Superintendent letter only scratches surface

Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Daily Herald published a letter from Dr. Rydland, superintendent of Aurora District 129 (Good way to get rid of bad teachers) concerning state legislation on dismissal of ineffective teachers.

Having worked in the private sector for most of my life before becoming a teacher, I can understand why any CEO would not want ineffective staff. This would apply to not only teachers but to doctors, lawyers, engineers and factory workers. Dr. Rydland is not the first person to write such a letter either but like most people who write these letters they do not go far enough and leave things for speculation or unanswered.

For example, how are ineffective teachers identified? I mention this because as a classroom teacher I know that all classrooms are not created equal. For example, some teachers teach honors and advanced placement classes. Other teachers teach standard classes, special education classes, ESL and credit recovery classes. Will all of these teachers be held accountable to the same standard? It would be nice to see exactly how Dr, Rydland (and others) think this should be handled.

The other area that is never addressed is why were ineffective teachers hired to begin with and what will be done to minimize this happening in the future? Basically, the school principal indicates or recommends who should be hired, and then that recommendation is approved by the district school board. Is there anything that should be investigated relative to this part of the process?

As a teacher in East Aurora District 131 and a taxpayer in District 129 I want to see all students get the best possible education they possibly can. I also want to try to make it clear that there is a lot more that needs to be looked at.

Ken Fron

North Aurora