District 65 needs new leadership in Performance Management & Accountability and curriculum design. We need more of a focus on differentiated instruction and to not be afraid of grouping kids according to their current learning stage. Teachers need to be able to focus on specific learning stages so kids can thoroughly learn each skill bef…
District 65 needs new leadership in Performance Management & Accountability and curriculum design. We need more of a focus on differentiated instruction and to not be afraid of grouping kids according to their current learning stage. Teachers need to be able to focus on specific learning stages so kids can thoroughly learn each skill before moving on to the next one. And kids need grades to build accountability. Support teachers and direct financial resources towards teaching fundamental skills followed by advanced skills. Money should not go to construction and consultants- make classroom instruction and academic excellence the priority.
I'm increasingly reaching the view that the entire administrative apparatus needs to be replaced (via consolidation or firing everyone). The Board is the one with all the statutory power here and the IASB will say their job is to 1) set the goal and 2) hire a superintendent.
If the Board's goal is "equity" and the performance gap in math is more than 60% between black and white kids and is not improving, they need to hold people accountable.
(Update: this is kind of harsh and I wonder if this is actually what the board thought when they hired Horton - like he was this outsider that was gonna break up all the things and fix this problem. That is the vision he sells, even though the implementation is mostly nonsense)
I think it falls on all the folks in the Administration with titles like "Assistant Superintendent of Literacy/Math". Like, for the last 8 years the entire guiding philosophy of D65 has been equity. If your job is "Assistant Superintendent of Math" (for example) and the racial gap is 60% and continues to grow, you're not doing a good job. I'm sorry.
That is a very good question! Let me do some research and see what I can come back with - I know some folks at NU SESP that may be able to help with that quesiton
You are absolutely right…. And she also leaks info straight to the Equity Army Bully Saquad as she is married to a key member of it. It is well known throughout town.
I noticed the Evanston Now article on this week's board meeting that they reported that District staff met with the real estate firm JLL regarding proposals to sell or lease District property.
The staff members were the CFO and Beardsley who (according to the DIstrict 65 org chart) works as something called the "Assistant Superintendent of Performance Management & Accountability." I have no idea what the title means, but my understanding was that Beardsley dealt with curriculum.
So the question I have is why is she meeting with big real estate firms? It seems weird especially given the fact that her spouse has a stake in at least one very expensive AirBnb in town.
1) I am told she was in a curriculum job and got moved to move of a buildings role, after Turner did a re-org this year. I don't think there's anything sus about that.
2) I can't stand JLL for reasons involving city stuff
3) I assume they're trying to sell the Bessie Rhodes property
Is the buildings stuff part of her overseeing of "Performance management" or " Accountability"?
It would be fun to see a timeline of organization restructurings undertaken over the past several years. Didn't Horton do a re-org? How much time are they spending rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?
On #3, I read it a little more expansively--like leasing/selling parts of District-owned parcels. Like, say, Lincolnwood school you could sell off the western part of the parcel for home construction and consolidate the playgrounds on the east side.
I bet there is a strong relationship between preschool education regarding test score gaps. If D65 could find a way bridge the gap for access to quality preschool I would bet we could improve these gaps. Otherwise it is a hope and a prayer.
The quality of education recieved at the PreK level is not the issue. The issue is pushing down developmentally inappropriate standards and curriculum for our youngest and most vulnerable learners to manage. 3 to 5 year olds need social/emotional learning, which involves learning self regulation. K standards are not reasonable benchmarks for PreK, yet year after year that is what is being done. Academic learning beyond rote knowledge cannot be achieved without that highly important self regulation piece. The gold standard of Early Childhood Education is children learn best through play. PreK has become the new 1st grade in many ways. It is highly irresponsible to continue to push down unattainable benchmarks for children who are still learning how to use the toilet.
District 65 needs new leadership in Performance Management & Accountability and curriculum design. We need more of a focus on differentiated instruction and to not be afraid of grouping kids according to their current learning stage. Teachers need to be able to focus on specific learning stages so kids can thoroughly learn each skill before moving on to the next one. And kids need grades to build accountability. Support teachers and direct financial resources towards teaching fundamental skills followed by advanced skills. Money should not go to construction and consultants- make classroom instruction and academic excellence the priority.
I'm increasingly reaching the view that the entire administrative apparatus needs to be replaced (via consolidation or firing everyone). The Board is the one with all the statutory power here and the IASB will say their job is to 1) set the goal and 2) hire a superintendent.
If the Board's goal is "equity" and the performance gap in math is more than 60% between black and white kids and is not improving, they need to hold people accountable.
(Update: this is kind of harsh and I wonder if this is actually what the board thought when they hired Horton - like he was this outsider that was gonna break up all the things and fix this problem. That is the vision he sells, even though the implementation is mostly nonsense)
Who do you believe should be held accountable for this gap?
I think it falls on all the folks in the Administration with titles like "Assistant Superintendent of Literacy/Math". Like, for the last 8 years the entire guiding philosophy of D65 has been equity. If your job is "Assistant Superintendent of Math" (for example) and the racial gap is 60% and continues to grow, you're not doing a good job. I'm sorry.
It is so so complicated. I wonder if there are other districts like ours who have successfully closed (or decreased) the gap?
That is a very good question! Let me do some research and see what I can come back with - I know some folks at NU SESP that may be able to help with that quesiton
I would love to read what you find out! My google search doesn't come up with much...
Curriculum and instruction should be held responsible.
Beardsley has got to go.
The whole admin needs to go. Including the higher ups dictating to her. She's not made decisions in a vacuum.
You are absolutely right…. And she also leaks info straight to the Equity Army Bully Saquad as she is married to a key member of it. It is well known throughout town.
I noticed the Evanston Now article on this week's board meeting that they reported that District staff met with the real estate firm JLL regarding proposals to sell or lease District property.
The staff members were the CFO and Beardsley who (according to the DIstrict 65 org chart) works as something called the "Assistant Superintendent of Performance Management & Accountability." I have no idea what the title means, but my understanding was that Beardsley dealt with curriculum.
So the question I have is why is she meeting with big real estate firms? It seems weird especially given the fact that her spouse has a stake in at least one very expensive AirBnb in town.
https://evanstonnow.com/real-estate-broker-eyeing-d-65-sites/
1) I am told she was in a curriculum job and got moved to move of a buildings role, after Turner did a re-org this year. I don't think there's anything sus about that.
2) I can't stand JLL for reasons involving city stuff
3) I assume they're trying to sell the Bessie Rhodes property
Is the buildings stuff part of her overseeing of "Performance management" or " Accountability"?
It would be fun to see a timeline of organization restructurings undertaken over the past several years. Didn't Horton do a re-org? How much time are they spending rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?
On #3, I read it a little more expansively--like leasing/selling parts of District-owned parcels. Like, say, Lincolnwood school you could sell off the western part of the parcel for home construction and consolidate the playgrounds on the east side.
This needs a much closer inquiry.
What on earth would she be doing meeting with a realtor on behalf of the district as Associate Dean of Curriculum?
I smell a very stinky story here.
I bet there is a strong relationship between preschool education regarding test score gaps. If D65 could find a way bridge the gap for access to quality preschool I would bet we could improve these gaps. Otherwise it is a hope and a prayer.
The quality of education recieved at the PreK level is not the issue. The issue is pushing down developmentally inappropriate standards and curriculum for our youngest and most vulnerable learners to manage. 3 to 5 year olds need social/emotional learning, which involves learning self regulation. K standards are not reasonable benchmarks for PreK, yet year after year that is what is being done. Academic learning beyond rote knowledge cannot be achieved without that highly important self regulation piece. The gold standard of Early Childhood Education is children learn best through play. PreK has become the new 1st grade in many ways. It is highly irresponsible to continue to push down unattainable benchmarks for children who are still learning how to use the toilet.
Tracking kids or grouping them by ability has been shown to increase inequities.
All the district is doing now is hiding learning differences. That’s not helpful. Meeting kids where they are at is how you get them to the next step.
Are you a teacher?
Keeping all the different abilities together has done a good job reducing inequities, nobody is allowed to overachieve.
So much pressure on these kids to overachieve. They are all going to burn out before high school is over.