Recently I banged the drum on behalf of so-called community or full-service schools as a way to provide learners with a wider array of help and to provide taxpayers with a better return on their investment in school buildings that sit idle two-thirds of the time. Want to learn more? I found Joy Dryfoos’s 2002 […]
education
Posted inOpinion
Looking for Mr. Right
Springfield voters on April 9 taught School District 186 a lesson. The district needed a better board, they believed, and they made their point by electing a slew of new members. But what, exactly, are these board members expected to be better at? They start their new jobs with the usual confused mandate. Some were […]
Posted inOpinion
Mostly educated
A while back, in “Teaching idiots,” I ventured the view that it has never been easier than it is today to give oneself an education. I did not however settle the question of whether is might be wise to do so. The self-taught tend to have patchy educations. This can be bad, it can be […]
Posted inNews
School district seeks to rebuild trust
The Springfield School Board took the first steps on Monday night toward rebuilding parents’ trust in the district, following the leak of test data from a besieged middle school. The board unanimously voted to accept the resignation of two district employees involved in the test score leak, providing a measure of closure for parents who […]
Posted inNews
Shortchanging Illinois children is a choice
Although times are difficult for social services in Illinois, a statewide advocacy group thinks that it is still possible to positively affect the lives of children. Voices for Illinois Children, a nonpartisan advocacy group which uses policy analysis and research to advance the lives of children, families and communities in Illinois, hosted its annual Illinois […]
Posted inNews
Group pressing school board candidates on CCPA closure
A group of Springfield parents and educators is hoping to prevent the closure of a popular middle school, despite two unfavorable votes by the Springfield School Board. Their main tactic? Elect a different school board. Shelley Tulipana of Springfield spearheads the effort to keep Capital College Preparatory Academy open. Tulipana leads a group of about […]
Posted inNews
Education to suffer most under next state budget
Illinois’ public pension costs will eat up nearly a fifth of state spending in the coming fiscal year, with education largely absorbing the impact. “This is the most difficult budget I have ever submitted to you,” Gov. Pat Quinn told lawmakers on March 6 during his annual budget address at the Illinois Statehouse. Quinn’s proposed […]
Posted inArts & Culture
politico poem #11
the institution where once I soproudly taught has introduced a minorcalled liberty studies partly funded bythe koch brothers urbana turned it downbut not us are we so desperate for dough?in the article a senior student is quoted:“Nobody will be forced to earn a minor inliberty studies, concerns about academicfreedom and critical thinking in theprogram might […]
Posted inOpinion
Board games
The most accident-prone intersection in Springfield is at 1900 West Monroe Street where the corridor to the boardroom crosses the corridor to the superintendent’s office. There was yet another pileup at that spot when the District 186 board bought out the final year of Superintendent Walter Milton’s contract. Bought out? Bought off is probably a more apt […]
Posted inNews
School closure questioned
Scroll to the bottom to see what the School Board cut and what it kept. In the wake of a controversial decision to close a popular and successful middle school in Springfield, the divided school board continues to field questions about the reasoning for the closure and its estimated savings. About 200 “scholars” at the […]
Posted inNews
Education in Illinois not getting any better
More than two thirds of Illinois students won’t earn a college degree. In the modern economy, that’s not good enough to compete, says education advocacy group Advance Illinois in a recent report on the state’s public school system. While Illinois does have changes in the works, Robin Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois, says performance […]
Posted inNews
Does UIS stiff laborers?
A group of union workers at the University of Illinois Springfield claims many of their non-union counterparts got raises above the university’s own limits. The workers also claim UIS pays support staff nearly a third less than the same jobs at the university’s flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign. The claims come amid a round of wage […]
