New Trier High School District 203 convened a special Board of Education meeting Tuesday night to discuss expanding the in-person instruction currently provided to students.
Wednesday District 220 emailed the following notice to the community:
“Over the past couple of weeks, the district has been looking at the possibility of using COVID-19 testing as one additional component of several virus mitigation efforts. At the Dec. 1 Board meeting, the Board decided it would not consider using COVID-19 testing at this time due to high costs and the fact that it would not be a full proof [sic] measure in preventing the spread of the virus. Click here to watch the Board’s full discussion about COVID-19 testing.“
New Trier Township High School District 203 did not hesitate at all when in October they announced, “…they will pay up to $1.3 million to conduct COVID-19 saliva screenings for students and staff.” As a result of their proactive measures, some students are back in classroom today, December 4.
Further, Tuesday night when the 220 Board of Education was meeting via Zoom, New Trier had a special meeting at their “grown-ups tables (seen above),” including 24 people in attendance for public comment, for the purpose of considering expanding their in-person instruction plans (see “Citing confidence in saliva-based COVID-19 screening protocol, New Trier to consider expansion of in-person instruction”).
Clearly there is a difference in philosophy and perhaps abilities when considering the superintendents of the two Districts.
Dr. Paul Sally, Superintendent Northfield Campus of District 203, holds a B.S. from Yale University, an M.S. from Northwestern University, and an Ed.D. from National Louis University. His qualifications and responsibilities can be found here.
Dr. Brian Harris, Superintendent of Schools, Barrington 220 Community Unit School District, holds, “his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana and his master’s and doctoral degrees in educational leadership from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.” Harris has more of a resume than a list of qualifications, and it can be viewed here.
We have had concerns about Harris, especially when things hit the corona fan at the beginning of this year. He seems to take too much guidance from Springfield and way too little if any from the Board, parents, students and taxpayers.
Now that the Board of Education is interviewing candidates to fill Harris’ shoes, we have some simple advice: aim higher when considering a replacement for Harris. Much higher.
Related: “New Trier expected to expand in-person instruction in January 2021”
A recording of the New Trier Board of Education meeting Tuesday night can be viewed here.