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D65 Change in School Start Times
A message from Rhonda Present about tonight's D65 Board meeting:
With another school year coming to a close, I know this is a busy week for families. But, if you can spare an hour to come with your children to the D65 School Board meeting TONIGHT, Monday, June 9th, it will be well worth your time.
Concerned parents and caregivers of D65 students will be gathering at the meeting which will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the JEH Administration Building (1500 McDaniel Avenue) so we can send a strong message that school hours matter to us and our families. Together, we will ask D65 leaders to postpone their decision to move the start times for Lincoln, Lincolnwood, and Oakton schools to 9:00 a.m. until there can be an opportunity for an informed community discussion of its impact.
We will also share the statements of hundreds of parents whose ability to work and care for their families will be deeply affected by the scheduling change. So, if you haven't already done so, please sign our online petition so we can make sure your voice is heard on this important issue.
I look forward to seeing many of you tonight and to creating a more "family-friendly" D65, together.
Sincerely,
Rhonda Present
Founder & Director ParentsWork
Here's how this thing shakes down: either the D65 board never considered the possibility that parents should be involved in decisions that affect their lives - meaning they're completely clueless and unfit for governing - or they knew good and well that there would be blowback so made the conscious decision to avoid parental involvement - in which case they're arrogant, intellectual cowards who are unfit for governing.
Either way, it's a pathetic display of leadership.
I am a working parent with our first child entering K at Lincolnwood. I am distressed with the new school start time because it eliminates my ability to help my child begin his school day and to build a bond with the school. I attended part of last night's meeting and watched the rest of the meeting on local cable. I was struck with the how insensitive the entire school board and especially Dr. Murphy is to working parents and their families. Most of the board members expressed empathy for working parents. Dr. Murphy was silent . The purported main reason for the change is to accomodate the teachers for their professional development. So the complete upheaval of thousands of families for 10-12 days per year? Shocking. Several board members had some good suggestions and recommendations but I ask why did you approve this is in the first place without considering all the impacts to families? Too little, too late. Let's vote them out. Too bad we can't do the same with Murphy.
Did you see the School Board meeting on Monday, June 9? The open disdain of parent involvement and input was shocking.
Dozens of parents came to the meeting with their children. Six parents poured out their hearts about how the schedule change will negatively affect their children and families.
In response, the School Board members sneered at them. Andrew Pignozzi was especially rude and cruel. Keith Terry likewise heaped scorn on parents' concerns. Bonnie Lockhart and Jerome Summers also couldn't hide their complete devotation to anything proposed by Hardy Murphy to the exclusion of parental involvement. (Jerome Summers said that he likes the District's direction in the last few years so he wouldn't micromanage Hardy Murphy's decisions.) Katie Bailey likewise couldn't be bothered with parents' concerns, either. (Yet she droned on and on about the "green" committee. Good effort to be more environmental conscious but she apparently thinks that it's more important than parental input and that's wrong.)
More than one Board member stated that this is merely an issue of parental convenience and they can't be bothered with such trivial issues.
Who could possibly imagine that parents and their concerns about their children would be treated with such open disdain? Children's schedules will be negatively affected with more time away from family but with no more instructional time. Many children will need more time in child care. Who thinks that more time in child care is no big thing for any child? Sadly, for all of us, these misguided Board members do. Family budgets will be strained. Some parents will need to work more so more child care will be needed. But the message from our Board members -- they couldn't possible care any less about those sniveling parents and their trivial claims of inconvenience.
Can we recall all of the Board members who can't wipe the sneer off their faces when parents take the podium? They have completely bought in to Hardy Murphy's plans that alienate parents and ignore their concerns about their children.
Their parental involvement policy is a joke. The Board members admitted that they all knew about Hardy Murphy's plan before it was disclosed to parents. Yet no one seemed to think that inviting parents to be involved was necessary. How short sighted! Aren't they supposed to be representing us? Instead, they represent only Hardy Murphy's views.
At least four of the current Board members -- Andrew Pigozzi, Jerome Summers, Katie Bailey and Keith Terry -- should be removed immediately for their failure to exercise any independent judgment on any issue. Bonnie Lockhart and Mary Erickson are also failures on the Board. If a recall isn't possible, I strongly encourage them all to step aside.
We need to elect people who understand that parental involvement is crucial to our children's success in school. Unfortunately, these Board members missed that day at school board training. Instead, they only attended the "blind devotion to the Administration" lecture.
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