PeoriaStory

Board resolution: no River Trail Apts.

PEORIA, IL -- The Peoria District 150 School Board on April 23 did a wonderful thing:  they passed a resolution "recommending the "discontinuation the discontinuation of the River Trail Apartments Project and the Northside Riverfront TIF." 

The board needs the money from the TIF (tax increment financing) district, which the city of Peoria sets up and controls.

Most of the school district's areas are in TIFs, board vice president Dan Adler said.  "I'd rather make bets on our schools and teachers," than on  the city's economic development projects, even though economic development is needed, he said.

Board member Dan Walther agreed. "In this case we have to do what's in the best interest of the school and students," he said.

Board president Martha Ross said the school district still wants to cooperate with the city, but will have "tough conversations" when needed. 

A Peoria Journal Star story on April 23 stated that the district has lost $28 million in tax funds to TIFS since 2000.

Public comments backed up a vote to approve the board's resolution.  I pointed out that District 150 children use Riverfront Park for a project that benefits handicapped students.

Friends of Riverfront Park president Karrie Alms said an environmental justice issue is also at stake, since people living near Riverfront Park have access to nature there, when they may not have transportation to other sites.

Other public comments supported renaming a school for Dr. Maude Sanders, a prominent African American physician in Peoria.

Activist Terry Knapp said a long time high school teacher he knows who is "excellent," was recently given an unsatisfactory review by a new and inexperienced administrator. The district has 40 openings for teachers, and this one would be very difficult to replace, Knapp said later.

Others praised teachers, who do the real work of the school district.  About 200 people rallied outside before the meeting, to kick off contract negotiations.

Activist Sharon Crews continued her issue of resuming high school summer school.  Her written comments are below. (Money from the TIF districts would help finance summer school.)

Here is a recording of the comments. 

Download PSD150 Apr 23

-- Elaine Hopkins

From Sharon Crews:

These are some comments I found online about the positives of summer school. Data from a 2013 California study stated the following:

Students taking part in summer school substantially increased their academic and social skills, ended the summer with vocabulary skills much closer to their grade level, improved their work habits. and became more confident in their ability to learn.

From a March 2, 2018 article, the following: Failing a class in high school can be devastating to students’ self-esteem and can keep them from getting into their preferred college.    

The following are very good reasons why summer school should be reinstated.

1-Retaking failed classes during the school year can overwhelm a student by increasing their class load or causing them to struggle more if they take another class on the same subject.

2-Making up failed electives is not as serious as failing core classes, but not making them up can have a negative effect on college admissions and on a student’s GPA.

3-Summer School gives more time to learn the basics of the subject.   During the school year middle and high school classes mimic the fast-paced world in which we live.

Unfortunately, some teens learning English, math, and science may not be able to keep up and end up getting lost. Consider that each step is a building block for the next concept in the course, so it isn’t a mystery why many teens do not pass a class the first time around. The extra time that these teens need is offered during summer school.

4- Students may pass a previously failed course because summer school might offer a different approach to learning the subject and a different teacher. The more relaxed environment with smaller classes can contribute to a boost in a student’s confidence and a more positive attitude toward school in general.

5-Summer school gives students a second chance to obtain class credit and avoid doubling up on a core class during the school year. Each state requires a certain amount of core classes to be taken and passed before a student can graduate. Even if students aren’t going to college, they may still have to pass four math classes (including algebra and geometry) to obtain their diploma.

This can be demoralizing to teens that have a hard time with math. If they fail one and have to take two the next year, that can be too much math at one time.  This can lead to more failure and the possibility of the teenager dropping out of school. Summer school is a solution.

6-During summer school, students will be able to focus on just that particular class.  Remember that teenagers face the type of trauma that adults face: deadlines and the push to perform well. Summer school can help teens who get overloaded by having too many classes to focus on at one time.

7-Summer school will give students the chance to raise their grade point averages. When it is all said and done, summer school will give students the chance to get back on the right track. A failure in any class really hurts students’ cumulative averages and can cost them the chance of getting into the college or technical school of their choice.

8-While letting an elective class go and not retaking it is an option, summer school grades replace the failing grade already earned. That will raise students’ GPA.

Personally, I learned that the three-hour summer school classes allowed me to spend more time with individual students who found it difficult to juggle requirements of four to six classes.  A negative that is really a positive is that the threat of summer school is an incentive for students to work harder during the school year.

Please, please stop cheating our students of the opportunities offered by summer school.  None of the current alternatives solve the serious problems I have mentioned.    - 30 -          

District 150 teachers rally

Peoria, IL -- From a news release:

The Peoria Federation of Teachers Rally Today  

 

PEORIA – The Peoria Federation of teachers will be rallying at the Peoria Public Schools Administration Building on Monday, April 23, 2018, at 5:30 pm. The rally will focus on drawing local attention to issues teachers are facing both here and nation-wide.  The specific concerns being addressed in the PFT’s current contract campaign are more time for teachers to prepare quality lessons, better learning conditions for all students, and adequate compensation for all teachers.

“I don’t think most teachers get into to teaching for the money, over all they get into teaching because it is their calling. Currently we have a statewide teacher shortage, 1000 jobs, and in Peoria we are short 40 positions.  We have had 40 openings in Peoria because every year we lose as many teachers as we gain - largely due to working conditions - and it’s important to note that teachers’ working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. We are ready to unite with our brothers and sisters in Illinois and across the nation to DEMAND funding for our schools and respect for our profession.”     Jeff Adkins Dutro

The Peoria Federation of Teachers represents more than 1000 teachers, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, School Social Workers, and School Psychologists working in the Peoria Public Schools.  The PFT is affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers, and the AFL-CIO.

Additional info:  https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/13/health/teachers-pay-profession-charts-stats-trnd/index.html?no-st=1524503727

                                                                    ###

ACLU event May 10

PEORIA, IL -- From a news release:

PEORIA ACLU Chapter’s Annual Meeting is May 10, 2018   

The Peoria ACLU Area Chapter’s 57th annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 10, 2018 at the IVY Club, 1502 N. Galena Road, Peoria Heights. 

The guest speaker will be Celeste Stewart Stack, an attorney with extensive experience litigating constitutional violations including wrongful convictions, police misconduct, psychiatric issues and conflict of interest cases. She worked in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office in Chicago for three decades where she held various supervisory positions for 15 years, including supervisor of the Conviction Integrity Unit which was created based on the organization set out in her application for federal grant funds.  Her units were responsible for reviewing and litigating 1,000 post-conviction petitions. She assisted Chicago attorney Andrew Hale on the Cleve Heidelberg wrongful-conviction case as well as other Central Illinois post- conviction and civil rights cases, and she recently opened an office for Hale Law in Peoria at 456 Fulton Street.

Sam Belfer Awards will be presented to Dr. Rahmat Na’Allah and Judge Lisa Wilson.   Dr. Rahmat Na’Allah is a family physician practicing at UnityPoint Health, and she is on the faculty at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. She believes access to health care is a basic human right and all women should have access to reproductive health care. Judge Lisa Wilson has been an Associate Judge in the Tenth Judicial Circuit since 2009, She is presently the chair of the Tenth Judicial Court Pro Bono Committee and the Tenth Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council among many other organizations.

The event begins with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. with the program and speaker, presentation of awards and election of officers to follow. Reservations for the dinner are due by May 2.  An invitation can be downloaded from the chapter website, at http://aclupeoria.org.

The public is invited, and welcome to attend the program free of charge.  Media coverage is also welcome.      ***

Jazz in Spring: Wow

WASHINGTON, IL --  The Heartland Festival Orchestra's April 21 performance, 'Jazz in Spring' was a creative, different event, very interesting, beautifully done.  It combined classical with jazz, age with youth, and rocked the Five Points Washington auditorium.

The Youth Music Illinois Youth Symphony joined the orchestra for several numbers. A youth jazz group, Big Jazz, seated on the side of the auditorium, played big band style jazz pieces.  They were terrific.

The program began with Mendelssohn's Overture to 'A Midsumer Night's Dream,' composed when Mendelssohn was only 17 years old. This is a sweet, familiar piece, and was beautifully played.

Then came Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring Suite, another familiar piece, so appropriate for spring.

After the intermission, the jazz began, first from Big Jazz, then Grieg pieces, and Duke Ellington's arrangements for jazz orchestra, so the two styles could be compared.The youth orchestra joined the Heartland musicians for the classical pieces.

Morton Gould's Latin American Symphonette followed, lively, fast, a combination of classical and jazz. 

It was an amazing program, fun and fascinating.  The big screen with live shots of the musicians adds to the interest -- it's fun to see the faces up close. And seeing the young musicians playing so well was amazing.

  -- Elaine Hopkins

Peoria sued for $100 million

PEORIA, IL -- The city of Peoria is being sued for $100 million over the Cleve Heidelberg case, where an innocent man was sent to prison from fabricated evidence, allegedly.

Here's the story from the Community Word.

And here's the Journal Star's account of the lawsuit.

How can the city afford those apartments in Riverfront Park with this case pending, and the hotel debacle?

Just asking...

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Great speech, great subject

CHICAGO, IL -- Here is a transcript of remarks from Colleen Connell, executive director of the Illinois ACLU, at a recent luncheon:

Remarks of Colleen Connell

2018 ACLU Lunch

March 23, 2018

        GOOD AFTERNOON. 

            ONE YEAR AGO, I STOOD IN THIS SPOT AND DECLARED THAT DONALD TRUMP PRESENTED AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY. THE PAST 14 MONTHS HAVE PROVED THAT STATEMENT TRUE.

        IN RESPONSE, THE ACLU HAS PROVED FAITHFUL TO OUR MISSION AND OUR PROMISE THAT WE WOULD “SEE THE PRESIDENT IN COURT.” NATIONWIDE, WE HAVE FILED MORE THAN 100 ACTIONS CHALLENGING VIOLATIONS OF CORE CIVIL LIBERTIES.  

                                                                        * * *

        LAST YEAR,  IT WAS EASY TO VERBALIZE OUR COLLECTIVE OUTRAGE AND OUR COMMITMENT TO RESIST THE EMERGING ATTACKS ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS, LGBTQ RIGHTS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND IMMIGRANTS – TO NAME BUT A FEW.  

            THIS YEAR IS MORE DIFFICULT.  THE PROBLEM WE FACE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE ATTACKS ON INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES. 

            THE PROBLEM WE FACE IS TRANSCENDANTAL AND REFLECTS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ATTACK ON THE RULE OF LAW – THE ESSENTIAL STRUCTURE OF OUR CONSTITUTION. 

            THE PROBLEM STARTS AT THE TOP.  DEMANDS OF PERSONAL LOYALTY FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT, ATTEMPTS TO WEAPONIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AGAINST PERSONAL AND POLITICAL FOES, A PRESIDENTIAL INQUISITION ABOUT WHETHER A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE, VOTED FOR DONALD TRUMP. THESE ACTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE IN OUR DEMOCRACY.

            EACH OF US IS HERE TODAY BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THIS ESSENTIAL TRUTH:  THAT WE NEED TO FIGHT AND WIN THE SAME EPIC BATTLE WHICH LINCOLN EMBRACED IN HIS FIRST INAUGUARAL ADDRESS: “TO PRESERVE, PROTECT, AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.”

        THESE LARGER THREATS, ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF OUR SYSTEM, DEMAND THAT WE INTENSIFY OUR RESISTANCE. TO PARAPHRASE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING:  THE TRUE MEASURE OF A PERSON IS NOT WHERE YOU STAND AT MOMENTS OF COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE. THE TRUE MEASURE IS WHERE YOU STAND AT MOMENTS OF CHALLENGE AND CONTROVERSY. 

            MANY OF US, PERSONALLY, ARE PRIVILEGED WITH LIVES OF COMFORT.   AS WHITE, PROFESSIONAL, CIS-GENDER, OR MALE, WE MAY NOT BE AMONG THE GROUPS SPECIFICALLY TARGETED OVER THE PAST 14 MONTHS. 

            AND, WE LIVE IN A CITY AND A STATE WHERE MANY OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE RESISTED THE WORST OF THE TRUMP AGENDA. 

            THIS PRIVILEGE OF STATUS AND COMFORT DOES NOT GIVE ANY OF US A PASS.  THIS PRIVILEGE DEMANDS THAT EACH OF US STAND COURAGEOUS AND TALL IN THESE TIMES OF GREAT CHALLENGE AND CONTROVERSY. 

            AND, THE COURAGE WE DEMAND OF OURSELVES WE ALSO MUST DEMAND OF OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AT ALL LEVELS AND IN ALL POLITICAL PARTIES.  

            WE MUST EXHIBIT THIS COURAGE AND DO ALL WE CAN, USE ALL TOOLS AVAILABLE, TO PROTECT THOSE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

             ALTHOUGH WE CANNOT IMMEDIATELY REVERSE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT POLICIES,  WE CAN TAKE THE ESSENTIAL STEP OF INSISTING THAT ALL MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION SUPPORT A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP FOR DREAMERS.

            WE CANNOT,  AT LEAST TODAY,  REPEAL THE ANTI-LGBTQ POLICIES ADOPTED BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

            HOWEVER, WE CAN AND MUST INSIST THAT LOCAL SCHOOL OFFICIALS ABIDE BY THE ILLINOIS HUMAN RIGHTS ACT AND ALLOW STUDENTS WHO ARE TRANSGENDER TO USE LOCKER-ROOMS AND RESTROOMS CONSISTENT WITH THEIR GENDER IDENTITY.

            WE CANNOT, AT LEAST TODAY, STOP DONALD TRUMP AND JEFF SESSIONS FROM RE-LAUNCHING THE WAR ON DRUGS – WHICH UNFAIRLY AND DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPRISONED PEOPLE OF COLOR.

            WE CAN, HOWEVER, INSIST THAT ILLINOIS ADOPT SMART JUSTICE POLICIES.  WE CAN START THIS PROCESS BY LEGALIZING, REGULATING, AND TAXING MARIJUANA IN OUR STATE.

            OUR RESISTANCE, BEGINS -- BUT CANNOT END -- WITH OUR DEFENSE OF THE MOST VULNERABLE AMONG US.  WE MUST ALSO VIGOROUSLY DEFEND THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE ITSELF.  WE MUST RESIST TRUMP’S ATTEMPTS TO ERODE THE RULE OF LAW, WHICH WAS THE CATALYST OF OUR REVOLUTION AGAINST A MONARCH --  AND IS-- THE BEDROCK OF OUR CONSTITUTION.  // // FAILURE TO RESIST WILL SPELL THE DEATH KNELL OF OUR DEMOCRACY.

                                    ///   ////   //// 

WE, THE PEOPLE, -- ALL THE PEOPLE – MUST INSIST THAT CONGRESS ACT AS THE SEPARATE, EQUAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT THAT THE FRAMERS INTENDED.  WE MUST INSIST THAT CONGRESS PERFORM ITS APPROPRIATE OVERSIGHT ROLE – ASSERTING THE CHECKS AND BALANCES ON PRESIDENTIAL POWER THAT ARE THE HALLMARK OF OUR SYSTEM OF LIMITED GOVERNMENT. 

EFFORTS TO SUBJUGATE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND COMPEL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PROSECUTE POLITICAL OPPONENTS MUST BE RESISTED. 

CALLS TO FIRE PUBLIC OFFICIALS – ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PURPOSE OF THE FIRING MAY BE TO DISCREDIT THEM AS WITNESSES – OR TO CHILL OTHER WITNESSES FROM STEPPING FORWARD – MUST BE RESISTED. 

LOYALTY OATHS FOR FEDERAL OFFICIALS – INCLUDING NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS – AND EFFORTS TO COW AND CONTROL FEDERAL PROSECUTORS MUST BE RESISTED. 

WE MUST ALSO INSIST THAT CONGRESS PROVIDE MEANINGFUL OVERSIGHT OF THE PRESIDENT, HIS FAMILY, AND OTHERS WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS CONFLICTS AND VIOLATIONS OF THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE.  

THIS IS THE ESSENTIAL JOB OF THE CONGRESS. AND WHEN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE NOT WILLING TO PROTECT OUR SYSTEM OF JUSTICE AND THE RULE OF LAW, WE THE PEOPLE MUST CONFRONT THOSE MEMBERS AND DEMAND BETTER.

MAKE NO MISTAKE:  OUR NATIONAL RESOLVE IS BEING TESTED.  WE ARE BEING TESTED TO SEE IF WE HAVE THE FORTITUDE TO RESIST THOSE WHO WOULD DRAG US BACK TO BYGONE ERAS. 

WE ARE BEING TESTED TO SEE IF WE CAN UNITE IN THE BASIC HUMAN DECENCY THAT DEMANDS LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, REGARDLESS OF RACE, CREED, GENDER, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

MOST PROFOUNDLY, OUR COMMITMENT TO UNIVERSAL LIBERTY AS THE SELF-EVIDENT TRUTH – THE AMERICAN IDEAL -- IS BEING TESTED BY THOSE WHO ASSERT THAT RESTRICTING RIGHTS TO A SELCT FEW  WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. 

WE BELIEVE OUR DEFENSE OF FREEDOM MUST BE INCLUSIVE; IT MUST EMBODY FREEDOM FOR ALL.   LET US NURTURE THE RESISTANCE THAT IS IN THIS ROOM, THAT IS IN THIS STATE AND IN THIS NATION. 

ONLY OUR VIGILANT RESISTANCE WILL ENSURE THAT OUR CONSTITUTION CONTINUES TO ENDURE AND PROTECT THE VALUES WE HOLDS MOST DEAR: //// LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 

*** 

 

Racial justice? Maybe not

PEORIA, IL -- Century-old racial bias in the United States continues to influence laws and the justice system, and must be confronted, Ed Yohnka of the Illinois ACLU told a Greater Peoria League of Women Voters audience on April 12.

Yohnka, the Director of Communication and Public Policy for the organization of 72,000 members in Illinois, spoke at the League’s annual dinner, held at Childer’s Banquet Center in Peoria. His topic was “Racial Justice and Police Practices in Illinois.” He relied on shocking statistics to support his contention of long-held racial bias:

“When you think about the work our nation does, it’s amazing how much comes back to race,” he said. For example, in the criminal justice system:

• 71 percent of all “street stops” also known as “stop and frisk” stops, involve African Americans in Chicago, where they are only 32 percent of the population. It can be “humiliating and degrading,” for them, he said.

• African Americans are twice as likely as whites to be stopped for minor infractions while driving a car, even though all drivers speed at times, change lanes without signaling. “These stops reflect who is targeted,” he said, “not who is breaking the law.”

• African Americans are three times more likely to be asked to consent to a search of the car, even though whites are five or six times more likely to have contraband in the car.

• Arrests for use of marijuana are eight times more likely for African Americans, though all people use it at the same rates, he said. “We treat the same offense differently because of race.”

• Prosecutors charge people because of race. Of 1,000 youthful offenders transferred to adult court, 95 percent were people of color, he said.

The prison statistics reflect racial bias. The inmate population is overwhelmingly African American in numbers 10 times greater than whites, he said. “Who we target, arrest and prosecute” results in these statistics, he said.

“This isn’t a shock to African Americans, he said.  “We are undermining our system of justice in communities of color.”

“The old politics of being tough on crime” should be rejected, Yohnka said, because it’s ‘code’ for being tough on people of color. “We have to start by demanding that elected officials stop reacting” to the latest outrage, leading to bad policies.

Community policing should be a top priority everywhere, he said. “All of us are safer when everyone is safe.”

Yohnka answered questions, including one about “black on black crime.”  He responded that most crime takes place among people who know each other. 

Black communities have historically been deprived of resources, including education, jobs, and housing, he said, leading to crime from desperation. In Chicago most crime is confined to small areas. “We need to recognize that crime is a symptom” of problems in the larger society of unequal treatment, he said.  

Mandatory sentences, long sentences, lack of programs to help those released from prison, all create problems of injustice, he said.  In Europe, the maximum sentence is 20 years, and most offenders receive intense services to keep them out of prison.

“We need to acknowledge our own bias, and how it drives policies that don’t serve our communities,” he said. “Democracy only works if all of us work together, and we all have a role to play.  For too long we let politicians and demagogues separate us.  But we will never change until all people feel like they are included and treated equally.”

Here is a recording of his talk:

Download ACLU Yohnka 2018

 -- Elaine Hopkins

When will they learn?

PEORIA, IL -- What on earth is the Peoria District 150 School Board thinking, to let student awards and staff presentations go on and on and on at a board meeting?

But that's what occurred on April 9, so the meeting didn't end until after 10 pm. It began at 6:30 pm.

Student awards can be dispensed at an awards ceremony, not a board meeting.  Board members can attend if they choose to. Likewise staff presentations. They also could be limited to 10 minutes if they are absolutely essential at a meeting.

Actual board business took only an hour or so after the endless presentations. 

So here are the public comments.  Here is a recording.

Download PSD150 April 9 2018

Activist Sharon Crews, whose report is below, expressed concern about too many administrators while teachers were cut and didn't get raises. Millions is being spent on technology instead, she said, documenting her contention. Her report is a 'must read!'

Activist Terry Knapp repeated his concern about 900 Woodruff High School students displaced from their school, causing trauma for them and the community. Public housing also causes students to be moved, causing trauma, even killings, he said, responding to a presentation on trauma for students.   He also advocated for summer school.  "Trauma is caused by some of the decisions made here," he said.

             -- Elaine Hopkins

Here is the report from Sharon Crews:

Before presenting my comments, I made it clear that my objections to hiring more non-teachers had nothing to do with the therapeutic (mental health) programs at Trewyn presented by Renee Andrew and the new program to be headed by Derrick Booth—I support both.

A Rutgers study states that the key to providing quality schooling is having money to hire enough teachers to have reasonable class sizes and to pay teachers sufficient wages so that good people are coming into the profession.  That’s the ideal and it isn’t happening.

An online article states that between 1950 and 2015 in public schools, the number of non-teachers—many who have minimal contact with students—increased more than seven times the increase in students. At the same time, teacher salaries stagnated and teachers were more likely than non-teachers to be fired. Also, teachers were also more vulnerable to cuts when school budgets were tightened. That sounds like this district’s history to me.

After I retired in 2005, even more non-teachers were hired, and much more money was spent on technology. Plato and then Compass Learning had made their way into the computer program arsenal. By the time Lathan left, millions of dollars had been spent on both computer hardware and software. No Child Left Behind gave rise to money-making companies that created tests and miracle cure programs. I believe Lathan bought many educational, professional growth, and office programs, hoping to find a use that was never found.   In 2014 alone, $646,000 was spent on Compass Learning and an exorbitant amount is still being spent. I firmly believe that money spent on Compass Learning is a waste. The money being spent on Compass Learning now should be spent on summer school.

Also, in 2014 another half a million was spent on AVID and much is still being spent. And that’s just a drop in the technology bucket.

As Terry has pointed out about Valeska, Wisconsin Avenue does not maintain records and has not developed a system to track the return on investments. Texas uses a program that assesses how school districts spend their money and compares the data with student achievement. We need to assess how much Compass Learning and AVID affect student achievement. So far we have no evidence of their effect.

Recent teacher strikes in America reveal that teachers are tired of doing all the work without fair compensation compared to the money spent on technology and the non-teaching staff. One study of American education states, “We’re spending more and more on K-12 public schools, but somehow that money isn’t finding its way to our front-line educators.”

This district’s problems in attracting and keeping teachers cries out for an all-out analysis as to why there is a teacher shortage. I found some interesting answers to questions about why there is a shortage and how school districts are using or misusing their financial resources.

Computer programs are money-makers for companies but little has been shown to prove their academic worth. This district needs to poll teachers to find out how much they use computers and why.   Also, take a look at how much computer repairs cost.

Think about all the money spent on standardized tests with embarrassing results that keep you buying more tests, hoping for better results. Then consider the studies that state there are better ways to determine success. Instead of test scores, some researchers used long-term outcomes like educational attainment and a student's income and career in adulthood. Our district does almost nothing to show how its grads fare after graduation. Facebook keeps me in daily contact with Manual grads from every decade from the 60s. I hear about their college educations, their jobs, the success of their children, and their emotional well-being—this information tells me that they acquired the tools to succeed. I am very proud of them.

With ever more teachers retiring and many currently with five and fewer years of experience, you need to give teachers, not non-teachers and technology, your financial attention. - 30 -