small group of parents and teachers who came to the meetings recommended a referendum. See the stories about it in the following local papers:
News-Sun: Antioch group recommends elementary school referendum (Excerpt below) Daily Herald: Antioch group tabs education goals [...]In todays Daily Herald they report about a Wauconda School Board member pleading guilty to domestic battery.
Wauconda school board member Nicholas Batson was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 2 years probation Thursday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.
Batson was facing up to [...]
This is totally unrelated to education, but I would like to share it anyway. The Voice of the Martyrs is giving away free Olympic Prayer Bands to help you remember to pray for the persecuted Christians in China during the Olympics. I encourage every Christian to order theirs today [...]
In the following Letter to the Editor in the Daily Herald explains why “common sense and backbone” is needed to fix the pension problem here in Illinois. A large part of the culprit here in Illinois is the outrageous retirement benefits given to teachers through their end of [...]
Obama recently gave a speech in Powder Spring, GA where encouraged parents to teach their kids Spanish. Our public government schools can’t even teach English, how does he expect them to teach Spanish as well?
If you want to know more about Obama’s positions on education and other issues visit another [...]
This story was reported in both the Daily Herald and News-Sun.
Daily Herald excerpts:
Grayslake High School District’s technology director had a blood-alcohol level more than double the legal threshold when his boat collided with another vessel early Sunday, killing a 21-year-old woman, state officials said.
Rick L. McGuire, [...]
In more disturbing news from the local school districts, it was discovered that the
Grayslake Elementary District 46 overpaid 13 teachers and classroom assistants a combined $92,106 over the last two academic years
The story was in the Daily Herald. I am glad to see them continuing their reporting [...]
The case of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 trying to keep the former superintendents contract is a ridiculous attempt to manipulate the Freedom of Information Act. The current school administration is costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars to prevent the public from seeing what is in the contract. One part [...]
Palantine-Schaumburg High School District 211 agreed to spend $8.5 Million dollars to put artificial turf onto its stadiums at its 5 schools. This cost is an extra $2 Million dollars that originally expected. You can read some related stories about this at the following:
Test: Lead in Dist. 211 turf [...]The link below contains the latest newsletter mailed to Warren District 121 residents. Please review this and leave comments if you wish. I’ll try to do some analysis later, but I just don’t have time at the moment. Pay attention to page 1 with the district comparisons and how much [...]
The following was a letter to the editor in yesterday’s Daily Herald. How we assess properties in Illinois is a good idea, but it won’t really do anything about your property taxes unless they limit what school districts and other taxing bodies can levy.
Senate Joint Resolution [...]
Pediatrician Says Try Discipline before Ritalin is
“Could it be that America would rather give unruly kids a pill than a swat?”
That’s what Dr. Lawrence Diller asks in a recent article. The behavioral pediatrician in Walnut Creek, Calif., said he thinks Ritalin is prescribed too often.
“There’s good solid evidence [...]
Did you know there are 200 school districts that exist in Illinois that only have 1 school? I knew there were some but did not know there were that many. The Daily Herald pointed this out last Saturday. [Emphasis mine]
School districts across Lake County are grappling with an array [...]
In a letter to the editor, Grayslake Elementary District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll defends paying the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence to review the districts schools and them receiving awards from them.
On Monday, June 2, the Daily Herald published an article entitled “Grayslake Elementary District 46 honored by company [...]
Are School Districts to Blame For the Mortgage Crisis? This is a very interesting question and explored by Robert Frank in his article DOn’t Blame All Borrowers. [Emphasis mine]
It’s easy to see why. Even in the 1950s, one of the highest priorities of most parents was to send [...]
The Democrats and Teachers Unions are trying to kill the Washington D.C. Opportunity scholarships. In effect they are Putting Children Last instead of first. Visit the WSJ for the full article. I am going to highlight the most important quotes and statements below.
Democrats in Congress have finally found [...]
The Daily Herald Editorial staff also weighed in on District 46 paying a consultant who gave them awards. There take: “It’s not an award if you’re paying for it“. [Emphasis mine]
The total tab, once you include pay for substitutes for teachers gone traveling, was $40,468.
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The [...]
Teachers Unions do this across the State if Illinois and the country. They intimidate school boards into being silent about contract details until after they are approved. This is a travesty that should be stopped, but I fear that this will never happen until enough school board members who understand [...]
Last night the Grayslake District 46 school board approved purchasing SMART boards.
District 46 board members agreed Monday night the SMART boards were a good educational tool in a pilot project that ran for nearly the final two months of the academic year. They voted to pay $33,041 to keep [...]
A homeschool robotics team won the World Championship in Atlanta last month.
On April 17-18, 2008, a team of seven homeschooled high schoolers swept the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) World Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, taking home a Winning Alliance Team trophy and the Amaze Award (awarded by the judges [...]
The chicanery going on with the Gavin District 37 School Board is ridiculous. It is just one more example of the pat to play system prevalent throughout all levels of government in Illinois. It also shows how the school board in many districts in uncontrollable with just elections. We [...]
The Daily Herald has a report today on how much the district paid to get the Blue Ribbon Awards they received last November. The total costs was over $40,000.
What’s not mentioned is South Carolina-based Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Inc. named the award winners after being paid $22,192 [...]
Illinois Deserves Better is book that explains everything you need to know about voting this November on the question of whether there should be a Constitutional Convention called. The book was written by Bruno Behrend of Extreme Wisdom and John Bambenek of Part-Time Pundit. It is very [...]
Parade had one of the most outrageous articles I have seen in a while about homeschooling. They ask the question should homeschooling be illegal? They do include a poll with the article and at this time it is running 90% - 10% to allow parents to teach even [...]
