Taking a moment to make a quick update – Jodi Heckel has been providing great bits of news pieces on Unit 4, so if you are hungry for info, I recommend looking at http://news-gazette.com/news/education.
To highlight some of Jodi’s articles:
- Promises Made, Promises Kept: First meeting for the “oversight” committe to make sure that the U4Board does what they say they were going to do.
- Consent Decree hearing: I have yet to watch the full video (may try to tackle it this weekend); Is Dave Tomlinson being a bit too optimistic? Hard to say. Reading this article makes me want to learn more about the Ministerial Alliance, a strong supporter of the Plaintiff Class.
Obviously, “trust” is a big buzz word here. Why is that? I am still searching for specifics on why there is so much distrust. From my point of view, I see the current Board trying hard to be open and engender trust. Is there progress being made in that department? If not, why not?
As my daughter is approaching that age of the big Kindergarten Lottery, I am also keeping my eyes on relevant meetings. I noticed that Dr. Alves will be in town in January:
Special Community Meeting
7 p.m., Mellon Administrative Center, 703 S. New St., Champaign
Dr. Alves currently is the “go to” person for the School Lottery. I did some digging and found:
Dr. Michael Alves co-wrote a paper with Dr. Charles Willie in 1996 entitled “Controlled Choice: A New Approach to School Desegregated Education and School Improvement“. While this paper is online (hard to read, IMO), I have requested it via the University’s Library system. They have more recently collaborated on a 2002 paper, not to mention that Dr. Willie has penned a large number of race-related articles that look quite relevant. I also stumbled upon the “Divided we Fail” paper, which I have yet to read in its entirety.
I am finding this whole topic quite interesting. And I have a very strong desire to ask Dr. Alves what his current research proves, specifically how the facts and logistics in Unit 4 have either supported or disproved his theories.
Other meetings to note:
Key Communicator’s Meeting; discussing facilities, the Consent Decree status and magnet schools
– Monday, Sept 28, 6:30 pm, Bottenfield Elementary
Public meetings to discuss future magnet school programming and changes in the choice program
Friday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m., Savoy Recreation Center, 402 Graham Dr., Savoy
Community forums regarding the Schools of Choice process, with school principals present
– Tuesday, Feb 2, 6 p.m., Savoy Recreation Center, 402 Graham Dr., Savoy
Citizen4: A citizen's blog about Champaign Unit 4 