Good Evening. My name is Paul Karnstedt, secretary of the D128 Federation of Teachers. As always, Iโd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.
Over the 9 months we have used this time to deliver a series of messages detailing our concerns about the direction the District was headed. Tonightโs message is much simpler. We want to thank The Board of Education for your decision to pursue a change in leadership for our district. It is unfortunate that this action ultimately needed to be taken, but we feel that it is absolutely the best path forward in order to best serve our students and our community. We understand how difficult of a process this is for the Board, and we appreciate the time you have dedicated to making this decision.
We want simply to say that we are dedicated to working together with our sister ESP Union, our interim and/or future district leadership, as well as the Board, in order to rebuild the positive relationship between our Union and Administration. We know how special our teaching staff is here in District 128 and how much this relationship benefits our students and all other stakeholders. When everyone is on the same page, and trusts each other, we work well together.
Many of our union members have been spending time over the summer preparing for all of the changes we will see. Our members have been participating in D128U courses, working on summer curriculum projects, and attending other professional learning like AP workshops. We are excited for the upcoming school year, and we are preparing to welcome our students for opening day on August 12th.
Our members are motivated, innovative, and passionate about working with students and setting them up for success. To the parents and community members – please know that you can be assured our teachers will be doing our best to support your students like we always do. To the Board of Education, as well as our Administration – we look forward to rebuilding trust so that we can work with, and depend on, each other in order to serve our students.
I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their summer. Thank you.