Referendum Will Give District Advantage in Technology: Letter

The following letter was written and submitted by Daniel Ripes.

I am voting yes because this is a gigantic step forward to further improve the overall educational quality in our community.

I work in digital marketing and ad & online personalization is an important and rapidly growing trend. In today’s marketplace, unique messaging to the individual is vital to make a large enough impact on the consumer causing them to take action around a certain brand or brands.

Trends in education are no different. There are countless articles and research around the importance of student-centered learning versus teaching to a larger class. District 112 has started to embrace this around the MyPath Pilot program that began a couple years ago.

I want my children (ages 7 and 5) to learn in an environment where they become critical thinkers with a strong understanding of science, math, technology and engineering. I want my kids doing and making not sitting. In order to do this, they need innovation labs, makerspaces, learning commons, etc.

School designs must support interdisciplinary learning through new learning spaces that compel students to become problem solvers as well as support collaboration. This is what the referendum is about.

Technology will ultimately be the core of this learning experience. The air conditioning supported by the referendum not only provides a comfortable environment for our students and teachers, but it is critical for the servers and IT infrastructure required for this 21st century learning environment.

Today’s productive and successful office spaces would not work in buildings constructed 60-70 years ago. Not unless there was significant improvements to the internal infrastructure of the building.

Finally, I want my children to be taught and nurtured by the leading educators in the country. By not passing this referendum, I would assume current 112 teachers that fall into this category will simply seek opportunities outside of Highland Park due to the uncertainty around their positions. When they do leave, I doubt we will be able to replace them with similar quality because of the continued doubt.

I want my children to have the best educational experience possible - an experience that is sustainable for many years after they have graduated out of 112. For all these reasons and more, I have a “yes” sign on my car, a “yes” pin on my workbag and a “yes” sign outside my house.

End Note: In the spirit of transparency, it is important to note that my wife is an associate principal in District 112. With that said, these views are 100 percent mu own. I remained on the sidelines for many months to avoid any conflicts of interest, but I deeply feel the stakes are too important to stay silent. I am a resident of Highland Park and a father of children in the 112 District. My opinions would be the same whether I was married to my wife or not.

Daniel Ripes - Highland Park