Today is the Day!

Dear Berwyn CARES member,

Thank you for being a member of Berwyn CARES! We appreciate your support and could not have existed without the support of people like you.

Over the course of the last year, we have continued working toward our mission of uniting residents interested in renewing and sustaining an enthusiasm, interest and passion for the education system in Berwyn. In the past year, we initiated the Berwyn Challenge with Donors Choose to fund projects in Berwyn schools. CARES as an organization donated over $3,500 to Donors Choose projects. In the spring, we gave three $1,000 scholarships to students graduating from Morton West.

In addition to this, we sponsored and organized children's activities at OktoberFest, put on a children's concert in the fall to raise money for school projects and hosted on a concert in the spring to raise money for college scholarships.

This year, we started the Berwyn CARES blog and posted articles that would be of interest to education efforts in Berwyn. We have continued to attend school board meetings and make our voices heard on issues of importance to the school districts.

In February, Berwyn CARES voiced our concern to District 201 that no action was being taken on a consultant's report that showed only 6% of the students in District 201 are completing the core curriculum and that 30% of the students in District 201 were failing math. Within a month of voicing our concerns and writing a letter to the editor of the Life newspaper (and reading the letter in the open forum of a school board meeting), District 201 announced the hiring of a curriculum director and curriculum leads.

In the spring, Berwyn CARES members participated in focus groups with District 100 on the selection of a new school superintendent and discussed with school board members our concerns.

As you know, our efforts are not without costs ... postage, envelopes, paper, copying fees, the P.O. Box and the website as well as funding grants and scholarships. We hope that you will renew your membership for this coming year! Please consider pledging at a higher level, knowing that Berwyn CARES is committed to our mission. You can make a contribution using paypal, www.berwyncares.org , or click here, print and send to:

Berwyn CARES
P.O. Box 397
Berwyn, Illinois 60402

Thank you again for your continued support.