Tag Archives: USA

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Honoring Our Past, Leading Toward the Future

By Dr. Michael Lubelfeld with support from Open AI’s Chat GPT 4o– July 2, 2025

As we gather this Independence Day—surrounded by the sights, sounds, and symbols of freedom—I’m reminded that the story of America is still being written. And in public education, we are among its most active authors. With more than 33 years dedicated to public education, I am a proud supporter of public education and education in general! Each July 1 we get a “do over” and a new, fresh start. Each July 4 we get to celebrate our freedom, liberty & pursuit of happiness!

This Independence day isn’t just about celebrating our past—it’s about renewing our commitment to the ideals that shaped our democracy: equity, liberty, opportunity, and the power of an informed citizenry. These values are alive in every classroom, every team meeting, and every brave decision we make to serve each child, every day. These values are also embedded into our modernized Strategic Change Agenda in District 112 – with support and guidance from the Schlecty Center! Links- https://www.nssd112.org/about/strategic-change

In North Shore School District 112, we are embracing the future with courage, clarity, and care. This year, we’ve expanded our work with generative artificial intelligence—not as a replacement for human insight, but as a powerful partner to amplify what great teachers and leaders do best. We’re integrating tools like Google’s Gemini for Education, MagicSchool AI, and School AI, and we’re actively building custom applications that serve our teachers, staff, and students with real-time insights and support. I always remind people that Human Intelligence supercedes any Artificial Intelligence, and I am a proud founding member of the Human Intelligence Movement!

Through my role as a superintendent, author, and Generation AI Fellow with ISTE-ASCD, I’ve had the honor of learning alongside national leaders in this fast-moving space. But more importantly, I’ve had the opportunity to model and demystify AI for those we serve. We’re showing that with thoughtful implementation, professional development, and ethical guardrails, AI can improve instruction, streamline operations, and increase engagement, while keeping humanity and relationships at the center.

As we celebrate Independence Day, I’m also moved and quite proud that in North Shore School District 112, we’re not just modernizing buildings with geothermal energy and 21st-century learning spaces—we’re modernizing mindsets. Our multiple modernization projects and our Recent innovative Geo Thermal work are designed to impact our community for decades/generations!

Our nation’s founders believed in the power of a well-educated populace. Today, that includes preparing students and educators alike to live, lead, and thrive in a world powered by AI, collaboration, and constant change. That’s why I often say: We are not leading for today’s schools. We are leading for tomorrow.

As we celebrate our freedom today, I hope we also recommit to the work that lies ahead—the unfinished work of creating schools that are equitable, innovative, and deeply human. To our families, faculty, staff, and community partners: thank you for your trust and partnership. Thank you for believing that public education can—and must—rise to meet the moment.

Wishing you a joyful and meaningful 4th of July.

With hope and pride,

Mike

Superintendent | Author | Generation AI Fellow | Advocate for Future-Ready Leadership

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September 11 – 9/11 – Remember – #112Leads

“We have seen the state of our union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion. We’ve seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. We have seen the decency of a loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own.” – President George W. Bush

It can be said that 9/11/2001, “Nine Eleven” was a turning point for my generation. I am 55 years old. I was 33 years old, the associate principal at Elm Place Middle School, in my third year out of the classroom as a school administrator. I still remember vividly, watching in the conference room, around the 9am hour central time, with the principal, the late Dan Kornblut, our administrative assistants and our nurse, Penny Hoder who called us all in to watch, with confusion, horror, uncertainty, and numbness, the second plane hit the second tower.

I always remember my mom and dad and people of earlier generations recalling where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I never fully understood how that intense, jarring memory and experience would haunt them until 911. Now I understand.

Principal Dan and I visited each and every classroom, addressed each and every student in our 500 student middle school. We asked the teachers to refrain from watching the unedited news streams. We reminded our teachers that a number of our students had family in New York City either permanently or on business trips that day. We balanced free and open education with caution related to the horror of the events and the shock/awe/and uncertainty of what was actually going on.

Being 25 miles north of downtown Chicago, we were keenly aware that the skyscrapers were being evacuated. There was panic, fear, shock, anger, confusion, all sorts of emotions.

As a school administrator, in our little part of the world, we started with a mental health approach, then we literally checked every door, restricted access to the school, and heightened our own awareness of safety, security, etc. We did what we could, with what we had, in the time we were in.

I’ll never forget the intensity of 911. I’ll never forget the horror, the heroism, the intensity and the reach. I’ll never forget how we wanted to inform our teachers and protect our kids. I’ll never forget checking in with each member of my family. I’ll simply never forget.

In Illinois, it is the law to remember September 11th as a Day of Remembrance in the public schools,

5 ILCS 490/86 new)
 8        Sec. 86.  September 11th Day of  Remembrance.   September
 9    11th  of  each  year  is  designated as September 11th Day of
10    Remembrance to be observed throughout the State as a day  set
11    apart  in  honor  and  remembrance  of the persons killed and
12    injured in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

As we prepare to remember 9/11 tomorrow – I simply state, with pride as an American, with humility as a human being, and with responsibility as an educator, that I will never forget!

Sharing song lyrics that we will hear tomorrow and that are forever embedded into our collective memory as Americans, human beings, educators, and citizens committed to freedoms, liberties, justice, and peace!

Alan Jackson’s song lyrics. “When the World Stopped Turning”

Where were you when the world stopped turnin’
That September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or workin’ on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin’ against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
Did you weep for the children, they lost their dear loved ones
Pray for the ones who don’t know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out with pride for the red, white, and blue
And the heroes who died just doin’ what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you
The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’
That September day?
Teachin’ a class full of innocent children
Or drivin’ down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty ’cause you’re a survivor?
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages
And speak to some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off that violent old movie you’re watchin’
And turn on I Love Lucy reruns?
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
Stand in line to give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love?
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you
The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN, but I’m not sure I can tell you
The diff’rence in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
And the greatest is love
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turnin’
On that September day?

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30 Year Old Essay about Government – Relevant on Super Tuesday

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
– Henry David Thoreau

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The following essay, written and published 30 years ago, is reprinted pretty much exactly as it appears in print (I fixed a few minor typographical errors and I kept the original style though my writing style has changed over three decades, but I’m proud to share this essay from my archives … especially on Super Tuesday and during this presidential election season)

Winning Essays … from the US Congressional Record 1986

“Mr. Speaker, I recently conducted my annual Sixth District Congressional Essay Contest for junior  and senior high school students in my district, and I am very pleased to announce the winners today. The first place winner in the Untitled image (49)senior high category is Michael Lubelfeld, a resident of Des Plaines, who attends Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge. I congratulate … Mr. Lubelfeld for [his] outstanding essay, which is included in the Record following my statement. … I’m most pleased to share the winning essay with my colleagues.” 

From the late Hon. Henry Hyde of Illinois in the House of Representatives

Published in Volume 132, Washington, Thursday, April 17, 1986, No.48 – Congressional Record, Page E1249

The Europeanization of America by Michael Lubelfeld

Our world is diverse in many ways, especially the way in which we govern ourselves. The government of the United States of America has grown and changed throughout the years in many different areas, but its basic foundation has stayed the same: the United States Constitution. The United States, with its republican form of government, has been governed by that document for over two hundred years. Other countries, for example, the democratic countries of Israel, Canada, Japan and those in western Europe, also have constitutions, but they have parliamentary governments. This paper will focus on the differences in democracy between the parliamentary system and the United States system.

Parliamentary government is set up somewhat like the United States government. Both types of government consist of three branches of downloadgovernment: the executive, legislative and judicial. The difference between the two types of government is in how each branch carries out its various duties. Although both types of government are structurally similar, theoretical differences do exist.

In the parliamentary system, the executive branch of government consists of the Prime Minister and the cabinet. The Prime Minister is the head of government and also head of the political party that he belongs to. The head of state is a largely ceremonial position. The head of state in the parliamentary system is comparable to the Vice-President in the United States.

In many of these countries, the Prime Minister is chosen by the head of state. The Prime Minister is not directly elected by the people. The person holding that honored position is selected by the political party in control of the government. The Legislative branch of a Parliamentary government, also similar to the United States, usually has bicameral. In England, the upper house is not elected by the people, but rather is controlled by families that have had ancestors who made a notable contribution to Britain. Knighthood and feudal tradition still provide a basis of operation among the members of the upper house. Our upper house, somewhat more aloof than the House politically, still is based on popular government rather than hereditary rule. However, in almost all of these governments, the lower house members are elected directly by the people.

One exception to a bicameral legislature is Israel. In Israel, its Legislative body, the Knesset, is unicameral. The Knesset is directly elected by secret ballot by the people of Israel.

The Judicial systems in these governments are also similar. Both Parliamentary and United States Judicial systems consist of inferior and superior courts. A significant difference, though, is that the United States Supreme Court has the power of judicial review. This means that the Supreme Court can determine that actions by the other branches of government are unconstitutional, thereby null and void. The House of Lords in Britain serves as the equivalent to our Supreme Court.

The White House, Washington, D.C.

The White House, Washington, D.C.

In the United States, the President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by the Electoral College. The legislative branch, which consists of two houses, is elected directly by the people.

A unique quality of the United States government is its system of checks and balances. This system allows all three branches to work separately, but always able to check one of the others’ work and therefore maintain a balance of power within the government. This system is not used in the Parliamentary governments.

The United States government is much more stable than the parliamentary form. Prime Ministers may lose control of the government should parliament fail to provide a vote of confidence in their leadership during a national crisis. A prime minister may hold power for twenty-four hours, twenty-four days or, after several elections, twenty-four years. In other words, a Prime Minister’s power to rule depends on constant approval of their policies by Parliament. On the other hand, in the United States, regardless of crisis, the President is in control, still able to exercise his constitutional duties. This system provides stability, greater flexibility, and a more secure government. Just prior to World War II, the government of

Neville Chamberlain (in Britain) had a policy of appeasement towards Hitler. Soon after, Hitler was dominating all of Europe. German bombs fell on Britain and so did Chamberlain’s government. Chamberlain failed to obtain a vote of confidence from Parliament and he was out of office. Whereas, if President Roosevelt made a questionable decision, there would not have been a new government, but the President would have had a chance to correct his mistake. Recently in England Prime Minister Thatcher’s government was faced with a very major problem, the nation’s coal miners were on strike. Mrs. Thatcher, had she not received support of parliament, could have lost her power from something as mundane as a coal miners’ strike. In the United States, with our more stable system, if there is a strike that shuts down a significant supply of important resources to the American people, the government could not collapse – no matter how serious the problem.

Another interesting difference between these two governments, is the role of political parties. Political parties play key roles in government. In the United States, there are two major parties, with many other minor parties. The citizens of the United States elect the people running for office directly regardless of what party affiliation they have. Whereas in a parliamentary system, the party plays a much larger role. In effect, with the parliamentary system, political parties, not people, are what is being elected. The people elect a party in the lower house (of Legislature) and whichever party receives The Washington Monument from the WW II Memorialthe majority of votes, is called the majority party. The prime minister is then selected by the majority party. When the prime minister’s party loses majority, the government is dissolved.

A very common question is this: should the United States of America adopt a parliamentary form of government? The United States government is entirely elected by the people, to govern for the people, so the people’s direct wishes can and will be carried out at every level of government. The parliamentary government evolved from the old fashioned ideas of monarchy. A parliamentary system would contradict the principles of the Unites States’ constitutional government. The American people pride themselves in the form of government that they have. In the parliamentary form the upper house is made up of elite appointed or hereditary officials who can do whatever they wish and whatever their parties wish. However, in this country, the legislators of both houses represent all of the wishes and ideas of the people who they represent.

Parliamentary government in the United States would be detrimental and contradictory to the principles of the Constitution. The Constitution was set up so that the government would always have to respond to the people’s’ needs through the check and balance system. The citizens of the United States of America are very unique and diverse and they have learned to accept and respect this form of government that has been around since the independence of the country. Freedom to elect all public officials, to question policies and to change the policies is every American’s right. American people would not accept the idea of the Parliamentary government.

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More on What is School For? Questions for us all as we lead with passion.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
– African Proverb

Instructionally across the nation in our public schools we are creating a sense of urgency, a tipping point so to speak. Many argue and believe that it is time for the Industrial Age model of education to move aside for the newly forming Information Age of education. As society changes, so too shall the public schools – or will they?

For ten years now educators have been pondering the ‘Rip Van Winkle effect’ as introduced in a December 2006 Time Magazine article. The authors of that article wrote about Rip Van Winkle awakening in the 21st century after a hundred-year snooze. Just about every place Rip went baffled him. But when he download (2)finally walks into a schoolroom he feels right at home. When discussing this recently, two of my colleagues Nick Polyak and Alan Siebert and I were struck by the subtle power of the commentary, how schools in the 21st Century were still organized by and modeled on 19th Century standards and structures. If we are to leverage the power of technology to impact and change education, it’s incumbent upon us to Transform – not Reform. It is incumbent upon us to focus on the future, the students’ future, and not on our past. As school superintendents the charge rests upon our shoulders to lead for the future.

As we leaders review and study the latest research on schooling and learning and as we contemplate leadership with our communities, it’s essential that we understand both the urgency and the “why” – the purpose for innovative structural, organizational, and instructional change leadership.

What is school for? This is a question that lately I have been hearing, reading, writing, pondering, and asking others to consider. Is school for:

-preserving our democracy?
-supporting our economy?
-keeping children & young people occupied from 3-21?
-supporting our culture?
-enhancing thinking skills?
-providing young people who are career and college ready?
-increasing knowledge and numeracy and literacy skills?

-all of the above and more?!

If we know what it is for then how can we go from Good to Great. The phrase Good to Great has become a staple in leadership commentary thanks to Jim Collins and his team of researchers and leaders through their publications Built to Last, From Good to Great, Great by Design, and others.

If we are good then it’s a challenge to become great for it’s easier to become good from poor or imagesmediocre, but great, truly great, a set-apart, a cut above the rest – this is where the challenge lies. Organizations who become great are few and far between as Collins, et al and others have reported.

Major educational “heavyweights” like John Hattie and his teams, Robert Marzano and his teams, Michael Fullan and his teams, Kouzes/Posner, and others continue to demonstrate impact/effects of behaviors and techniques on organizational culture and on leadership effectiveness and on learning. If we know all of the answers then why is it proving so challenging – for so many – to move from good to great?

Why is the nation “at risk” (from 1983 reports), why does the federal government have to intervene so that “no child is left behind” (ESEA 2002)? We have so many answers and models at our fingertips yet the prize of excellence, or complete literacy, or complete organizational culture models remains elusive to so many.

Horace Mann said, “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.”Can public schools truly balance the social machinery – or in modern terms – meet the needs of all people and preserve the middle class? Do wpid-IMG_20150227_115409.jpgthe public schools exist that the economic conditions into which we are born can be mitigated through schooling?

What is the purpose of innovation?

What is the purpose of change?

So many questions that keep me and many others up at night yet also in pursuit of answers to these questions provide such great rewards that we leaders continue to lead and continue to enlist others on our mission of excellence in education. With continued vision from Boards of Education and community members, leaders, teachers, parents, students, administrators, and our entire system of public schooling, will continue to get better and better. My charge is to lead. My charge is to challenge the process and inspire others to act. Thank goodness the people with whom I work are also leaders and they are also visionaries and they are also passionate about education.

Our society is complex enough to present many challenges to people as they pass from childhood to adulthood. It is my firm belief that a strong foundation in educational preparation will support a person’s quest for success and prosperity. My philosophical foundation holds that young people are our windows to the future; working with them has given me a unique vantage point to assess their goals, needs and abilities. I have been, and I remain committed to preparing our young citizens, and those who teach and support them, for their futures – and ours.

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER

ENGAGE, INSPIRE, EMPOWER

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Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – Share the messages – Realize the Dream!

“The supreme task of a leader is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Monday, January 19, 2015 we celebrate the life, legacy, and heroism of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Celebrations in Deerfield, IL

Celebrations in Highland Park, IL

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is a United States national holiday honoring the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday is observed each year on the third Monday in January. King’s actual birthday was Jan. 15, 1929. On Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, most government offices and schools close for the day, but many private businesses remain open.
A campaign to establish a holiday honoring King began soon after he was assassinated in 1968. In 1983, Congress made his birthday a federal holiday, first celebrated on Jan. 20, 1986. Today, the holiday is observed by the federal government and by all the states.

Source: Hornsby, A. JR. (2015). Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. In World Book Student. Retrieved from
http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar346823

A recommendation I have is for everyone to share the messages, teachings, precepts and principles espoused by King with their children and with their communities. In this post I share two video excerpts for that purpose. One readily available from You Tube and another excerpt as part of the digital teaching resources from Discovery Education (a partner with Deerfield Public Schools District 109).

I have a Dream Speech Excerpt – from You Tube

I have a Dream Speech Excerpt – Discovery Education (example of digital teaching via video)

While we in the USA have come a long way since 1963 – we still have a long way to go until Dr. King’s dreams are fully realized. An educated youth and an educated populace with morals and values centered in respect, honor, and dignity can set the world free from racism and prejudice!

The transcript of the “I Have a Dream Speech”:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “for whites only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends — so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi — from every mountainside.

Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring — when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics — will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/27/transcript-martin-luther-king-jr-have-dream-speech/

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Taking a Stand For Public Education-Illinois Vision 20/20

“In order to be a leader, a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality for a leader is, unquestionably, integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower

ILIn Illinois, as well as across the nation and world, there is much written about education and reform movements and efforts. In Illinois there have been sweeping reforms over the past few years with legislation around administrator and teacher evaluation, curriculum standards, and recently regarding school funding (SB16). So much is at stake when policy makers consider changes to public schools when they consider societal effects on the public schools and the shared responsibility of all to support growth of our local, county, state, regional, and national endeavors.

In DPS109 we have a lot of work to do in terms of educational reform and instructional transformation! This year has been particularly stressful on our system and staff and parents with multiple initiatives launched at once. One of the main reasons for our rush is the sense of urgency we feel in support of innovative and forward thinking education so that each and every child may succeed and flourish in an educational environment with high expectations and modern evidence based instructional strategies. We are grateful to our stakeholders for communicating with us – pro, con, support, concern – this helps guide and govern our work.

vision2020As part of the communications campaign of the groups sponsoring Vision 20/20 I am sharing the informational video below as well as links for more information if you wish to get involved in this “reform,” “transform,” and professional approach to take charge of public education in Illinois. The Illinois Vision 20/20 resources page has links to evidence based finance information as well as current curricular mandates in effect for Illinois public schools.

For more information and an overview of Illinois Vision 20/20, please take a few minutes and watch the following Vision 20/20 video: Fulfilling the Promise of Public Education: