Sam passed a District 6 school bus the other day with 50 students on board. It was interesting to note what was happening inside that school bus. Here's a snapshot of the events.
- 44 of the students were interested in learning, but 6 were not.
- 48 of the students attended school regularly. Only 2 did not.
- Of those that were English as a second language learners, half of them were competent in English and that number was trending higher.
Of the 50 students in the bus:
- Only 30 (out of 50) could read at grade level despite being in District 6 schools for 5 years or more.
- Only 20 were competent in math; 30 were not, after 5 years in District 6.
- A mere 21 were able to write at their grade level, but 29 could not...even though they had been in District 6 for at least 5 years.
- Only 15 were proficient in science; whereas 35 were completely out of touch, after 3 years of being taught and evaluated in District 6.
- Only 32 students would graduate on time, but 18 would not. This would happen even though graduation standards were lowered to accommodate their failures and move them on through the system.
- The huge majority of the students would not have ACT test scores that would enable them to get into college.
HOWEVER, the parents of 49 (out of 50) students would be very happy with the school district, and would be completely satisfied they were doing a fine job!
The bus driver was driving a school bus that was newer than many of the vehicles the parents drove. And the driver was about to stop the bus in the middle of the road and let the fuel run completely out. Why? Because he wanted more money to run the engine and buy more fuel. He was saying it was all about the students; not the money, management, direction or spending. Never mind the facts here. The students were failing, the drivers were incompetent, and those in charge merely wanted to continue business as usual (with the complete endorsement of many of the so-called power brokers in the region). It was a pitiful and angering sight.
If you think this little story is crazy, think again. When you take statistics from the District 6 website and condense them into understandable terms, this is precisely what happens every day in your schools. You pay taxes to support this, whether you have a child in school or not. You pay the bus driver, buy the bus, purchase the fuel, and watch the students fail. Every day. And when somebody new steps forward to take the bus in a new direction, all of the old socialists come forward to tell you how evil, how awful these people are. "They don't care about the children. They are bad." Really? If they hated children, why would they even bother with the bus; the district? If they didn't care, why would they do selfless things, like serve in an unpaid capacity that takes free time and puts them in a risky, potentially negative spotlight? Who is trying to tell you the truth? And who is selling you the lie?
Full-page ads, billboards and yard signs may tell you a story, but it's probably the wrong one. Ask yourself about the District 6 bus. And remember this. It's time we had drivers (e.g., a school board) that actually took the children places where they could succeed. The tired, retread lies of the established cronies around here are nothing but that. Lies. Throw them under the bus for a change. Let's build a good district we can believe in.
Comments