12
district has an “A-OK” program where students do
community service projects, but in addition to doing
things such as raking leafs, the students are also
required to visit with the people they are assisting
and listen to their stories.
Rather than ignore citizens who don’t have
children in school, Schuler focuses on them. He
holds town-hall style meetings at the senior citizens
center and frames issues from the perspective of
the senior citizens’
children
and
grandchildren.When
one of the schools is
performing a play or
musical, a special
daytime preview is
offered for senior
citizens.
“Seniors look at
being
supportive
and helping our
public schools as
their
legacy,”
Schuler said.
Like
school
superintendents all
over the nation,
Schuler is wrestling
with implementation
of federal and state
mandates at a time
when funding is
being
slashed,
resources
are
scarce, and political
rhetoric
often
supersedes
educational values.
“Initially,
I
thought
setting
minimum common
standards
for
schools was terrific. But then when the U.S.
Department of Education supported Common Core it
just politicized the issue,” said Schuler, adding that
he gets several emails or contacts every few weeks
from people opposingCommonCore as some sort of
federal conspiracy. “We don’t use the term ‘Common
Core.’ We refer to the New Illinois Learning
Standards andwe tell people that a long time agowe
aligned our curriculum to the College Readiness
Standards. Most people seem to accept that answer.
Education shouldn’t be political, so we try to take the
politics out of our languagewhenever possible.”
Schuler is less diplomatic regarding the pending
implementation next year of the new PARCC
assessment by ISBE, especially when it comes to
high school juniors who are faced with the prospect
of having to take PARCC, the Advance Placement
(AP) exams and their final exams all within a matter
of weeks. And that doesn’t even count the ACT,
which remains the main standardized test that
colleges anduniversities use for admission.
“At the secondary level
it’s a complete and total
waste of money at this
point,” Schuler said. “Why
should we tell our
students to take the
PARCC seriously when it
is
a
no-stakes
assessment from the
students’
perspective?
Colleges may use it for
placement, but they are
not yet using it for
admission. It is only a few
weeks before the AP
exams,
from
which
students can earn college
credits. Currently there is
no value to PARCC for
students, but it will used to
measure and evaluate our
schools. And it will take a
minimum of nine to 15 hours
to administer right before AP
testing. If students don’t take
it seriously and there is no
value for them to take it
seriously, then how can the
results be valid?”
It was made clear in an
essay Schuler wrote while
running for AASA president
that he’ll be a great
spokesman
for
public
education in this country.
“My priority will be championing public education,
school district leaders and the amazing achievements
occurring in schools across this country,” Schuler
wrote. “We need to change the focus from what’s
wrong with our schools to a focus on the many
incredible innovations and interactions taking place in
classrooms across this great nation.”
(JessicaThunberg, HighSchool District 214
Director of CommunityEngagement and
Outreach, alsocontributed to thisstory.)
(Continued frompage 11)
“My prioritywill
be championing
public education,
school district
leaders and the
amazing
achievements
occurring in
schools across this
country.Weneed
to change the
focus fromwhat’s
wrongwith our schools toa focus on
themany incredible innovations and
interactions takingplace in classrooms
across this great nation.”
-AASAPresident-Elect
Dr. DavidSchuler
