Yes, it’s time for yard signs, and I have two kinds to choose from: First, I have signs available which were produced by the PAC/parent group which is supporting the four challenger candidates, “Parents for Kids.” Second, I will have yard signs to promote my own candidacy available in about a week’s time.  These are…

In 2017, the Daily Herald made its endorsements in the school board race on March 14 (for residents of Arlington Heights, viewable via the library’s online databases).  Here’s what they said: This is a remarkable group of knowledgeable, engaged candidates, all of whom are intimately familiar not just with individual schools but with the district…

It’s easy to get caught up in the school re-opening battle, and to forget that there are other issues in the school district, so I asked parents, via Facebook, about what their other concerns are.  Some of them responded that they had been entirely satisfied with their District 214 experience up until they closed schools, or,…

Up until yesterday, families had been counting on the CDC to release updated guidance for schools which would make re-opening more feasible.  Even Superintendent Schuler, at last night’s board meeting, said that he expected the new guidance to include relaxed provisions for social distancing, for instance a 3 foot rather than 6 foot guideline, which…

On Friday, in the Pioneer Press/local news section of the paper, the Chicago Tribune reported that “Less than 25% of the 12,000 students at District 214 in Arlington Heights choose to attend classes in-person, despite calls to ‘open schools’.” The article was, however, far from the “analysis” it purported to be.  The author cites statistics on…

Teachers in the Chicago Public Schools have voted to refuse to teach in buildings, the functional equivalent of a strike, and their supporters claim their actions are entirely reasonable because those teachers fear for their lives.  At the same time, growing numbers of studies point to the overall safety of school reopening, giving communities reassurance…

A little over two weeks ago, I shared with readers the information I had available on waitlists being created for in-person education.  After allowing only a week to submit a form requesting third-quarter in-person access, with an e-mail coming from an unexpected e-mail address, and no reminders, families who missed this artificially-short deadline were placed…

Last night, at the January board of education meeting, a district staff member, Dr. Lopez, gave a presentation on “teaching and learning.”  To address the question of how students are faring in the remote learning environment, he presented a chart showing very modest drop-offs in course pass rates, namely, the following (obtained via a Freedom…

In the news today, “House, Senate pass first leg of Black Caucus legislation.”  That’s the headline at the State Journal-Register, and it sounds innocuous enough: The 21-page bill focuses on improving the education of minority students, including creating new programs to support early childhood education, creating a task force to support equitable environments in Illinois…

Waitlists? Yes, some students wishing to attend district 214 schools in person are being told they are being placed on waitlists. How and why?  Let’s start at the beginning. On September 24, Superintendent Schuler sent out an e-mail to families notifying them of a planned return-to-school on October 15th. In the intervening weeks, parents received…