Proviso Together was born of the collective concern of neighbors for our failing public high school district. What we found was that families across all 10 towns in our township have given up on Proviso high schools.
Families choose to move out of our community or pay for private high school rather than send their children to Proviso high schools. Parents who do not move away or pay for private school are appalled by the lack of instruction, organization, discipline, communication and general upkeep of the schools to which they are obligated to send their children.
The district is failing children.
The entrenched political infrastructure we have all entrusted with our hard-earned tax dollars toward educating the youth of our community has broken their contract with the people. And now the very same leadership that presided over the worst decade of academics and reckless spending in Proviso High School history, is the political and financial force behind our opponents — the Children First slate.
Everyone knows that you cannot expect to have a strong community without good schools. As strong leaders, we are going to address the culture of the school district, create systems, routines and protocols to address every metric that matters, and every issue that is indicating failure to the children. We are prepared and committed to collaborate with the community to transform the schools that belong to us — the residents and taxpayers of D209.
When elected, we will:
Require accountability of teachers and administration for the development and implementation of a consistent district-wide curriculum.
Institute a measurable, strategic plan for the school board and administration that gives the district a vision for the future of our schools. All members of the administration and board will collaborate on moving the district forward and be accountable for achieving results.
Attract and retain the best teachers for all schools and reduce reliance on substitutes to teach core classes.
Facilitate a safe learning environment by providing adolescent mediation training for staff and faculty.
Update the buildings and infrastructure, enabling us to introduce a blended learning environment with integrated computer-based learning.
Create a school board advisory committee to enhance community communication and participation.
Attain fiscal responsibility as stewards of the schools’ finances.
Develop mentoring programs to engage strong community leaders as positive role models for all our children.
Reduce administration costs so our tax dollars are allocated toward instruction.
Collaborate to develop measurable and vigorous articulation within our district and with the elementary school districts so we can improve our schools together.
On April 7, vote for Nathan “Ned” Wagner, Theresa Kelly and Claudia Medina for District 209 Board of Education. We are ordinary citizens with extraordinary experience and expertise to transform our high schools into a high-performing district.
Our children are too important to continue with business as usual.
