Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Sick of Political Commercials?

The results of the upcoming November 2nd election will have a great impact on education and the general health of our great state of Illinois. Voters may find it increasingly difficult to get good, unbiased information about the candidates and their positions because it is so easy to get biased, negative information from the media images we are bombarded with daily. Berwyn CARES is a 501c3 organization and we will not endorse any particular candidate. The following is information about the candidates for Governor regarding education. Click on their name to go to the individual candidate's webpage related to education.

Quinn: http://www.quinnforillinois.com/issues/education

Governor Quinn supports a tax increase to help balance the budget and adequately fund education and other social services programs. On his profile page he states:
"As part of that effort, I also believe we must invest in education at every level, from early childhood programs through college. I believe that children who come to kindergarten ready to learn and excel are far less likely to take the wrong path as they grow up. As those students move through our public education system, they deserve safe, secure, well-maintained school buildings and well-trained, dedicated teachers, so they can graduate with a solid education. I further believe that we must invest in our community college system, the gateway to the middle class, so that new graduates have affordable access to higher education and older workers have opportunities for training to help them succeed and prosper in the 21st century workplace"


Brady: Bill Brady supports reducing or eliminating the State Board of Education in favor of a smaller department responsible for dispursement of state funds to school districts. Brady plans to cut taxes and spending and supports voucher systems if deemed necessary by the school district. From his website:

"The Bill Brady plan to reform education in Illinois starts with a clean break from the rigid educational structure of today with the transformation of the State Board of Education. Doing so will give local school officials, teachers and parents a greater voice in the operation of their local schools.

Bill Brady will create a downsized department under the Governor to administer the financial disbursement of resources, helping school districts in a way that will ensure more dollars go to the classroom and not to educational administration expense."


Please do your homework! The Berwyn Public Library offers some non-biased resources on their webpage. To see a sample ballot for your address, go to evoter.com.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Berwyn Schools Are Getting Better!...Or Are They?

Education zealots like us pay close attention to ISAT scores. We wait for the data to be released each fall (any day now) so that we can analyze, compare, and draw conclusions about our schools, teachers and students. However, we know that there is so much more at stake. Trends in property values are directly tied to test scores. So, it seems, is our own self esteem. Ask anyone who has recently moved about their choice of town and within a few sentences you'll hear about the "good schools". If you don't, it is probably because "their" scores aren't up to snuff.

But do these scores really mean anything?? A recent Tribune article outlined the suspicious practice by the Illiniois State Board of Education of "dumbing down" the tests, requiring LESS of students to be considered proficient, therefore, inflating the scores to make it LOOK like there is improvement. For example, Back in 2006, it took 36 of 56 points — about 64 percent — to pass the fifth-grade reading test. Now, it's 31 points, or 55 percent. The state explains that a statistical process called equating is the reason for the trend and that the questions are harder, so requiring fewer questions right to pass is justified. That makes sense, but the fact that the questions are harder (or significantly different) and the proficiency score is reduced means that comparing scores from one year to the next may be comparing apples to oranges. Maybe even apples to chicken legs. This is all so that we can say "No child was left behind!"

So back in 2006, 76.1% of District 100 students were proficient according to ISAT scores. 69.1% of District 98 students were proficient compared to 77% of students in IL. (This is back when you needed to get 64% right to pass the 5th grade test). In 2009, the percentage of proficient students was 72.4% at D98, 76.0% at D100 compared to 79.8% of students in IL. (Remember, this is now that you only need 55% to be "proficient") So, Berwyn students show steady improvement in proficiency rate, but still lag behind the state. However, if the test is harder (or different) and the scoring is easier, is there any way to even tell if there has been any real growth? any real improvement?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

"What Would It Cost..."

"to fund every California's teacher's wish list?" That is the question the caller asked Charles Best of Donorschoose.org. Within 24 hours $1.3 million bucks was donated to fund ALL of the California projects!!

Could there be this type of guardian angel right here in Berwyn?? Probably not, but we could all collectively be the wish-come-true for our Berwyn students if we each gave what we could to the Berwyn challenge. On a smaller scale, we could accomplish for our own kids what one generous donor did for California. Go to the Berwyn Challenge and pledge as little as $10 TODAY!!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Northwestern University Looking for Gifted Students

Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) program strives to identify and advise gifted/talented students in the midwest. Surely, there are some of those right here in Berwyn! Attend a webinar on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm (or future dates listed here) to learn more about the program.

This webinar is geared toward school administrators, but I'm sure some parents of high achieving kids would be interested in this opportunity to learn more about the program. The webinar includes information about scholarship/financial aid support for students in financial need.

To learn more about the NUMATS program, click here.