Holding fireside chats has been one of my goals as state supt. First I had
@simonsinek
to discuss leadership. Then my amazing friend
@goldiehawn
and I discussed
@MindUP
. In August, join me for a chat with
@salkhanacademy
about AI.
Register today:
Research shows snow days more likely when you:
1) have all homework completed.
2) clean your room.
3) help parents fix dinner.
4) send district leader a supportive tweet expressing your respect for him/her regardless of decision.
5) go to bed at a decent time.
I’m pleased to announce Dr. Tony Sanders as the new State Superintendent of Education.
His experience and focus on innovation, social emotional development, and academic excellence make him the best person to lead
@ISBEnews
' mission of supporting our students and educators.
Announcement being sent to all homes. School is canceled for Wednesday, 1/30, and Thursday, 1/31. All after-school activities for this evening need to be concluded by 6 p.m. Check district website for additional details.
So in tweet storm regarding weather, I've seen some pretty creative images...my head on Jesus, as Chungus, as Captain America. Some very creative student work. I especially liked this one and think it shows a lot of creativity and effort.
If you want students back in school, you have the power. Wear a mask. Observe six feet of social distancing. Wash your hands. Model the behavior we will expect of students when they do return.
That is the answer.
To be clear, there are no great decisions for superintendents to make related to reopening. In the end, I made the best "bad" decision I could trying to put student and staff safety ahead of all else.
To any student considering making a threat on social media:
1. You will get caught (trust me...Police will find you).
2. You will be arrested and charged (because it is not funny).
3. You would be dishonoring the lives lost to senseless violence.
4. You will regret.
I just made this my profile photo. It is from a year ago today. If you think I'm delaying the return to school for political reasons, you could not be further from the truth. I miss you, students. So do your teachers, principals, and support professionals. I'm proud of you.
U-46 Students-I know we have fun tweeting. I'm glad to have a relationship with you. Know that I am here along with thousands of other adults in U-46 who care about you. If you are struggling, please reach out to someone you trust. Do not suffer in silence.
I'm humbled by the number of people who have reached out to wish me well. I have been blessed to work alongside my
@sdu46
colleagues and look forward to uplifting all Illinois children alongside
@GovPritzker
. Proud to be the 2nd Sanders to serve in this role at
@ISBEnews
.
Before sending me hate mail and texts, please:
1) read what I wrote.
2) read the state guidelines for reopening and note we must work with 3 local health departments.
3) recognize that while COVID risks for students may be low, schools require teachers, assistants, secretaries,
Imagine what would happen if we spent as much time and energy discussing student engagement as we do weather forecasts? What if students begged me to NOT cancel school? Then we know we have transformed public education.
Schools are not childcare. So when some say that schools need to reopen so parents have childcare and can return to work, they are diminishing the work of teachers. Don't get me wrong. We care for your children. So much so, we also teach them regardless of format.
Dear Educators-
I assure you that your dedication is making a difference in a way that history will revere. If ever there was a time to celebrate the power of public education, it is today.
I continue to monitor the weather. I get alerts and updates on a regular basis. I will rely on our emergency closing procedures as we near tomorrow. There will be no decision tonight. I will be up very early to check conditions before I make a decision.
We are aware some districts have canceled tomorrow because school buses are not starting. Our Transportation team will begin starting buses again tomorrow at 3:30 am. If we have issues, a communication will be sent in the morning before 5:30.
I love it when superintendents come together to support a common goal. We did it years ago to pass a state budget. Now we come together to say
#NoTestIn2021
. Within one hour we have 221 supts representing 528,589 students! Colleagues - Look for my email!
Hi everyone! Sorry to miss all your tweets. Here is an update: we have freezing rain. But I will not make decision until morning to see if it stops early enough to salt and sand lots and sidewalks.
Get some rest. If you don't get a call tomorrow morning then come to school.
Superintendent friends - as we deal with another Friday night announcement, know that you've got this. As we all struggle to interpret and determine next steps, uplift and support one another as decisions are made that best fit our local communities.
Give me a standardized test that measures for creativity, musicality, innovation, bilingualism, and individuality... not memorization... and I will stand by the results.
I keep getting notes that teachers work half the hours. Rather than email me, please ask a teacher how much easier their job is. You'll get tears...or punched.
This pandemic is difficult for all of us. But the professional lives of teachers have been upended. I implore grace.
Students - My team has a particular set of skills. Skills that they’ve acquired over a very long career. If you share your login with another student to allow for a Zoom bomb…or you do one...We will look for you. We will find you. And we will call your parents.
Dear vendors I don't know:
If we need a product or service we will make it known. You can stop emailing and calling me, even if it's a once-in-a-lifetime free offer. My plate is full.
One exception: if you have a vaccine for COVID-19, by all means call me immediately.
You asked for a poem...
I know you see predicted snow.
It will be worse down south, hope you know.
While we wait to see flakes fall, keep your phones on tomorrow in case I call.
We have developed a plan to ensure low-income households have access to food beginning next week. We will share the plan and pickup locations early next week.
Test in spring. Results in the fall. So USDE can report to Congress on learning loss to support funding that already passed and that will be used before they get the test results. All so my students lose 6-7 days if in-person learning.
Sorry, I still say
#NoTestIn2021
I'm in Springfield today working alongside other supts who have been appointed to the swat team that
@GovPritzker
asked
@IllinoisASA
to convene. I will update our community later today.
A tragedy in our U-46 family. Last night a single car accident in Bartlett took the life of a student, 2 other students with life-threatening injuries, and one who is being treated. Please pray for our families and Bartlett High community.
Yes, I've heard the rumors. I do believe the Governor will announce tomorrow the merging of Illinois with Wisconsin and Missouri. Welcome to Willinouri.
Seriously...we've been here before. Let's await what is actually said.
COVID-19 is neither joke worthy nor reason to panic. Let's not joke like a snow day, or sound alarms.
We have protocols. We work closely with health officials. We closely monitor attendance. We are prepared if health officials order a school closed.
Dear
@CDCgov
and health depts - I've spent 11 months learning about transmission rates, PCR tests, contact tracing, and mitigation strategies. Could you reciprocate by visiting a hybrid class and telling me how to fit all students, ensure 6 feet of distance, all day with no meal?
I get that not everybody will agree with my decision to open. Our forecast showed we would not be hit hard. I appreciate all staff and students who make it today. I also appreciate those students who, like prior years, show creativity in their requests for a snow day.
Second day as state superintendent and I was spent my morning at a press conference with
@GovPritzker
and other state leaders as we announced the behavioral health transformation initiative.
@IYUNGSLEEPYI
Stop. Collaborate and listen. Tony back with a brand new invention. Our schools grab a hold of you tightly. Doing your studies daily and nightly. Will it ever stop? Yo, not unless lots of snow. So stop with the slights and I'll glow. Ice Ice Baby.
With 64% of over 900 votes,
@Forrest17002100
is the winner with School or No School. It will be my header for the week. In the meantime, do homework and expect school tomorrow.
Today we distributed a whopping 45,936 meals and 15,312 snacks at our 26 sites. Please give it up for our Food and Nutrition Services, our Education Support Service Organization (ESSO) drivers who deliver, and all those who help disseminate.
#WeAreU46
#ILSchoolsStepUp
I’m pleased to announce that
@DrKimako
has agreed to join
@ISBEnews
as our new Chief of Staff. Her work as Superintendent of Prairie-Hills District 144 in Markham, and her leadership across the state, make her the ideal candidate! Please send her your congratulations!
Teacher to-do list:
•Keep yourself safe and healthy.
•Do your best.
•Expect perfect imperfection.
•Give yourself permission to try and fail.
•Innovate.
• Connect with families…not just students.
•Contact students not in attendance.
•Be empathetic.
#ilschoolsstepup
Tony's Homework...
I don't give homework the Friday night before Spring Break, nor during Spring Break.
But I do ask you to help take care of your loved ones....and read a book.
Some folks do not get snow days, like Transportation and Plant Ops. I stopped by this morning to thank those who get our bus fleet ready and clear our 800 acres of grounds.
I would love to share my thoughts on a particular game tonight on CBS, but I cannot describe it without the express written consent of the NFL. So I'll just say, go animals with big horns.
Streamwood High is putting signs in the yards of every senior. I was blessed to be able to deliver signs for three senior members of my student advisory council - Anya Landrowski, Hallie Furtak, and Jenna Manzano.
@sdu46
To the teachers upset by my comment, I hope you read it in the intended spirit. I have spent most of my time the past two weeks on weather discussions with teachers, principals and other supts.
My point is that I wish that time could go to discussing students.
Talk about a day when I needed this news. Final phase of doctorate now underway. Thanks
@jessheybach
@Barshinger
and other faculty at
@AuroraU
for helping me get to this point!
For today, I'm going to remember last March when communities would open their windows in the midst of a lockdown and sing to uplift each other. When we had understanding and resolve to do this together. Remember how that felt? As we near Thanksgiving, let's be those people.
My Dad sent me this from the mountains of New Mexico.
It captures the end of a good day. The hopeful promise for tomorrow. It tells us we will be okay. We are here for a purpose, even if we do not yet know what that purpose is.
Rest while we await the sunrise tomorrow.
Congratulations class of 2020. I miss celebrating your accomplishments at the Sears Centre.
I look forward to the virtual graduation on June 13. I look forward to the celebrations we will host to recognize you when it is safe gather in large groups.
I'm proud of you all.
Friends-I care for you so much that I don't want to see you in person. If I do, I don't want to be near you. And even if I'm near, I want all you see to my masked face, but note the smiling, yet sorrowful eyes. I hope you care for me this much.
1/2 - 8:20 pm. Heading home. Phone rings.
Me: "Hello?"
Small voice: "Is this Tony Sanders?"
Me: "Yes, how can I help."
Small voice: "My name is ____ and I go to ____ Elementary."
Me: "Okay..."
Small voice: "I wanted to tell you why gum should be allowed in school....
Tomorrow the mandate that all school staff be vaccinated or tested weekly is enforced. It took a lot of hard work on the part of our admin team in collaboration with unions. ALL U-46 schools will be open tomorrow. My thanks to the 99% of our 5,903 active employees who complied!
Congratulations to our U-46 Blue Stars A Team who won gold at a recent tournament in Cicero. They now move to the state competition at Illinois State University in March. Thanks also Coach Brooke McGrath! Give them a like!
@sdu46
Team U-46: Thank you. You pivoted...Again. If you were stressed, you didn't show it.
I'm honored to work alongside you.
Students - I'm also inspired by your resilience. You have not "lost learning," you've learned different lessons that will help you in life.
#U46Proud
Sometimes we are sent a sunset to remind us of how blessed we are... To remind us we are here for a purpose. This was my phone photo from my backyard tonight.
I did a thing today…I hiked to the summit of Wheeler Peak (13,151 feet above sea level). This is the highest point in New Mexico, and the 8th highest in the U.S.
Happy New school Year! Welcome back. You know how every year buses sometimes run a bit behind as everyone learns the new schedule? Equate that to online school when Zoom goes out for some. We are on it. Have patience please.
In the coming weeks you will begin seeing these posters across our U-46 schools. State and federal laws dictate that school districts serve ALL students. Laws also prohibit schools from asking any information regarding immigration status. All are welcome in U-46.
Had this virus hit before Evidence Based Funding, 26,000 of my 39,000 students may not have had a device at home. Now they do. And more starting this week.
Yes, there will be gaps. But I shudder to think of might have been.
@AndyManar
@IllinoisASA
@docclark05