State of our Berwyn Schools by Mark Titzer

Here’s a quick recap of the State of the Schools presentation hosted by the All Berwyn Committee (ABC). Many thanks to the ABC for hosting this. 26 people were in the audience. I was hoping for around 26,000. Maybe next year…

DISTRICT 98: Mr. John Belmont, Superintendent of North Berwyn District 98 began by showing a thought provoking video clip on world demographics and education trends. Mr. Belmont provided some interesting historical perspectives on district 98 (including that the district has been in existence since 1899 – longer than Berwyn itself). He reviewed some of the recent trends in demographics, and provided some points on the financial state of the district. He commented on the 6 year rotating curriculum review cycle in place, and stressed that parental involvement is the single most important factor in educational success. The district runs an annual surplus on its roughly $30M budget, and anticipates being debt free by 2012. Impressive.

Dr. Stan Fields, Superintendent of South Berwyn District 100 followed, with a similar overview of district statistics. He reiterated the recently adopted strategic vision of the district to place in the top 25% of Illinois schools in terms of meeting/exceeding state standards. He admitted this will take some time and a lot of hard work, but exuded confidence that, by establishing a stretch goal, changes and improvements will be immediate. (I agree.) He talked about the very generous donation by the South Berwyn Education Foundation, which has enabled 19 classrooms to be outfitted with ‘smart board’ technology. (If you haven’t seen these smart boards, find an opportunity to visit a Dist. 100 classroom – they are amazing.)

Finally, Dr. Victoria Parkinson, Asst. Superintendent for Support Services for District 201 provided a presentation on the curricular approaches that the District is employing. She talked fairly candidly about the low test scores and graduation rates within the district and the strategies the district is implementing to address them.

Dr. Navarro, head of Morton College, was apparently unable to attend.

Elected officials in the audience included Mr. Tony Laureto, District 98 President and 2 fellow board members Brian Swade and Stephen Lancsak, Dist. 100 President Joanne Zendol, Alderman Skryd and Alderman-elect Laureto.