Oh I so very much wish that Evanston residents cared. They care about equity, marginalized people and social justice. They don’t expect competency in any one connected to the Board of Education or the administrators. Your dogged uncovering and explaining of complicated issues seems to fall on deaf ears. There are a few of us who are outraged at how these school districts are being run into the ground. I cannot imagine how to wake up our residents. I wish the anti Trump fervor could be harnessed and instilled in our community when it comes to school issues
"Equity" means absolutely nothing if you're not competent enough to accomplish your goals - it's just word soup with nothing to back it up. Sometimes I wonder if that's the whole point - that its not about improving the material conditions for marginalized people but instead convincing everyone that you are.
I was recently at Evanston hospital for some major dental work. Everyone, the dentist, the dental residents, the technicians everyone was extremely competent. Now those who come out of educational programs such as those who get a masters or a PhD in educational administration have only learned how to churn out paper after paper of educational jargon. They for the most part haven’t really developed skills and/ competency Take electricians for example. They have a five year apprenticeship program. They better know what they are doing when they are wiring a school building, hospital or a corporate headquarters I will tell you that the administrators who will be applying for the superintendent position know exactly what buzz words to say when they apply here. They have read about Evanston and “know “ what this community wants to hear I only wish the residents here cared as much about the business of running a school district as they do about hiring an electrician
It is sad that Evanstonians don’t pay attention to D65. I certainly agree with those who recognize that the board hangs the equity sign on so many actions, effectively blocking criticism.
It's absolutely wild to see Board members like Mr. Hernandez out there having no idea what is going on. It seems like they didn't really think anything through and just wanted to get the equity win on paper and then the rest would just magically fall into place?
Hernandez is an odd bird. During the campaign events that I saw he always seemed like a deer in the headlights. I can't tell whether he is just clueless or if that is just an act to avoid taking responsibility for questionable decisions.
The fact that no lawsuit stopping this and demanding the repayment of the bonds has been initiated speaks volumes about Evanston. My understanding of the law was that the funds raised under the statute without a referendum were not meant for ground up construction but rather Capital improvements (which we don’t apparently care about in Evanston). The fact that this bond is twice what most other districts have done with no kick in on reserves should be a huge red flag amongst many others. I actually sincerely hope this project never gets off the ground. I don’t think anyone in charge is well intended or has any clue that building a nice shiny building does not make up for an incompetent board, admin and unhappy teachers.
In theory I believe so, but if you were the Evanston taxpayer that stood in the way of the new school, you would be cancelled into orbit by the District and in the local facebook groups.
Oh I so very much wish that Evanston residents cared. They care about equity, marginalized people and social justice. They don’t expect competency in any one connected to the Board of Education or the administrators. Your dogged uncovering and explaining of complicated issues seems to fall on deaf ears. There are a few of us who are outraged at how these school districts are being run into the ground. I cannot imagine how to wake up our residents. I wish the anti Trump fervor could be harnessed and instilled in our community when it comes to school issues
"Equity" means absolutely nothing if you're not competent enough to accomplish your goals - it's just word soup with nothing to back it up. Sometimes I wonder if that's the whole point - that its not about improving the material conditions for marginalized people but instead convincing everyone that you are.
I was recently at Evanston hospital for some major dental work. Everyone, the dentist, the dental residents, the technicians everyone was extremely competent. Now those who come out of educational programs such as those who get a masters or a PhD in educational administration have only learned how to churn out paper after paper of educational jargon. They for the most part haven’t really developed skills and/ competency Take electricians for example. They have a five year apprenticeship program. They better know what they are doing when they are wiring a school building, hospital or a corporate headquarters I will tell you that the administrators who will be applying for the superintendent position know exactly what buzz words to say when they apply here. They have read about Evanston and “know “ what this community wants to hear I only wish the residents here cared as much about the business of running a school district as they do about hiring an electrician
It is sad that Evanstonians don’t pay attention to D65. I certainly agree with those who recognize that the board hangs the equity sign on so many actions, effectively blocking criticism.
Thanks for your work!
Vikki Proctor
The school district not even knowing if they're going to make the building K-5 or K-8 at this stage is incredible; I saw that here https://evanstonnow.com/parents-demand-answers-on-future-of-bessie-rhodes-program/
It's absolutely wild to see Board members like Mr. Hernandez out there having no idea what is going on. It seems like they didn't really think anything through and just wanted to get the equity win on paper and then the rest would just magically fall into place?
Hernandez is an odd bird. During the campaign events that I saw he always seemed like a deer in the headlights. I can't tell whether he is just clueless or if that is just an act to avoid taking responsibility for questionable decisions.
He works for the ISBE so both of those answers sound about right
Please run for school board. Evanston needs board members who care about accountability.
The fact that no lawsuit stopping this and demanding the repayment of the bonds has been initiated speaks volumes about Evanston. My understanding of the law was that the funds raised under the statute without a referendum were not meant for ground up construction but rather Capital improvements (which we don’t apparently care about in Evanston). The fact that this bond is twice what most other districts have done with no kick in on reserves should be a huge red flag amongst many others. I actually sincerely hope this project never gets off the ground. I don’t think anyone in charge is well intended or has any clue that building a nice shiny building does not make up for an incompetent board, admin and unhappy teachers.
It seems conceivable that someone could sue to stop this, given the evidence?
In theory I believe so, but if you were the Evanston taxpayer that stood in the way of the new school, you would be cancelled into orbit by the District and in the local facebook groups.
An empty nester should be paying attention.