Monday, December 31, 2018

Stop school closure

           SCHOOL CLOSURE THREAT THWARTED
 
            A MIRACLE

 
           "It is a miracle that our school manages to keep open given what we have gone
            through ", stated Elena Shichalina ,the Headmistress of an Orthodox Gymnasium
            which offers students a deep thorough   Classical education in Latin and Greek.
            For since the very foundation of the school, the school has had to cope with endless
            threats to close it down. Those threats had persisted for twenty five years from
            developers, officials and business who had an eagle eye on attempting to take over
            the property. Yet this Christmas, as if by some miracle, businessmen backed
            down and now all the space within the building again belongs to the school !  

            It is not hard to see why many bent officials and businessmen would want to take
            over the building for their own purposes. The Gymnasium is located near the
            city center in one of the most bustling and thriving commercial areas on Moscow.
            Real estate property around the city center highly prized, profitable and lucrative.                                                    
 
            Prospect Mir is bursting with a boundless  inexorable energy which can't
            fail to impress any visitor. The school is located within the vicinity of  the former
            Olympic stadium which, fittingly, resembles the Roman  Colosseum.  The school  
            has won a reputation for excellence by preparing many students to become
            future historians, doctors and scientists. When you enter the school staff room
            you can encounter all kinds of busts,and  models of Classical figures or temples
            not to mention works in Latin and Greek. For some teachers this is not just a
            place of work but a home! In a recent interview, a current History teacher at
            the school ,Pauline Malashina, stated her colleague had compared it to working
            in paradise after doing a daunting stint at a state school. You actually encounter
            some school students that are actively interested in their subjects. Compared to
            state schools, the student teacher ratio is very low allowing teachers to grant
            more attention to pupils. You can often come across classes full of between 5 to
            ten pupils. The school also strives to maintain high standards of excellence.  

            However, the merits of the school did not impress certain businessmen. They
            would tell the headmistress again and again : "We don't agree with your school
            because it is Orthodox ,and also private ". They persistently threatened to close
            the school down. To achieve their aims, the courts were used, doors were blocked,
            railing surfaced and even the entrances of the school were blocked. The heating
            and electricity may have been turned off. The school was even deprived of using
            its canteen and sports Gym! They could not even use the second floor of the
            building as all this space was taken over by companies.

            Oksana Chebotareva,an English teacher at the school told Second City
            Teacher that : "When the canteen was closed down, the school used the corridor
            to serve food to pupils. For some reason, the pupils enjoyed this better than  
            eating in the canteen. Maybe it was because the atmosphere had become more
            democratic... When the school lost its use of the gym, the Physical Education
            teacher, who is very resourceful, taught special exercises which students could
            do on the stairway and used the room which is usually reserved for the choir. So
            somehow the school managed to cope with those problems.

            The headmistress appealed to all teachers,students and parents to pray hard
            for the school to be kept open. Many of those parents happened to be influential
            people and the school also obtained support from bishops. We would say a
            Psalm or catechism everyday ". However, it looked like the closure of the school
            was imminent ! Many people thought it was unavoidable and inevitable. This is
            because many powerful people in authority and business wanted to close it
            down. But whenever a company managed to take over part of the school , their
            business did not seem to thrive or do well.

            Then shortly before this Christmas, the Starets or Holy man informed the
            headmistress : "After Christmas day, you will fully recover all the space of the
            school and you will be left alone ". And the Starets turned out to be right. The
            school was not closed down and acquired the right to use all the space of the
            building. After twenty five years of struggle against remorseless harassment  
            the school has finally won its right to carry on. It is in deed a Miracle on this
            very Christmas.

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Student Union


UNION OF SCHOOL STUDENT SURFACES
By Stephen Wilson


"I'm convinced that teachers themselves are on our side of the barricades.
In the future I want to be a teacher of History and Social Knowledge or a
technical engineer in the Food Industry. .... We have a minimum program
and a maximum program. The minimum program contains the demands
that there be no more than three tests a day for school students, students
should have the right to dye their own hair, not wear a school uniform and
the maximum program is to abolish the Unitary State Exam, " declared a
a highly confident, cheerful and optimistic founder of Russia's first Union
of School students, Leonid Shaidurov. Shaidurov even claimed he was
prepared to organize a strike of school students to achieve his aims. The
seventeen-year-old school student, from school number 622 in Saint
Petersburg, has managed to organize a union. At first a school meeting drew
a crowd of 25 students who expressed interest in joining the Union . However,
alleged threats by the headmistress to put him in a psychiatric hospital or
report him to the procurator, as well as a huge wave of publicity, boosted the
membership of his union to 170, as well as 600 members in other schools.
It has now become 'cool' to be a member of the School Union.

The reaction of the authorities has been one of anxiety, anger and bemusement.
They don't know how to quite handle this unexpected event. Shaidurov has not
even been expelled from  school. Attempts by the Headmistress to persuade
him to join a patriotic Youth Movement fell on deaf ears. In fact, Shaidurov states
that he is inspired by the works of Lenin as well as the example of American
school students who won the right to free food in canteens.When my colleague,
Anna Kogteva heard that there was a teenage follower of Lenin  organizing
a protest movement she expressed astonishment. "I did not know there were
any such young people who were still into Lenin. I thought it was a thing of the
past." Elena Orlova, a Professor of Linguistics at Saint Petersburg University, told
me: "Our present day school children are not afraid of anything. They are fearless.
They are not afraid to express their opinions about anything. They have freedom
of speech whereas my generation kept silent ".

This movement represents a direct challenge to the authorities who are seeking
to foster an atmosphere of fear where school students do what they are told and
accept the authority of the  state. Many teachers don't think that children
are entitled to an opinion of their own. The idea that children have the right to
express different views has never crossed some of their minds.So far, teachers
don't seem to be joining the students at the barricades. But their presence has
been so conspicuous at mass demonstrations against corruption that the state
has passed draconian laws where the parents of minors will be subject to huge
fines should their children attend unsanctioned rallies.

School students, like teachers, have a lot to be deeply dissatisfied with. They
have told me again and again, how on, say one day, they might have to sit 5
to eight tests and of the needless stress this is creating. Officials of the Ministry
of Education actually replied to Shaidurov, chiding him for being too
confrontational and not constructive. They defended the Unitary State Exam
system arguing that it offered more opportunities to school students to enter a
far wider number of further Education institutions. It was therefore much fairer
than the old Soviet system. But this answer won't console both school students
and teachers worn out by endless testing and heaps of paperwork. It seems
highly likely that more and more young people will not hesitate to take part in
protest movements. Threatened fines, imprisonment, or psychiatric examinations
won't deter them.You can expect more protests. A lot of children are just fearless!

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Ogden principal

Dismissed Ogden principal sues CPS while parents complain about abusive practices
By Jim Vail

There are two sides to every story.

The Ogden School community has been divided – one side believes Principal Michael Beyer was unfairly removed from the school for attendance fraud, while the other side says he was a vindictive administrator who mercilessly targeted his opponents.

Beyer is now suing the district claiming that he is being targeted for whistle blowing. He claims he was not given his due process rights and was targeted for speaking out.

“CPS is pursuing termination as retaliation after creating a hostile environment for whistle blowing,” Beyer’s human rights complaint states.

CPS said Beyer is facing termination hearings because the CPS Inspector General found that he oversaw intentional falsification of attendance records, noting that he was illegally helping students transfer out of the school in order to not get penalized for absences.

According to a Wbez report, Beyer was given a warning resolution from the Chicago Board of Education in 2015 because he had posted a message on Facebook asking parents to help clean up the school over the weekend. CPS was battling negative media attention after privatized custodial services resulted in numerous complaints of filthy schools. CPS called the post “unbecoming of a principal.”

Beyer also complained about cuts to special education and helped organize principals to collectively address the cuts. CPS has also been under attack for not staffing enough special education teachers, another media nightmare.

His human rights complaint argues that CPS was sending a message to stop complaining when they issued the warning resolution.

But one parent said Beyer was a vindictive principal.

“Beyer was terrible to so many parents,” Nancy Carson told this newspaper. “There were so many complaints, it was unreal it took CPS so long to let him go. But they had to get him on something concrete, and they finally did.”

Carson said she took her child who needed specialized services out of the school after battling with the principal.

“Beyer is kind of like Trump in the fact if you are ‘loyal’ to him and go along with whatever he says, then you, and your child get treated like royalty. So, for instance, one staff member gets to store her motorcycle all year in the Ogden garage. Another parent, who lives out of the Ogden boundaries, gets to send their child to Ogden. But, if you disagree with Beyer, he will make your life miserable. For instance, I objected to my special needs child being taught in a closet. When Beyer didn’t respond to me, I went over his head. Well, hell hath no fury as Beyer being scorned.”

Beyer retaliated against her by deciding she wasn’t allowed to use handicapped parking to transport her special needs son back and forth to school, she said.

“His new rule was only kids on life support,” Carson wrote. “I have a placard from the state of Illinois so he can’t make arbitrary rules. So, of course, I had to go to the OCR (Office of Civil Rights) and make a complaint. Of course I won, but that takes a lot of time and energy. Then after I won that, he tried other things to hurt my family. Again, more time and energy. For instance, he had a security guard push me and my son down the stairs and tried to blame it on me. There are cameras all over the place, so that didn’t work either.”

Carson said other parents have had to pull their kids from Ogden because they claim he refused to follow IEP’s (Individualized Education Plan) if you crossed him.

The Inspector General (IG) made the recommendation to fire Beyer based upon evidence of falsifying attendance records. His lawyer said they should provide an un-redacted version of their report so that his client can answer the charges. Beyer is currently suspended pending the outcome of his dismissal process.

The IG office has been used in the past to go after school personnel considered a political hot potato.

“Beyer is the second principal since CPS CEO Janice Jackson took over in January known to be removed after the inspector general found records were falsified,” Wbez reported. “The first principal also was vocal about problems within the school district. Prior to Jackson’s tenure, the inspector general uncovered several instances of falsifying records and rarely were principals fired.”

“I take CPS at their word that they fired him for cheating,” Carson said. “Personally, I would have liked to see him fired for trying to ban a handicapped child from using a handicapped parking space, but that is just me.”

Saturday, December 15, 2018

CTU Defends Charter

Why is the CTU Defending Urban Prep West Charter School Against Closure?
By Jim Vail


The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) issued a press release stating its opposition to closing Urban Prep West Charter School.

The union said it is wrong to close a school and thus interrupt the children's education and for the teachers to lose their jobs. The CTU now represents the unionized charter school teachers at Urban Prep West in Lawndale.

Charter Schools were created to destroy the union, privatize public education and force the neoliberal agenda tied to standardized testing, strict discipline and smiling faces.

The former CTU ruling caucus United Progressive Caucus (UPC) joined with American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Randi Weingarten to promote charter schools by saying we only need to unionize them. 

The current CTU leadership CORE fought strongly against charter schools, stating they are only created to destroy and close the public schools. Many times public schools were closed and a charter school opened.

CORE even mandated in the last teacher contract to ban new charter schools, and a recent endorsement of Toni Preckwinkle included the president of the Cook County Board to state she is against any new charter schools.

So the tightrope walk the union is engaged in now between defending charter schools (with CTU members) and fighting against charter schools is getting a little confusing.

Urban Prep was opened and the surrounding public high schools were closed. Now the public schools on the South Side are under-enrolled because of all these charter schools. Shouldn't the union defend the public schools and not the charter?

Certainly we need to support all teachers. And we need to support our public schools. Charter schools are designed to destroy the public schools and the union. Unionizing the charter teachers is important, but more importantly, stopping the growth of charter schools and not fighting against their closures is also important.


If Urban Prep West can close, no school is safe

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  DECEMBER 11, 2018
CONTACT:
RONNIE REESE | 312-329-6235 | RONNIEREESE@CTULOCAL1.ORG
Closure of campus serving African-American young men is the latest transgression in the wholesale removal of Blacks from the city of Chicago
CHICAGO, Dec. 11, 2018—The Chicago Teachers Union was disappointed to learn of Chicago Public Schools’ plans to close Urban Prep Academy’s West Campus. The Union’s position on school closings has long been clear: We oppose the closure of any school for the same reasons we oppose charter expansion. Both have destabilizing effects on communities and lead to privatization of public education at the expense of those our schools should serve.
But the closure of Urban Prep West, a school serving a student population made up entirely of African-American males, goes one step further in its negative impact as it represents another chapter in the wholesale removal of Black and Brown people from our city. Urban Prep’s stated mission to remedy the myriad ways that Chicago Public Schools—and the city itself—has historically failed young Black men is admirable, however, it is past time that people stop believing that a striped tie and black blazer can mask the scars these children have suffered from the years of mistreatment of their communities. We are steadfastly opposed to the school’s closure, which would only exacerbate the Negro Removal Act that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has put in place since taking office in 2010.
Classrooms at Urban Prep have not been immune from the trauma, enrollment loss and test-based “accountability” that have decimated district schools serving Black communities on the South and West sides. But in the face of these mounting struggles, Urban Prep last year chose to expand its organization rather than invest in the classrooms, staff and students they currently serve. Urban Prep applied for, and was granted, a contract to run a charter school in Las Vegas under Nevada’s Achievement School District. The Achievement School District operates much like other state takeovers of urban school districts, where privatized charter operators are hired to take over struggling, under-resourced public schools.
According to documents submitted to the Nevada Department of Education, Urban Prep management created a full-time, six-figure position specifically for its expansion effort, and top officials took numerous trips to Las Vegas over the past year to secure its expansion. Meanwhile, Urban Prep has one of the most bloated central office operations of any charter school in CPS, serving fewer than 800, yet spending $1.3 million on executive and central office administration (or $1,700 per student).
Our members at Urban Prep West are in the midst of negotiating a new contract, and under their collective bargaining agreement, teachers who are laid off if the school closes will have the right to be placed into vacancies for which they are qualified at the school’s remaining two campuses.
We hope that last week’s news will serve as a wake-up call to Urban Prep leaders to keep their focus local and provide for students here in Chicago, because let’s be clear—if the mayor’s handpicked Board of Education can close a school made up entirely of young Black men that touts a 100 percent college acceptance rate year after year, what does that say for the academically struggling school with infrastructure issues that serves a low-income community without support from the city’s Black power elite?
The Chicago Teachers Union represents nearly 25,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the nearly 400,000 students and families they serve The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third-largest teachers local in the United States. For more information please visit the CTU website at www.ctunet.com.




Friday, December 14, 2018

Gift Laws


NO JAM TODAY OR TOMORROW
NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW
By Stephen Wilson


If you have a sweet tooth and appreciate  a box of chocolates from your students
forget it.  Accepting sweets from pupils will soon be illegal. Well it
is not all bad news! At least you can water the flowers students might send you.
A new law is set to come into effect which bans both teachers and doctors
from accepting gifts from their students and patients. Teachers will only be
allowed to accept flowers or stationary items. The newly proposed law which
is the initiative of the Ministry of Labor, is being proposed as an attempt to
stamp out what officials view as widespread corruption in both education
and medical care. For example, although medical care  is in theory
free in Russia, this author was asked to provide a gift so that a homeless
person be granted treatment and has heard of many cases of students trying
to persuade teachers to 'pass' them in subjects despite being wholly absent
from their courses. Teachers who refuse to accept bribes can be chided by
their superiors for being 'obstinate'.

Current legislation under article 575, makes it illegal to accept a gift which
exceeds the value of 3,000 rubles. However, when the new law comes into
effect, even modest gifts such as a jar of jam or bar of chocolate will
be perceived as a grave violation of the law. The peculiar logic behind the
law was given in a recent statement by Vladimir Zhirinovskii who declared:
"Since childhood we have learnt that mothers bring gifts to kindergartens,
polyclinics, hospitals and schools. So from childhood we have learn to give
bribes. We should not give anything . Don't give tips to taxi-drivers and
waiters".

But critics claim the law fails to make a subtle distinction between granting
gifts and bribes. And the fact that generous gift giving is an integral part of
Russian culture as well as hospitality renders the matter grey. There is
much room for an abuse or miscarriage of this new law. "This reminds me
of a witch hunt. You need to make a distinction between a bribe and
gratitude.If someone proposes giving you a gift before an operation,
that is 'stimulated quality' : it is a bribe. But if a person gives you a
a present for saving your life, and can no longer influence his health,
that is gratitude." stated Andrei Khomorov ,  Chairman of the Society
for Defending Patients.

"My Children bring me sweets.We eat them together with tea. Sweets
and flowers for teachers is a custom and attribute of politeness, and
not a bribe. I myself am against expensive presents, but not to the point of
absurdity", stated Yekaterina Philippova , a Russian French teacher.

The problem with this law is that it would still make it legal for a teacher
to accept a Parker pen which exceeds the price of 3000 rubles or more!
But what many teachers resent is the insinuation that many teachers and
doctors are corrupt and that they themselves are to blame for preventing
free public services where the blame lies elsewhere. It is seen by many
as an attempt to tarnish the already damaged reputation of school teachers.
It is the latest round of public teacher bashing which never seems to end!
Not only are teachers made to look incompetent by being forced to take
badly designed tests, but now they are viewed as easily corrupted.

One might have thought the Ministry of Education had better priorities.
The Russian parliament has made no real efforts to cut the mountains of
paperwork that school teachers must do, or pay them decent wages in the
regions. Instead, every new measure or law seems designed to wear out the
nerves of already exhausted teachers. For example, in 2019, Rosobranayza
intends to test 40,000 teachers from 70 regions. If any teacher wants to
upgrade his qualifications he has to sit and pass a course, organised by the
Unitary Federal Evaluation of Material organisation. The courses are not
even free and may range in price from anything from 5600 rubles to 60
or 70 thousand rubles. The fact that a teacher might have had books and
articles published or has done a lot of research is deemed irrelevant. The
fact that the Ministry of Education issues all kinds of directives and instructions
of how teachers must teach represents a gross violation of Article 47 of the
Law on Education which defends academic freedom. That is teachers have
the right to choose and design their own methodology as long as they
follow the basic aims of the curriculum.

Why are blackboards being abruptly replaced by expensive electronic
boards which damage the eyesight of many school pupils ? Many
people believe that 'the Digital revolution' where so many new schools are
established is simply a way by computer companies to make a quick
and lucrative profit.

The main aim may be to foster an atmosphere of fear among teachers
where teachers are terrified of losing their jobs should they be subject
to all kinds of accusations. And teachers who live in fear  are much more
easily contained and controlled.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

No Charter Oversight?

Volume 24, Number 64, November 29, 2018
Game over: HB 5175 override flops in Senate
By Jim Broadway, Publisher, Illinois School News Service
The authority of a small body of folks you don't know to impose a charter school for your school district to pay for whether your elected school board likes it or not will continue at least for a while - perhaps forever; HB 5175 died in the Senate Wednesday night. Cause of death? Could have been money poisoning.
As you read in Monday's newsletter, the House overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of the bill last week. The chamber coughed up 71 votes, the bare minimum for an override, but significantly more than the 67 members of the Democrats' majority caucus. Actually, an amazing 15 Republicans joined in the fun.
Then one of the "anti-Rauner" turncoat Republican turncoats - Lindsay Parkhurst of Kankakee - filed a motion to reconsider the vote by which the veto override motion passed. That froze the bill and, even though it could have been unfrozen Friday or Tuesday, it did not thaw out until Wednesday. So the window was open just a bit.
It wasn't until late in the day Wednesday that the Senate override motion, almost the last item of the day, was taken up. The "debate" was brief. The Senate sponsor was Sen. Bill Cunningham. His presentation was very lame. Maybe that was because he's from Chicago, which doesn't have an elected school board.
The main opponent of the override was Sen. Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria. He was allowed to imply that, unless the Illinois State Charter School Commission retains the power to overrule a local school board, charter advocates will have no opportunity to appeal a board's decision in this regard. That, of course, is false.
Rulings by a school board that a citizen feels were improperly reached can be appealed in the same venue as the rulings of any other governmental body - in the courts. But courts might take into consideration the effects of a charter on district students who don't attend it. The SCSC is not so hampered. In fact, Illinois charter law specifies that the best interests of the attending children - not the other students - is what counts.
Weaver also suggested that school districts with limited resources often "don't get it right," and asserted that on the occasions when the SCSC has overruled local school boards it was because the "should have been" overruled. None of his assertions, all unsubstantiated, were challenged by Cunningham.
Many senators did not vote on the motion. It was late in the day, so many of them were probably gone. Why not wait until this morning for the roll call? Because the Senate canceled today's session. In other words, folks, the whole event looked like a well rehearsed play. Could it have been so designed? Certainly.
But that's where the money comes in. Campaign contributions play a big role in policymaking. It's illegal, of course, to promise money in return for a particular policy outcome. But policymakers, especially the leaders, are good at reading people. They know what's implied when you say, "We would really be grateful."
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools is not a political action committee, in spite of being listed as one of Parkhurst's "Top Contributors." But INCS President Andrew Broy is also a treasurer of the INCS Action PAC, which is a political action committee, one that the Sunshine Project reports controlled $1.74 million.
You may have noticed that Sunshine listed two treasurers for that PAC. The other is Adam Rogalski, a former employee of INCS. Who does Adam work for now? He's listed on Linked in as an Advocacy Program Officer for the Walton Education Coalition. The Waltons. You've heard of them. (This is interesting news.)
The Senate roll call follows. Monday's issue referred to a "game" that might be played on HB 5175. There's one in which a majority of the legislature - a three-fifths majority, in fact - gets to vote for something popular, like "local control of schools, for example, but the popular objective still slips out of reach.
Could that be what happened to HB 5175? It takes a lot of money to pay the script-writers for a drama like we saw this week. But $1.7 million, with the potential for access to some Walton cash - yeah, that should be about enough.
Senate roll call on HB 5175 veto override motion lost 31-14
Senate members
District No.
Party
Vote
City
Iris Y. Martinez
D
N
Chicago
Patricia Van Pelt
5
D
N
Chicago
Scott M. Bennett
D
NV
Champaign
Melinda Bush
D
NV
Grayslake
Napoleon Harris, III
D
NV
Harvey
Toi W. Hutchinson
D
NV
Chicago Heights
Emil Jones, III
D
NV
Chicago
David Koehler
D
NV
Peoria
Steven M. Landek
D
NV
Burbank
Kimberly A. Lightford
4
D
NV
Chicago
Martin A. Sandoval
D
NV
Chicago
Ira I. Silverstein
8
D
NV
Chicago
Elgie R. Sims, Jr.
D
NV
Chicago
Steve Stadelman
D
NV
Rockford
Omar Aquino
2
D
Y
Chicago
Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant
D
Y
Plainfield
Daniel Biss
9
D
Y
Evanston
Cristina Castro
D
Y
Elgin
James F. Clayborne, Jr.
D
Y
East St. Louis
Jacqueline Y. Collins
D
Y
Chicago
John J. Cullerton
6
D
Y
Chicago
Thomas Cullerton
D
Y
Villa Park
Bill Cunningham
D
Y
Chicago
William R. Haine
D
Y
Alton
Don Harmon
D
Y
Oak Park
Michael E. Hastings
D
Y
Frankfort
Linda Holmes
D
Y
Aurora
Mattie Hunter
3
D
Y
Chicago
Terry Link
D
Y
Gurnee
Andy Manar
D
Y
Bunker Hill
Pat McGuire
D
Y
Crest Hill
Julie A. Morrison
D
Y
Deerfield
John G. Mulroe
D
Y
Chicago
Antonio Muñoz
1
D
Y
Chicago
Laura M. Murphy
D
Y
Des Plaines
Kwame Raoul
D
Y
Chicago
Heather A. Steans
7
D
Y
Chicago
Jason A. Barickman
R
N
Bloomington
Tim Bivins
R
N
Dixon
William E. Brady
R
N
Bloomington
Kyle McCarter
R
N
Vandalia
Dan McConchie
R
N
Lake Zurich
Jim Oberweis
R
N
North Aurora
Dale A. Righter
R
N
Mattoon
Tom Rooney
R
N
Palatine
Dave Syverson
R
N
Rockford
Jil Tracy
R
N
Quincy
Chuck Weaver
R
N
Peoria
Craig Wilcox
R
N
McHenry
Michael Connelly
R
NV
Lisle
Yadav Nathwani
R
NV
Glen Ellyn
Neil Anderson
R
Y
Moline
John F. Curran
R
Y
Woodridge
Donald P. DeWitte
R
Y
West Dundee
Dale Fowler
R
Y
Harrisburg
Wm. Sam McCann
R
Y
Jacksonville
Sue Rezin
R
Y
Peru
Chapin Rose
R
Y
Champaign
Paul Schimpf
R
Y
Murphysboro
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Invoice Reminder: All invoices are emailed via the PNC Bank. ISNS is now paperless. If you need me to resend an invoice, use the contact link to tell me. I deeply appreciate your support of ISNS. This service cannot exist without you.

Your inputs - questions, comments, suggestions - are valued. For twenty-three years ISNS has been guided by wisdom "from the field." To contribute in this way, just click this link to our contact form.