Over the four years that this blog has existed, the feedback that I have received regarding it has been overwhelmingly positive. Many people have called, texted or stopped me on the street to tell me that they read my blog regularly and it helps to keep them informed about Minooka CCSD 201. There are a few people, however, who believe that my blog is inappropriate and that I should take it down.
To those that suggest that I take it down, you should not expect that to happen any time soon. This blog will remain as long as I am a member of the Minooka CCSD 201 school board and probably long after. You see, I believe there is a fundamental disagreement between myself and those that think this blog is inappropriate.
Let's start with the fact that Minooka CCSD 201 is a public school district. And as a public school district, it is financed with public money (your tax dollars). It is my belief that when you finance an institution with public money, that institution should be subject to public scrutiny and public oversight. That, my friends, is the reason that there is a school board elected by the voters of the district to oversee the district, an Open Meetings Act to ensure that the public is aware of and can attend the proceedings of the school board, a Freedom of Information Act to ensure that the public has access to public documents held by the school district, and a Public Records Act to ensure that public records created by the school district are preserved and cannot be destroyed.
As an elected official, I believe that it is my obligation to ensure transparency and provide the public with as much information as possible (while still abiding by the privacy laws that exist). I believe that public servants spending public money should invite and encourage scrutiny and not be afraid of it. We are, after all, doing the public's business on behalf of the public. If we are doing that to the best of our abilities, then we have nothing to fear from transparency and public scrutiny. And, if we fear transparency and public scrutiny, then that is the first sign that perhaps we are doing something that we should not be doing.
Unfortunately, public institutions do not always provide adequate transparency or desire public scrutiny. To the extent that this blog provides more transparency, invites public scrutiny, and increases public awareness of the inner workings of Minooka CCSD 201, then I consider it a success.
Showing posts with label public school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public school. Show all posts
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Is CVA the Public School of the Future?
Take a look at Columbia Virtual Academy (see here). CVA is a public K-12 virtual school in the State of Washington. There are no brick and mortar buildings. There are no school buses. There are no passing periods.
There are of course advantages and disadvantages to everything, but here is one striking advantage to virtual schools: cost! Familiarize yourself with a typical public school's finances, and you will see that a significant portion of the money spent is not spent IN the classroom. It is spent ON the classroom and on transporting the students TO the classroom. Minooka 201, for example, spent roughly $7,500 per student per year, but only about $3,700 of that (slightly less than half) is spent in the classroom. The remainder is spent on operations and maintenance, transportation, etc. (essentially, maintaining the brick and mortar buildings and transportation to the brick and mortar buildings). When you take into account all expenditures (including construction and debt service), Minooka 201 is currently spending roughly $10,500 per student.
Given the above financial advantages of virtual schools and the lean budgets that each state is experiencing, it is easy to see why virtual schools like CVA are being started and why they are expanding to deliver educational services to an increasing number of students.
There are of course advantages and disadvantages to everything, but here is one striking advantage to virtual schools: cost! Familiarize yourself with a typical public school's finances, and you will see that a significant portion of the money spent is not spent IN the classroom. It is spent ON the classroom and on transporting the students TO the classroom. Minooka 201, for example, spent roughly $7,500 per student per year, but only about $3,700 of that (slightly less than half) is spent in the classroom. The remainder is spent on operations and maintenance, transportation, etc. (essentially, maintaining the brick and mortar buildings and transportation to the brick and mortar buildings). When you take into account all expenditures (including construction and debt service), Minooka 201 is currently spending roughly $10,500 per student.
Given the above financial advantages of virtual schools and the lean budgets that each state is experiencing, it is easy to see why virtual schools like CVA are being started and why they are expanding to deliver educational services to an increasing number of students.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Parental Rights Regarding Education of Children
Many parents are unaware of their legal rights in determining the education of their children. Many give too much deference, in my opinion, to the "education establishment." Please don't misunderstand me. I am not disparaging teachers. What I am saying is that a parent's right to determine the content, character and moral principles of their child's education trumps the interest of the school and/or the state.
The institution of public education is a relatively recent phenomenon in the history of the United States. For much of our history, parental rights regarding the amount, type, scope and content of their children's education were unquestioned (largely because it was the parents who provided or contracted for such education). It was not until 1925 that the United States Supreme Court made a definitive pronouncement on this issue. In a case called Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated an Oregon compulsory education law which would have required all parents to send their children to public schools. In a unanimous decision, the Court said the following: "The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excluded any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right and the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations." In other words, a state may require that children receive a certain amount of education in terms of years, etc. But, the manner in which that education is to be received, whether in public school, private school or home school, is to be determined by the parents.
The principle from this case (Pierce v. Society of Sisters) has been cited countless times as the basic principle of parental rights in education. If you understand this principle, then you understand that the ultimate authority regarding the content of a child's education is the parent. If the public school to which you send your children is not meeting your standards in terms of quality or content, then you as the parent have the right to send your child to private school or remove them from the school system completely and home school them. (In the past, homeschooling may have presented parents with seemingly insurmountable issues, but with the advent of internet schools, homeschooling is accessable to many more parents.)
Even within the public school system, parents can have a great deal of input in terms of content and quality of education. Every parent (indeed every citizen) in Illinois has the right to review all of the books and other materials that are part of the public school curriculum. All you have to do is go into one of the schools and request to review the materials. Frankly, every parent should do this on a regular basis. You have every right to know what is in the textbooks and other materials that are being used to instruct your children. Additionally, you have the right to be heard regarding your concerns, if any, about these materials. You can discuss these concerns with the teacher, the principals, the superintendent and the school board (you can go directly to the school board by showing up at a meeting and being heard during the public comment section of the meeting).
In addition to the above, Federal law protects the rights of parents regarding information kept by schools regarding their children. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the rights of parents to access and inspect student information collected and kept by schools. It also prevents disclosure of this information except for certain specified purposes.
In the end, they are your children, and the right to determine the content of their education belongs to you as parents.
The institution of public education is a relatively recent phenomenon in the history of the United States. For much of our history, parental rights regarding the amount, type, scope and content of their children's education were unquestioned (largely because it was the parents who provided or contracted for such education). It was not until 1925 that the United States Supreme Court made a definitive pronouncement on this issue. In a case called Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated an Oregon compulsory education law which would have required all parents to send their children to public schools. In a unanimous decision, the Court said the following: "The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excluded any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right and the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations." In other words, a state may require that children receive a certain amount of education in terms of years, etc. But, the manner in which that education is to be received, whether in public school, private school or home school, is to be determined by the parents.
The principle from this case (Pierce v. Society of Sisters) has been cited countless times as the basic principle of parental rights in education. If you understand this principle, then you understand that the ultimate authority regarding the content of a child's education is the parent. If the public school to which you send your children is not meeting your standards in terms of quality or content, then you as the parent have the right to send your child to private school or remove them from the school system completely and home school them. (In the past, homeschooling may have presented parents with seemingly insurmountable issues, but with the advent of internet schools, homeschooling is accessable to many more parents.)
Even within the public school system, parents can have a great deal of input in terms of content and quality of education. Every parent (indeed every citizen) in Illinois has the right to review all of the books and other materials that are part of the public school curriculum. All you have to do is go into one of the schools and request to review the materials. Frankly, every parent should do this on a regular basis. You have every right to know what is in the textbooks and other materials that are being used to instruct your children. Additionally, you have the right to be heard regarding your concerns, if any, about these materials. You can discuss these concerns with the teacher, the principals, the superintendent and the school board (you can go directly to the school board by showing up at a meeting and being heard during the public comment section of the meeting).
In addition to the above, Federal law protects the rights of parents regarding information kept by schools regarding their children. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the rights of parents to access and inspect student information collected and kept by schools. It also prevents disclosure of this information except for certain specified purposes.
In the end, they are your children, and the right to determine the content of their education belongs to you as parents.
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