Wed Apr 16, 2008 at 12:54 PMBy: Dennis Frank Sweet. The best part about Report Card Pickup Day
is that we'll be voting for a new LSC at Ravenswood
Elementary, certain to transform the school in more
positive ways.

Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 5:31 AMBy: judy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Ravenswood is on a downward spiral
as the new LSC members may
only be focused on keeping
a Principal who does what they want him
to do. Wait until he turns on them.

Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 10:39 AMBy: Kristin Inconvenienced and Hopeful This will be a first but as with everything there is always juggling. There is a sitter involved. Getting your sign-in first so I can get after hours appointment and not take time off from my job. Then there is the coordination between two classrooms and hoping that no one is running behind. Also the last conferences I had one teacher totally disregarded the schedule and I ended up waiting 40 minutes. Then the teacher gave me less than 5 minutes. Seemed pretty worthless.

Being part of Ravenswood, I am excited about LSC elections. I think that if you are going to believe in the LSC system then you have to look at it as an opportunity for growth. It's just disappointing that there was such low turnout for the Ravenswood LSC forum. Doesn't speak well to the community involvement level at this time.

I think we truly do need to examine Ms. G's question regarding participation. Can we truly label LSCs a sucess without a representative sample of the community voting? Just wondering where we start to come together - hoping that it is possible.

Thu Apr 17, 2008 at 7:46 PMBy: cklaus Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? 92% of my homeroom parents came, not a moment to spare for the whole six hours, ate my lunch in 10 mins., by the end the ap was knocking on my door every 5 mins. because if not i would've been there till eight. Parents supportive and understanding, I just hope the yoyos weren't elected. If each teacher got only three voters from the district and provided them with a slate...

7th grade teacher

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 2:47 AMBy: George N. Schmidt Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? "...Jose Alvarez the inexperienced hispanic who took over LSC relations doesn't know a darn thing about his office. He needs to hold everyone in that office accountable at central office on what they do and where they are at, like today..." (last night, after the polls closed).

Are there details to this, or is it just blogdacious defamation?

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 10:38 AMBy: Dennis Frank Did you feel that Earthquake? Oh, yeah. I think it was the collective cheering.

Thanks to everyone who voted yesterday in the Ravenswood Local School Council election. Over 100 votes were cast. The votes have been counted and the election results have been certified.

The new LSC will be seated July 1, and will serve for the next two years. The new LSC is comprised of:

PARENT REPRESENTATIVES:

Colleen McVeigh 78 votes (incumbent)
works with teachers to provide instructional and curricular support in differentiating instruction and meeting individual student needs, and assists teachers in using assessment to inform instruction in their classrooms. Colleen has done teaching, coaching and consulting work for DePaul University, University of Chicago, and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest as well as several other private and public organizations. She believes that in order for all students to achieve, rigorous expectations need to be communicated clearly to school professionals, parents, and the community.

Lisa DeYoung 63 votes
has over 20 years of both for-profit and non-profit experience focused on operational improvement of organizations and program development. She earned a Masters of Business (MBA) and Masters of Social Work (MSW) and has extensive experience with managing budgets, fundraising, and effectively working with diverse teams. Currently, she is the Director of National Programs at America’s Second Harvest, the largest domestic anti-hunger organization. She develops and manages national programs that feed low-income children and their families. She has been part of the Friends of Ravenswood for two years and has served as a room captain. She believes that parent involvement is key to a well-functioning school.

Greg Janes 61 votes
is the parent of three children who will all attend Ravenswood in the fall. He is currently a lawyer and is a former fifth grade teacher. He coaches his children's soccer and baseball teams. He is active in school activities and events. He has three priorities: to insure that all children are challenged, to provide before and after school activities for all, and to hold the teachers, parents and next principal accountable to the high standards that we expect for our school.

Carlos Beals 49 votes
is the parent of a current Ravenswood student and will have two more children enroll in coming years. He has a degree in aeronautical engineering, though currently works in risk management for an electronic futures trading company in the Loop. He believes every child should get the best possible education regardless of their background and believes an active LSC can make that happen by setting high standards and following through on the implementation of those standards at all levels - student, parent, teacher and administration. He also believes in supporting and expanding before- and after-school activities.

Andy McSheffrey 41 votes
has spent the last 20 years working with schools, government and private businesses helping people to confront issues that unlock and maximize their performance. Andy has worked extensively with teachers, coaches, administrators and students in schools throughout Illinois. He has worked with over 30,000 people to increase productivity and improve workplace dynamics. Andy has a Bachelors degree in Parks and Recreation and has done Masters Degree work in substance abuse counseling. He served in the Navy in Vietnam and has been trained in experiential education, outdoor survival and counseling.

Kristine Lontane 38 votes
is the full time mother of two Ravenswood students. She also works 5 days a week for River West Meeting Associates, a meeting planning company she helped co-found in 1997. A native of Vermont, she has lived in Chicago for over 15 years now. As a co-founder of a successful small business, she brings experience in working though growing pains, budgeting, planning and employment issues. Her passion however is community building and she hopes to help make Ravenswood a model community school.

COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES

Mary Lubben 44 votes
a resident of the community since 1994, is an executive with JPMorgan Chase. She has two children currently in CPS (Northside) with a third entering in the fall (Lincoln Park). She served for several years on the finance committee at her kids’ parochial school and assisted with fundraising efforts. She believes Ravenswood School is an underappreciated asset with enormous potential that would benefit from stable leadership and wider community support. She thinks that with her background she can be helpful on both counts.

Bonnie Perry 42 votes (incumbent)
is the rector/senior pastor of All Saints' Church. She believes that Ravenswood School should be an excellent School and she will work to make it so. She is deeply saddened by Principal Erin Roche's departure and will work to find a principal who espouses the ideals that Erin put forth. She is committed to increasing the community's connection to Ravenswood School and will use all of the resources of All Saints' Church and the church's not-for-profit, Ravenswood Community Services, to solidify this connection.

TEACHER REPRESENTATIVES
Kitty Conde 20 votes (incumbent)
Tim Hart 20 votes (incumbent)

Peace. Out.

Fri Apr 18, 2008 at 3:24 PMBy: judy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Maybe you are in denial. but some of us are not.
Moving on would be great, but we have heard that the current
LSC is going to give a contract to Mr. Roche as soon as
the take their seats. (Remember you heard it hear first)

Because the "new" LSC members are part of the
Principal Selection Committee and they have been dragging their feet to select a Principal because IF they do not do
it. The new Group of Educating LSC's want to keep Mr. Roche
and his dictatorship style of running a school.

You may have good intentions but only time will tell
and if Mr. Roche is given a contract by this new LSC
then the proof will be in the pudding. Yes, he may
lose arbitration but that does not mean the new
LSC will do the "Right Thing" and not give him another
contract. You are entitled to your opinion and that
is all I am giving is mine. Some of us have seen
Mr. Roche when he is not giving the new LSC his
spiel on education that is all on paper and not in
practice. So it is not personal but only again will
time tell if the new LSC will be fair, We already that
the Community Rep who ran again does everything
Mr. Roche says without question and she did for
two years. So her record is already intact we expect
nothing else from her unless she demonstrates the
compassion her collar should represent, that was
missing in action for the last two years. One
can only pray and hope because some of us
know we all reap what we sow.

Just an opinion nothing to concern yourself about
if you are going to to do the right thing.

Sat Apr 19, 2008 at 11:16 AMBy: Good to see TRUTH Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? INCOMING

Thank you for sharing information with Kristen that
may help to her and the NEW LSC to see that just because people did not run for the LSC did not mean they did not care about what
would be happening with THEIR SCHOOL.

The time is now to deal with the OUR and the WE, not the THEM and what they used to do.


Last statements on Roche,

Mr. Roche is only a principal, this is ONLY HIS JOB, NOT HIS SCHOOL if he had done HIS JOB and worked with everyone,
even with disagreements, he would have gotten a new contract.

The new LSC has no idea how many people will be holding their feet to the same fire they lit under the last LSC. It is by no means a done deal because the new LSC is of a different background and
culture. A new relationship is being forged to ensure that parents are not left behind as they have been with the present administrator not working with Bilingual Parents or NCLB parents.

It has been the consistent actions of Mr. Roche since he was voted
out that has made others aware that the decision was the correct one, if the new LSC does as judy stated have a plan to give
the present Principal another contract there is evidence that would support this would not be a good decision to make. Legal
remedies will be the key word of the day especially since we
have now been forewarned that this is a possibility.

I will pray that everyone on the new LSC understands
the huge responsibility they have to support not
just the people who voted for them, but everyone
that they represent, Bilingual and NCLB Parents.

That is when the healing will begin and the abuse will
end and a new Principal may come with his / her
issues as well. Because that is just how it is,
How they will be resolved will be the deciding
factor about the new LSC.

If they know how to communicate and respect
TEACHERS, PARENTS, STUDENTS and the community
the battles will be different ones. Stakeholders will not
be so hurt by the callous indifference the present principal
cornered the market with because of his arrogance and ignorance about his unethical slant on his job because instead of thinking
he was hired to work with the school stakeholders, he always
FELT they were only suppose to WORK with him and his
instructional his brand of leadership over what he deemed to
be as HIS school instead of OUR SCHOOL. It was his undoing
and with a fair accounting of his abilities, wherever he goes
until he does right at Ravenswood, it will follow him especially
with the Arbitration Hearing soon to begin and REAL facts will
come out about his skills and responsibilities to the school
he was selected to work with and for and not against.

The saddest part of this whole sage was the
mental abuse put on teachers. It appears
to be his basic personality and that he
never developed people-skills to support
his academic background. It was selective
at best and done with such shallow accountings
that even the AIO was not very happy with
him( just my opinion, not a personal accounting
I do not know the AIO over the AMPS schools)


Many teachers have been damaged
and scarred by his dictator style of instructional
leadership and those wounds do not heal over
night. Parent who trusted him were bullied and
staff was under a fear of losing their jobs if they
did not hold the line to agree with what ever he
said.

END OF STATEMENTS ABOUT MR ROCHE for it is NOW the
TIME to Let the REAL healing begin and remember always actions speak much louder than words.

I am waiting with bated breath for the LSC org. meeting that must be held between July 1 and July 14 to see if they will understand
their role. I hope they all ge REAL training before this meeting.
Having an educational background does not mean they will understand Reform law and or the budget or the school curriculum
and their responsibilities to Monitor the Principal and the Internal
Accounts for the school.

I will be praying for the REAL HEALING to begin and I hope
others will do the same.

Sat Apr 19, 2008 at 2:18 PMBy: Dennis Frank Special to KC and the Sunshine Band Helen Shiller's office is looking for interns.
Looks like you'll have the free time.

Sat Apr 19, 2008 at 5:59 PMBy: to: not doing that again Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Wow. I'm not sure if this post is supposed to be sarcastic, a joke, or what. I don't think you realize what a self-centered jerk your post makes you appear.

Your point one--that I understand--the kids do have the day off and you have to provide care for them. But maybe you could have hit a museum? Maybe gone to a movie to celebrate his/her good grades? It's been beautiful this week--maybe the zoo? Picnic in the park? God forbid you actually spend one-on-one time with your kid, huh?

Your point two? Well, that just indicates all how apathetic you are. LSC candidates not only have to write a candidate statement (which should have been posted in your child's school), they have to participate in a forum where parents--and community members--are welcome to ask questions. If you voted on name recognition alone, it's because YOU didn't give enough of a shit to find out who was running. Seriously depressing.

Your points 3, 4, 5 & 6? IT'S YOUR JOB AS A PARENT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR CHILD IS LEARNING/HOW (S)HE IS PROGRESSING/WHY (S)HE EARNED THE GRADES (S)HE DID. And if you walked away "having no greater understanding about the performance behind the grades" YOU suck as much as you think the "system" does. As a teacher and a parent, I am constantly appalled at the lack of effort by parents in their child's education. It's YOUR child. In the classroom, s/he is one of 22, 24, 26 kids. Believe me, if you think your job is just to get your kid to school, you're going to be sorely disappointed in what CPS (or any district for that matter) will churn back out to you in 18 years.

And your point 7? Again, if you don't value your kid's education, s/he's not going to either.

If you're not going to participate, you can't bitch.

Sun Apr 20, 2008 at 6:54 PMBy: Dore School Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Add Dore to the list of LSCs run by a bully with a personal agenda. He campaigned dirty and he won. The children lost. He has lots of time to campaign because he does not work like the rest of the parents.

Ask him why his Hispanic neighbors moved. Ask him why he backed the former principal who was also a bully and did nothing for the school. Money was not used and other schools got the money because forms were not filled out. Drugs, guns and knives, break-ins were not reported and many teachers left the school.

The new principal is standing up to this bully but many parents do not know what is going on at the school.

The community needs to come together and attend the LSC meetings and watch this bully yell at parents, teachers and the principal. If they do not come together what will happen is that those with impressive resumes/qualifications will leave and be replaced with weak personnel who can be controlled by this bully.

Sun Apr 20, 2008 at 8:49 PMBy: Dore School Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Dore School:
The LSC chair is not only a bully, he thinks he has more knowledge that the principal. After all a GED must mean more than a college education. I'm sure there is a GED in Administration.

The present LSC is totally concerned with sports. Everyone knows that sports is the only criteria needed to be a GREAT School in the eyes of the community. Or is it only certain community members.

Forget those ISAT scores. The way kids get into a good high school is through the schools sports program. So says Mr. GED and his sport Buds on the LSC. They stated there was not enough money set aside for sports programs in the Budget they just approved. This distinguished group argued for over an hour at the last LSC meeting about the lack of money for sports.

But approved the SIPAAA in 30 seconds without a word. Did they read it?

And guess what these are the people who the community elected to represent them again.

But the parents who elected them, are they the same parents of the students who go to the selective high schools? Or the high schools that take anybody who can pay.

Sun Apr 20, 2008 at 10:27 PMBy: Chris to Doria Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? You can find your school SIPAA online.
I wish you the best.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 11:49 AMBy: Area 11 AMPS school needs help Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? We have a LSC chair who is always hanging around the school. The school is on his busybody agenda. He likes to write down license plate numbers in the staff parking lot. He is a sociopath and has had many incidents in the neighborhood and at the local Catholic school yet some of the female teachers look up to him as a substitute father figure. Very sad situation

Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 1:09 PMBy: Kristin Janes - for the record Greg Janes has children that attend Ravenswood currently. I believe that the family is from out of the attendance boundaries (as are many children). The parents applied and the children were accepted just the same as everyone else.

Believe it or not, there is no conspiracy - just a bunch of concerned parents who want the best education for their children.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 1:26 PMBy: never again again Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Hey, Teacher/Parent Wow,

Yeah, that was satire.

In your comment, you show a very simple understanding of all the factors that can be behind any difficulty in a parent taking a vacation day to participate in the personally meaningless exercise (for us) of Report Card Pickup Day. Ditto for the factors that could be at play in a parent's attempt to learn about LSC candidates.

Can you imagine that many candidates in our LSC election did not send home their statements (and do you know some parents are at work at all hours a school is open)? Are you aware that there was also no local news coverage about these candidates and their backgrounds?

Can you imagine that the 20 minutes the school set aside one night for a Candidates’ Forum might be taken up by parent’s need to take his student to intensive tutoring because the school is ineffective in its teaching? Plus, do you believe there is much value in a 5 minute blurb from a candidate in such a forum?

Can you imagine that a parent might always make a massive effort and possess an excellent idea of what the student is capable of academically, but be mystified how grades are assigned, especially when the grades create a rosy picture and the actual achievement (as assessed outside the school) of the student do not match?

Can you imagine that parents might value their children’s education so much that they expect some individualized insight from teachers on Report Card Pickup Day?

Can you imagine there might be value in creating a personal Take Your Son to Work Day, rather than visiting a school for an exercise proven to be of little value to a parent and student?

Sorry to see that to your way of thinking, people who don’t view things YOUR way are – of course - self-centered, apathetic, absent and careless parents who are jerks, suck and don’t give a shit. Lovely word choices you’ve got there, by the way, Teach.

Wow is right.

Clueless, too.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 6:05 PMBy: flippity flop Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? OK, Parent of the 1,000 Flip-Flops (not talking shoes).

Don’t know much of anything about where you’re coming from, but I can see that you automatically assume all parents who are not you (or like you) are Bad Parents. Your imagination takes you there right out of the blocks. Down.

As a teacher and parent, you say you want folks to be involved and participating, then you assume they’re too involved. You say you want them to value their kids’ educations and expect a lot from the schools, then you slam them as expecting too much and damaging their kids with those expectations.

Thanks for reminding us we have a “choice” in our schools. So, if we don’t like it, we should leave, right? Yeah, right.

Like I said, get a clue. Maybe you just need to know more parents who are not like you to get a broader understanding what parenting in the CPS system can be like. How about starting with Report Card Pickup Day and its pseudo-“teacher conferences” & those LSC Elections at my school?

Ask more questions. Learn. Assume less.

Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 11:08 PMBy: getting LSC election information Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? A number of folks have complained about not being able to get LSC election results, for individual schools much less citywide. However, O'Kema Lewis sent an email to CPS and got an interesting response:

From O'Kema: "Mr. Alvarez and Dr. Rice, Per your office staff, if anyone called the LSC Relations Office / Election Central for two days, wanting to know the outcome of a LSC election, they were told that: "Anyone wanting results could not get them from your office " they had to call the school, and or go directly to the school. Since results had to be put into the computer and your office was calling itself Election Central, it would stand to reason that your office could provide the results...This request is being made because many schools were not posting the results. School staff was stating that because the election was challenged, the results could not be given to anyone. Please note, I respectfully state, Challenges do not change the election results for a given day. The challenges have to go through a process and then the challengers names will be removed if they lost and or were found to have violated something by their actions. This short term scenario is only a suggestion for a small issue that does have a workable solution."

From J. Alvarez at CPS: "Ms. Lewis, Thank you for your email. If you or anyone copied on this email would like the election results for any school and my staff was not able to provide it, please call or email me directly. Please include the name of the staff member who was not able to provide you with the report in your call or email to me." (jalvarez@cps.k12.il.us)

I'll post this in the comment thread about report card pickup day and LSC elections last week.

-- alexander

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 9:05 AMBy: Kristin How to make the LSC's work smart In the interest of moving the dialogue forward, I would like to know from people how they think that LSC's can best represent the interests of all. Please identify your role (teacher, parent, administration, student, etc.) when replying. Let's not just gripe here - let's make it better!

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:01 AMBy: sigh Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? It’s very likely that parents who are reading this blog are some of the most involved parents in CPS – for their own children and for the “big picture” - who are not working in isolation on problems in this city and who might have a lot of experience with organizational development, community organizing, etc. We’re not talking “misguided” parents, who don’t know about education, child development, etc. They also might be parents who have seen much (personal and group) effort with the CPS schools fail, to the point of considering giving up on a deeply broken system. This leads us back to the original comment in this sub-thread – a satire.

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:53 AMBy: Wendy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? For those of you complaining about LSC's I feel for you. My child attends a school where the LSC members have no clue what to do. They said that they have no say so in curriculum? Is that true? They say that their role is to trust the school and back it up. They say parents should not get involved in decisions that are better made by the staff. Should I believe that?

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 1:54 PMBy: Wendy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? To advocate for the students-

Yes you are correct, there should be term limits. To all of the people that complain people don't speak up, I think we should look at both sides. People see other people who are villified because they spoke out. Its not as easy as this poster says

"If you want specific feedback, ask for it. If you want what's best for your kid, be a part of it. Consider becoming involved in your child's school rather than simply complaining on a blog."

Parents at the school my child go to are seen as pests or as a nut if they dare to question the almighty.

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 2:24 PMBy: true enough Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Wendy - You've seen it and it's true enough!

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 5:25 PMBy: Great Things are Happening at Dore Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Two new parents were elected so we are hoping that they will join with the other education minded parents and do what is best for the school.
Two new teacher representatives were elected who will probably vote with the chairperson. Time will tell.
A new principal who expects staff to act professionally, conducts teacher evaluations and actually enforces the student code of conduct is viewed as a threat by some staff and parents. A bad apple can spoil the bunch...and with an administrator shortage a contentious LSC can be a reason for a bright young principal to look for better opportunities not only in CPS but elsewhere.

Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 9:25 PMBy: Yo, Wendy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Here's what Prince Obama said about that last week-
"And the last thing is, if your child is misbehaving at school don't curse out the teacher. You know who you are. It's not the teacher's fault that your child is misbehaving. That's some home training."

The crowd reacted raucously and Obama laughed. "You know what I say is true, though. Don't blame the teachers, and the government and the schools if you're not doing your job."

Wed Apr 23, 2008 at 6:44 AMBy: Doria, I have been there and I know that this will work Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Obama Bush really puts the nail in the coffin sometimes,
anybody involved in the education of their children
today is quite aware that their are three sides to every
story. Their version, your version and the truth.

The new Ravenswood LSC is already biased because
they feel their background entitled them to know how to
run a school. It's is kin to telling someone that just because
they passed the driver's license exam that they are now
drivers, noting that the same people never get behind the
wheel of a car to actually drive a car. There is something to
be said for experience. The present LSC had it's issues
like any other group but the only reason some of the new
members got involved and starting to attending meetings
of the LSC was because they voted not to renew the contract
of the Principal. To the individual who wanted to know
how to improve the role of the LSC, I am a parent and
an educator, Improving the relationship of the LSC with
all stakeholders would be for everyone to understand
the Principal is a member of the LSC and he /she is not suppose to run the meeting or take over the meeting.
That would be the first step for a new LSC to understand.
Respecting the Principal as an administrator is also
important but the LSC must understand what holding
the Principal accountable means also. Do not make the
meetings fan mail sessions to drool over everything the
Principal says. Getting information on the school curriculum
and the budget can not be scoffed at or as something of
a slight because you "trust" the Principal to run the school.
Respecting parents is also important. Forming committees
that include parents and the community as viable partners
would also help the LSC understand their responsibility to the
people they represent, not just the people who voted for
them. The people who did not vote need them the most.
This would be a great way to start off understand the LSC
and the huge role they play to support children being educated in a safe healthy learning environment and it
begins with respect for everyone that is reflected in what
you do and not what you say you are going to do.

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 4:47 PMBy: Request to CPS Law Dept Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? You can inquire through the CPS law department if
you want to know if members have not had their
training or their background is questionable.

Taking in mind that an election was just held
and the clock will start ticking again July 1st for
all members. In otherwise, what happened in
the past is forgiven because CPS has never
removed anyone for not getting their training
within the time frame of Article 34 Reform Law
for Chicago in the Illinois School Code.
All LSC members who were just legally
elected have 6 months to get their
18 hours of training.

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 6:21 PMBy: Article 34 Reform Law meaningless Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? If the LSC members have not been trained and there is no consequences for not being trained, what, if any, impact does the lack of training have on principal selection, retention and evaluation.

Fri Apr 25, 2008 at 7:05 PMBy: Concerned for Dore Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? To: "Great Things ARE Happening at Dore":

It is a shame about all the things happening at Dore, especially when people are pointing fingers at teachers instead of working together to stand up for the administrator. Many complain about the lack of professionalism on LSC’s, but then go on to exhibit the same lack of professionalism by starting rumors about the others with no evidence to support a claim. If it is all for the students then isn't it important to stand together? How does it help anyone to stoop to the level of the chairperson and divide the Dore Community even more? Have you personally spoken with the newly elected teacher reps you speak of? How about speaking with them regarding your concerns, instead of degrading their integrity without knowledge of their intentions? Or do you have solid evidence to back your claim? It seems like you are using the same bully tactics, that many despise the chairperson for. Maybe you are feeding right into the chairperson’s hand by creating more of a division at Dore. Hopefully "time will tell" and the intentions of the teacher reps will surprise you. I am sure many also hope that your high expectations of the newly elected parents are accurate. Maybe you should give the teachers the same respect. It would truly be unfortunate for Dore to lose such a qualified and enthusiastic administrator, who has done so many great things at Dore.

Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 1:26 PMBy: Cindy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? The things that are happening at Dore are very common in that community. The parents are very divided . The residents in the Garfield Ridge/Clearing area are not very welcoming to new comers. That of course is just my opinion. They feel that people who are new to the neighborhood don't even have the right to be involved in school issues. Well wake up, the new people such as myself are not going anywhere. We will be involved with our children's schools no matter what. If the residents who grew up in this neighborhood don't like it then perhaps they should start a private school of their own. These school are publicly funded. This is not 1945. There are Blacks and Hispanics moving into the community and they have as much right to be involved as the next person. No one is going to agree with everyone's views all of the time. However we need to see how the disagreements are affecting the children. Things like what are happening at Dore sound more like an ego power struggle perhaps on both sides.

Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 2:29 PMBy: Great Things Are Happening at Dore Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? The current problems at Dore are because the principal is too strong for the LSC chair to push around even though the LSC picked this principal because of his qualifications and experience.

The current LSC chair fought with the previous principal UNTIL the former (now retired-he wanted one last contract) principal gave in and allowed the LSC chair to have, run and collect funds on school property under the name of DAA or Dore Athletic Association. We never saw an accounting from the association and we do not know what happened to the money that was collected. Teachers were told to collect money from the students. The LSC chair wants school funds for sports that are not school sponsored run by parents who are well meaning but who have not been fingerprinted for background checks. Many parents find this scary. There are sports teams run out of the school by teachers who are required to complete background checks before they are hired.

Dore has Hispanic and black students but all of the LSC members are white. Last year there was a black computer teacher but he left so now there are none so maybe it is 1945 as Cindy says.

The parents need to come together and attend the LSC meetings and voice their support for their children's school. The LSC chair will be very quiet because CPS is now taping the meetings.

If you want to get a feel for the school ask the students because it is all about the students. They will tell you about all of the changes brought about by the new principal.

Sun Apr 27, 2008 at 10:57 AMBy: Cindy Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Concerned for Dore,

What is interesting is that a few years back there was a wondrul teacher who was also run out of Dore School. Interestingly enough she was Black. She was harrassed by the IN CROWD moms who complained about every little thing they could. Petty things such as why cant little Suzie go to the bathroom for the tenth time? You know where I am going with this. Anyway she felt like she was in a situation that was going nowhere as the prior Principal did nothing to back her. My question is this though, people on this blog say that LSCs have no power yet at Dore it seems like they do. People like the chair person at Dore are able to rally the community for things such as this but not to improve the school. I think you will find that in alot of the area schools. People come in crowds to prevent change yet they turn the other way when that change can be for a good cause. People will vote time and time again for people who really have done nothing, yet they will not vote for people who will do something. My friends and I always wonder where this magic bond is formed with these people. I think it is formed at social events, such as sports, drinking parties etc. That strong is apparently stronger than the bond of caring parent to caring parent. Regarding the DAA (Dore Athletic Association) have you considered contacting the law dept of CPS or the inspector general's office? Also do you know that all you need is 5 people who can vote in that school district to challenge the election? I believe the deadline is tomorrow. The fact that ID's were perhaps not verified is a reason in itsel to challenge it. I do see your point about the Local Catholic School getting involved however as you know as tax payers they are entitled to vote. It can be frustrating though that they are getting involved for the wrong reasons. Good luck!

Sun Apr 27, 2008 at 9:41 PMBy: Dore Stymied Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? The LSC can vote on if the meetings are to be audio taped or video taped. Anyone in the audience can tape the meeting for thier own personal use. You cannot be prevented form doing this.
Dore School will never become a Great School without the present principal.
The teacher representatives must show support for him now and at future meetings. Also the new parent members must let him know openly of their support for him. He cannot fight the attitiude of the LSC that mediocrity is enough for the students at Dore. The children at Dore School are entitled to more.

Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 6:15 PMBy: BULLYING at DORE SCHOOL Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? The principal has been at Dore for two years and the bully has been on the LSC for ten years. He tried to run St. Rene but that community ran him out of town. The Dore community is primarily made up of blue collar workers many of them who are single parents. They are hard working people who work long hours to pay mortgages or high rent.
The majority of parents support the teachers and want a good education for their children. During report card pick up when a person such as the LSC bully hands out flyers and asks for a vote these parents are unaware as to the person's motivation. It is sad that this bully and his clueless cohorts are going to drive an awesome principal from the school.

There is pathetic group of teachers left over from the previous administrator who support this bully rather than the current principal. This bully is in constant communication with certain teachers at Dore. These teachers constantly complain about how much more work they have to do, how they have to come in on time, and how much they miss the former administrators because the new principal does not kiss their posteriors. When their test scores are low they blame the children. Oh well, life is tough when you are expected to work for your money. These prima donnas could only survive at Dore. At any other school they would not have passed the interview process let alone the 3 year probation period.

Thu May 1, 2008 at 1:35 PMBy: Amazing similarities Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Reading the comments about Dore it is eerie how they mirror issues at Kinzie Elementary. However, at Kinzie it's the exact opposite with the Principal. The LSC backs the do nothing Principal 100 % even though he has driven the school do academic early warning status. Most of the teachers are bitter,unprofessional and only know how to communicate with students by yelling and verbal abuse. The Principal has said that he stands by the teachers who display this type of behavior. Most teachers do only the minimum which is what is welcome apparently. They give a bad name to the teachers who are good. The teachers who try to speak out against others are labeled as troublemakers, the same goes with the parents. I wish that the parents at Kinzie would wake up and see what is happening around them. This is where children go to learn not be bullied by teachers. I wish the Principal at Dore was the Principal at Kinzie because all of these bad apple teachers would be out the door. The teachers who are professionals are also losing at Kinzie because of the bullies in Kinzie LSC.

Thu May 1, 2008 at 7:59 PMBy: Dore No More Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Rumor has it that the bully and his sports buds gave this principal low points on all items during the principal's evaluation. No reason was given for the drop just because I can... There were loud male voices which could be heard all the way down the hall. One of the voices was the LSC bully.

Why would a principal who has worked many long hours, brought in many new programs to Dore and has immersed himself into the fabric of the community stay with a low rating and face the possibility that the new LSC will not renew his contract in two years? One of the new LSC teachers is not a principal supporter and the other LSC teacher is non-tenured and being used by this group of teachers who definitely have their own agenda which involves a former administrator. Some of the disgruntled teachers yell all day long also and when they are not yelling they are whining about everything. Maybe the administrator at Kinzie could hire all of the disgruntled teachers from Dore and we can take the teachers from Kinzie?

Fri May 2, 2008 at 6:24 AMBy: Dore Dimwits Dishonor District 299 Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Who is doing the investigation at Dore? Who is being investigated?

Sat May 3, 2008 at 11:50 PMBy: Looking "back" at Dore Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? How do we "Restore Dore"?

1. Say farewell to a sought-after administration. Let's think about it: He and the new AP have Pre-K - 12th Grade admin experience, bumped a stagnant school like Dore up in one year by understanding the change process in theory and practice and has brought in more funding in 2 years than all 16 by the previous dictator and his "royal court".

2. Let the bully-led LSC hire the previous AP (why did she leave again?) I think it has something to do with bringing an end to "crazy hat day".

3. Sign up for swimming lessons as the "rising tide of mediocrity" will quickly swallow up the long-awaited buds of growth and progress that have developed since the new admin took over in 2006. He gone!

4. Just pretend it is 1950 and everything will appear normal.


Question? Is it actually true that the new principal had the "audacity" to reschedule the departure of busses of Dore minority students to leave at the same time as everyone else as one of his first changes? Perhaps Clearing still thinks it is legal to force these minority students to depart 10 minutes prior to the end of the school day for "safety reasons"... The more attention this school gets, the better. If something like this gets out to the right folks, we may see Rev Wright on the "Sout-Wess" side.

Sun May 4, 2008 at 10:39 AMBy: Restore Dore to WHAT? Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? The parents need to look at Dore's test scores over time. Dore was a branch of Hale and did have low reading and math scores. There was no principal for years so the retired principal did not have to work hard to show growth in test scores.

First, he turned the school from a K-6 school into a K-8 school. Then he stopped the split grades. Most of the teachers left/retired because they were so used to being unsupervised and wanted to stay in "Happy Days". The retired principal hired new teachers who then brought up the test scores so the retired principal received accolades for "his test scores". Children from the neighborhood started to come to Dore due to a change in demographics, a raise in tuition at the local Catholic and an all day kindergarten.

Many issues regarding ethics and personnel arose during the last two terms of the retired principal's contract. His hiring choices were circumspect. Some teachers were not certified whereas others showed low test scores for more than five years. The children were blamed never the teacher. Some teachers who consider it their main mission in life to be friends with the children and their parents give everyone an "A" or "B". It doesn't matter if the child has the skills to survive the next grade-let the next teacher deal with it.

The union was involved due to his bullying behavior. He gave in to the current LSC bully because he could barely handle the growing personnel issues. Two teachers who were completing principal programs did their clinicals elsewhere "because they wanted to learn something". Mentor monies were doled out to principal favorites and mentoring was not done. Other favorites received the "high" group every year in return for favors. (tracking was eliminated by the new principal) Other favorite teachers received additional teaching materials or after school work. Some teachers received money for being members of committees which never met. Other teachers who spoke out about things such as safety or inconsistent discipline were punished by not being given tenure or ridiculed at staff meetings. One of the teachers ridiculed was physically challenged and the office of disability rights was involved. She retired early...

A sort of laziness swept over the school. Educators would call it a pedagogic complacency. "We are so good we do not have to work anymore". If you compare our school to similar schools our test scores aren't that good. The retired principal even with his newly hired AP could not handle the needs of a school that had gone from 125 students to 550 students. His exerpertise was in physical education. He had never taught in a regular classroom therefore he could offer no guidance to teachers in curricular areas. His AP had only handled discipline in a kindergarten clasroom and was intimidated by older students.
The test scores became stagnant. The insiders wore hats on the principal's birthday (Crazy Hat Day was the ruse) and in the last year of his contract the former AP brought tiaras for all of their court and took a picture with the "king". The "outsiders" were apalled at the unprofessional behavior of the administrators and staff. It makes one wonder how these "insiders" run their classrooms-favorites/non-favorites. Teachers and staff left including all but one African American teacher (he left last year) and the two teachers with the principal certificates.

Now we have no teachers with principal certificates, no African American teachers and a court of teachers who again whine for the return of "Happy Days".

The new principal and I am sure the LSC had no idea of the goings on at Dore. Maybe airing the "dirty laundry" will help the school because children need a calm learning environment where teachers are expected to act in a professional manner.

Sun May 4, 2008 at 1:02 PMBy: eyes wide open Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? To: amazing similarities...You have asked some excellent questions...

Dore and Ravenswood...Remember at the beginning of this blog?...Are AMPS schools. See Ravenswoods school web-site to learn more about AMPS...These schools are among the top schools in the CPS system. Dore became an AMPS school during the last years of the now retired principal...The perks associated with this are many and we enjoy them. The AMPS status is not guaranteed and Dore better be mindful of this if the current administrator moves on...The next principal selected better be able to convince the AMPS office to keep Dore on the list.

Do get involved in the LSC and the school. Your work may be frustrating but keep in mind it is for the children. Do ask at the next LSC meeting about the "Safety Issue" you mentioned and be ready to call the law department at CPS if you do not see some reasonable action taken regarding these children getting a full day of schooling.

If the principal refers to the school as "my school" or the scores as "my scores" be prepared for a long hard struggle to get the culture changed so the children are seen as the center of the school and the principal, LSC, teachers and community as their advocates.

Too many teachers everywhere are guilty of the "it's a job, it's a paycheck" problem that you mentioned. The saddest cases of all are the young people entering teaching with this attitude. Bagging groceries at the Jewel is a job. Teaching is meant to be a profession. Real educators want to optomize results to provide an ever enriching, ever improving climate, for greater learning experiences. This involves hard work and self-examination. Critical evaluation of practices in place with an eye to making improvements and change where needed and applauding success where it exists. A professional is never complacent, there is always room for improvement.
Dore has both kinds of teachers. Some are experienced (preferred to "old") and some are young.

Dore has had a principal who did his job and thought of the school as his school. He saw it as a job to be done and he was a "boss" Under his long term Dore became a good school. Refer to the previous entry for some history.

Dore now has a principal who is an educational leader. There is nothng that cannot be improved. It is challenging working for him he is tireless and very smart. I do not always agree with him, but I know his intentions are to provide the best possible education for the children, all the children. His motives are clear. His changes are intended to take Dore from "Good to Great" (He gave everyone a copy of the book by Jim Collins to let everyone know what was going to happen.) I think some people are put off by his energy and his intelligence. Their fault for not becoming better acquainted with him. For teachers, his door is often open; you can e-mail him at any time. He is outside everyday at dismissal if parents or community members need to find him, he is there.

Change is not easy, not everyone wants to work hard. Best wishes in your quest to make changes. It sounds like change is needed.

Mon May 5, 2008 at 7:45 AMBy: Amazing similarities Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? To Eyes Wide Open:

Regarding the "Safety Issue" do you know if Dore was violating anything that is already in writing when they were letting the minority students out early? I only ask this because I have contacted the law department before and I am amazed at their indiferrence especially when it is something that there is no written policy for. Regarding Kinzie, I have gotten answers such as "Well they didn't really violate anything etc." Instead of the law department being thankful that parents contact them when things are not right they get , well LAWYER on them. At Kinzie you would be surprised at the things they have done and gotten away with. There are nearly 250 hearing impaired children there and staff regularly insinuates that they are the reason the school is doing so bad. If that is the case then why were those hearing impaired students not credited when the school was doing well? Why because staff takes credit when things go wrong and when they go bad it must be the student or parents fault. Let's face it, most teachers just teach the minimum and expect the parents and students to pick up the slack. How many of you were told at report card pick up day what YOU could do. Why can't we tell the teachers what THEY can do better? Amazing! Good thing these teachers don't work at a car wash , your car would come out full of soap and they would expect you to finish rinsing when you got home. Ok all, thanks for letting me vent on this lovely Monday morning. Have a nice day everyone!!! :)

Mon May 5, 2008 at 10:36 AMBy: Concerned Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? May 14th at 6:30 P.M. Everyone has an opportunity to show their support for Dore School and the Current Administration. Pack the House at the regular scheduled LSC meeting and remind the Current and Future members of the LSC Who they are truly representing!

Mon May 12, 2008 at 1:37 PMBy: JUST CURIOUS Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? On average how many people attend the Dore LSC meetings or at other schools? The people who do not attend, do you not attend because others don't? Just trying to see how it is at other schools. Thanks!

Mon May 12, 2008 at 7:33 PMBy: Kinzie parent Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Kinzie has none in attendance usually. The meeting is held in the teacher's cafeteria . The members sit at a rectangular table with most of their backs to the table where the parents would sit if they showed up. The few times I showed up I was the only one and let me tell you sitting there with someone's back to me was not very welcoming. Apparently they are happy with those attendance numbers though.

Tue May 13, 2008 at 1:30 PMBy: RE:cry baby Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? That is true!!!!!!You guys lost!!!!Worry about teaching...

Tue May 13, 2008 at 5:37 PMBy: Grammar for All Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? I see Cry Baby! So to you it is a popularity contest? By the way, Cry Baby, you really should work on your grammar and punctuation!

Tue May 13, 2008 at 6:30 PMBy: For the Record Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? Let me introduce myself, I am a non-tenured teacher at Dore School who just happens to be the newly elected LSC Teacher Representative, pending approval. For those of you who are familiar with Dore School, it won’t be hard for you to figure out who I am. Since I have read so many references to me and my “intentions” I figured why not set the record clear. For those of you who choose to inaccurately assume my intentions and continue to spread false accusations over this blog, I am not under anyone’s agenda nor will I let myself be forced to support something I do not believe in. I am sorry, I may be a new teacher but I speak for myself. No one controls me. Despite previous statements, I have no “agenda” with the “former administration”. I have personally spoken with the current administration regarding my intentions and as far as I am concerned that is all that matters. So, you can continue to falsely accuse me of being a naïve first year teacher, with no mind of her own, but I am my own person. Any reference that I am not here for the sole benefit of the students is out of line. I have put a tremendous amount of my own time and resources into helping all of my students succeed. I have taken on many roles in the school to support that changes that have occurred here in the last year, worked extremely hard with my colleagues, received an overwhelming support of the parents in my classroom, and a great deal of support from the current administration. That is what the teaching profession is all about. That is why I went to school to become a teacher. I also happen to like to be able to work in a friendly environment with my colleagues, and I talk to almost everyone, despite some of our differences. Isn’t that what we teach our students? We may not be friends with everyone, but we need to work as a team. When you falsely accuse a member of the same team as you, you create even more division in a school already divided. I have no affiliation with the “Restore Dore” ticket. I have never endorsed it, never spoken with any of the members of that ticket, nor have I have ever shown, in all my hard work and dedication, that I am not committed 100% to this school. So, if I was elected by some in hopes of being a push over, then you voted for the wrong person and if I was not elected by those of you who assumed I had some sort of agenda then I am sorry you were misinformed.

Tue May 13, 2008 at 8:29 PMBy: TO:By: "Dore "A Crying Shame! Best & Worst Parts of Report Card Pickup Days? It sounds to me like you are creating quite a bit of what you accuse others of. HMMMMMMM! You might want to look in the mirror.