The Decatur situation, which has perhaps deteriorated but is not a recent phenomenon (I recall being informed how poor Decatur schools were 20 years ago when I was relocated there), is an extreme example of a national problem. An editorial in the WSJ today talked about rapidly declining ACT scores across the country, and I’m sure anyone interested in this issue has seen the declining status of US students internationally in STEM subjects. We have a serious problem, and no one seems to be taking it for the level of seriousness it is. I’m reluctant to think throwing more money at the problem is going to fix it. Recall the 70s when Illinois touted the implementation of the first lottery as the panacea for school funding. That didn’t last long, and where did it get us? (However, I agree with comments here about effectively using the $70 million already granted.) Unfortunately in this era of vitriol and conflict for the sake of conflict on public policy issues, I am skeptical this issue is going to get addressed in a meaningful way any time soon. Yet, I hold out hope that we as a nation, Illinois as a state and Decatur as a community can work collaboratively to leverage the research data and scholarly conclusions we have that would allow us to make a real difference for our kids. The future of the nation is at stake.
Now there's a proposal where the district will pick 5 long term subs with a BS degree and spend up to $6K each for an on-line program that allows them to become certified teachers. In a year's time, they'll become a full time employee of the district - and a DEA member. Meanwhile a consultant gets paid, we reduce the number of long term subs from 61 to 56 (an 8% closure of the current gap), and we still have $69,970,000 to spend on a new school! CicelyAK@gmail.com
The Decatur situation, which has perhaps deteriorated but is not a recent phenomenon (I recall being informed how poor Decatur schools were 20 years ago when I was relocated there), is an extreme example of a national problem. An editorial in the WSJ today talked about rapidly declining ACT scores across the country, and I’m sure anyone interested in this issue has seen the declining status of US students internationally in STEM subjects. We have a serious problem, and no one seems to be taking it for the level of seriousness it is. I’m reluctant to think throwing more money at the problem is going to fix it. Recall the 70s when Illinois touted the implementation of the first lottery as the panacea for school funding. That didn’t last long, and where did it get us? (However, I agree with comments here about effectively using the $70 million already granted.) Unfortunately in this era of vitriol and conflict for the sake of conflict on public policy issues, I am skeptical this issue is going to get addressed in a meaningful way any time soon. Yet, I hold out hope that we as a nation, Illinois as a state and Decatur as a community can work collaboratively to leverage the research data and scholarly conclusions we have that would allow us to make a real difference for our kids. The future of the nation is at stake.
Now there's a proposal where the district will pick 5 long term subs with a BS degree and spend up to $6K each for an on-line program that allows them to become certified teachers. In a year's time, they'll become a full time employee of the district - and a DEA member. Meanwhile a consultant gets paid, we reduce the number of long term subs from 61 to 56 (an 8% closure of the current gap), and we still have $69,970,000 to spend on a new school! CicelyAK@gmail.com