SD209 Board Member Theresa Kelly Goes On Junket And Recommends Company For Hire!!!

Proviso SD209 Board Member Theresa L. Kelly was recently flown on an all expenses paid junket to Arizona by ENI School Consultants. Since returning from the trip, Kelly has been an advocate for hiring the company as a consultant in Proviso. At the December 15, 2008 board meeting, ENI consultants were on the agenda for hire for over $500,000. Kelly voted in favor of hiring the company, but the motion failed. Kelly is the same SD209 Board member who has used tax payer money to fly to over 30 different cities across the country. To date, taxpayers have spent over $30,000 for Kelly to fly across the country.

Proviso Board President Emanuel "Chris" Welch and Board Majority Saves Jobs For Those In Most Need!!!

The Proviso Insider web log has learned that Proviso Board President Emanuel "Chris" Welch and the board majority of Sue Henry, Dan Adams, Brian Cross, Robin Foreman and Robert "Bob" Cox, recently saved the jobs of numerous support staff members at Proviso Township High School District 209. The Board majority members, along with new Superintendent Nettie Collins-Hart, are reportedly dedicated to balancing the district's budget, but they did not want to do it on the backs of the Support Staff after hearing pleas from Support Staff Union President Ida Chester. At the board meeting on July 21, 2008, a list of at least 20 support staff members was presented to the board for termination, but after a lengthy closed session, Superintendent Collins-Hart withdrew the recommendation and saved jobs and families in this tough economy. The Board will reportedly look to find the revenue with cuts in other areas.

What do you think of this move by the Proviso board majority and the new superintendent? What do you think the Board can cut to help balance their budget?

Did SD209 Board Member Theresa Kelly Go On A Junket???

At the most recent Proviso School Board meeting, a presentation was given to the Board of Education by a sales lady from ENI consulting company. The consulting company reportedly was selling career coaches, coaches who would help teachers do their jobs better. The sales lady was reportedly invited to speak to the Board by Proviso Board member Theresa Kelly just six months after the company allegedly paid for Theresa Kelly's airfare to Scottsdale, Arizona for a junket. Kelly attended the junket with one of the district's principals, an English teacher and a former employee of the district who now works for the Regional Superintendent.

Did the consulting company pay for Theresa Kelly's trip to Scottsdale, Arizona? Is Theresa Kelly now pushing the district to hire the company in exchange for the trip?

District 209 Looking For Input On Superintendent Search...

Chuck Feldman of the Proviso Herald reported recently on the search for a new Superintendent. According to Feldman, seeking public input online and through a series of community meetings are part of the planned process as Proviso High School District 209 seaches for a new superintendent.

The Board of District 209 has hired School Exec Connect, a Highland Park firm with a history of conducting searches for school superintendents and other academic administrators, to coordinate its search. The decision for a superintendent's search was made by the Board in March, after members decided not to extend the one-year contract of Bob Libka.

"We want input from the community on this (search)," said Board President Chris Welch, who added he hopes to have a new superintendent selected by the end of June.

Starting this week, District 209 residents should be able to use the district's Web site, www.pths209.org, to provide feedback to be used in the search for a new superintendent.

Representatives of School Exec Connect are planning some community meetings, but have not yet set dates for those gatherings.

The plan, Welch said, is for School Exec Connect to choose four to six candidates from those who apply for the superintendent's position. After conducting interviews, the Board then will narrow the field to two or three and visit the current home districts of the final candidates before making a choice.

District 209's new superintendent will be the district's fourth since the 2005-06 school year and seventh since the 1998-99 year.

Some believe the high turnover in the job could hinder potential candidates from applying; other don't believe it will be a problem.

"Our job is to go out and find someone," said Ed Olds, one of the two School Exec Connect principals working on the District 209 superintendent search. "Everything has its challenges, but this definitely can be done."

Tom Madden, the other principal from the search firm involved with District 209, said the high turnover of superintendents "will be a flag" to those looking into the position. However, he also said he believes there are good candidates who will be attracted by the challenge of working, and staying, in District 209.

Welch said he doesn't expect the high turnover of past superintendents to be a problem in finding a strong replacement for Libka.

"(School Exec Connect) already has had a lot of interest in the position just from posting it on their Web site," he said. "Proviso is a very attractive place to work. After some short-term (superintendents) who followed Greg Jackson, who was here for a long time (2000 to 2005), I'd say we're now ripe to have someone in here again for a long time. I know if I was looking for a job as a superintendent I'd love to work here in Proviso."

District 209 Looking To Improve Transportation!!!

Chuck Feldman of the Proviso Herald reports that Proviso High Schools is looking to improve its transportation for students to and from High School. According to Feldman, with hopes of eventually providing free transportation to all of its students, the Board of Proviso High School District 209 has requested a hazard waiver from the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Attaining the waiver would be a big step toward improving transportation to and from school for students attending Proviso East in Maywood, Proviso West in Hillside and Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy in Forest Park, said TaQuoya Kennedy, spokeswoman for District 209.

In most cases the state allows free school transportation only to students living at least 1 1/2 miles from the school they attend. Children who live less than 1 1/2 miles from school but have to cross a busy street, railroad tracks, or walk by a street without sidewalks may be eligible for a refund of some of their parents' transportation costs, according to the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education.

"We have so many kids that have to walk to school," said Nikita Johnson, District 209's assistant superintendent of finance and operations. "Some of them have to walk through bad neighborhoods past gangs, and sometimes when there is inclement weather, they don't show up at all. So, requesting reimbursement is the first step in our plan to acquire transportation for all of our students."

Improving transportation, Johnson added, likely would help to "improve our attendance rate and improve student achievement."

"It is a struggle to give the students all that we have to offer if we can't even get them into the building," said Daniel Johnson, Proviso East assistant principal, "so, there is going to be a big push to get transportation."

SHAKEUP AT PTHS 209!!!

The Insider has learned that there was a big shake up at Proviso High School District 209. The shake up was reportedly announced at the March 17, 2008 Board of Education meeting. Sources tell the Insider that the Board of Education has cleaned house. Out are Superintendent Bob Libka, Director of Auxillary Programs Kyle Hastings, Director of Compliance Margo Umans, Lawyers Qwerrey & Harrow, and numerous other staff members. The Board approved conducting a Superintendent search by a vote of 6 to 1. Board member Bob Cox of Forest Park was reportedly the lone no vote.

Click this link to read more from the Proviso Herald: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/maywood/news/848571,ma-nolibka-031808-s1.article

What's going on at Proviso? What caused the shakeup? Will others follow? Is the District trimming at the top and leading by example?

Residency Investigations Working At Proviso High Schools!!!

The Insider has learned that Proviso High School District 209 dropped 235 students in the past year after a hired outside investigations firm provided information that those students did not live in the district.

Because of that success, District 209 officials are finalizing contract negotiations to continue working with National Investigations Inc.

National Investigations identified the 235 non-resident students between March 2007 and Feb. 29, 2008.

Proviso West had 144 students dropped, while 85 were dropped at Proviso East, and six were dropped from Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy. Among its three schools, District 209's enrollment is approximately 5,000 students.

The dropping of non-resident students can save the district thousands of dollars in per pupil expenses. District officials can also seek repayment of tuition from all of those students who violated residency requirements.

SD89 Honor Roll Students Saluted At PMSA!!!

According to the West Suburban Journal Newspaper, School District’s 89 and 209 collaborated for the first time ever to acknowledge first and second quarter honor roll students from ten schools throughout Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview.

In December the District 89 School Board broke tradition and chose not to participate with the Village of Maywood officials to recognize students who attend District 89 schools in Maywood.

Despite the split, village officials held the honor roll ceremony in January.

Fifty-three students were expected to show, but only 46 were in attendance compared to past years 200 students participated.

District 89 School Board, President, Grady Rivers, said politics would no longer play a role in student oriented activities.

“In past years they have pulled parents aside to sign petitions during the honor roll event. That’s unacceptable,” said Rivers of village officials. “We’re taking politics out of the event and it’s just about honoring the students.”

The ceremony ran five days from Feb. 19 thru the 26 and recognized 670 students, of which 363 students attended as of Tuesday, Feb. 25. Those honored included fourth to eight grade students with As and Bs in all eight subjects.

“We had really good turnout by parents and kids,” said District 89 Interim Superintendent Thea Perkins about the event. “We had a lot of positive feedback from parents who appreciated their children being honored at the district level as apposed to the local level,” she said of the collaboration with District 209.

The event was held at the District 209 Proviso Math and Science Academy (PMSA). The
platform, according to Perkins, allowed students to see the possibilities of higher education if they continue in their studies.

Markethia Fair, 13, who attends Garfield Elementary School, is excited about making the honor roll, and even more excited about her acceptance into PMSA in the fall. “I can’t believe I got accepted,” she said.

“Given the choice of public schools, getting into PMSA was a major accomplishment and possibly the first step in achieving her goals,” said Stephanie Jacob about her daughter, Sasha Taylor, 14, who will also attend PMSA in the fall.

“I am so excited that this was a success” Perkins said of the event. “The emphasis is all about putting forth students’ best effort in preparation for high school and college” she said. “We have succeeded.

“We hope this event is the first in a long tradition with District 209,” Rivers said.

Education Summit "A Good Start!!!"

The Proviso Herald reports that Superintendent Bob Libka of Proviso High School District 209 called Tuesday night's Education Summit "a good start" in what he hopes will be ongoing improved interaction and communication between the district and its residents.

About 50 people showed up at the Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy in Forest Park for the opportunity to have discussions, make suggestions, voice concerns and ask questions.

Participants from the community divided themselves into groups of five to eight people to discuss the following questions that were provided by the district:

• What are the challenges we face with educating young people today?

• How can our schools better meet the needs of our communities?

• What are the weaknesses or concerns you have about the district in educating our young people today?

• What should the district focus its efforts on in the future, and what suggestions do you have?

• How can the community collaborate with our district to better serve the needs of our young people?

• How can we make education important to our communities?

• What about Proviso Township High Schools makes you proud today, and what should we do that will increase that pride?

• Had you expected a necessary question that wasn't asked? If so, what?

Libka said feedback from theses questions will be reviewed by district officials, who will compile a report based on the feedback. In addition, these questions are to be posted on the district's Web site, www.pths209.org so that other interested community members may respond.

Some of the concerns and suggestions made by community residents after group discussions included a need for better communication between the district and the residents it serves, a lack of parental involvement, budget cuts, transportation for students, after-school activities for students and teaching parents how to make education important in their homes.

"I wish we would have had more people here, but I'm excited to see some new faces," Libka said. "This is a start, and we plan to do more things like this in the future."

One of the participants in the Education Summit was Al Molby, superintendent of Hillside School District 93, which feeds into Proviso West.

"I came to this (Education Summit) because it's an important step for (District 209) to develop as many avenues of communication as (it) can," he said. "What goes on (in District 209) affects us as a feeder school. What serves the high schools best serves my district best, too."

Veronica Morales, a Hillside resident whose daughter is a freshman at Proviso West, said the Education Summit was a good idea.

"It gives parents a chance to ask some questions and give some feedback," she said.

High School To Host Education Summit!!!

Superintendent Bob Libka of Proviso High School District 209 is hoping for a large turnout of area residents for an Education Summit scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy, 8601 W. Roosevelt Road, Forest Park.

The Education Summit offers residents the opportunity to express concerns and ideas and ask questions about District 209. Libka will be in attendance along with other administrators from the district.

"A lot of people have expressed concerns about education in the township," Libka said. "This (Education Summit) gives people the opportunity to speak directly to (district administrators) about their concerns and ideas. I think people who are interested in the district would be remiss if they didn't attend."

For more information about the Education Summit, call the District 209 offices, (708) 338-5959.