INSIDE
SPORTS Romeoville volleyball looking to rebuild
NEWS Community comes out to support Relay for Life PAGE 3
PAGE 13
www.romeovillebugle.com
Our Village, Our News
AUGUST 16, 2012
Vol. 7 No. 6
GAINING
GROUND Superintendent James Mitchem updates status of Valley View’s ‘New View’
By Laura Katauskas Staff Reporter
T Matt Honold/Bugle staff
Superintendent James Mitchem is addressing issues facing the Valley View School District.
he Valley View School District began its journey to a “new view” at the start of the past school year and Superintendent Dr. James Mitchem intends to keep the momentum aimed at turning the district around this school year. Saddled with a cry for change, the district set out on a no-excuses, new view for a district that has seen test scores and student rankings drop over the years to substandard levels. Last year’s goal was laying the groundwork, and this year’s goal is gaining ground. “I think we accomplished more than we set out to do this past year,” Mitchem said. “…We are moving at break-neck speed with the changes
we are making to the system. …We also have to credit the teachers with accomplishing the level of change they have…every teacher has seen growth in each of their students, that is the goal.” In an atmosphere where rhetoric runs rampant. Mitchem said his and the district’s main priority is to ensure that the rhetoric spouted is backed up with real commitment. “We are gearing up toward aligning ourselves with the highest performing districts in the area and for that matter, in the state,” Mitchem said. But it will take work to get there, and the district has spent the past year putting into place various measures centering on accountability, driving at a quality education for all students who are capable of learning a more rigorous curriculum. See NEW VIEW, page 2