Charter Oak Primary School PTC Special Action Committee

C/o Charter Oak Primary School PTC * 5221 Timberedge Dr. * Peoria, IL 61615

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information: Dan Dugal, Chairman Special Action Committee dfdugal@gmail.com

CHARTER OAK SPECIAL ACTION COMMITTEE RESPONDS TO DISTRICT 150 SCHOOL BOARD DECISION Charter Oak PTC claims victory while questioning lack of transparency and truth. PEORIA, IL, December 18, 2013 The Charter Oak PTC Special Action Committee (SAC) claimed a victory this week after learning of the District 150 School Board decision in a closed meeting Monday to maintain Principal John Wetterauers paid administrative leave. Meanwhile, the SAC and Charter Oak community remain disgusted by the lack of respect and transparency being shown to the public by the District 150 administration and school board. Frankly, Dr. Lathans unwillingness to address the issues generally, or to even acknowledge the difficulties and concerns of the parents at the board meeting, demonstrates a shocking indifference to the concerns of others and callousness towards the teachers and parents in the community, said Dan Dugal, Chairman of the PTC SAC. What's more, the glaring lack of transparency and blatant disrespect shown by the school board and Dr. Grenita Lathan towards the Charter Oak community is at complete odds with its own Remarkable Rules as listed on www.PSD150.org, specifically: District 150 Remarkable Rule #1: We will respect our customer! Whether it is parents, taxpayers, the community at large, or most importantly, our students, we pledge to treat each with respect and provide the service that each deserves. According to the ISBE's Professional Testing Practices for Educators guidelines: "ISBEs usual policy is to leave sanctions for school or district staff involved in testing irregularities to the local district. Districts must therefore have in place a local testing policy that includes sanctions and disciplinary measures that will be used if testing irregularities occur."[1] We call on the District 150 Board to respect its customers and immediately make transparent the testing policy that the ISBE mandates, particularly the sanctions and disciplinary measures that the district has had in place, along with any changes to that policy since Dr. Lathan's hire.

The ISBE's guideline goes on to declare, The district superintendent and principal have the primary responsibility for ensuring that irregularities are reported, but all staff involved in testing have a corresponding responsibility. [1] It is the SAC's position that if Mr. Wetterauer is being held responsible for any irregularities under this provision, so must Dr. Lathan. The Charter Oak SAC will rigorously continue its mission to discover the whole truth surrounding the removal of John Wetterauer. It is our opinion that the removal of our beloved principal is a symptom of a larger systemic problem in District 150s attempts to rescue a failing school system. It continues to be the position of the Charter Oak PTC Special Action Committee that John Wetterauer should be reinstated immediately. ***

[1] Illinois State Board of Education. (2013, December 18). Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). Retrieved December 18, 2013, from Illinois State Board of Education: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/pdfs/2014/isat/prof-test-prac14.pdf