On January 28, 2025, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to Creston Community Consolidated School District 161 by NW Illinois News. The media organization, known for its comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, requested copies of all emails and memos from the past year that contain the keywords "Lucy Calkins" and "Units of Study."
As representatives of NW Illinois News, we believe access to public records is crucial in fulfilling our professional responsibilities. These include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Given our role in disseminating information, we consider ourselves eligible for a fee waiver as media professionals.
The requested documents are expected to shed light on the school district's operations and policies related to Lucy Calkins' Units of Study, a widely-used curriculum in literacy education.
According to the Illinois Report Card, the average state teacher salary in 2023 was $73,916, while the state average administrative salary stood at $116,908. The average student-to-administrative ratio is reported as 141:1, with an average student-to-teacher ratio of 17:1. Interestingly, over half (58%) of teachers in Illinois have a master's degree or higher.
We await a response from Creston Community Consolidated School District 161 regarding our FOIA request. We will continue to strive for transparency and accountability in our reporting on local governmental affairs.
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