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Post by bob on Apr 6, 2006 18:42:32 GMT -6
At Monday night's Board of Education meeting, Indian Prairie officials are recommending Crone Middle School assistant principal Jennifer Nonnemacher as principal of Still Middle School. Nonnemacher is replacing Jay Strang who was recently named the district's director of building operations.
Nonnemacher began her career in education in 1991 as a teacher in Rockford's District 205. In 1999 she assumed the post of interdisciplinary curriculum developer for the district. She was named assistant principal of the Rockford Environmental Science Academy the following year -- a position she held for three years before joining Indian Prairie in 2003.
As assistant principal at Crone Middle School, Nonnemacher has been instrumental in developing the school's improvement plan and supervising the student services department. She also managed student discipline and student grading procedures.
Assistant superintendent Kathy Birkett said Nonnemacher is an excellent fit for the principal position. "Jennifer has outstanding experience with diverse learners both in Rockford and at Crone." She added that Nonnemacher has led many initiatives at Crone to build student success. "I'm confident she will build many more successes at Still," Birkett said.
Nonnemacher holds a bachelor's degree from Rockford College and a master's degree from Northern Illinois University. She assumes her new position July 1.
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Post by sushi on Apr 6, 2006 20:14:05 GMT -6
Jay will be a hard act to follow. He is definately one of the top principals in the district; very visible, very involved, approachable and personable.
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 8, 2006 13:17:35 GMT -6
Jay will be a hard act to follow. He is definately one of the top principals in the district; very visible, very involved, approachable and personable. No he is not. He could care less of what has been happening at Still. He lets the bullies get away with everything while to person who gets bullied gets constantly bullied I am glad my daughter is attending another MS |
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Post by gatormom on Apr 8, 2006 14:26:14 GMT -6
No he is not. He could care less of what has been happening at Still. He lets the bullies get away with everything while to person who gets bullied gets constantly bullied I am glad my daughter is attending another MS I am really sorry your experience at Still was not good. I happen to agree with Sushi. I found Jay Strang to be compassionate and available. My son had problems with bullying in 6th grade as well. I was fortunate that a teacher witnessed it and intervened without me having to get involved. I am sorry that my daughter will not get to experience Still with him. |
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 10, 2006 8:05:16 GMT -6
This happened with my oldest daughter who attend WV...The kid just ripped the glasses off of her face..and we were told if she defended herself (by Mr. Strang) , she would of got suspended too. What a crock! None of the teachers seemed to see anything! Other altercations at Still with her, my husband and I decided it was not in our other daughter's best interest to attend Still. I am glad we did that! I absolutely love Granger! It is so much better than Still in terms of everthing!
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Post by title1parent on Apr 10, 2006 13:59:05 GMT -6
It is so much better than Still in terms of everthing! I am sorry your child had a bullying situation. My son attends Still. He has dealt with name calling but in passing, never anyone directing things at him. He has had a great experience these last two years. Bullying/altercations can happen at any school. Granger has had its share. I have a friend in Oakhurst who's son was stabbed by a kid with a pencil. And this student continued to harass him. I also have a friend who's son attended Still and was bullied. He told the office and they had him sit and look through yearbooks to identify the student who harassed him. They took it very seriously. I think Still is a great Middle School. My son has had excellent teachers these last 2 years and has enjoyed their sports and music programs. I have seen my son change into an independent learner. I attribute that to the 2 teaching teams he has had. |
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 10, 2006 14:35:20 GMT -6
Well your experience greatly differs from what my daughter went thru. Maybe race had to do with it because my daughter is Latina.
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Post by EagleDad on Apr 10, 2006 18:34:17 GMT -6
Jenrik, are you implying that you feel Jay Strang handled the situation differently due to the race of your child?
That's a pretty serious accusation.
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 10, 2006 19:22:30 GMT -6
The kids grabbed my daughter's glasses off of her face and broke them. The school did not want to hold this kid responsible. Then they tried to blame her. Then a police officer tried to put the blame on her. My daughter is not a trouble maker. She is a good student. And if my daughter had to defend herself she would of got suspended too. This is not fair. He never offered to help us pay for the glasses. I believe if she was a white child, it would of been resolved faster.
That was a few years ago.
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 10, 2006 19:22:54 GMT -6
Nor did the school try to get him to help us pay for the glasses.
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Post by gatormom on Apr 11, 2006 9:06:13 GMT -6
Just a few comments jenrik.
First of all, it seems the school took your daughter's complaint very seriously. The police were involved. Second, you mention that if your daughter had defended herself she would have been suspended too. Correct me if I am wrong, but that seems to say that the the child who ripped your daughter's glasses off her face was suspended. I am not sure what you wanted to happen, public humiliation, arrest, jail time?
There is only so much that a school can do when it comes to discipline and they have to follow the rules.
Finally, the school might be able to suggest to the parents of the child that they pay for something, but they cannot force someone to pay.
When my son was being bullied, the parents of the three children who were ganging up on him were contacted. It was up to the parents to do something and only one did. That child called my son and apologized. The school did its job, it was the parents of the other two children who did not.
When schools investigate things like this, it is difficult to assess one child's word against another. If they were to take every allegation at face value, I am pretty sure suspensions would go up as some children would abuse the system. Apparently enough proof was gathered as there was a consequence for the child who attacked your daughter.
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 11, 2006 10:03:20 GMT -6
If he was punished, would I be complaining about it? Hey I am not rich and glasses cost money....Had it been your child it would of been different. No, my daughter said nothing happened to him. They had the nerve to tell her if she defended herself, she would of been suspended. Bringing in the police and the amout of distrust we have in the police, we don't know what they said.
I am not trying to get into a confrontation with you, we obviously have different opinions. It was sometime ago so it is over. My point was the teachers at Still never seen kids being bullied.
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Post by title1parent on Apr 11, 2006 12:53:49 GMT -6
It was sometime ago so it is over. Sorry, I cannot compare how things were when your child was at Still, since you said it happened sometime ago. I know that based on the last 2 years my child has been there, issues have been taken seriously and dealt with. Also, I guess some on the board may have misunderstood your post when you stated that your child would have been suspended TOO, which gave me and possibly others, the impression that the student that bullied your child had been suspended. |
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Post by jenrik2714 on Apr 11, 2006 13:12:19 GMT -6
I wish the kid would have apologized or done something to that effect.
They told me if she would have defended herself, she would of been suspended
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Post by cantretirehere on Apr 11, 2006 13:55:34 GMT -6
I guess I'm continuing off topic - however - my son did defended himself from a brutal attack at school last year and got the same punishment as the offender. If my son had not defended himself he could have wound up dead or hospitalized. In some cases a kid has to do what he has to do. Did he deserve the punishment that was given to him? Absolutely not.
Back on topic. I have no contact whatsoever with Mr. Strang and I believe that he probably, in most cases was, as sushi and gatormom have put it - personable, visible, compassionate, approachable and involved. As far as a principal's job goes, that's the easy part. Some school administrators, teachers, principals, can be viewed as good because they have never faced a difficult challenge. A sign of whether or not someone is good is how they face the tough stuff. Obviously, jenrik thinks that Mr. Strang did not handle a challenging situation very well. Just because she disagrees with you doesn't justify you putting her on the defensive. Everyone has different experiences with people.
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