Bob Pauly article

[Ted]

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/news/education/x315800487/Berwyn-Man-striving-to-improve-schools 
 
  Berwyn Man striving to improve schools

By Staff reports
Berwyn Life
Posted Jan 07, 2011 @ 07:30 AM

   Berwyn, IL — Working with a team of volunteer citizens and school district staff members, Robert Pauly is leading the push to improve the education of every child in School District 100 in Berwyn — and he's succeeding.

   Changes have already taken place at District 100 schools. Kindergarten has been expanded to a full-day program. Benchmark testing has been tripled, and more technology is being deployed in the classroom. All of this has come with no major tax increases.

   Pauly, the owner of a company that manufactures and distributes jewelry packaging, is the chairman of a group called the District Advisory Council for Educational Excellence, also known as DACEE. Their vision statement, the impetus for this charge toward improving local education, is simple: "Berwyn South School District 100 will rank within the top 25 percent of schools in the State of Illinois, as evidenced by state testing."

   "Achieving our goal could change the way we live in Berwyn," Pauly said. "It would change us more than any kind of economic development, any Starbucks or a big box store ever could."

   Although DACEE's goal is simple, it's no easy task. School District 100 normally ranks between the 65th and 70th percentile of schools in the state.

   "That essentially means leap-frogging 2,000 schools within the state, which is a very aggressive and formidable task," Pauly said. "But we already have one school in the top 25, and that's Emerson Elementary, which essentially proves it's not impossible."

   DACEE was formed about two years ago by Superintendent Stanley Fields. Fields had asked for a vision statement, but he received a mission. With that clearly defined goal in place, DACEE members then focused on making their vision a reality. They researched for months, visiting the top 25 percent of school districts in Illinois, and even high-performing schools with similar demographics in other states.

   After nearly 100 meetings, thousands of man hours and even more e-mails, DACEE had a detailed report that it presented to the District 100 Board of Education in June 2010.

   "It was monumental, and it's representative of a lot of committed people within the district and also within the community," Pauly said.

   Those recommendations had a direct impact on decisions like full-day kindergarten and increased benchmark testing, and could continue to change the way District 100 operates. DACEE has many more recommendations for the school district, but is running into a wall when it comes to funding.

"Now, the focus of DACEE changes a bit, where I'm looking at finding additional resources for the district to make some of the bigger recommendations come to life," Pauly said.

Notable
Pauly enjoys writing music and making improvements to his beloved bungalow. "My mom asked me a few years ago what my biggest accomplishments in life were, and I told her they were releasing a CD of my own music and refinishing my basement."

& quotable
Fields called Pauly a "visionary thinker," adding that "he's able to look past distractions and obstacles and get a clear picture of what something could be, even though it may not closely resemble it now."

Philosophy
"Because I love the community, because I intend to keep my family here, I feel that it's my personal responsibility to devote myself to what I perceive to be the single biggest opportunity in the community, and that's education," Pauly said.

Favorites
MOVIES "Goodfellas," "The Godfather" and "Moonstruck"
HOBBIES Learning the trades to renovate his bungalow and making music

[Berwyn Patsy]

     Your hard work, time and dedication to district 100 are to be admired.
  Congratulations on your success and achievements.
      There should be more Bob Pauly's out there.

[Shelley]

Nice article about a guy that deserves recognition!  Go, Bob!

[Juliet]

A wonderful article about a wonderful family man.  I'm glad I know Bob Pauly!

[G. Mitchell]

Nice article; thanks to Bob for emphasizing the point that if we want great schools, we need to be willing to fund them!

[Bonster]

C'mon Bob, take a bow.  Don't be shy! 

[chandasz]

That's great, Bob!! So nice to see this. I'm so glad I know you!

[Robert Pauly]

Well, thanks everyone - but as with most recognition, it is misdirected.  The DACEE committee members should be taking a bow - from board members Zendol, Swicionis and Zaworski, principals Massarella, LaSalle and McManus, Stan and his staff and teachers, and a few dozen parents and community members.  And as they will tell you, our work has just begun.

Some things the article didn't mention:

•   The DACEE team needs to grow.  If you have something to share, please contact me at sales@spgppi.com.

•   And if DACEE isn't your cup of tea, please consider joining Berwyn CARES (go here: http://berwyncares.org/joincares.html).  While DACEE focuses on District 100, CARES encompasses the whole community, including Districts 98 and 201.  Please consider becoming part of the solution.

•   DACEE will be hosting a progress report meeting on Tuesday, February 1, 6:30 PM at Heritage Middle School.  Please attend - more info to follow.

•   Despite my forays into educational matters, I remain BTF's resident expert on the Cubs, Chicago sports and the unpopularity of hockey (14th most popular NCAA sport, behind lacrosse and tiddlywinks!).

See you on the 1st - Heritage Middle School - thanks again!

[mustang54]

  Again Mr. Pauly you show that you should stick to education and leave hockey to those who know what they are talking about. MANY colleges CHOOSE not to have ice hockey as a school sponsored sport. I'm sure its for many reasons. Just like many states including Illinois do not recognize ice hockey at the high school level. There are hundreds of colleges who offer hockey as a club sport, YES HUNDREDS. Like Illinois in Champaign,Purdue,Penn State,Arizona State,Duke,North Carolina and MANY MANY MORE.
  Also Mr. Pauley MANY players choose to play junior hockey in Canada or here in the U.S instead of going to college. Plus MOST division one hockey programs want players to play a year of junior hockey and then they will offer them a scholarship to attend their school. If you have any questions about the sport and how big it really is gimme a call and I can then educate you! BTW will you sign my newspaper? I want to frame it and put it next to my Gretzkey autographed photo. LMAO!!!

[The Jackal]

Well, I'm not sure how collegiate participation quantifies a sports OVERALL popularity, but since Mr. Pauly was on the subject of lacrosse, he may want ensure that sport is first sanctioned by the IHSA and then proceed to the collegiate level. As of today, they don't have a sufficient number of teams to even run a state tournament.....LOL!!!!!