| "AT OUR RICH TOWNSHIP 227 SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS HAVING RESPECT FOR OUR PARENTS, COMMUNITY, AND THE FULL SCHOOL BOARD IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE BUSINESS WE CONDUCT." From: School District 227 Community
To: Our School District 227 Community
Sent: Fri, June 24, 2011 9:11:35 AM
Subject: Fw: TO THE RICH TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 227 BOARD OF EDUCATION June 24, 2011 The following remarks are from Helen Burleson, an educator, a former member of the Illinois State Board of Education, and has held memberships on many other boards on the local, state, and national levels. As a community, we cannot forever sit silently and idly by as this conduct that we have observed for over a decade is still going on, and in some quarters condoned, and while the inevitable seeds are sown for a continuing harvest of disaster for our children and our community's future. Free and open discussion, listening to the diverse viewpoints of all board members and the community in an atmosphere of reason, respect for one another, courtesy, and calm deliberation is the life blood of democracy, change, school district turn-around, school progress, and student success. If our ideas, thoughts, caring, training, education, success stories, and wisdom from a life time of learning and educational experiences are pushed down with gag rules, if we allow ourselves to be barred from the court of public opinion and access to speak to the realities of our district's plight, then how can we succeed as a school system? If we allow the same push-down-failed-over-the-hill-around-the-bend--shut-out-the-community-only-we-know-best-one-viewpoint that has failed our school district so miserably for the past twenty years as the only message put forth, then how can we succeed? Effective school boards respect their communities and listen to what they have to say. As a result, these communities have great confidence in their effective school boards. Ineffective school boards have lost the confidence of their communities. Effective school boards that generate confidence project an image of professionalism, vision, courtesy, collaboration, fairness, inclusiveness, and efficiency. These character traits show up in school effectiveness, change, improvement, and school progress. Effective school boards understand their role, their responsibilities, and their agenda is always in the best interest of children and the entire community. In today's competitive environment, our new school board 227 of the future has to focus on creating and keeping customers, that is students, involved parents, and community leaders. This means having a vision, tolerance, openness, integrity, and providing quality educational programs and services that encourage students to want to attend our schools. How school boards conduct their business is as important as the business we conduct. At school board meetings, having respect and consideration for others, being community and student centered, preparation, full board-community-discussion, and honesty usually leads to consensus. FROM HELEN BURLESON, after observing a School Board 227 Meeting in June, 2011. Since then, not much has changed with School Board's 227 Leadership. From:CUREforChange@aol.com
To: cureforchange@aol.com
Sent: Thu, June 23, 2011 12:01:18 PM
Subject: Fw: TO THE RICH TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 227 BOARD OF EDUCATION- The Citizens Union to Reform Education | From: HBurl1229@aol.com <HBurl1229@aol.com>
Subject: TO THE RICH TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 227 BOARD OF EDUCATION- Helen Burleson
To: ccoleman@rich227.org, ahernandez@rich227.org, eimoukhuede@rich227.org, dmorgan@rich227.org, snorwood@rich227.org, bowens@rich227.org, swhorton@rich227.org, AlyssaHernandez-ahernandez@rich227.org, EmmanuelImoukhuede-eimoukhuede@rich227.org, DavidMorgan-dmorgan@rich227.org, SonyaNorwood-snorwood@rich227.org, BettieOwens-bowens@rich227.org, SheliaWhorton-swhorton@rich227.org
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2011, 5:26 PM To all Members of the Board of Education: This definition of fascism is the perception held by many people who attend the school board 227 meetings; and, it is most definitely my personal observation based on over 50 years of membership on a variety of boards on the local, state and national level. "1. often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition 2. a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality - J. W. Aldridge" Never in my life have I encountered such a contentious, disrespectful, arrogant, dictatorial governing body as I have witnessed in District 227 board meetings. There is nothing to elicit the democratic philosophy and principles, the inviting and welcoming of the contributions of the community, the valuing of the thoughts, the concerns, the ideas, the questions and the wisdom that can be gained by shared positive experiences of the community as a whole. The divisiveness, the we against them, the contempt by which the members of the community are subjected to is intolerable. The community has entrusted the members of the Board of Education to represent them, not to fight the community in an arrogant, adversarial and antagonistic manner. The unhealthy environment leaves a poisoning influence and an atmosphere that is reflected in the lack of achievement of the students. In order for the majority of the students to be engaged, energized and enlightened, they need a school board that demonstrates proof positive that the education of children is their sole and primary goal. Alienating the parents of these children is demoralizing to the community and to the students. It is past time that the board exercised restraint and tolerance in responding to the community. The community may appear to be irate at times; but, effective boardsmanship requires that the Board rise above the petty put down of the community. In all of their dealings with the community, professionalism must be the response even to those who do not temper their remarks. You can't fight fire with fire. A wise leader knows how to effectively defuse tensions and not escalate the level of hostility to the point where tempers flare! Board members were voted into office to be a cooperative partner with the parents and community to the benefit of the children. This is objective criticism which I hope the Board will take into consideration so that we can as a team do what is needed to meet the needs of our students. The students need adults to display the professionalism which they will face when they join the adult world. The children cannot learn how to become adults when the adults leading them are behaving like wilful, bullies determined to have everything their way. If any of you would like to discuss this assessment with me, please feel free to call. Helen L. Burleson, Doctor of Public Administration. Board Experience: Board President: National Junior League, 1950-1956 Board President, Dewdrop Walmsley Foundation, 1950- 1956 Founder: Parents Association of the University of Chicago Laboratory Elementary School 1963-1968 Founder: Women's Board, DuSable Museum of African American History and Member of the Board of Directors, 1966-1983 Founder: and President Women's Board of the Washington Park YMCA, 1968-1972 Member of the Title IX Project to rewrite the social studies curriculum for the State of Illinois 1968-1970 Member: Illinois Humanities Council and Proposal Reader for the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1972-1976 Member and Vice President Board of Education, School District 161, Flossmoor, IL, 1972-1981 Member: Illinois State Board of Education, 1981-1983 Member: Governors Task Force for Medical Malpractice, 1983-1985 Founder: Parents' Board of Amigos de las Americas, gifted students from Chicago Metro area and Homewood-Flossmoor High School, trained to go to Central and South America to inoculate the children against childhood diseases, 1974-1976 Founder: Enhancement Organization of Olympia Fields, 1994 to date Member: Post Doctoral Studies Program, Brookings Institution, a progressive think tank in Washington, D C, 1984 sitting in meetings with the FBI, the CIA, The Congress of the United States, observer of the proceedings of the U S Supreme Court Founder: South Suburban Chapter of Community Campaign for Educational Excellence 2010 1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition 2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality - J. W. Aldridge> |
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