Leave it to a student to ask a tough question.
At Monday night’s 90-minute forum for the candidates for the District 208 Riverside-Brookfield High School board held before an audience of approximately 35 people at S.E. Gross Middle School in Brookfield the most challenging question was asked by RB junior Sarah Leibrandt.
Leibrandt’s mother, MariAnn, is one of the eight candidates running for the school board, but mom had no idea that her daughter was going to ask a question.
Sarah Leibrandt, a junior at RB, said that she is currently taking three Advanced Placement classes and asked the candidates if they thought that RB places too much emphasis on AP classes.
“Those are the hardest classes,” said Sarah Leibrandt. “There are a lot of kids in my classes that are failing.”
She noted that honors classes at RB are “almost completely gone.”
Candidate David Hilpp answered that he thought RB pushed too many kids into AP classes.
“We should be teaching high school-level classes for high school students,” said Hilpp. “We might be a little overloaded on AP. AP might be a little overbroad.”
Hilpp said that he thought AP classes are best for students who are doing extremely well, and said that, while campaigning, he heard concerns from parents who wondered why their kids who might be C students are being pushed to take AP classes.
At RB, students are recommended for AP classes and can only get out of an AP class with the approval of a departmental chair.
Most of the current school board members, along with Superintendent/Principal Jack Baldermann strongly defend RB’s extensive AP program.
“We’re asking students to challenge themselves,” said incumbent board member Sue Kleinmeyer who is running for reelection. “They might surprise themselves.”
Kleinmeyer did agree that the increase in AP classes has decreased the numbers of honors courses offered at RB.
School board President Larry Herbst, who is also running for reelection, also defended the extensive AP program.
“If you want to go to college you better get a taste of how rigorous it’s going to be,” Herbst said.
Candidate Frank West also defended the AP program.
“I think that an expanded AP program is, overall, good for our students and good for our school,” West said.
Candidate Jim Marciniak said he has also heard the concerns about too much pressure for students to take AP classes and noted the explosion of AP course offering in American high schools over the past few years. He wondered whether that is a good thing.
MariAnn Leibrandt said that it was an issue that needs to be looked at and said that she was proud of her daughter for asking the question.
After the forum Baldermann, who attended the forum defended RB’s AP program. RB currently offers more than 20 AP classes.
“There is a tremendous amount of research that says what we’re doing is the right thing,” said Baldermann.
Baldermann also said that RB’s statistics showed that 95 percent of RB students taking AP classes receive a grade of C or better.
Baldermann said that educational research indicates that a student’s success in college is closely related to the rigor of his high school curriculum.
The number of students taking AP classes is one of the most important factors in the Newsweek magazine rankings of high schools. RB has fared very well in those rankings with Newsweek in 2006 ranking RB the second best high school in the state of Illinois.
The broad general questions posed by forum moderator, Dr. James Discipio, the village president of LaGrange Park, did not elicit very much disagreement among the candidates. The candidates frequently praised one another.
The three incumbents, Herbst, Kleinmeyer and Martin Crowley said they wanted to see through the nearly $64 million renovation and expansion that is just getting started and to continue the academic improvement made at RB in recent years.
“I really like the way the school is going,” said Crowley. “I’m really proud of it. I really like what I’ve been doing and I want to finish the job we started.”
Christopher Robling said that while the board has done some things very well, he thinks there is room for improvement.
“I wouldn’t be running if I thought everything was OK, but I applaud what has been done well,” said Robling.
Candidates on same page in D95
The forum for the four candidates for three spots on the Brookfield-LaGrange Park Elementary School District 95 that preceded the District 208 forum revealed few differences among the candidates.
Incumbents Lynn Waterloo and Tom Powers along with first-time candidates Pasquale “Pat” Speziale and Chris Blackburn all favored moving fifth grade to Brook-Park Elementary School after the district’s facilities renovation plans are completed. The candidates all called for the district to focus on core subjects, but also to try to expand offerings in technology, the arts, and foreign language.
Speziale praised the current District 95 board.
“I think the current board has done a wonderful job,” said Speziale. “It would be an honor to join them.”
Blackburn said the he would bring the perspective of an everyman to the board.
“What I can offer it that I have the liberal arts everyman viewpoint,” said Blackburn. “I think I can see things that might not be apparent to others.”
Despite there being four candidates for three seats, all four candidates could very well end up on the school board. There is an opening on the board created by the recent resignation of Jon Dunker. There are two years left on Dunker’s term. The school board will appoint someone to replace Dunker after the April 17 election.