Willard critics target D90 evaluation procedures
Smaller group to meet with Supt. Kamm on Monday

By BILL DWYER

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

The River Forest District 90 school board heard concerns from Willard parents without comment at their monthly meeting Monday night. The speakers reiterated criticisms expressed last week about the process by which a popular Willard first grade teacher was terminated, and pressed for greater communication from the board and more transparency in the decision-making processes.

Speakers were supported by a dozen or so other parents. Also in the audience were a number of individuals who appeared to be supportive of the school board, including several PTO officials.

Willard parents Kathy Mueller and Rula Gardiner pressed board members to clarify the evaluation process that was used to assess the performance of the terminated teacher.

"It was not our intention to storm this board like a group of angry villagers," said Mueller. "Our intention was to force this board to look at the process."

Referring to a comment by a school board member in last week’s Wednesday Journal referring to the teacher evaluation process as having "a 360-degree perspective," Rex Burdett told board members, "Apparently that perspective did not include parental input." Parents, he said, are the advocates for "the most important stakeholders, the children themselves."

"I respectfully suggest to the board that parental feedback be incorporated in teacher evaluations regarding tenure decisions," he said. That feedback, Burdett said, could provide an important reality check for the board.

Addressing the issue of transparency, Burdett called meeting minutes "the diary of any organization" and questioned why the minutes weren’t on the school district’s website. "They provide a road map into decision-making. They tell us why things happen, how they happen and what’s happened," Burdett said, and requested that the past several years’ meeting minutes be posted on the district’s website as soon as possible.

Speaking to the school board’s silence over the teacher’s termination, and concern over Willard’s administration, parent Irene Ogievetskaya said, "Your silence seeds rumors and suspicions."

Ogievetskaya challenged the board to be more forthcoming with parents. "I cannot believe that an elected body in our very democratic state has the right not to answer the questions of those who elected this body."

The school board has insisted that the teacher’s termination is a personnel matter, and as such must remain private.

Supt. Marlene Kamm is scheduled to meet privately with Mueller and others Monday afternoon to discuss parents’ concerns in greater detail.

After voting to go into closed session, the school board spent the next two hours discussing the "appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees." They were still deliberating at 10 p.m.

For the first hour of the closed session eight parents stood in the hallway outside the Learning Center discussing the Willard situation. Serious concerns remained regarding both the management style of Willard Principal Janice Divincenzo and Willard PTO’s reluctance to criticize the district administration. Some were still upset with the handling of the terminated Willard teacher though there appeared to be a consensus that what was done is done. The group seemed to agree with one parent who said, "We have to get away from the individual and go after the process."

Parents also seemed to believe that the school board had been acting "in good faith" regarding the Willard situation, but that management mechanisms are not in place to properly evaluate the performances of school and district administrators.

Wednesday Journal has filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests seeking details of that process, as have two parents. Those requests are currently being processed by the school district.

One meeting that could not be monitored was held last Saturday morning. The school board met at 8 a.m. at district headquarters for what was termed a "self-evaluation" session. The meeting was publicly noticed with an agenda item for public comment. Mueller and fellow Willard parent Jim Weiss showed up prior to the meeting.

At that time, Board President David Gregg informed the attendees that they were welcome to speak before the board. However, he said, board members intended to conduct their evaluation in private. Should anyone in the public opt to remain after the public comment, he said, they would adjourn the meeting.

Gregg was unavailable for comment Tuesday morning regarding the board’s self evaluation session.