Wirepoints traveled to Peoria Wednesday to discuss with two local groups the failure of the Peoria public school systems to educate students in the tri-county area.
One of Wirepoints’ main goals is to get those who run the schools, the districts and the state board of education, to acknowledge the poor results. The problems in Illinois education will never be improved until the poor outcomes are openly acknowledged by those who run the system.
In Peoria School District 150, just 5 of every 100 black students can read at grade level. In math, it’s just 2 in 100.
In one high school, proficiency rates on the SAT in math are at zero percent – for all races.
We traveled to WMBD Peoria’s studio to highlight our findings:
“One of the big problems we have is only 13 percent of kids can read at grade level in the entire district, and yet 80 percent graduate,” we told WMBD.
“We shouldn’t have low expectations of those children, we should have high expectations and act accordingly… but the first thing that needs to happen is we need to acknowledge the problem, because we can’t fix the problem if we don’t acknowledge it.”
Wirepoints will release its full data on Peoria later this week.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Poor student achievement and near-zero accountability: An indictment of Illinois’ public education system – Wirepoints Special Report
- How many grades behind are Chicago Public Schools’ students?
- Chicago Public Schools doesn’t deserve another penny (Part 2)
- Illinois on track to become first state to kill school choice
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
For decades we were told that education was the path out of poverty. The experience of immigrants and the post war generation proved the truth of that idea.
Now we are told there can be no education if there is poverty.
Instead of being taught the three R’s of education (reading, writing and arithmetic), young people are being drilled in the three I’s of life in the American police state: indoctrination, intimidation and intolerance.
Indoctrination, Intimidation & Intolerance: What Passes For Education Today | ZeroHedge
Keep fighting back against the teacher’s unions. Don’t listen to all the pessimists in the comments. There are a lot more concerned people out there than the media or this comment section will lead you to believe.
The fact that the superintendent lays blame on everything but her office speaks volumes.
“Keep fighting back against the teacher’s unions.” Just words.
Those most affected by the unaccountable and abusive school district, administration, unions and teachers are parents and their children. They need to rally. They need to speak out. They need to protest. Until then, all of us, including you, are just spouting words. BTW, still waiting for your attack plan and marketing blitz that you so proudly profess . . .
I think the money should be spent on fixing the parents not the kids. Some parents have money to do drugs, buy marijuana and alcohol. Why don’t they have enough money to buy their kids shoes, underwear, boots, coats, gloves, hats, pants, shirts? In the past I have donated everything listed here to some of our local schools. I just pray that the children get to keep the items I donate and parents don’t sell them or wear them. That’s the real problem we need to fix.
I disagree. The problem is situational and systemic influences molding youth and adults into political weapons. Big tech is curating the data stream to really accelerate the degeneracy. Have you listened to the top 100 songs lately? Did the last movie you watched promote child development? Barbie is teaching young girls to hate men. Gossip rags are making suicide front page news. Run ins with cops are promoted to viral status. All of these media instigated effects we are witnessing are sound science. Copycat suicide trends, the first thing that comes to mind, have been well known for a long… Read more »
Please, I’m just trying to keep it simple.
Marie, I am inclined to agree. Much of the effort should be directed at parents.
I don’t believe there are two parents in the home at the most distressed Chicago schools. Uncle Sam’s generous subsidies have made father irrelevant. All that trouble in Kenosha began when the baby daddy tried to kidnap his own child to get a share of the mother’s support check.
Trying to fix the parents first will only produce a never ending cycle. It’s how we got here: fix society, and then we can have schools where kids actually learn. While we are busy trying to fix the parents, the schools are busy turning out another batch of future parents that will need to be fixed. It’s a racket that makes sure more money is devoted to social programs and schools, but never really solves the problem.
I bet the kids in this school are getting plenty of sex ed and classes on alternate genders.
There was a very small, but bright sliver of hope with school choice for the kids that wanted to learn and be better. Pritzker, the teacher union bosses, and Democrats killed that hope.
In many respects what we have in D150 and many public schools is expensive daycare for teens. The ‘high schools’ in the bottom who hand diplomas to graduates who can’t function above the 4th grade is criminal. But this is public education in IL. Many of the teachers have PTSD, due to the lack of discipline.
“The problems in Illinois education will never be improved until the poor outcomes are openly acknowledged by those who run the system.”
I would suggest instead, or at least in addition to, until the voters, parents of these children, wake up, head to the polls and elect politicians that actually provide results instead of spouting the usual rhetoric. Nothing will change until that happens.
Nothing significant will change in Illinois. To even start to fix the problem would mean taking on the public unions. Responsible parents reject Illinois ultra-liberal public schools and either use private schools, home schooling, or leave Illinois.
My wife’s Dad graduated from Peoria’s WSJ “worst in the nation for Black people” 61605 Zip code’s Manual High School. In 1937. There wasn’t enough money, or food, or clothes or transportation or room for everyone who lived in the South Side even then. Jobs were hard to find, paid little, and most who worked walked to them, lunch pail in hand. What Peoria’s South Side did have then was two parents in the home, and a high school that taught students how to read, write and add before they graduated. Taught my wife’s Dad metal work and drafting. Worked… Read more »
The powers that be have it just like they want it. Kids on autopilot don’t require much effort. Give then free meals and plenty of CRT and sexuality studies. The parents love the all day supervision so they are free to do whatever. And the admin is the biggest winner, with pensions that would choke a horse and little or no accountability. The Illinois public school system is a racket. When exposed as such, start with the “ ists “ and “ isms “. Crying whitey, the last refuge for a scoundrel.
I like how Wirepoints keeps picking at the scab. I do think that the family unit has deteriorated to a point of no return. In many cases black families with no parental or family figures. I think it’s a much larger issue within the black community and it’s why we see so much destructive behavior and violence. I will say with Illinois it will only be a matter of time before Wirepoints is attacked as racist for continuing to pick at that scab. The truth is not something that these large bureaucratic institutions like to hear. Screaming loudly on top… Read more »
Will the teachers union representative explain the scores?
it’s the school board and administration that should be held responsible for low test scores
While I respect the effort to highlight the problem, I simply don’t believe the schools themselves are the main cause. The family unit has deteriorated along with society in general. Better teachers with a more focused math/science/english curriculum, along with school choice would certainly help, but I wouldn’t expect drastically better results. Personally, I think the existing model for education (big centrally located buildings) is outdated. It’s insane for students (and teachers) to travel to and from these buildings every weekday. It’s insane to spend $20,000+ per student annually to have one teacher in front of 20+ students. We need… Read more »
I think your points are valid. I do think we need to teach phonics and abandon common core math. There are methods that work. This does not mean that we neglect special ed students who need different approaches, but the vast majority need phonics and solid basic math instruction. Teach all you want about equity but unless these kids learn the basics it will not matter. I want to make a point about Peoria. Each year, as is the case for over 50 years, the state high cross country meet is held in Detweliler Park in Peoria. It is beautiful… Read more »