The Evanston RoundTable recently published a story about an unusual press release from Evanston/Skokie District 65 about the controversial history of new principal hire Dr. Alison Schoeffmann (formerly Hawley). I dispute Superintendent Turner’s statement about “very small but vocal groups who opposed [Schoeffmann’s] beliefs in expanding access to rigorous learning opportunities and keeping a wide variety of books in libraries.”
I am a parent from Winnetka District 36 who back in 2015 advocated for improvement to our reading and math programs. I published posts and community petitions about the issues. Dissatisfaction was high – half (51%) of students at my neighborhood elementary school failed to meet state standards in reading in 2015.
I refute the assertions Superintendent Turner made in her press release and that were amplified in the RoundTable story. I never engaged in critique of expanding learning opportunities or book censorship of any kind. Nor did our petition, signed by more than 100 community members, address such issues.
I never said Dr. Schoeffmann was fired or asked to resign. In a very carefully worded public post and widely distributed emails, I documented the situation. After another parent and I exposed Schoeffmann’s misleading report to the administration, we were invited to a meeting with the superintendent and a board member, where they confirmed she had given misleading information. We were told Schoeffmann was put on administrative leave. A public apology was offered to the school board and community at a board meeting. Schoeffmann resigned about a month after that.
The RoundTable’s report that my blog post was picked up by West Cook News is irrelevant and out of my control. I disavow any connection to right-wing media outlets.
Along with many other community members and educators, I continue to work in literacy advocacy across the state. I applaud District 65 and Director of Literacy Shyla Kinhal, who this past year embarked upon reforming literacy instruction and curriculum in District 65.
Given Dr. Schoeffmann’s record, I urge the following questions: Has Dr. Schoeffmann become knowledgeable and trained in these new literacy methods that are very different from her past work? Will she support and implement the program with fidelity? How will her performance be measured and shared with the community?
Finally, I encourage Dr. Turner to engage community advocates with respect. A public school system needs trust and support from their community. We need to do better acknowledging our problems and put energy into solutions. Such discourse might be one small step to fixing systemic failures that have led to decades of stagnant low literacy achievement.
Katie Scullion
Letter to the editor: Responding to a District 65 hiring announcement is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.