Customer Name:
Yvonne Mayer
| The following is an email I sent to the BOE today — 10/23/19. Please treat questions 1-10 embedded in the email as a FOIA request submitted today — 10/23/19. From: Yvonne Mayer [email protected] Sent: Wednesday| October 23| 2019 2:17 PM To: D86 BOE [email protected] Subject: Science Alignment Discussion at Tonight’s BOE meeting Dear D86 Board of Education: I am writing to express my concern with the Physics First Science Curriculum alignment proposal the D86 Administration will be presenting at tonight’s board meeting. I am asking that you not make the mistake the D181 BOE made seven years ago when it approved a social justice driven curriculum change with implementation of a program called Learning for All. That program pushed all students up a full year in math and as data was collected over the next several years| it was proven to have failed miserably| hurt student performance and as a result it has taken years by the current administration to unravel and repair the damage done to students. With respect now to D86| my understanding from information that has been provided to 8th grade families and individuals in the community who have had personal conversations with Assistant Superintendent Brad Vertein| Superintendent Tammy Prentiss and Jessica Hurt (amongst other D86 administrators) is that Hinsdale Central will| starting in the fall of 2020| be rolling out the Physics First Science sequence currently used at Hinsdale South and phasing out the traditional Science sequence offered at Central. Furthermore| community members have been told that G-level classes at Central in the Physics First sequence will also no longer be offered (already eliminated at South) and students will be placed in either Regular or Honors classes. What this means is that the “floor” will have been raised for all students| with G-level students being pushed up one level| and some (maybe many) Regular Ed students being pushed up to the Honors level. The purpose of this change will be so that Central is “aligned” with South| as the Administration attempts to implement the “Curriculum Alignment Mandate” the Board directed last winter. Some parents have also been told that MAP Placement scores for enterring freshmen are being lowered to accomodate these changes. To date| the Administration has not presented this specific proposal to the BOE| nor has it been discussed or approved by the BOE — at least not in OPEN session. I do not believe there is any exception to the Open Meetings Act that would allow the BOE to discuss proposed curriculum changes in closed session or outside of a publicly noticed meeting so I am assuming that tonight will be the first time the BOE members will be discussing this specific Science alignment proposal. I am deeply troubled that any D86 administrator — and in particular the Superintendent — has told community members that the Physics First sequence WILL be rolled out starting in the Fall of 2020| before the BOE has substantively discussed it or reviewed supporting DATA from comparable school districts that show proven success with elimination of G-level classes. Further| the BOE has not yet voted to implement this curriculum change as it is required to pursuant to Board Policy 2.20(9) and it is premature for any administrator to assume that the BOE will do so. (Note: Comparable school districts are not MAGNET schools where all students are high achievers who have to take a test to place into the school) As a former D181 School Board member| I am particularly concerned because this proposal sounds ominously like the failed social justice Learning for All program that was approved by the D181 BOE and that unraveled as data was collected that showed that student performance across the board declined| The decline| as D86 Board Member Turek (who |
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