Just how peculiar can the District 103 Lyons elementary schools get? How unaccountable can they make these schools? How actively non-transparent can they be?

Well, this week we have the latest example of a school district run in the interests of anyone but the kids who          

  are trying to learn something, the parents doing their best, and taxpayers who keep paying the freight.

Right now, our Bob Skolnik reports, taxpayers are paying Guadalupe Vander Ploeg a salary of $121,540 as the district’s English Language Services director. That’s fine. In a district where 36% of students are listed as English Language Learners, a strong ELS program is essential.

However, Skolnik quotes a former district board member who says Supt. Kristopher Rivera acknowledges that taxpayers are also paying for Vander Ploeg’s monthly flights from her home in El Paso. 

Why does she live in El Paso? Why does she reportedly spend just a week a month in Lyons? Why? Why?

Mind your own business is the clear message the Landmark received, as usual, from the district when we began asking questions. Vander Ploeg did not respond to our questions and directed us to Rivera who, as usual, did not respond to our phone or email inquiries.

And as is typical of this politically-driven school district, it has not responded to the Landmark’s FOIA requests for any documents related to Vander Ploeg’s travel reimbursements.

State report card data reports that only 10.5% of the district’s English Language Learners meet state academic standards. A stunning .2% meet the math standards. We all know, post-COVID, that remote learning is a poor alternative to in-person instruction or staff training.

So why did D103 hire a leader who lives in Texas?

Explain it to us. We’ll wait.

D96’s inclusive DEI training

Riverside’s District 96 elementary schools continue to make investments in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training for its board, staff, and soon its middle-school students. 

Later this month the school board is expected to ink a $12,800 contract with Systemic Educational Equity to continue providing training and expertise.

Ivette Dubiel, CEO of the organization, has been working in D96 for several months with an initial focus on work with the administrative team. Martha Ryan-Toye, the superintendent, says of Dubiel, “She’s really sharp. … She’s not judgmental, she’s interesting, she’s well informed. She makes you think.”

In a moment when the effort to discredit DEI work is pervasive and so politically cynical, it is good to see D96 moving forward thoughtfully with training that is specific to its audiences, respectful of difference, and hopeful in creating change.