Tuesday, March 23, 2010

House approves bill for four-day school weeks

















SPRINGFIELD -- In an effort to help strapped school districts save money, the House today approved a bill that would let local school boards set four-day weeks for students.

Students would still be required to go to school the same amount of hours every year. That would mean school days could be longer or summer vacation would be shorter.

The bill passed the House on an 81-21 vote and goes to the Senate for consideration.

Lawmakers said the move could save schools districts money on fuel for buses and could scale back their electric bills for school buildings.
Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican who sponsored the bill, said he took up the issue when a school superintendent in Vermilion County approached him about ever-increasing fuel costs. Black said many smaller, rural districts have long bus routes with students who live in farms several miles away from their schools.

"All he wanted to do is try and keep their school district operating," Black said.

Schools statewide are struggling due to delayed payments from the state for items like transportation and special education.

But the legislation is opposed by some major education groups, including the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Lawmakers opposed to the bill said denying kids a day of school is the wrong way to address the state's enormous backlog of bills.

"It is tragic when we try to balance the budget of the state of Illinois on the backs of our babies," said Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago


Let's keep an eye on this and see if the Senate approves...

Friday, March 19, 2010

Proposed Budget for Next Year

There has been a lot written about the next CPS school year in the newspapers this week, as well as on the news channels. It does seem like there are some big changes in store for all CPS schools, including O A Thorp. Please read the information and stay informed. In the presentation linked below there is an email address where you can email ideas and concerns.

If you would like to leave a comment here feel free to do so. There is an option to leave a comment as anonymous if you don't want to use your name.

You can read the proposed 2011 CPS school budget at CPS Website Link Here

Thursday, March 18, 2010

I survived the test!





Today the 3rd through 8th graders received "I survived the test" pencils from the PTA. It's just another small way the PTA likes to give back to the students.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!!


















Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! To celebrate the birthday of Dr Seuss volunteer parents will be reading "The Cat in the Hat" to the K, 1st, and 2nd grade classes. Thanks to the volunteers to help make this fun event possible!