HELEN BURLESON'S ENDORSEMENTS FOR BOARD 227 ON APRIL 9, 2013

Quick Link  richthscoalition.org HELEN BURLESON'S ENDORSEMENTS FOR SCHOOL BOARD 227 ELECTION ON APRIL 9, 2013   After attending many meetings of the Rich Township High School District 227, I have concluded that this board is dysfunctional, self-serving and lacking in dedication to overseeing the school system and allowing the quality of education to deteriorate to the point that the majority of students are not meeting state or national standards. Our children deserve better than that. As Black children, society batters them around, neglects, overlooks and denies them as many opportunities that they can.   Though I don't think Our President is perfect and I don't see eye to eye on every decision he makes, he is Our President. Better than most of the presidencies that I have lived under since Herbert Hoover, President Barack Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest presidents America has ever known. If Our President is disrespected, who attended some of the most prestigious universities in the world, Columbia University, and Harvard Law School where he became president of the Harvard Law Review, a covetous and highly competitive post, what do you think society will think of our children who are receiving a mediocre education?   I am; therefore, endorsing the following four who deserve our vote on April 9, 2013 in the upcoming school board election. They are as follows: Dr. David Morgan (for retention), Dr. Delores Woods, Mr. Komaa Mnyofu and Antoine Bass.   We must get rid of ALL incumbents, some have served for 20 years being fiscally irresponsible engaging in wasteful and excessive spending not at all related to expenditures that benefit the students. Look at that white elephant of an administration building costing in excess of 6 million dollars used exclusively during business hours for administration and some committee meetings that don't benefit or enhance or improve the quality of education delivered to the students.   As the very first Black member of the Flossmoor Board of Education, School District 161, serving 3 consecutive terms from 1972 to 1981, I left because I was appointed by a Republican governor to the Illinois State Board of Education. Each time I was endorsed by the Star Newspaper, now the Southtown Star. In addition to these boards of education, I served on the IL Humanities Council and was a proposal reader for the National Endowment for the Humanities. I also served on the committee to rewrite the social studies curriculum for the State of Illinois. Additionally, I served as the only female and the only Black person to serve on the Governor's Task Force for Medical Malpractice. As a member of the Board of Directors of the DuSable Museum of African American History, I founded the Women's Board of the DuSable Museum.   I tell you this because as a community activist, I don't take responsibility lightly and I don't lend my name to causes lightly. Because my board involvement is so extensive, I did not list all of them.    Because I know what good boardsmanship is and can be, that is why I'm endorsing the above listed candidates. We must block vote in order to get a solid coalition to fight for our children to get a quality education which will determine their future success or failure. Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration   richthscoalition.org Join Our Mailing List Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Forward email This email was sent to davidemorgan234567.rich@blogger.com by davidemorgan234567@sbcglobal.net |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Rich Townhsip High Schools Coalition for Better Schools | Rich Township High Schoo District 227 | OLYMPIA FIELDS | IL | 60461

Our proposed plans for the future as the new Board 227 takes its seat on April 9, 2013

Quick Link  richthscoalition.org February 12, 2013   Our Proposed Plans for the future as the new Board 227 takes its seat on April 9, 2013   As the new school board takes it seat following the April 09, 2013 elections, for the first time in many years, we will be free to engage a new school board in correcting the neglected issues that has kept our school district behind with less than three out of every ten of our students performing at grade level in the 2010-2011 school year.  As the successful school board of the future. Going forward, following the April 09, 2013 elections, we plan to commit to a vision of high expectations for student achievement and quality instruction that will define clear measurable goals toward that vision. As an effective new board 227, we will make sure these goals remain district 227's top priorities meaning that nothing else detracts from them.   Continuous improvement means the board meeting among itself first, discussing what needs to be done based upon data, and then meet with the superintendent to ask continuous improvement questions in addressing continuous school improvement policies. For clarity and understanding of our roles in continuous improvement, the board will then discuss the roles of the board and then the superintendent in continuous improvement. We can to develop a committee structure for team consideration in developing a plan for continuous improvement. We can do this first with the board and then with the superintendent. This makes for an effective school board 227 that will positively impact student achievement. It involves evaluating all functions of our board from internal governance and policy formulation to how we communicate with ourselves, superintendent, building administrators, teachers, students and the district 227 community.   In the situation we're in presently, with little or no school district oversight in many years now, it's important that board 227 be proactive by hitting the ground running on April 9, 2013. He who gets behind in a race will forever remain behind or run faster that those who are far ahead. That's why it is essential to form working school board committees in the areas of accountability and evaluation, sound and equitable policies, frugal financial oversight and to follow a regular process to review student achievement data to ensure continuous improvement. The ways things are right now, as a low achieving board, the majority of our members are not even vaguely aware of the need for school improvement initiatives in the area of (1)  assessment and evaluation, (2) financial oversight, and (3) sound and equitable policies or what we should be doing together as a school board, to understand what a measurable educational goal is or how to achieve one. As a result, there is not even a vague focus on formative goal assessment, addressing benchmarks, school renewal, or relevant continuous formative evaluation and monitoring for change and improvement at any level since it is not present at the board level.     As an effective school board, we will demonstrate strong shared beliefs and values about what is possible for students and their ability to learn, and of school district 227's ability to teach its children at high levels. With our new school board, we will view poverty, lack of parental involvement and other factors as challenges to be discussed and overcome, not as excuses to blame the victims, our children, parents, and our community. As effective and proactive board members, we will expect to see improvement in student achievement quickly as a result of the above initiatives. Today, with our present school board, we see external pressures, our need for open communication, honesty, and transparency, among all board members, with our parents, students and community and lack of board encouragement of community and full board participation as the main reasons for lack of student success. Improving student achievement is, ultimately, the key responsibility of school boards. Everyone own accountability for student achievement.   Responsibility for learning goes from the board and superintendent all the way, and including, students and parents.   As a new school board on April 9, 2013, we will be accountability driven, spending less time unfocused on our goal in the thick of thin things. We will spend more time focused on goal policies to improve student achievement levels. As a high performing board 227, we will focus on establishing with vision with measurable goal achievement benchmarks supported by policies that target student achievement. Presently, the board's performance is characterized by poor governance and factors such as controlling targeted board members, parents, and community's freedom of speech, rights rather than encouraging full participation in solving our school district's under achievement for over two decades. The present school board is likely to cite excuses for not encouraging full board and community communication and barriers as excuses for not reaching out to the full board and its community. As a result, the vast majority of parents and community members don't know board 227 members at all.   As an effective school board, we intend to develop collaborative two-way-communication-relationships with the full board, staff, parents, and community, and establish a strong two-way-feedback-flexible-communication structure to inform and engage both internal and external stakeholders in setting and achieving district 227's goals. As an effective transparent school board, board members will provide specific examples of how we have connected and listened to the community, and how school board members have received information from many different sources, including student achievement data, the superintendent, curriculum director, principals, and teachers, parents, and students. Findings and research can be shared among all board members and our community.   It's important to be an open and transparent organization. As stewards of a public institution, we have an obligation to inform the public. By answering our first most essential question "Did we do what we said we would do?" school board 227 can verify fidelity of implementation and set the stage to answer the next question, "Did it work?" The key to determining whether something worked depends upon having clearly defined criteria for success.   David E. Morgan School Board Member Rich Township High School District 227 Olympia Fields, Illinois   60461   richthscoalition.org Join Our Mailing List Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Forward email This email was sent to davidemorgan234567.rich@blogger.com by sd-227community@att.net |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Rich Townhsip High Schools Coalition for Better Schools | Rich Township High Schoo District 227 | OLYMPIA FIELDS | IL | 60461

A NEW ERA IN SCHOOL DIST 227 LEADERSHIP IN RESTORING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Quick Link  richthscoalition.org FOR A NEW ERA IN SCHOOL DISTRICT 227 LEADERSHIP AND RESTORING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE   VOTE ON APRIL 9, 2013. TO REELECT DR. DAVID E. MORGAN FOR SCHOOL BOARD 227.     Experience and Accomplishments: (a) Family: Married with three adult children. (b) Forty years in Chicago Public Schools and in Higher Education. My life's work has been educational excellence at both the elementary, high school, and college and university levels. Highly successful and effective Chicago Public Schools Teacher, Principal, and Central Office Administrator. As a Chicago Public Schools Principal, the Chicago Consortium on School Leadership at the University of Chicago awarded our school Significant Improvement awards as we continued to monitor our evaluation system and test results with follow-up. Took over leadership as principal of a large urban Chicago public school in Chicago's West Englewood Community with only 14% of students on grade level. Transformed the school from probation to a high performing model of educational excellence and best practices In three short years, more than tripling the number of students at grade level as our student achievement levels continued to increase. These are examples of what hard work, collaborative action, and strong leadership can accomplish.     Goal: (1) To succeed, move ahead, and help our children by restoring focus on student achievement, fairness, tolerance, civility, and full board, parent, and community participation. Understanding that student achievement is job one in protecting our academic, instructional, and fiscal integrity. A successful future for our children, community wellness, the economic values of our homes, and the future of our community is determined by the quality of its schools. (2) Restore effective board engagement with the full board, parents, and district 227 community we should represent and serve.     Positions, Degrees, Certificates, Memberships, and other Accmpishments (1). Positions: Adjunct Professor in Educational Testing and Evaluation, Assistant Professor of Education and University Supervisor of Student Teachers, Associate Professor of Educational Administration and University Supervisor of Principals and Superintendent Interns, Author of A Time for Healing, Professor in Educational Administration and Graduate Studies Director at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. Degrees: B.S. in Elementary Education, B.S. in Secondary Education, Masters in Educational Administration, Masters in U.S. History, Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Foundations. Illinois Certificates: (1) Elementary School, (2) High School, (3) Principal (Type 75), (4) Superintendent. Memberships: (1) Christ Universal Temple, Chicago, Il., (2) Rich Township High School District 227 School Board, (3) Trails of Olympia Fields Homeowners Association, (4) Olympia Fields Educational Commission, (5) Chicago Principals Association, (6) Illinois Principals Association. (7) American Association of School Administrators, (8) National Council of Professors of Educational Administration, (9) Phi Delta Kappa, a fraternity in education, (10) National Association of Black School Educators, (11) Chicago State and Loyola University of Chicago Alumni Associations, (12) Chicago Assembly, etc.     LET US SAVE OUR SCHOOLS, OUR CHILDREN, AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY. Elected to School Board 227 in April 2009. Served as Children, parent, and community Advocate for academic, instructional, and fiscal accountability, trailblazer for transparency, informing the community, fighting to restore transparency, continuous assessment, evaluation, and holding first the school board and then the district accountable using student achievement data to examine bench marks and track school improvement on a monthly basis.     Accountability, evaluation, and monitoring should begin with the leadership, the school board. THIS IS THE MISSING ACCOUNTABILITY-EVALUATION-LINK IN SCHOOL DISTRICT 227'S CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT MISSING SUCCESS STORY. THIS MISSING LINK, THAT HAS CAUSED OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT TO FAIL MISERABLY WITH ONE SCANDAL AFTER ANOTHER FOR OVER A DECADE, MUST BE RESTORED ON APRIL 9, 2013 IF WE ARE TO MOVE FORWARD AGAIN INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. FOR THIS CAUSE, SINCE APRIL 2009, I HAVE CHAMPIONED OPEN GOVERNMENT TO INFORM OUR COMMUNITY, RESTORE ACCOUNTABILITY, CIVILITY, EQUITY, FAIRNESS, TRUTH, INTEGRITY, AND OPEN GOVERNMENT. AS TRAILBLAZERS WE'VE ADVOCATED FOR CONTINUOUS PROGRESS, FULL BOARD AND PARENT/DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN OUR COMMUNITY'S INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT. WE HAVE PUSHED TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITY INFORMED. AN INFORMED PUBLIC IS AN EMPOWERED PUBLIC.     ON APRIL 9, 2013, ELECT DR. DAVID E. MORGAN: TRAILBLAZER IN ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, KEEPING THE COMMUNITY INFORMED, ADVOCATE FOR DEMOCRACY, EQUITY, INTEGRITY, TRANSPARENCY, PARENT AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT, ACADEMIC, INSTRUCTIONAL, AND FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY, CUTTING WASTE AND FOOLISHNES FIGHTING OUR COMMUNITY IN COURT, DEMOCRATIC AND FULL BOARD AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE CONDUCT OF OUR COMMUNITY'S AFFAIRS, SAVING OUR CHILDREN AND THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY.     Endorsed by: Dr. Sidney Okolo, PhD., Organizational Leadership and Management, Professor and Business Management Consultant richthscoalition.org Join Our Mailing List Email: For Email Marketing you can trust

Forward email This email was sent to davidemorgan234567.rich@blogger.com by davidemorgan234567@sbcglobal.net |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Rich Townhsip High Schools Coalition for Better Schools | Rich Township High Schoo District 227 | OLYMPIA FIELDS | IL | 60461