Did you know that student math and English proficiency are down across the board over the last decade in D86? So why then did the D86 administration and board majority just approve a contract that will give students 18 fewer hours of instruction than they had in 2017-18, not more?
Yes, it’s true. Students at our high schools will be released early, nearly every Wednesday, nearly every week, for the next four years. Twenty-eight Wednesdays, at minimum, each year, plus several more half-day releases, which will translate into weeks of lost instruction, for every incoming freshman in the class of 2027.
The community pushed back heavily on the notion of early release Wednesdays when they were first proposed last Spring, due to less class time, unsupervised teenagers in empty homes and the conundrum of how to get students back for after-school practices and rehearsals.
There are three board candidates who were at those meetings, voicing their concerns, writing to the board, warning about the risks of losing valuable class time. But the board majority and administration have largely ignored the community uproar.
Those candidates — Gallo, Greenspon and Catton — have been on the front lines asking the board to redirect focus back to students and squarely back on academic excellence.
Gallo, Greenspon and Catton will continue to listen to the community at the board table. With their combined involvement, experience, energy and their intricate understanding of current D86 issues, the villages and towns of D86 will gain much more by electing candidates two, three and four on April 4. —Angela Sartori, Clarendon Hills
