Too many of childhood’s small freedoms and joys seem to be disappearing as children’s lives become more and more regimented. While I have many examples in mind, I’ll focus here on one which I hope could still be changed.
This spring there was a bus incident in which a student whose parent had an emergency situation wrote a note for her daughter to ride another bus. The bus driver forced this student to get off the bus in an unfamiliar location. I believe this improper behavior by a single driver may have been one of the instigating factors for two new policies that will be implemented this school year in Indian Prairie District 204.
The first is that all students in grades 6-12 must show a school ID that indicates they belong on a particular bus before boarding.
The second is that all students in K-8 will have assigned bus seats. This is being done for “student safety and management.” While I commend safety as a priority, after being in contact with the school board and administration about this very issue I have not yet heard of a single example of how assigning seats improves safety. The students will have a few days at the beginning of the school year to choose their seats, and then must sit in those same seats for the entire semester. This leaves the bus driver in charge of making sure that children are in their assigned seats in addition to safely transporting our children to and from school.
Assigned seating has been used in the past on some buses as a means of dealing with problem behaviors. Kids who don’t behave well on the bus may have been required to sit up front near the driver. For bus routes that have many behavioral issues, assigned seating can make sense as a solution to that problem, or can be used as a threat to help encourage better behavior.
Children who are new to the bus may not have made friends yet when the bus seats are assigned and when they do make friends on the route, won’t get to sit with them until the following semester. Kindergarteners may ride with a sibling the first few days as they get the hang of being a bus-rider, but then both siblings may have trouble finding other seats a few days into the school year. They could wind up riding together for the entire semester. While some kids would be happy with this situation, others would not.
Will students who ride the bus only a few times during the school year have an assigned seat? Will the drivers give permission for students to change their assigned seats if they have a good reason? How strictly will this policy be enforced, and how?
In middle school there is a wide variance as to which students are actually on the bus on any given trip due to the many before and after school activities the students may be involved in. The seatmates of students who are not on the bus due to school activities will then be left sitting alone, while other students do the same, unable to move to another seat to sit together if they’d like. Some students will prefer this, while others might like to socialize with some of their other friends for the bus ride. Regardless of the length of the bus ride, it’s still one of the rare social times that our students may have in an ever more strictly controlled school day.
Somehow my kids have survived riding buses in 204 since 1995, as have thousands of other children, and serious incidents have been rare. Bad behavior on the bus can be dealt with in a variety of manners other than assigning seats for all students, and this new policy ensures that whomever is unfortunate enough to sit near someone who behaves badly will be stuck sitting near them every day for the whole semester. Children’s friendships are often rapidly evolving and it makes sense to let kids chose whom to sit with on a daily basis. Children may even make new friends by sitting with different people throughout the year.
Our district is implementing new programs with an emphasis on social-emotional learning, and it seems like navigating relationships and free time on the bus would be a great opportunity for students to develop in this area outside of the program implemented in school.
Yes, kids need to be orderly during the school day when they are being taught, but let’s give them a little freedom to grow and become more responsible during the times of day when this is not required. Let’s allow some fun where we can since there is already plenty of time that children must be quiet and attentive, and only assign bus seats when necessary.
I ask that District 204 administrators please reconsider this new policy.
Monday, August 24, 2009
2009-07-26 Split Siblings
When school starts next month many families will send one of their children to one school and another child to another school. This happens to families all the time when children are split between various levels of school such as preschool, elementary, middle, and high school. The difference this fall in Indian Prairie District 204 is that just like a decade ago, some families will be sending students to two different high schools.
Mine is among these families this time. In my household, we have had one year where all school-age children were in one building. This fall will be our 11th year of having our kids split among two or more schools, and our fourth year of having kids in four different schools. I don’t think having these two kids in two different high schools will be significantly different than this past year when one was in Waubonsie Valley HS while the other attended Granger Middle School.
There have been complaints from parents regarding students who will attend Waubonsie while they will have a sibling still at Neuqua Valley HS. There are many more students who will attend Metea Valley HS while having siblings at WV. Since none of these students are in the same grade as their sibling, this means that they have attended different schools from each other for 2-6 years already.
I have read and heard the most incredible arguments about why it’s important for siblings to attend school together. One that often comes up is that this requires families to choose one child’s event over another. I am certain that anyone with more than one child routinely has to make choices when their children’s events occur at the same time. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that many families with only one child find they have conflicts as well.
Most of those with children attending two different high schools next fall will likely find that it does not cost their families substantial time or money or additional conflicts beyond what happened when the older was in high school and the younger in middle school.
Yes, things will be more difficult than originally anticipated for some and especially for those few families whose children would have been on the exact same sports team or club or in the same music group, because for one or two school years things would have been easier for them. However, most siblings will stand on their own and thrive being on that team or in that club or performance group without being known as so-and-so’s younger brother/sister.
For most split families curriculum nights at the two schools will be easier than dealing with two students’schedules in one evening would have been. The Fine Arts Festival will be split over two Saturdays rather than one long crazy day for many of us. My own high school students would have both performed in Waubonsie Valley’s Prism concert this one year but I don’t think either of them is heartbroken that this won’t happen, as they’ve never been in the same school concert before anyway.
My son would have ridden to and from school with his sister. Now he won’t. This is not a tragedy. He will get to and from school the same way he would have if he didn’t have a sister who drives.
Some will disagree, but I feel strongly that in most cases it would be a bad thing for the affected families to have had a choice about which school their children attend. At least from my own limited perspective of having been a teenager, being the parent of teenagers, and talking with other parents, I expect that given a choice many of the students would choose the school where most of their current friends will be attending next year. This would mean an agonizing choice of which friends to choose over which other friends, at very least causing some hurt feelings. Later anything that is not going well for the students at the school they chose, or looks like it would have been better at the other school, could be an anguishing time for them.
The district is doing what they can to help the families with siblings split between two high schools, similarly to how they have always tried to schedule events such that feeder schools do not have conflicts when possible.
At this point neither the number of students affected nor the reasons why grandfathering is not allowed are no longer relevant. The students know where they’re attending school this fall and which school they will graduate from. The teachers and administrators have planned for the upcoming school year. Courses have been scheduled and staffing has been done based on the numbers of students enrolled in courses.
We have all been through a lot these past few years and the best we can do now is look for the positives in the situations we have and make the best of it. Students will be welcomed into their high schools and other families are willing to lend a hand where needed for those of us who are split between schools.
I hope that all high school families help their students feel good about being a part of whatever high school they are attending this year, and that all district parents, regardless of where are from, will step forward and become a part of their school communities, whether or not they have changed schools and whether that is one school, or two or more.
Mine is among these families this time. In my household, we have had one year where all school-age children were in one building. This fall will be our 11th year of having our kids split among two or more schools, and our fourth year of having kids in four different schools. I don’t think having these two kids in two different high schools will be significantly different than this past year when one was in Waubonsie Valley HS while the other attended Granger Middle School.
There have been complaints from parents regarding students who will attend Waubonsie while they will have a sibling still at Neuqua Valley HS. There are many more students who will attend Metea Valley HS while having siblings at WV. Since none of these students are in the same grade as their sibling, this means that they have attended different schools from each other for 2-6 years already.
I have read and heard the most incredible arguments about why it’s important for siblings to attend school together. One that often comes up is that this requires families to choose one child’s event over another. I am certain that anyone with more than one child routinely has to make choices when their children’s events occur at the same time. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that many families with only one child find they have conflicts as well.
Most of those with children attending two different high schools next fall will likely find that it does not cost their families substantial time or money or additional conflicts beyond what happened when the older was in high school and the younger in middle school.
Yes, things will be more difficult than originally anticipated for some and especially for those few families whose children would have been on the exact same sports team or club or in the same music group, because for one or two school years things would have been easier for them. However, most siblings will stand on their own and thrive being on that team or in that club or performance group without being known as so-and-so’s younger brother/sister.
For most split families curriculum nights at the two schools will be easier than dealing with two students’schedules in one evening would have been. The Fine Arts Festival will be split over two Saturdays rather than one long crazy day for many of us. My own high school students would have both performed in Waubonsie Valley’s Prism concert this one year but I don’t think either of them is heartbroken that this won’t happen, as they’ve never been in the same school concert before anyway.
My son would have ridden to and from school with his sister. Now he won’t. This is not a tragedy. He will get to and from school the same way he would have if he didn’t have a sister who drives.
Some will disagree, but I feel strongly that in most cases it would be a bad thing for the affected families to have had a choice about which school their children attend. At least from my own limited perspective of having been a teenager, being the parent of teenagers, and talking with other parents, I expect that given a choice many of the students would choose the school where most of their current friends will be attending next year. This would mean an agonizing choice of which friends to choose over which other friends, at very least causing some hurt feelings. Later anything that is not going well for the students at the school they chose, or looks like it would have been better at the other school, could be an anguishing time for them.
The district is doing what they can to help the families with siblings split between two high schools, similarly to how they have always tried to schedule events such that feeder schools do not have conflicts when possible.
At this point neither the number of students affected nor the reasons why grandfathering is not allowed are no longer relevant. The students know where they’re attending school this fall and which school they will graduate from. The teachers and administrators have planned for the upcoming school year. Courses have been scheduled and staffing has been done based on the numbers of students enrolled in courses.
We have all been through a lot these past few years and the best we can do now is look for the positives in the situations we have and make the best of it. Students will be welcomed into their high schools and other families are willing to lend a hand where needed for those of us who are split between schools.
I hope that all high school families help their students feel good about being a part of whatever high school they are attending this year, and that all district parents, regardless of where are from, will step forward and become a part of their school communities, whether or not they have changed schools and whether that is one school, or two or more.
2009-05-26 Combining federal and local elections
April’s local elections brought yet another dismal voter turnout. What happened to all the excitement from last fall’s presidential election? Some have still not gotten the news about all politics being local.
I think I did my part – I gathered signatures, met candidates, spoke with people about the election, wrote a column on the importance of local elections, wrote a letter to the editor about the candidates I supported, attended forums, put signs in my yard, distributed fliers, sent e-mails, etc. Many others did the same and more.
Yet even given the option of early voting, only a small percentage of registered voters cast ballots in the spring election. According to news reports, this is considered to be undesirable because a small number of people are making decisions for everyone. The suggested solution is to increase the number of voters by combining the local elections onto the fall ballot along with the races for state and federal offices.
My immediate reaction upon reading this was NO this is not a good idea! People I’ve spoken with who have run for office at the local and/or state level wholeheartedly agree that for many reasons this would not be a positive change.
For starters, it is not helpful to have more voters for an election in which those voters do not care about the outcome or have not been paying attention to the local races. I’m always glad when I hear that people choose not to vote in races in which they don’t have knowledge of the candidates, it’s dismaying to hear of people voting for those whose names sounded familiar or possibly choosing some even worse method to avoid skipping any of the races on the ballot.
It is a lot of work to become educated about every race on one’s ballot – whether federal, state or local level and it would be quite a burden on voters if all of these elections were held at once. How would people have time to attend or watch so many debates and political forums? It would be difficult for the organizations that set up these sorts of events. Some of the same people who campaign hard for the fall elections are at it again for the local elections in the spring and would have a hard time working on all the races at once. There would be a larger burden on the news media to keep the public informed and to interview candidates for endorsements.
There may be voter fatigue now due to having so many elections held, but I think we’d see something much worse if we had a several page ballot. As it is, my April ballot was on two pages and covered twelve races (some, sadly, were uncontested). Even those that want to be involved in the process may become apathetic due to the sheer energy required to be a good citizen.
A problem that really needs to be addressed is voter education. The newspapers don’t seem to do as good a job of this as they could. At every election the voters should have a non-biased source they can turn to in order to find out what exactly will be on their ballot, including the pay, responsibilities, and length of term for each office, as well as some information about the candidates or issues at hand, along with endorsements in all races.
While combining elections would save in election costs, it would be impossible to calculate the true additional costs.
One suggestion is to always hold primaries at the same time – say the second Tuesday of April, followed by the general election on the first Tuesday of November. This schedule would be the same every year regardless of which elections are being held that year. Campaigning for local offices would not need to occur over the holidays and during the time of year in which we have the worst weather. The longer campaign cycle would allow voters more time to learn about the candidates.
As for the people who don’t come out to vote, we’ll have to assume they are ok with the rest of us choosing whoever we think are the best candidates. It would be great if more people would take an interest, but tacking local races onto the already lengthy fall ballot is not the answer.
I think I did my part – I gathered signatures, met candidates, spoke with people about the election, wrote a column on the importance of local elections, wrote a letter to the editor about the candidates I supported, attended forums, put signs in my yard, distributed fliers, sent e-mails, etc. Many others did the same and more.
Yet even given the option of early voting, only a small percentage of registered voters cast ballots in the spring election. According to news reports, this is considered to be undesirable because a small number of people are making decisions for everyone. The suggested solution is to increase the number of voters by combining the local elections onto the fall ballot along with the races for state and federal offices.
My immediate reaction upon reading this was NO this is not a good idea! People I’ve spoken with who have run for office at the local and/or state level wholeheartedly agree that for many reasons this would not be a positive change.
For starters, it is not helpful to have more voters for an election in which those voters do not care about the outcome or have not been paying attention to the local races. I’m always glad when I hear that people choose not to vote in races in which they don’t have knowledge of the candidates, it’s dismaying to hear of people voting for those whose names sounded familiar or possibly choosing some even worse method to avoid skipping any of the races on the ballot.
It is a lot of work to become educated about every race on one’s ballot – whether federal, state or local level and it would be quite a burden on voters if all of these elections were held at once. How would people have time to attend or watch so many debates and political forums? It would be difficult for the organizations that set up these sorts of events. Some of the same people who campaign hard for the fall elections are at it again for the local elections in the spring and would have a hard time working on all the races at once. There would be a larger burden on the news media to keep the public informed and to interview candidates for endorsements.
There may be voter fatigue now due to having so many elections held, but I think we’d see something much worse if we had a several page ballot. As it is, my April ballot was on two pages and covered twelve races (some, sadly, were uncontested). Even those that want to be involved in the process may become apathetic due to the sheer energy required to be a good citizen.
A problem that really needs to be addressed is voter education. The newspapers don’t seem to do as good a job of this as they could. At every election the voters should have a non-biased source they can turn to in order to find out what exactly will be on their ballot, including the pay, responsibilities, and length of term for each office, as well as some information about the candidates or issues at hand, along with endorsements in all races.
While combining elections would save in election costs, it would be impossible to calculate the true additional costs.
One suggestion is to always hold primaries at the same time – say the second Tuesday of April, followed by the general election on the first Tuesday of November. This schedule would be the same every year regardless of which elections are being held that year. Campaigning for local offices would not need to occur over the holidays and during the time of year in which we have the worst weather. The longer campaign cycle would allow voters more time to learn about the candidates.
As for the people who don’t come out to vote, we’ll have to assume they are ok with the rest of us choosing whoever we think are the best candidates. It would be great if more people would take an interest, but tacking local races onto the already lengthy fall ballot is not the answer.
2009-05-11 Year Round School
Year round schooling seems to be gaining popularity. Thankfully there has been no suggestion of doing this in our local districts. When I recently heard of the plans to increase the number of year round schools in the Chicago Public School District I wondered if this trend might come our direction, possibly due to the flawed nature of No Child Left Behind requiring districts to attempt the impossible.
I am firmly opposed to such a schedule change for several reasons. Kids only get the chance to be a kid once. Children are not robots. They are young people who can benefit from long breaks from formal schooling to recharge and have different experiences. Their teachers likely expected similar breaks when choosing this profession.
Many of our schools lack air conditioning, which means it is crazy to have students attend and teachers teach during the hottest days of the year. In fact, we are doing that already with school starting on August 20 this year. The first day of school in this climate for schools that do not have air conditioning would be best pushed back to after Labor Day.
Studies have been inconclusive as to whether there are academic benefits to year round schooling. Even if all studies were to show that students had higher test scores with several shorter breaks throughout the year instead of a longer summer break, I contend that there are other factors in childhood that are important that are independent of scoring highly on academic achievement tests. Some form of summer school should be readily available, but only for those who want or need it. School should not be used as a way to keep kids from getting bored or from getting into trouble.
Summer is a great time for kids to pursue all kinds of activities, to relax, to read for pleasure instead of homework, and to hang out with friends, all without worrying about daily homework and school schedules. The days are longer and it is a good time of year to stay up later and sleep in for those who can.
In my own family we find that it’s hard to squeeze in all the summer activities we want to do as a family and as individuals – a vacation and a local weekend trip, Bible School, swimming, day trips, summer festivals, picnics, a variety of camps and a mission trip. None of these things would make much sense to do at another time of year when the weather here is not conducive to it. There is so little good weather in northern Illinois for outdoor activities that it would be a downright shame to have children sitting in classrooms during a majority of those days.
Year round schools use a variety of scheduling techniques and frequently incorporate the same number of days in the school year that we have now, just spread out differently with breaks interspersed throughout the year. I’d argue that having extra breaks during cold weather times would not make up for the lack of a longer break in summer. These schedules may cause issues for families if their children wind up on different schedules, or if the people they carpool with do, and for extra-curriculars that have events with other districts including band, sports, and many other student groups. It would also be a huge issue for those organizations that provide activities during times that kids are not in school such as the YMCA, park district, outdoor pools, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Many of these depend on parent volunteers and teen workers.
Our students are under tremendous pressure during the school year. Many high school students already have the additional demand of summer homework, yet they still enjoy the break from attending classes all day. Many use this chance to do some volunteering, to pursue other interests, and to work summer jobs.
Some would argue that we need to go this route to keep up with the world. In the five years my children have been attending Waubonsie Valley High School I have seen some remarkable high school students. I have been very impressed with what these students are doing and I think that the opportunity is already there for any interested student to be well-prepared to compete successfully in the modern-day world.
I am firmly opposed to such a schedule change for several reasons. Kids only get the chance to be a kid once. Children are not robots. They are young people who can benefit from long breaks from formal schooling to recharge and have different experiences. Their teachers likely expected similar breaks when choosing this profession.
Many of our schools lack air conditioning, which means it is crazy to have students attend and teachers teach during the hottest days of the year. In fact, we are doing that already with school starting on August 20 this year. The first day of school in this climate for schools that do not have air conditioning would be best pushed back to after Labor Day.
Studies have been inconclusive as to whether there are academic benefits to year round schooling. Even if all studies were to show that students had higher test scores with several shorter breaks throughout the year instead of a longer summer break, I contend that there are other factors in childhood that are important that are independent of scoring highly on academic achievement tests. Some form of summer school should be readily available, but only for those who want or need it. School should not be used as a way to keep kids from getting bored or from getting into trouble.
Summer is a great time for kids to pursue all kinds of activities, to relax, to read for pleasure instead of homework, and to hang out with friends, all without worrying about daily homework and school schedules. The days are longer and it is a good time of year to stay up later and sleep in for those who can.
In my own family we find that it’s hard to squeeze in all the summer activities we want to do as a family and as individuals – a vacation and a local weekend trip, Bible School, swimming, day trips, summer festivals, picnics, a variety of camps and a mission trip. None of these things would make much sense to do at another time of year when the weather here is not conducive to it. There is so little good weather in northern Illinois for outdoor activities that it would be a downright shame to have children sitting in classrooms during a majority of those days.
Year round schools use a variety of scheduling techniques and frequently incorporate the same number of days in the school year that we have now, just spread out differently with breaks interspersed throughout the year. I’d argue that having extra breaks during cold weather times would not make up for the lack of a longer break in summer. These schedules may cause issues for families if their children wind up on different schedules, or if the people they carpool with do, and for extra-curriculars that have events with other districts including band, sports, and many other student groups. It would also be a huge issue for those organizations that provide activities during times that kids are not in school such as the YMCA, park district, outdoor pools, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Many of these depend on parent volunteers and teen workers.
Our students are under tremendous pressure during the school year. Many high school students already have the additional demand of summer homework, yet they still enjoy the break from attending classes all day. Many use this chance to do some volunteering, to pursue other interests, and to work summer jobs.
Some would argue that we need to go this route to keep up with the world. In the five years my children have been attending Waubonsie Valley High School I have seen some remarkable high school students. I have been very impressed with what these students are doing and I think that the opportunity is already there for any interested student to be well-prepared to compete successfully in the modern-day world.
2009-05-06 NYC Orchestra trip
(still hasn't been published, I don't know why)
Sixty-five teenagers, fourteen adults, two buses, hundreds of miles, five days of spring break in New York City, thousands of photos – it all adds up to a great time! Spending two nights on the bus wasn’t that wonderful, but the hotel where we stayed in New Jersey was very nice and our time spent in the city was incredible. What a huge and bustling city it is and what amazing experiences we had!
This was my second trip with Waubonsie Valley orchestra students, and the teens again showed themselves to be fantastic ambassadors for our school. Many of us had not visited New York City before. We were enthralled Monday morning by the sight of the Statue of Liberty as we neared it while freezing on top of the ferry, and then were surprised to be given the chance to walk around the island and get even closer. Next we visited Ellis Island, then took the ferry back to Manhattan and walked to Wall Street.
At St. Paul’s Chapel we walked somberly past the September 11 memorials and historical markers such as George Washington’s pew. The next block over is Ground Zero, enclosed now so we didn’t even glimpse the big hole in the ground. Dinner in Little Italy was followed by some interesting shopping there and in neighboring Chinatown. Rehearsal this first evening in the hotel was marred when one student set his violin on the floor and it was accidentally stepped on and broken into two pieces by another student.
Tuesday morning began with a tour of Carnegie Hall, an absolutely gorgeous building with an interesting history, followed by lunch in the Trump Tower. The students played a beautiful concert in the Madison Avenue Sculpture Garden (formerly the IBM atrium). This was an unusual setting in a huge enclosed area with birds flying around and people walking through the building. They played Tocatta by Frescobaldi, Concerto Grosso by Corelli, The Godfather, Hoedown by Copland, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, and Sentimental Sariband.
Next we visited the United Nations where we had guided tours and saw the UN in session. We took the buses over to Broadway where we were given a mere 45 minutes to explore Broadway from 42nd to 48th. Times Square was an amazing sight! We walked up and down the whole way but barely had time to take in the huge Toys R Us, the chocolate stores, the statue of George M. Cohan, the unusual looking police station, the bright lights, the signs everywhere, the theaters, wow! After dinner at Planet Hollywood we walked to The Palace Theatre in the next block to see West Side Story. Some of the students on this trip will be performing in the pit orchestra for Waubonsie Valley’s performance of West Side Story May 7-10.
Wednesday we went on a multi-ethnic eating tour in which we walked all morning and tried a variety of foods while learning about the areas we visited and related history. After lunch in Little Italy and Chinatown the students had a clinic with a musician while we chaperones had two free hours to roam the area. During this time a few of us saw the Flatiron Building and we ran into Chris March from Project Runway. We managed to see many remarkable sights during our free time. We had dinner at a restaurant in the basement of the Empire State Building. We knew that Yo-Yo Ma played in Carnegie Hall the prior evening so Mr. Liu was very excited when some of the students came running with the news that Yo-Yo Ma was signing autographs upstairs. How disappointed he was to find out it was only an April Fool’s joke.
Later I read that on a clear day one can see great distances and many states from atop the Empire State Building. This was not our experience. We were there on a very cloudy, windy, and rainy evening. It was so cloudy that we could only see about a block away. It was so windy that people’s umbrellas turned inside out and their hair blew straight out. We did not have to wait in any line to go up top because no one in their right mind would pay to go up in that kind of weather!
Thursday we packed up and headed into the city for the last time. We had a short time to tour the American Museum of Natural History and then saw an IMAX movie that put many of the audience to sleep. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and warm. We took a walk into Central Park where we saw Strawberry Fields after walking past the building where John Lennon had lived. We toured the Lincoln Center buildings which house the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic. After dinner we returned to spend an evening enjoying a performance of the New York Philharmonic.
After another exciting overnight bus ride we arrived home Friday afternoon exhausted and full of great memories.
Sixty-five teenagers, fourteen adults, two buses, hundreds of miles, five days of spring break in New York City, thousands of photos – it all adds up to a great time! Spending two nights on the bus wasn’t that wonderful, but the hotel where we stayed in New Jersey was very nice and our time spent in the city was incredible. What a huge and bustling city it is and what amazing experiences we had!
This was my second trip with Waubonsie Valley orchestra students, and the teens again showed themselves to be fantastic ambassadors for our school. Many of us had not visited New York City before. We were enthralled Monday morning by the sight of the Statue of Liberty as we neared it while freezing on top of the ferry, and then were surprised to be given the chance to walk around the island and get even closer. Next we visited Ellis Island, then took the ferry back to Manhattan and walked to Wall Street.
At St. Paul’s Chapel we walked somberly past the September 11 memorials and historical markers such as George Washington’s pew. The next block over is Ground Zero, enclosed now so we didn’t even glimpse the big hole in the ground. Dinner in Little Italy was followed by some interesting shopping there and in neighboring Chinatown. Rehearsal this first evening in the hotel was marred when one student set his violin on the floor and it was accidentally stepped on and broken into two pieces by another student.
Tuesday morning began with a tour of Carnegie Hall, an absolutely gorgeous building with an interesting history, followed by lunch in the Trump Tower. The students played a beautiful concert in the Madison Avenue Sculpture Garden (formerly the IBM atrium). This was an unusual setting in a huge enclosed area with birds flying around and people walking through the building. They played Tocatta by Frescobaldi, Concerto Grosso by Corelli, The Godfather, Hoedown by Copland, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, and Sentimental Sariband.
Next we visited the United Nations where we had guided tours and saw the UN in session. We took the buses over to Broadway where we were given a mere 45 minutes to explore Broadway from 42nd to 48th. Times Square was an amazing sight! We walked up and down the whole way but barely had time to take in the huge Toys R Us, the chocolate stores, the statue of George M. Cohan, the unusual looking police station, the bright lights, the signs everywhere, the theaters, wow! After dinner at Planet Hollywood we walked to The Palace Theatre in the next block to see West Side Story. Some of the students on this trip will be performing in the pit orchestra for Waubonsie Valley’s performance of West Side Story May 7-10.
Wednesday we went on a multi-ethnic eating tour in which we walked all morning and tried a variety of foods while learning about the areas we visited and related history. After lunch in Little Italy and Chinatown the students had a clinic with a musician while we chaperones had two free hours to roam the area. During this time a few of us saw the Flatiron Building and we ran into Chris March from Project Runway. We managed to see many remarkable sights during our free time. We had dinner at a restaurant in the basement of the Empire State Building. We knew that Yo-Yo Ma played in Carnegie Hall the prior evening so Mr. Liu was very excited when some of the students came running with the news that Yo-Yo Ma was signing autographs upstairs. How disappointed he was to find out it was only an April Fool’s joke.
Later I read that on a clear day one can see great distances and many states from atop the Empire State Building. This was not our experience. We were there on a very cloudy, windy, and rainy evening. It was so cloudy that we could only see about a block away. It was so windy that people’s umbrellas turned inside out and their hair blew straight out. We did not have to wait in any line to go up top because no one in their right mind would pay to go up in that kind of weather!
Thursday we packed up and headed into the city for the last time. We had a short time to tour the American Museum of Natural History and then saw an IMAX movie that put many of the audience to sleep. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and warm. We took a walk into Central Park where we saw Strawberry Fields after walking past the building where John Lennon had lived. We toured the Lincoln Center buildings which house the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic. After dinner we returned to spend an evening enjoying a performance of the New York Philharmonic.
After another exciting overnight bus ride we arrived home Friday afternoon exhausted and full of great memories.
2009-03-22 School Board LTE
I support Sue Rasmus, Mark Rising, Cathy Piehl, Dawn DeSart for the Indian Prairie District 204 School Board.
In February I knew very little about most of the people running. I attended both candidate forums, read campaign literature, watched interviews, had conversations with people throughout the district, and spoke with some of the candidates before arriving at this conclusion.
These four have been actively involved in their own children’s schools and care deeply about providing excellence for all of the district’s students. They have a known history of integrity and several years of community involvement. They have shown that they are capable of the time commitment this unpaid position requires.
They have an understanding of where the district has been and where we’re headed as well as some ideas for improvement. They will not need time to get up-to-speed with district issues. They have no hidden agenda and are not associated with one another.
From my perspective, their hearts are in the right place and they know the balance between the role of the school board and the role of the administration, which is made up of paid professionals who provide the necessary expertise in areas such as curriculum, finance, and law.
They have a variety of experiences and viewpoints. I do not agree with all of them on everything nor do they agree with each other on everything. This is a good thing as a board should be comprised of independent thinkers with differing views.
I give this endorsement as a parent of four, with fifteen years of involvement in this district in a wide variety of ways, as both a Naperville and an Aurora resident and one of six finalists interviewed for last fall’s vacant school board seat. Others whom I know and respect have individually come to the decision to support these same candidates.
Please vote for Rasmus, Rising, Piehl, and DeSart on April 7.
In February I knew very little about most of the people running. I attended both candidate forums, read campaign literature, watched interviews, had conversations with people throughout the district, and spoke with some of the candidates before arriving at this conclusion.
These four have been actively involved in their own children’s schools and care deeply about providing excellence for all of the district’s students. They have a known history of integrity and several years of community involvement. They have shown that they are capable of the time commitment this unpaid position requires.
They have an understanding of where the district has been and where we’re headed as well as some ideas for improvement. They will not need time to get up-to-speed with district issues. They have no hidden agenda and are not associated with one another.
From my perspective, their hearts are in the right place and they know the balance between the role of the school board and the role of the administration, which is made up of paid professionals who provide the necessary expertise in areas such as curriculum, finance, and law.
They have a variety of experiences and viewpoints. I do not agree with all of them on everything nor do they agree with each other on everything. This is a good thing as a board should be comprised of independent thinkers with differing views.
I give this endorsement as a parent of four, with fifteen years of involvement in this district in a wide variety of ways, as both a Naperville and an Aurora resident and one of six finalists interviewed for last fall’s vacant school board seat. Others whom I know and respect have individually come to the decision to support these same candidates.
Please vote for Rasmus, Rising, Piehl, and DeSart on April 7.
2009-03-04 Local Elections
Are you paying attention? Do you know who you’re voting for on April 7?
When it comes to politics on the national level there is much more information and debate than any one person can keep up with.
On the other hand, those elected to local offices often have a great impact on our daily lives, yet information is harder to come by and it is less common for the public to get caught up in heated debate about the candidates and their vision for the offices they seek.
On April 7 many of us will have the chance to vote for mayor, alderman, school board and possibly other offices and issues as well. Do you even know which contested races you need to be prepared for? This is not like voting for president, when you have ample opportunity to see the candidates on TV and read all about them and discuss them with everyone you know for months on end.
It may take some effort on your part to be an educated and informed voter. For starters, if you live in DuPage County you can get a sample ballot from the DuPage County Election Commission website. There you can see which races will be on your ballot and which candidates are running. You can search for candidate websites and find out what voter guides may be available. You may be able to obtain some candidate questionnaires as well as information about when debates, forums, or meet and greets will be held as well as when some of these will be broadcast on local cable channels. Newspaper websites and candidate sites frequently provide this information.
Some candidates may be very familiar to you because they are currently or have previously held office or have been otherwise prominent in the community, so what you already know will give you a starting point for evaluating them against their opponents. Reading local newspaper articles and letters to the editor will help you become informed, but beware of potential bias.
Find out when and where you can meet the candidates in person. Meet and greets are a great opportunity to see a candidate face-to-face and perhaps get answers to whatever questions are most pressing to you.
Candidate forums in which all candidates are asked the same questions are, in my opinion, the best way to get a feel for the candidates. I have found that my perceptions of candidates can change greatly after hearing them in person.
The elections I’m most concerned about this time are for Mayor of Aurora and for Indian Prairie School Board. The three mayoral candidates have different experiences and visions for our city. I encourage all City of Aurora residents to attend or watch at least one mayoral forum, to read the questionnaires available on the Beacon website, and to check out the candidates’ websites.
Many local school districts are holding elections this spring. There are thirteen candidates running for four open school board seats in Indian Prairie School District. The board is comprised of seven people, so it’s quite possible that the new people on the board will outnumber the experienced members. Even if you don’t have children in school, what happens with the school district greatly affects the community, the value of your home, the kind of people who choose to live in your neighborhood, the taxes you pay. If you do have children in the schools now or will in the future, it’s all the more important to pay attention and get involved.
There are a few opportunities to meet and hear from all of the school board candidates as well as some smaller get-togethers set up by individual candidates and one slate of four. There are questionnaire answers available at scullen.ipsd.org and possibly other sites.
Considering how much of a difference the results of these elections have on our lives, a surprisingly low number of registered voters tend to show up at the polls for local elections. I have a hard time understanding this apathy.
Please take the time and effort to find out about the candidates and make an educated choice at the polls this April and for future local elections.
When it comes to politics on the national level there is much more information and debate than any one person can keep up with.
On the other hand, those elected to local offices often have a great impact on our daily lives, yet information is harder to come by and it is less common for the public to get caught up in heated debate about the candidates and their vision for the offices they seek.
On April 7 many of us will have the chance to vote for mayor, alderman, school board and possibly other offices and issues as well. Do you even know which contested races you need to be prepared for? This is not like voting for president, when you have ample opportunity to see the candidates on TV and read all about them and discuss them with everyone you know for months on end.
It may take some effort on your part to be an educated and informed voter. For starters, if you live in DuPage County you can get a sample ballot from the DuPage County Election Commission website. There you can see which races will be on your ballot and which candidates are running. You can search for candidate websites and find out what voter guides may be available. You may be able to obtain some candidate questionnaires as well as information about when debates, forums, or meet and greets will be held as well as when some of these will be broadcast on local cable channels. Newspaper websites and candidate sites frequently provide this information.
Some candidates may be very familiar to you because they are currently or have previously held office or have been otherwise prominent in the community, so what you already know will give you a starting point for evaluating them against their opponents. Reading local newspaper articles and letters to the editor will help you become informed, but beware of potential bias.
Find out when and where you can meet the candidates in person. Meet and greets are a great opportunity to see a candidate face-to-face and perhaps get answers to whatever questions are most pressing to you.
Candidate forums in which all candidates are asked the same questions are, in my opinion, the best way to get a feel for the candidates. I have found that my perceptions of candidates can change greatly after hearing them in person.
The elections I’m most concerned about this time are for Mayor of Aurora and for Indian Prairie School Board. The three mayoral candidates have different experiences and visions for our city. I encourage all City of Aurora residents to attend or watch at least one mayoral forum, to read the questionnaires available on the Beacon website, and to check out the candidates’ websites.
Many local school districts are holding elections this spring. There are thirteen candidates running for four open school board seats in Indian Prairie School District. The board is comprised of seven people, so it’s quite possible that the new people on the board will outnumber the experienced members. Even if you don’t have children in school, what happens with the school district greatly affects the community, the value of your home, the kind of people who choose to live in your neighborhood, the taxes you pay. If you do have children in the schools now or will in the future, it’s all the more important to pay attention and get involved.
There are a few opportunities to meet and hear from all of the school board candidates as well as some smaller get-togethers set up by individual candidates and one slate of four. There are questionnaire answers available at scullen.ipsd.org and possibly other sites.
Considering how much of a difference the results of these elections have on our lives, a surprisingly low number of registered voters tend to show up at the polls for local elections. I have a hard time understanding this apathy.
Please take the time and effort to find out about the candidates and make an educated choice at the polls this April and for future local elections.
2009-02-22 MVHS Music
It’s astounding how much work is involved with opening a new high school. Although I lived in District 204 when Neuqua Valley opened, my children were small then and destined for Waubonsie Valley so I paid little attention.
Metea Valley will open this fall and my son will be in the first class that attends the school all four years, so what's going on now is of great interest to me.
I’ve gotten information from numerous meetings including principal Jim Schmid’s monthly updates, monthly Indian Prairie Parents Council meetings and School Board meetings. At January’s meeting with Mr. Schmid parents had many questions about the Metea Valley music program. I think for many the strong academics are a given, and parents want to know that as we leave behind Grammy-winning WVHS our kids will still be offered exceptional musical opportunities.
We received this assurance on February 10 at a presentation given by the Metea music department. Parents and students were given a chance to meet the staff, ask questions and sign up to help with a myriad of tasks that the new department will need.
All of the Metea staff who have been introduced at public meetings have impressive credentials and the music department staff is no exception. The department chair, Mr. Don Devany, will be the band director and currently teaches at Neuqua. The orchestra director will be Waubonsie’s very talented Mr. Mark Liu. Mr. Nathan Bramstedt, currently teaching at Crone Middle School and Neuqua, will direct choir. All are highly qualified, having extensive education and experience and incredible excitement about the programs for their students at the new high school. They know that the quality of music education is a priority for many in the district and this is their passion.
Plans are in place for the music department’s offerings to grow as the school does over the next three years. Choir, band and orchestra will each begin next year with two or three curricular ensembles, growing to between five and six by the third year. Each will have audition and non-audition groups available. There will be a multitude of co- and extra-curricular opportunities for music students including Tri-M Honor Society, Solo & Ensemble Festival, a Steel Drum Ensemble, the Spring Musical, Metea Valley United Voices, and a Symphony Orchestra.
Yes, there will be marching band from the very start. Yes, there will be summer music programs this year for students heading to Metea next fall. And yes, there will be trips. There may be only one trip next year but it’s hoped that the Metea Valley Mustangs will enjoy trips similar to what the other high schools offer. Trip planning is one of those items on the long, long list that will have to wait until some other more pressing logistics have been taken care of.
Some are concerned that students won’t have the option next year of being in the “top” music ensemble as they would if they were attending Waubonsie. The music directors assured us that next year the audition groups will be the top group for each of them and the students will be treated accordingly.
Though the music wing of the high school will not yet be ready when the building opens in August, the forum rooms will be used in their place for a semester. These are large rooms with risers that will later have furniture in them, but will be left open now for use for chorus, band, and orchestra. The auditorium will also not yet be open for the first semester. Performances during that time period will be held at Waubonsie and Neuqua. There is also a chance that the Mustangs will get to perform at the beautiful new Wentz Hall at North Central College. When the new auditorium does open at Metea, there may be a large concert held there to celebrate.
I know there are many more interested music parents and students than those who were able to attend the music department meeting. The department is in need of lots of help as soon as they are allowed in the building. All equipment will be brand new. Help will be needed with unboxing, preparing, and setting up the music library, the instruments, music stands, the choir robes and band uniforms, and much more.
The band, orchestra, and choir parents’ groups will be getting some seed money and startup help from the corresponding organizations at Waubonsie and Neuqua. Help is needed specifically in the areas of Ways and Means, Concert Uniforms, Historical Records, Transportation and Logistics, Hospitality, Concerts, Publicity, and Website Development. Please contact Mr. Devany at don_devany@ipsd.org or 428-6669 with questions or to offer your assistance.
This is a very exciting time. It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Mustang families to be in on the firsts at the new school and to help create lasting tradition.
Metea Valley will open this fall and my son will be in the first class that attends the school all four years, so what's going on now is of great interest to me.
I’ve gotten information from numerous meetings including principal Jim Schmid’s monthly updates, monthly Indian Prairie Parents Council meetings and School Board meetings. At January’s meeting with Mr. Schmid parents had many questions about the Metea Valley music program. I think for many the strong academics are a given, and parents want to know that as we leave behind Grammy-winning WVHS our kids will still be offered exceptional musical opportunities.
We received this assurance on February 10 at a presentation given by the Metea music department. Parents and students were given a chance to meet the staff, ask questions and sign up to help with a myriad of tasks that the new department will need.
All of the Metea staff who have been introduced at public meetings have impressive credentials and the music department staff is no exception. The department chair, Mr. Don Devany, will be the band director and currently teaches at Neuqua. The orchestra director will be Waubonsie’s very talented Mr. Mark Liu. Mr. Nathan Bramstedt, currently teaching at Crone Middle School and Neuqua, will direct choir. All are highly qualified, having extensive education and experience and incredible excitement about the programs for their students at the new high school. They know that the quality of music education is a priority for many in the district and this is their passion.
Plans are in place for the music department’s offerings to grow as the school does over the next three years. Choir, band and orchestra will each begin next year with two or three curricular ensembles, growing to between five and six by the third year. Each will have audition and non-audition groups available. There will be a multitude of co- and extra-curricular opportunities for music students including Tri-M Honor Society, Solo & Ensemble Festival, a Steel Drum Ensemble, the Spring Musical, Metea Valley United Voices, and a Symphony Orchestra.
Yes, there will be marching band from the very start. Yes, there will be summer music programs this year for students heading to Metea next fall. And yes, there will be trips. There may be only one trip next year but it’s hoped that the Metea Valley Mustangs will enjoy trips similar to what the other high schools offer. Trip planning is one of those items on the long, long list that will have to wait until some other more pressing logistics have been taken care of.
Some are concerned that students won’t have the option next year of being in the “top” music ensemble as they would if they were attending Waubonsie. The music directors assured us that next year the audition groups will be the top group for each of them and the students will be treated accordingly.
Though the music wing of the high school will not yet be ready when the building opens in August, the forum rooms will be used in their place for a semester. These are large rooms with risers that will later have furniture in them, but will be left open now for use for chorus, band, and orchestra. The auditorium will also not yet be open for the first semester. Performances during that time period will be held at Waubonsie and Neuqua. There is also a chance that the Mustangs will get to perform at the beautiful new Wentz Hall at North Central College. When the new auditorium does open at Metea, there may be a large concert held there to celebrate.
I know there are many more interested music parents and students than those who were able to attend the music department meeting. The department is in need of lots of help as soon as they are allowed in the building. All equipment will be brand new. Help will be needed with unboxing, preparing, and setting up the music library, the instruments, music stands, the choir robes and band uniforms, and much more.
The band, orchestra, and choir parents’ groups will be getting some seed money and startup help from the corresponding organizations at Waubonsie and Neuqua. Help is needed specifically in the areas of Ways and Means, Concert Uniforms, Historical Records, Transportation and Logistics, Hospitality, Concerts, Publicity, and Website Development. Please contact Mr. Devany at don_devany@ipsd.org or 428-6669 with questions or to offer your assistance.
This is a very exciting time. It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Mustang families to be in on the firsts at the new school and to help create lasting tradition.
2009-02-12 Policy Change
A primary concern for parents is their children’s safety. It is absolutely horrifying when a child’s school is not able to provide a safe and nurturing environment for its students.
This is the case at Gregory Middle School in Naperville where two sixth-grade boys have been charged with felony sexual assault, felony sexual abuse, and misdemeanor battery against a fellow sixth-grade student. These two boys continue to attend school in the same building with their victim. It’s very disturbing that the rights of those charged with a crime can be deemed more important than the rights of their alleged victim.
The parents of the victim can be proud they have raised a son who was willing and able to tell them and the police exactly what happened. They can be proud they have raised a son who has the courage to attend school every day in a building where many of the students reportedly know exactly what happened, where, when and who was involved. This boy is lucky to have parents who will go to great lengths to stand up for him and his rights.
While it is true that people accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that the accused have rights, it is also common for people charged with serious crimes to be detained while awaiting trial when there is cause. It seems that the legal system is the first to have failed the victim’s family. These boys are not being detained in any way. House arrest or a restraining order seem appropriate in this situation, if available.
Secondly, the administrators at the middle school have failed this family as well. They apparently did take action to ensure that the accused and the victim do not have any classes together. However, they still encounter each other frequently throughout the school day and at the bus stop. Other students are uncomfortable around the accused, and their parents don’t want them spending time with the accused, either. This has led to a very uncomfortable environment within the school for many of the students and possibly the teachers and staff as well.
Thirdly, in the eyes of district parents, the district’s administrators and Board of Education have not done anything to properly handle this situation. They were either unaware or did not take action in a timely manner and either of these is unacceptable. If they were unaware, why is that? If they were aware and did nothing, why is that?
Yes, we do need to find some common ground between the law and common sense. It has been suggested that the victim be allowed to change schools. I see this as a viable but unfair option if this is not what this family wants. This young boy has suffered enough and would likely benefit from staying in a stable school environment with support from his friends.
Others suggest that the accused be moved to another middle school with district-provided transportation. Again, there are few parents in the district that would want their children spending time with these boys considering what they have been accused of doing. Since there are privacy laws in place, the parents in the new middle school may be unaware of the need to proceed with caution and not allow these children to be unsupervised with other students at school or in private homes.
The district has said that our policy does not deal with events that occur off school grounds nor with issues where a student has been accused but not yet convicted of a crime. However, there are other policies in place already that do address some behaviors outside of school grounds. There are policies in place that address the learning environment in our schools. It is my belief that current policy would allow this particular situation to be addressed. Two possible solutions would be to offer the families of the accused the choice of home tutoring or of placing the students in a confined area during the school day away from other students. This would allow them to continue their education while avoiding unpleasant interactions with other students.
Obviously the district needs to have policy in place to quickly address issues when someone in a school has committed a serious crime and/or harmed another person in that school, regardless of where the crime has occurred. Other districts have policies that address situations where students are charged with crimes. I’m glad that our district will be looking at some of those in an effort to form new policy. We need to have clear policy that deals with those charged with and/or convicted of crimes and that also allows sufficient leeway to address these cases individually.
The new policy should put the rights of the victim ahead of the rights of the accused in most situations. It should put the safety and well-being of the student body as a whole ahead of the rights of a student who may present a danger. If the laws do not support this, then it is time to work to change those laws.
It was encouraging to see the parents of the victim and many others speak at Monday night’s School Board meeting about the ripple effect of this crime and give suggestions on what should be done. Numerous good points were made by speakers. Several quoted current district policy, the mission statement, and district handbook. One addressed how this would be handled in a business setting. The School Board President was unusually lenient in allowing applause and public comment outside of the defined scope. It was the least he could do to appease the emotional crowd.
It was discouraging to hear that the family had to go public and go to the news media in order to be heard. A recurring theme in public comment at School Board meetings is that parents have felt that their children have been mistreated at school and the administration has not listened or responded in a way that allayed their concerns. While this particular case is extreme and extremely upsetting, in part due to the ages of the people involved, it also brings attention to the fact that there is sometimes more talk than action when it comes to handling bullying and negative student interactions.
My heart goes out to the victim and his family for all they have been through. I can only hope that some good will come from this in the end.
This is the case at Gregory Middle School in Naperville where two sixth-grade boys have been charged with felony sexual assault, felony sexual abuse, and misdemeanor battery against a fellow sixth-grade student. These two boys continue to attend school in the same building with their victim. It’s very disturbing that the rights of those charged with a crime can be deemed more important than the rights of their alleged victim.
The parents of the victim can be proud they have raised a son who was willing and able to tell them and the police exactly what happened. They can be proud they have raised a son who has the courage to attend school every day in a building where many of the students reportedly know exactly what happened, where, when and who was involved. This boy is lucky to have parents who will go to great lengths to stand up for him and his rights.
While it is true that people accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that the accused have rights, it is also common for people charged with serious crimes to be detained while awaiting trial when there is cause. It seems that the legal system is the first to have failed the victim’s family. These boys are not being detained in any way. House arrest or a restraining order seem appropriate in this situation, if available.
Secondly, the administrators at the middle school have failed this family as well. They apparently did take action to ensure that the accused and the victim do not have any classes together. However, they still encounter each other frequently throughout the school day and at the bus stop. Other students are uncomfortable around the accused, and their parents don’t want them spending time with the accused, either. This has led to a very uncomfortable environment within the school for many of the students and possibly the teachers and staff as well.
Thirdly, in the eyes of district parents, the district’s administrators and Board of Education have not done anything to properly handle this situation. They were either unaware or did not take action in a timely manner and either of these is unacceptable. If they were unaware, why is that? If they were aware and did nothing, why is that?
Yes, we do need to find some common ground between the law and common sense. It has been suggested that the victim be allowed to change schools. I see this as a viable but unfair option if this is not what this family wants. This young boy has suffered enough and would likely benefit from staying in a stable school environment with support from his friends.
Others suggest that the accused be moved to another middle school with district-provided transportation. Again, there are few parents in the district that would want their children spending time with these boys considering what they have been accused of doing. Since there are privacy laws in place, the parents in the new middle school may be unaware of the need to proceed with caution and not allow these children to be unsupervised with other students at school or in private homes.
The district has said that our policy does not deal with events that occur off school grounds nor with issues where a student has been accused but not yet convicted of a crime. However, there are other policies in place already that do address some behaviors outside of school grounds. There are policies in place that address the learning environment in our schools. It is my belief that current policy would allow this particular situation to be addressed. Two possible solutions would be to offer the families of the accused the choice of home tutoring or of placing the students in a confined area during the school day away from other students. This would allow them to continue their education while avoiding unpleasant interactions with other students.
Obviously the district needs to have policy in place to quickly address issues when someone in a school has committed a serious crime and/or harmed another person in that school, regardless of where the crime has occurred. Other districts have policies that address situations where students are charged with crimes. I’m glad that our district will be looking at some of those in an effort to form new policy. We need to have clear policy that deals with those charged with and/or convicted of crimes and that also allows sufficient leeway to address these cases individually.
The new policy should put the rights of the victim ahead of the rights of the accused in most situations. It should put the safety and well-being of the student body as a whole ahead of the rights of a student who may present a danger. If the laws do not support this, then it is time to work to change those laws.
It was encouraging to see the parents of the victim and many others speak at Monday night’s School Board meeting about the ripple effect of this crime and give suggestions on what should be done. Numerous good points were made by speakers. Several quoted current district policy, the mission statement, and district handbook. One addressed how this would be handled in a business setting. The School Board President was unusually lenient in allowing applause and public comment outside of the defined scope. It was the least he could do to appease the emotional crowd.
It was discouraging to hear that the family had to go public and go to the news media in order to be heard. A recurring theme in public comment at School Board meetings is that parents have felt that their children have been mistreated at school and the administration has not listened or responded in a way that allayed their concerns. While this particular case is extreme and extremely upsetting, in part due to the ages of the people involved, it also brings attention to the fact that there is sometimes more talk than action when it comes to handling bullying and negative student interactions.
My heart goes out to the victim and his family for all they have been through. I can only hope that some good will come from this in the end.
2008-12-17 WVHS Lockdown
For me, it started with a phone call.
At 8:46am last Wednesday a friend called and asked me what was going on. I had no idea what she might be talking about. She proceeded to tell me she’d gotten a text from her son at Waubonsie Valley High School that the school is under lockdown. She had talked to someone else and found out there is a gunman with a hostage. She wondered what I might have heard from my daughter Kathy, who is a junior at WV. And what I’d heard is nothing.
I immediately texted Kathy and hoped that she had her phone with her and would reply to me. I contacted friends by e-mail and message board to see if they knew anything. At 8:53 an e-mail was broadcast from the high school principal stating that the school was locked down as a precaution while they investigate a potential threat.
I heard that a gun had been seen on video. I heard that the Aurora Police Department was searching the building and that other area law enforcement agencies were assisting. A friend told me there was a staging area set up for parents in a nearby building.
What I wondered? A staging area for parents? How serious is this that we might all need to go rushing to be near the school? I pondered whether to call my husband on a business trip in Minnesota. If this really was nothing, then there would be no need to worry him. On the other hand, if something really serious was going on at the school, he might be upset that I didn’t tell him right away.
I e-mailed my newspaper editor, Mike Cetera, who quickly replied that there were many rumors about something happening at WV and they were on their way.
I called my husband and while we were talking, both my cell phone and home phone rang simultaneously with a recorded message from the school giving the same information as the e-mail. There had been a phone broadcast the night before about a bomb threat written on the school wall, something I don’t take too seriously, but a gun in the school is something else entirely. We have all seen too many times what can and does happen when someone brings a gun to school.
While the phone and e-mail messages made it appear that everyone was safe, I was concerned that I heard nothing back from my daughter and that if there was a gun in the school the person who had the gun may not care that the building is teeming with police officers. The fact that nothing had happened yet did not reassure me all that much but I was relieved that it seemed that the rumor of a hostage was just that.
A friend with younger children called to tell me she’d spoken to the superintendent’s office. She knew I’d be worried and wanted to let me know what they had told her. Again it was reassuring but the gun had still not been found, the lockdown continued, and I still had heard nothing from Kathy.
In addition to the message boards, Facebook, phone calls, and e-mails, things began to show up on the news websites so I followed that as well. I contacted work to let them know I would not be coming in until I had a better idea that all was well at the school.
Dozens of parents were showing up at the Eola Community Center and were kept informed by police. Many parents were reporting they heard something initially from their kids, but then stopped getting any text replies from them. I decided not to go to the Community Center, believing that keeping up with everything from home was most efficient and knowing/hoping that most likely the kids were fine. I was relieved to hear that the staging area was simply a place for the parents to go, as many were rushing to the school after receiving texts from their children, and the police did not want anyone entering the building until after the search.
Around 10am I heard that the initiating event was a 911 call from a student who had seen boys in the bathroom loading a gun. At the same time, there was a message from the principal that the Gold Campus (the freshman building across the street) was no longer locked down. Until then I’d had no idea that any action had been taken at that building.
Around 10:30 based on all that I had heard from multiple sources it seemed likely that all would be ok. I am usually a very calm person but from the time I had confirmation the school was under lockdown because of a gun in the building, until I heard enough to feel that the kids were most likely fine, I was running on adrenaline.
As I was driving to work I received a text from my daughter in college in Naperville asking what was going on at WV. She had gotten texts from two friends away at college about it. At work I continued to follow events in the same places but with the addition of a Twitter feed from the Beacon that was being updated every few minutes. I found out that the kids were locked down in first period, which meant both that the lockdown had begun long before I heard about it, and that my daughter was in PE, explaining why she wouldn’t have had any way to contact me.
There was news that clergy was arriving for the parents at the community center and counselors would be available for the students. This worried me that maybe there was more to this than an unsubstantiated report of a weapon.
At 12:30 we finally had confirmation by phone calls and e-mail that the five hour lockdown was over. A gun had been found, but it was an Airsoft pistol so while it could not have hurt anyone it looked remarkably like the real thing. Two students had been arrested. The student who reported the gun was commended. Parents were allowed to get their children out of school if they desired. Those who stayed in school followed a modified schedule for the remaining two hours of the day including shortened lunch periods for all.
At 1:30 I got a text from Kathy telling me that everything is fine, that she was in gym and didn’t have access to her backpack. This was what I’d been waiting for hours to hear. I ‘d have to wait for her to get home from school to find out whether she was mostly annoyed at the loss of a school day or if she had been scared.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I was off kilter the rest of the day. I was relieved that everyone was ok. I was glad that Prism rehearsal (the big concert of the year which in which all 10th-12th grade music students perform) would go on that night as planned. The actions of a couple of students caused an entire day of instruction to be lost shortly before finals. They cost many law enforcement hours and I’m sure thousands of hours of lost productivity for parents.
I hope that this event was useful for both local law enforcement and the school district in practicing for a real emergency that we hope never happens, in a way that no drill could ever replicate. I hope that most students and teachers were either bored or having fun and not scared and worried most of the time. I have heard from many people that the fear in the principal’s voice was obvious when she made the announcement about 7:30am that the school was locked down, and when she came back on minutes later to announce that this was a hard and not a soft lockdown. This both scared the students and staff and made all take the announcement seriously.
The students and many of the staff seemed to lack information about what was happening and what they might have to be afraid of, which led to more fear and certainly rumors that spread like wildfire with so many students having cell phones on them and some having window views of what was happening outside. I heard of kids in closets, under desks, or in corners for long periods of time. As time went on, the lack of food and lack of bathroom access became bigger and bigger issues. Apparently a pat-down and police escort would be required for a trip to the bathroom and if they hadn’t gotten to your room yet, you were out of luck, leading to make-shift wastebasket toilets in some classrooms.
The first notification of the lockdown sent to parents was more than an hour after it began. I definitely want the staff to deal with the situation at hand but at the same time it seems that one person being assigned to send info out to parents, whether at WV or the district office, could perhaps have spent a few minutes getting out accurate information to parents. This may have helped prevent some of the panic coming from uninformed text messages being sent by students in what seemed to be the world’s worst game of telephone. The phone system, which is new this year, worked out great in emergency mode for getting messages to all phone numbers for each student. Parents who did not receive some of the phone or e-mail messages now know they need to update their information with the school.
In hindsight the kids seem to think this is all very funny since the threat turned out not to be real. But from the stories I have heard of fearful students and brave teachers I know that it was not at all funny at the time.
I commend the Aurora Police Department, DuPage County Sheriff’s Department, the WV administration and anyone else who assisted in the lockdown and search of a building with over 3000 people in it - for keeping our kids safe and for finding the weapon and the culprits. I pray that the lessons learned this day are never ever needed.
At 8:46am last Wednesday a friend called and asked me what was going on. I had no idea what she might be talking about. She proceeded to tell me she’d gotten a text from her son at Waubonsie Valley High School that the school is under lockdown. She had talked to someone else and found out there is a gunman with a hostage. She wondered what I might have heard from my daughter Kathy, who is a junior at WV. And what I’d heard is nothing.
I immediately texted Kathy and hoped that she had her phone with her and would reply to me. I contacted friends by e-mail and message board to see if they knew anything. At 8:53 an e-mail was broadcast from the high school principal stating that the school was locked down as a precaution while they investigate a potential threat.
I heard that a gun had been seen on video. I heard that the Aurora Police Department was searching the building and that other area law enforcement agencies were assisting. A friend told me there was a staging area set up for parents in a nearby building.
What I wondered? A staging area for parents? How serious is this that we might all need to go rushing to be near the school? I pondered whether to call my husband on a business trip in Minnesota. If this really was nothing, then there would be no need to worry him. On the other hand, if something really serious was going on at the school, he might be upset that I didn’t tell him right away.
I e-mailed my newspaper editor, Mike Cetera, who quickly replied that there were many rumors about something happening at WV and they were on their way.
I called my husband and while we were talking, both my cell phone and home phone rang simultaneously with a recorded message from the school giving the same information as the e-mail. There had been a phone broadcast the night before about a bomb threat written on the school wall, something I don’t take too seriously, but a gun in the school is something else entirely. We have all seen too many times what can and does happen when someone brings a gun to school.
While the phone and e-mail messages made it appear that everyone was safe, I was concerned that I heard nothing back from my daughter and that if there was a gun in the school the person who had the gun may not care that the building is teeming with police officers. The fact that nothing had happened yet did not reassure me all that much but I was relieved that it seemed that the rumor of a hostage was just that.
A friend with younger children called to tell me she’d spoken to the superintendent’s office. She knew I’d be worried and wanted to let me know what they had told her. Again it was reassuring but the gun had still not been found, the lockdown continued, and I still had heard nothing from Kathy.
In addition to the message boards, Facebook, phone calls, and e-mails, things began to show up on the news websites so I followed that as well. I contacted work to let them know I would not be coming in until I had a better idea that all was well at the school.
Dozens of parents were showing up at the Eola Community Center and were kept informed by police. Many parents were reporting they heard something initially from their kids, but then stopped getting any text replies from them. I decided not to go to the Community Center, believing that keeping up with everything from home was most efficient and knowing/hoping that most likely the kids were fine. I was relieved to hear that the staging area was simply a place for the parents to go, as many were rushing to the school after receiving texts from their children, and the police did not want anyone entering the building until after the search.
Around 10am I heard that the initiating event was a 911 call from a student who had seen boys in the bathroom loading a gun. At the same time, there was a message from the principal that the Gold Campus (the freshman building across the street) was no longer locked down. Until then I’d had no idea that any action had been taken at that building.
Around 10:30 based on all that I had heard from multiple sources it seemed likely that all would be ok. I am usually a very calm person but from the time I had confirmation the school was under lockdown because of a gun in the building, until I heard enough to feel that the kids were most likely fine, I was running on adrenaline.
As I was driving to work I received a text from my daughter in college in Naperville asking what was going on at WV. She had gotten texts from two friends away at college about it. At work I continued to follow events in the same places but with the addition of a Twitter feed from the Beacon that was being updated every few minutes. I found out that the kids were locked down in first period, which meant both that the lockdown had begun long before I heard about it, and that my daughter was in PE, explaining why she wouldn’t have had any way to contact me.
There was news that clergy was arriving for the parents at the community center and counselors would be available for the students. This worried me that maybe there was more to this than an unsubstantiated report of a weapon.
At 12:30 we finally had confirmation by phone calls and e-mail that the five hour lockdown was over. A gun had been found, but it was an Airsoft pistol so while it could not have hurt anyone it looked remarkably like the real thing. Two students had been arrested. The student who reported the gun was commended. Parents were allowed to get their children out of school if they desired. Those who stayed in school followed a modified schedule for the remaining two hours of the day including shortened lunch periods for all.
At 1:30 I got a text from Kathy telling me that everything is fine, that she was in gym and didn’t have access to her backpack. This was what I’d been waiting for hours to hear. I ‘d have to wait for her to get home from school to find out whether she was mostly annoyed at the loss of a school day or if she had been scared.
I don’t know about everyone else, but I was off kilter the rest of the day. I was relieved that everyone was ok. I was glad that Prism rehearsal (the big concert of the year which in which all 10th-12th grade music students perform) would go on that night as planned. The actions of a couple of students caused an entire day of instruction to be lost shortly before finals. They cost many law enforcement hours and I’m sure thousands of hours of lost productivity for parents.
I hope that this event was useful for both local law enforcement and the school district in practicing for a real emergency that we hope never happens, in a way that no drill could ever replicate. I hope that most students and teachers were either bored or having fun and not scared and worried most of the time. I have heard from many people that the fear in the principal’s voice was obvious when she made the announcement about 7:30am that the school was locked down, and when she came back on minutes later to announce that this was a hard and not a soft lockdown. This both scared the students and staff and made all take the announcement seriously.
The students and many of the staff seemed to lack information about what was happening and what they might have to be afraid of, which led to more fear and certainly rumors that spread like wildfire with so many students having cell phones on them and some having window views of what was happening outside. I heard of kids in closets, under desks, or in corners for long periods of time. As time went on, the lack of food and lack of bathroom access became bigger and bigger issues. Apparently a pat-down and police escort would be required for a trip to the bathroom and if they hadn’t gotten to your room yet, you were out of luck, leading to make-shift wastebasket toilets in some classrooms.
The first notification of the lockdown sent to parents was more than an hour after it began. I definitely want the staff to deal with the situation at hand but at the same time it seems that one person being assigned to send info out to parents, whether at WV or the district office, could perhaps have spent a few minutes getting out accurate information to parents. This may have helped prevent some of the panic coming from uninformed text messages being sent by students in what seemed to be the world’s worst game of telephone. The phone system, which is new this year, worked out great in emergency mode for getting messages to all phone numbers for each student. Parents who did not receive some of the phone or e-mail messages now know they need to update their information with the school.
In hindsight the kids seem to think this is all very funny since the threat turned out not to be real. But from the stories I have heard of fearful students and brave teachers I know that it was not at all funny at the time.
I commend the Aurora Police Department, DuPage County Sheriff’s Department, the WV administration and anyone else who assisted in the lockdown and search of a building with over 3000 people in it - for keeping our kids safe and for finding the weapon and the culprits. I pray that the lessons learned this day are never ever needed.
2008-12-07 Babes in Toyland
If your December calendar looks anything like mine, I'm sure you'd rather not add any more commitments. Yet I encourage you to find the time to go see Fox Valley Park District's Winter Stage performance of "Babes in Toyland." This musical will be performed three times during the weekend of December 12.
The cast is made up of a terrific group of more than sixty talented young actors, singers and dancers ages 8 to 16. They are from all over the Aurora area and have been practicing several times a week for months to perfect this show.
The show is being artistically directed by Nathan Cotter, musically directed by Lisa McConkey and choreographed by Katie O'Neill. Some songs are written and performed by Rosemary Hauser with musical accompaniment by Amy Huggins.
"Babes in Toyland" is the story of evil toymaker Uncle Barnaby who would rather send his niece and nephew to Spider Valley than allow them to eventually take over the toy shop. Characters in the play include many well-known nursery rhyme characters such as Little Miss Muffet and Goldilocks as well as toys including bears, dolls, and soldiers.
The performance is two acts with several songs including "Deck the Halls," “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and a quartet of actors portraying Alvin and the Chipmunks singing "The Chipmunk Song."
The Fox Valley Park District has put on approximately 55 summer and winter musicals over the past 38 years, which have included more than 200 performers at a time. FVPD provides an excellent and very positive experience for children interested in the performing arts. My son performed in this summer's production of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Paramount and we were dazzled by the professionally staged show. He has a much bigger part in this “Babes in Toyland.” He has enjoyed being a part of Granger Middle School’s spring musicals and it’s wonderful to have these additional opportunities through the park district.
The children are excited to to put on this show for the public and I can’t wait to see it.
“Babes in Toyland” will be performed for the public at 7pm on Friday the 12th, 7pm on Saturday the 13th, and 2pm on Sunday the 14th at Prisco Center. Tickets are available for $6 ahead of time or $8 at the door. Call (630) 859-8606 for more information.
The cast is made up of a terrific group of more than sixty talented young actors, singers and dancers ages 8 to 16. They are from all over the Aurora area and have been practicing several times a week for months to perfect this show.
The show is being artistically directed by Nathan Cotter, musically directed by Lisa McConkey and choreographed by Katie O'Neill. Some songs are written and performed by Rosemary Hauser with musical accompaniment by Amy Huggins.
"Babes in Toyland" is the story of evil toymaker Uncle Barnaby who would rather send his niece and nephew to Spider Valley than allow them to eventually take over the toy shop. Characters in the play include many well-known nursery rhyme characters such as Little Miss Muffet and Goldilocks as well as toys including bears, dolls, and soldiers.
The performance is two acts with several songs including "Deck the Halls," “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and a quartet of actors portraying Alvin and the Chipmunks singing "The Chipmunk Song."
The Fox Valley Park District has put on approximately 55 summer and winter musicals over the past 38 years, which have included more than 200 performers at a time. FVPD provides an excellent and very positive experience for children interested in the performing arts. My son performed in this summer's production of "Beauty and the Beast" at the Paramount and we were dazzled by the professionally staged show. He has a much bigger part in this “Babes in Toyland.” He has enjoyed being a part of Granger Middle School’s spring musicals and it’s wonderful to have these additional opportunities through the park district.
The children are excited to to put on this show for the public and I can’t wait to see it.
“Babes in Toyland” will be performed for the public at 7pm on Friday the 12th, 7pm on Saturday the 13th, and 2pm on Sunday the 14th at Prisco Center. Tickets are available for $6 ahead of time or $8 at the door. Call (630) 859-8606 for more information.
2008-09-28 Why I Applied for the School Board Vacancy
Like many other dedicated volunteers, I’ve been heavily involved for several years in many things going on in Indian Prairie School District 204. Last month one of the school board members resigned, leaving a vacancy to be filled by an appointment to last through the end of his term next April.
A couple people encouraged me to apply for the vacancy. I declined. They gave more and more convincing reasoning why I should. I spent a lot of time thinking, praying, and talking about this with my immediate family for several days before letting anyone else know I would even consider it. I spoke with others whose opinions and experience I respect. I gathered more information about what exactly I’d be committing to if I decided to go ahead with this and then I decided to give it my all and put in my application. I’m not all that fond of the political process and the opportunity to be appointed to the position for several months prior to the first election seemed an appealing way to get my feet wet. Applying for this open board seat was an extremely difficult decision to reach. After I sent in my application I still slept well at night, so I knew it was the right decision for me.
Of twenty-four applicants, I was one of six chosen to be interviewed, and ultimately was not the one selected to fill the board vacancy. If selected, I would have enthusiastically embraced my new role, and with the support of my family I would have given this job the time, energy and attention necessary. Since I was not selected, I can breathe a sigh of relief and continue on with my crazy busy life as is. I applaud the school board for making an excellent choice for our community and I wish Cathy Piehl the best in her new position. I was never in it for myself, I have no agenda or political aspirations. I only want what’s best for our students, staff, and families.
A few months ago I wrote about the reasons I had no plans to run for School Board. The column gave what I consider to be the major drawbacks to the position and was intended to leave the door open should I change my mind. It was written in part to show respect to those who have taken on this immense responsibility and to let others who would consider running have some idea of what the job entails. Though the article was published with the title of “Why you won't see me run for office,” this isn’t what I meant. One of the things I’ve learned in life is that plans and circumstances change – to never say never.
One reason I gave was that I didn’t feel that I had enough time available to do a good job. I realized that I can find the time for what is important to me, and I have discovered that working for the good of this district is my passion. As such, I owe it to myself to pursue opportunities to give back to the district community. I have been doing this already in other ways as the Brooks IPPC rep, as a member of Waubonsie’s Orchestra Parents Association, and in numerous other capacities. Over the years I have informed friends, neighbors, and co-workers about what is going on in the district and have tried to clear up misinformation whenever possible.
I‘ve attended most of the school board meetings over the past year so giving up every other Monday evening would not have been new. I contacted a few current board members to ask about the time required in addition to the meetings and figured out what in my current schedule I could give up if I were selected to serve.
Another reason I wasn’t interested in the job is the harsh and nearly constant criticism faced by school board members and candidates. I know that no matter what, some people will disagree with me. I am an honest and straight-forward person and I stand by my views, which are backed by experience and facts. If people want to twist around my words and actions, that is not my problem. As long as I know that I am doing the best I can to do the right thing, I can roll with the punches.
The online criticism began shortly after my name appeared in the press as a candidate, giving me a small idea of what is to come should I choose to run in the future. I am confused by the perception a few have that I agree with the current board and administration on everything since I’ve published columns to the contrary. I am an educated person and quite capable of making my own decisions.
Speaking in public is outside of my comfort zone but I was willing to step up and do the right thing for the greater good. I thought I wouldn’t be interested in the nitty-gritty details of the day-to-day and year-to-year school district operations, but now that I’ve attended several meetings in which normal district business was conducted without all the hoopla of the some of the bigger controversies, I see that these topics are in fact interesting and I’d like to learn more. I also understand that the board is helped through these decisions by paid experts in the administration.
I hope that rather than being critical of me (and others) for deciding to put in an application, people might understand that I have grown and learned, that I and 23 others made the decision to, if selected, put the good of the community ahead of the good of our own selves and families and put our own reputations on the line. I offer my thanks and appreciation to all of you who are giving back to the community in countless ways.
A couple people encouraged me to apply for the vacancy. I declined. They gave more and more convincing reasoning why I should. I spent a lot of time thinking, praying, and talking about this with my immediate family for several days before letting anyone else know I would even consider it. I spoke with others whose opinions and experience I respect. I gathered more information about what exactly I’d be committing to if I decided to go ahead with this and then I decided to give it my all and put in my application. I’m not all that fond of the political process and the opportunity to be appointed to the position for several months prior to the first election seemed an appealing way to get my feet wet. Applying for this open board seat was an extremely difficult decision to reach. After I sent in my application I still slept well at night, so I knew it was the right decision for me.
Of twenty-four applicants, I was one of six chosen to be interviewed, and ultimately was not the one selected to fill the board vacancy. If selected, I would have enthusiastically embraced my new role, and with the support of my family I would have given this job the time, energy and attention necessary. Since I was not selected, I can breathe a sigh of relief and continue on with my crazy busy life as is. I applaud the school board for making an excellent choice for our community and I wish Cathy Piehl the best in her new position. I was never in it for myself, I have no agenda or political aspirations. I only want what’s best for our students, staff, and families.
A few months ago I wrote about the reasons I had no plans to run for School Board. The column gave what I consider to be the major drawbacks to the position and was intended to leave the door open should I change my mind. It was written in part to show respect to those who have taken on this immense responsibility and to let others who would consider running have some idea of what the job entails. Though the article was published with the title of “Why you won't see me run for office,” this isn’t what I meant. One of the things I’ve learned in life is that plans and circumstances change – to never say never.
One reason I gave was that I didn’t feel that I had enough time available to do a good job. I realized that I can find the time for what is important to me, and I have discovered that working for the good of this district is my passion. As such, I owe it to myself to pursue opportunities to give back to the district community. I have been doing this already in other ways as the Brooks IPPC rep, as a member of Waubonsie’s Orchestra Parents Association, and in numerous other capacities. Over the years I have informed friends, neighbors, and co-workers about what is going on in the district and have tried to clear up misinformation whenever possible.
I‘ve attended most of the school board meetings over the past year so giving up every other Monday evening would not have been new. I contacted a few current board members to ask about the time required in addition to the meetings and figured out what in my current schedule I could give up if I were selected to serve.
Another reason I wasn’t interested in the job is the harsh and nearly constant criticism faced by school board members and candidates. I know that no matter what, some people will disagree with me. I am an honest and straight-forward person and I stand by my views, which are backed by experience and facts. If people want to twist around my words and actions, that is not my problem. As long as I know that I am doing the best I can to do the right thing, I can roll with the punches.
The online criticism began shortly after my name appeared in the press as a candidate, giving me a small idea of what is to come should I choose to run in the future. I am confused by the perception a few have that I agree with the current board and administration on everything since I’ve published columns to the contrary. I am an educated person and quite capable of making my own decisions.
Speaking in public is outside of my comfort zone but I was willing to step up and do the right thing for the greater good. I thought I wouldn’t be interested in the nitty-gritty details of the day-to-day and year-to-year school district operations, but now that I’ve attended several meetings in which normal district business was conducted without all the hoopla of the some of the bigger controversies, I see that these topics are in fact interesting and I’d like to learn more. I also understand that the board is helped through these decisions by paid experts in the administration.
I hope that rather than being critical of me (and others) for deciding to put in an application, people might understand that I have grown and learned, that I and 23 others made the decision to, if selected, put the good of the community ahead of the good of our own selves and families and put our own reputations on the line. I offer my thanks and appreciation to all of you who are giving back to the community in countless ways.
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