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In looking for the silver lining with the controversy surrounding the D86 equity consultant, I’m very encouraged by the letters and sponsored ads in The Hinsdalean in support of listening to each other and continuing the conversation of diversity and equity in our community. I think all would agree that understanding (and progress) happens when people engage with each other with civility and respect. Even if some believe this is all just “equity drivel” and “Hinsdale kids already know right from wrong,” it doesn’t m...
There is a debate in the editorial section of this paper about DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — at Hinsdale schools. My experience this past weekend in the Grant Square parking lot reminded me why equity training is necessary for Hinsdale residents. I grew up in Clarendon Hills, and was visiting this past weekend with my sister. We stopped at Kramer’s to pick up a fruit plate on a slow Sunday morning. I dropped her off at the entrance and idled outside with my blinkers on to prevent her from walking in the cold. After...
Many people in our beloved community are hurting right now; and as members of Redeemer Lutheran Church’s Church and Community Group, we do not feel comfortable sitting idly by. We are people of faith who believe that all are created in God’s image, that diversity is built into God’s creation and that we are called to love our neighbors. As parents and members of the community, we care about how our children are educated. We want academic excellence. We also want our children to succeed in their lives and future careers. This...
Let’s talk straight. Hinsdale D86 parents need not feel ashamed, demoralized, guilty for their hard-earned efforts that blessedly allows them the choice of communities and school districts. There is a sacrificial price to pay in order to live in Hinsdale and that is, hard work. Equity consultant? Why? To belittle, shame, demoralize and lay guilt on the children of this community that do not deserve it. Parents protect their children from this kind of assault. Teachers of Hinsdale are hired to protect their students, too. T...
As a 30-year resident of Hinsdale High School District 86 who raised three graduates, I am grateful for the great educations that they received from kindergarten through 12th grade. We all made wonderful, life-long friends, too. However, my adult children have told me that their friends of color had some negative experiences in school and that the curriculum omitted history about marginalized peoples. My kids lament the lack of diversity in our schools and community. It does not reflect the world that they live and work in...
In response to Rev. Pamela Rumancik (Jan. 27 letter), Valda Valbrun was not hired to tell us about Jesus. He either lives in your heart or he doesn’t. Carving out nearly $200,000 to pay someone to train our academic community on equity, anti-racism and diversity issues while publicly defiling those who she vehemently opposes based on their views or political affiliation eliminates any credibility she purportedly had. What would your congregation think of you spending a similar amount on someone who promotes a so-called o...
Jesus counseled “Be Not Afraid” over a hundred times in the Christian scriptures. He urged folks to let go of fear and trust that God is love and that love is the only way through. Our faith teaches that the only way to create a safe world for some of us is to create it for all of us. The people who attacked and threatened Ms. Valbrun are afraid. Afraid that by somehow learning more about our past, they may have to change their minds — may have to give up some false sense of superiority. But life is change — and things...
The last two years have been very difficult. The stress caused by the pandemic has splintered our school community. Knowing this, we should strive to meet each other on common ground, not engage in conduct that drives us further apart. For this reason, it was wrong for D86 to consider hiring The Valbrun Consulting Group as a diversity, inclusion and equity consultant. It was likewise wrong for Superintendent Prentiss to share Valbrun’s withdrawal letter at the recent D86 BOE meeting and in a districtwide mailing. V...
I applaud The Hinsdalean’s admonishment (Oct. 21 editorial) of the new District 86 board members’ apparent disdain for the administration’s expert judgment on curriculum and grading matters. Innovation is needed more than ever in these rapidly changing technological times. My 50 years in complex litigation and working with employers, licensing and credentialing organizations in the health care professions and schools on assessment and testing issues, as well as teaching in law and business school, have convinced me that...
As I think about our blessings this year, I count our District 181 teachers, secretaries, janitors, crossing guards, paraprofessionals and principals high on my list. We are so fortunate to live in this community where our kids have the absolute best education opportunities because of our caring, smart and driven educators. Thank you for prioritizing our kids this year more than ever. We are forever grateful to each of you. — Amber Nolan, Hinsdale...
In response to your recent editorial, “No clear explanation for what’s going on in D86,” we believe that the new board’s resistance to the administration’s agenda is entirely clear. The April election saw an unprecedented shift of four seats away from the incumbents largely due to the community’s complete “lack of faith in the administration.” The previous board rubber-stamped policies and failed to question the administration’s often arbitrary, capricious and ineffective policies (e.g. COVID protocols, discussions of re...
Strategic Planning in 2018 and passage of the referendum in 2019 were signs of great progress in District 86. However, since then this community has seen a change of focus at D86. A high-performing district, D86 has seen a dilution of its rigorous science curriculum and seems to be driven by an equity statement formulated by the CELT committee during the pandemic. The equity statement, unlike the strategic plan did not include the whole community and was not board approved. Formed in 2020, CELT conducted a survey asking for...
It seems some members of the D86 BOE have implicit trust in the administration and feel that there will be bumps in the road that will iron themselves out. And with the most recent grading alignment — which includes curves and retakes in some classes — they probably will iron themselves out, but only after wildly experimenting with student’s grades and emotions. Shoving higher weights to tests in student’s faces, in some cases with ratios weighted 90 and even 100 percent to summative assessments, upon return from a year of...
Clarendon Hills Fire Department has yard signs throughout their town (“We Need Our Own To Save Our Own”) which are supporting the purchase of a new ladder/pumper truck to replace their old truck. I now hear that Hinsdale is considering sharing their older ladder truck with Clarendon Hills in an effort to save money for both villages. Is sharing a truck a wise idea? Things to consider: The truck might be housed in Clarendon Hills half of the time. This could cause a potential delay in response time when the truck isn’t house...
Thank you to all of our wonderful friends and neighbors. Claire, Michael and I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our friends and neighbors who took time to wrap and unwrap the trees with orange ribbons, placed the hundreds of luminaries all along our street, driveway and walkway, attended Joanne’s visitation and service and are now involved in the “meal train.” The ribbons and luminaries were a wonderful reminder of how our neighborhood gathers together to help each other and a beautiful sign of suppo...
Ken Knutson’s recent article “D86 Board: Grading plan misses mark” got it correct in referring to “unveiling” the superintendent’s Learning Leadership Team grading plan, which potentially masqueraded under the purview of COVID-19 executive order practices. Knutson’s reporting disregarded the take-home assignment, however: motivation, self-esteem and anxiety are all at risk when summative tests prevail or dominate academic settings. He further omitted the acknowledgment from Dr. Chris Covino that there was, unfortunately, no d...
October is Sudden Cardiac Awareness month. Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death of student athletes and death on campuses. One child dies every hour, every day from an undetected heart defect. We serve as junior board members on the just1mike foundation. The foundation was created to honor Michael Brindley, a Hinsdale Central student who suffered sudden cardiac death in 2016, playing basketball at 16 years old. The mission of the foundation is raise awareness and survival rates in teens/young adults through...
I wanted to recognize a beautiful and spirited woman in our community and local interior designer, my mother, Mary Anne Herring. In 1986 my mom opened a home design store called Robin’s Egg Blue in Hinsdale, which had a storefront for 24 years. Perhaps you shopped there and remember the sparkle and enchantment walking in the door and the warmth in being greeted. If you ever received a gift, it was unforgettable in the delicate wrapping and what was inside. I learned an important life lesson of attention to detail in my m...
In 1995 when we were still using a simple cell phone technology, the FCC set some safety regulations on the radiation tolerances using heat exposure to the brain when held against the head as the benchmark. Fast forward 25 years to today, the wireless phones became smaller and more powerful at each development stage, shifting us from verbal communications to a multimedia tool now called a “mobile device,” holding as much memory as a computer. Usage grew exponentially to where the radiation level is now up five times as gre...
No question, Hinsdale is demolishing the stories that reside in its old homes. The village is in the throes of a building boom. Lots of stone and brick delivered to job sights. Loads of slate roofing and copper downspouts, too. Weird little dormers sticking out of slate roofs. Massive ground to roofline windows reflecting multi-story staircases. Some of the homes that are being built seem to possess a design that, in my opinion, is cookie-cutter and lacks a certain aesthetic beauty. It seems doubtful that in 100 years, these...
A curricular emergency is in progress at Hinsdale Central High School. We need immediate action by the board of education to address the harm already imposed on rising 10th-graders who took Physics in the Universe and give rising ninth-graders the option to transfer into biology, the College Board-recommended prerequisite for AP Biology. Science courses scheduled to be eliminated from the curriculum — introductory honors biology and AP Physics 1 — must be retained. Under PITU, the first in a science course sequence that has n...
Many who bring up wedge culture war issues do so because framing is the single most powerful tool for persuasion. Likewise, fear mongering, false equivalence and dog whistles are the weapons of those who want to reinforce a sense of white identity under attack. Let’s ask ourselves what is left out of the conversation when we allow public discourse to focus on hyped-up terms like cancel culture or backlash against calls for police accountability. One of our two major political parties has descended into authoritarianism. B...
Our village has many friends. Those who seek to improve our sense of community, those who work to keep our village safe, those who work to beautify our parks and open spaces and those who strive every day to ensure Hinsdale’s heritage and history remain intact. Mr. Krehbiel — Fred to everyone — cared deeply about our village’s history and heritage. His work to help preserve R. Harold Zook’s brick and mortar legacy will live on in the countless Hinsdaleans who were inspired by Fred’s tremendous acts of service. On behalf of T...
The May 20 headline, “Police restraint saves armed teen’s life,” was a poor editorial choice and instead should have read, “Hinsdale Police are heroes for averting an armed robbery.” The headline focused the attention on the teen who came to Hinsdale, with a loaded weapon, to intentionally rob two local businesses, therefore putting his life and the lives of the police officers at risk. The liberal politics of Cook County and the city of Chicago are increasing the crime in the suburbs because there are no consequen...
After reading about the burglaries on May 17 at Continental Motorsports and Land Rover/Jaguar in Hinsdale, I felt it important to let our police officers know how grateful Hinsdale residents are for their courage and professionalism. One of the offenders exited his car with his gun drawn. The officers exercised restraint and were able to catch two of the four men involved without a shot being fired. It was later determined these offenders had automatic weapons in their possession. The situation could easily have ended in...
