For one I would have to know a whole lot more about the specifics of the Northwester incident before I would even come close to agreeing there were enough similarities between the two incidents to even begin to start making any comparisons.

Having said that I don't have a fight in any fight over what is right or wrong at Northwester... my kids don't go to school there and probably won't for that matter, my spouse and I have no ties to Northwestern, etc.

On the other hand what goes on in our community, in our schools, where my kids are students does interest me. I am personally appalled at the number of people who have tried numerous tactics to justify, rationalize, and trivialize what has happened. Frankly I am shocked to learn that the personal ethics of not only our school administrators but also other residents of our community are at a much, much lower level than even I had previously imagined. God only knows what children are learning at home from parents who would condone actions such as this. It is no wonder that morals in general are declining in America and we can only look around us at other adults to find an explanation. If adults do not know the difference between right and wrong how do you ever expect your children to learn it?

If Mr. Caudill had any personal honor left he would resign and let the community return to normal without him being a bad memory and a distraction. Clearly he has no personal honor. We already knew he voluntarily dishonored his own name and reputation so that really comes as no surprise.

Whether Mr. Caudill worked for this school district for 34 days or 34 years is not relevant to the discussion. To say that it is ok because he has been a good guy and put in 34 years suggests that it would not be ok if he had only put in 34 day. Well what about 5 years, or 10 years, or 20 years. Or what if he was a principal that no one liked? All these subjective arguments over whether or not he is well liked, a good guy, how many years he worked are really only a lot of smoke and mirrors intended to make what was done look less bad.

The fact is Mr. Caudill brought national shame to our city, our schools, and our students. He, in a few short minutes, tarnished the reputation of entire high school. For this we owe him nothing. No, nothing, not one red cent. Not two years of pay to sit around and do nothing.

If, and I do say if, he really cared about his students he NEVER would have done what he did. If, and I do say if, he really cared about his family he NEVER would have done what he did. If, and I do say if, he really cared about his job he never would have done what he did. If, and I do say if, he really cared about his commitment and dedication to his profession he never would have done what he did. Fact is people get fired all the time in this country for a whole lot less than what he did. Fact is people get fired all the time for accidents and honest mistakes. What makes this difficult that it was not an accident or an honest mistake. He is a professional at the pinnacle of his career and profession. He made a conscious decision, with forethought and planning. This was not impulsive. This was not spur-of-the-moment. This was entirely premeditated. For that there is an enormous difference and in this case "the punishment does not fit the crime". The actions of the superintendent are not acceptable. I am not fine with the superintendent allowing Mr. Caudill working for two more years in our school district. The school board needs to weigh in and weigh in heavily on this matter.

If they fail to act, come next election you can better believe this will be just one of several issues that will be brought up when questions of who to vote for and why come up. Maybe the school board thinks the voters have a short memory, but I am willing to bet when it comes to personal character and moral literacy for our principal and superintendent the voters will have a memory like an elephant.

Jim might have used this experience as a teaching tool but Alan Leis thinks it best that he not be in the building too much. On the other hand, the Northwestern University Dean of Journalism not only gets to keep his job but all the bright probabilities of promotion a future can hold. A discusion and an apology and he moves on. Thirty four years ... the position offered to Jim is a veil to appease both camps and the inbetweens. Only behind that veil lies a career in ruin and a stalwart reputation shattered as the rest of us return to the safety of our routines.

All,

I guess I come down in the middle of this whole controversy. While I think that D203 made the right decision, the hyperbole by the "off with his head" crowd to me is excessive.

The Dean at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern, just got in trouble with a similar lapse, and he retained his position. Here's part of his mea culpa;

From: Lavine, John
Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2008 at 7:19 PM
Subject: Message from Dean

Dear Medill Colleagues and Students,

In the middle of the controversy over two letters to the alumni that I wrote last year in Medill magazine, I want to make what for me is a very important point.

I have been in journalism for more than 40 years as a reporter, editor, publisher and educator. I do not make up quotes.

But I did exercise poor judgment, and I apologize for that. I used a quote from a student in a letter I wrote in the Spring 2007 issue of Medill without naming the student. I should have asked permission to use the student's name with their comment about the IMC 303 class.

I'm not saying that Northwestern got it right, and I'm not minimizing, or excusing, what happened at Central, but we have to respect Jim's commitment and dedication to his job for over 34 years. This guy really does care about his students. As I've said before this is a tragedy for Jim professionally, and personally. I think the district took the appropriate actions, and letting him work out his next two years doing valuable work for the district is just fine with me.

CJ...OMG! No student was hurt? You apparently do not understand this whatsoever! All students are hurt by the principal's unethical behavior! If you admire me along with Jim I don't want that admiration. When one of your students can graduate & go to a university & provide the same excuse for doing the same behavior he did & receive an F in the ,it is not fair that he does not have similar consequences. There were no letters to the board etc asking for his resignation? I find that hard to believe. If college professors can loose their jobs over this so should HS or even grammar school. What are students going to learn from this? Man...they will just think it is no big deal & then they will be so shocked of the consequences they receive for the same behavior when they do go to college. Some schools will even expel them.

What does Zero Tolerance and Not Tolerated mean anymore? Apparently I must have a very different definition. Is society beginning to water down these definitions? I would HIGHLY suggest you now change your laws and website to read you can do some unethical behavior and we will overlook it if you are an excellent employee or student. If I allowed a straight A student to get away with unethical behavior but not a lower level student I would have a grievance of discrimination and probably be sued! CJ I hope you are not in any position of making decisions which influences our society. I do not admire anyone who believes that some are above the laws of our society.

I believe Jim deserves a second chance. He admitted the error. I know that the established thinking calls for a clear-cut black and white answer. And I appreciate the need for resolution in order to move on. But justice comes from sorting through the tangle of codes, bylaws, conflicting sides of the story, and gut instinct. It's not a perfect system. But in a free society we are able to improve on it.

Jim deserves a second chance after thirty four years of giving his all to our students and a clean record the whole way through. We can do better than removing him from his post.

Let him keep his job as principal because it is right to give second chances to one who has given everything he's got to our students and whose remedial offense was not committed out of immoral desire and no student was hurt.

To those who feel it's too late now, free minds and good souls prevail in a free society or there wouldn't be a free society in the first place.

Thom, yes I know about the support Jim has and is recieving inspite of the call for his resignation. Thanks for bringing it up.

1prof, we don't know each other but I am sure I would admire you too for "showing up at the table every day." Call me easily awed but it's taken a long time and a lot of work to get here.

See CJ...your most recent post is another example of not demonstrating the seriousness. You are admiring him. You admire people who "show up" and "endure" when they go through a situation such as being accused of something they did not do. For standing up for what is right even when others may not think it is right. This is not a man who did this. This is a man who did something wrong and should take the consequences. He is not doing anything extra. He just knows if he doesn't he would be a wimp! That is like admiring any other criminal who does something wrong and takes their punishment. Give me a break! True character emerges before adversity!! It does not cause adversity in the first place. It emerges on how you react when others cause adversity, as in the superintendent...we now will see his true character on how he punishes Caudill.

CJ,

You should know there were 22-24 speakers in favor of Jim keeping his position that spoke at the board meeting Monday. No one spoke for his removal.A petition with 400 plus names was offered supporting Jim. In my conversations with SB members I heard that the communications received was overwhelmingly in favor of his keeping his job also.

I think it's pretty clear that there is a large number of people that feel quite strongly about Jim, and wanted him to stay. He has been tremendously well liked and respected over the years and the outpouring showed that.

Personally, I think Leis and the SB took managed to "thread the needle" and took the correct action, and I take no joy in saying that. But what's done is done, and I'm glad that Jim will be around to help with the Central rebuilding effort, and I think continuing, and expanding his mentoring and mediation programs will be a real asset to D203 students. I think that's the best outcome we can achieve. I know Jim well enough to know he will continue to put his heart and soul into his efforts.

I am thankful for good people who keep showing up. True character emerges in adversity. Somehow, Jim Caudill has the stamina to endure this and his perseverence epitomizes grace under pressure.

Sorry CJ, but I for I don't think the analogy adds up quite right.

A driver with 34 years experience running a red light and restricting driver privledges permanently doesn't add up.

If Caudill was caught "running in the halls" a speeding violation might be a relevent comparison. If Caudill was caught cutting in line in the cafeteria and not waiting his turn the running a red light comparision might also be close to a good example. However, that is not what happened, not even close.

What Caudil did was the most egregious possible error in his profession. Let's compare that with the consequences of the most egregious violation you can do while driving a vehicle and then see how the two add up?

CJ...all your post were on how wonderful a man he is & charity etc. Then you should have been clearer on what specific punishment you found appropriate because it comes across like you do not want any. As to your example, first the stop sign one was just to see what you thought even on that one thinking you were not thinking any punishment. Ok, now that I know you think some lets start from there...there is a big difference between running the stop sign when you see it consciously & still do it. That is what Caudill did...well wait...he didn't apparently know all he had to do what cite his source, so that would be like not understanding what a stop sign means really. How can that be with his wonderful experience. Next, IF it was he needed to ask for permission he knew it...he admitted it! So that is like knowing you should stop & you don't. Next, you want to say running the stop sign and hitting a kid should get more punishment then I just am not paying attention & run it & don't hit a child. You know I don't see the difference. Not making the child less but I see the no child situation the same. I'd rather punish without the child being hit severely so next time there is not a next time where a child is hit. I would be very upset if I heard a judge say "Oh you just weren't paying attention, you were tired, you are a wonderful citizen in our community...ok light sentence!" Maybe you wouldn't but I would! Again, Caudill did not make a mistake! He KNEW what he was doing was wrong & still did it! There is no excuse for it. And he "excuse" was "I didn't have time" so that would have to be the excuse for the stop sign example. If he told a judge I didn't have time to stop for the sign what do you think a judge would do? I would hope with such an incredible disregard for others he would yank that freedom to drive!

And I do agree with the other most recent post. I didn't know it was a full new position & that does concern me more for tax money. As I was reading that he would be in a mentoring position I'm thought, "Sure that makes a lot of sense...a man who is being punished for doing something wrong is now mentoring students?" What does this teach the children...oh no problem they will just give you another job with the same pay...maybe even less stressful one. Is this a punishment? He is being reinforced and if the superintendent & board can't see that then I too question their logical thinking and morals.

Oops. I forgot to enter my initials on the 12:09 post above. CJ

Hello 1prof,

Can you point out where in my post I stated that a person who is decent and good should not have consequences when they do something wrong?

To use your example: a good and decent person who gets ticketed for absent mindedly running a stop light would and should pay the fine. Even a driver with an excellent record of thirty four years would be expected to pay a ticket. But would his driving privledges be permenantly restricted? Would we scream, "Our children are not safe with such a one who willfully breaks the law by not staying fully attentive 24/7 while at the helm!" or "What kind of example are we setting for our children by allowing his full privledges restored?"

Have you ever pulled into your driveway and wondered how you got there? You're thinking about the day's events and what you still have to do when you get home and suddenly, you are home. We manage to stop at all the lights and use our blinkers because after so many years some things are automatic. Even so, the most concientious among us may see flashing lights in the rear view mirror once in a blue moon. This is the first time in thirty four years that Jim Caudill has required a second chance.

Mr. Caudill dishonored and discredited his personal reputation. He also is responsible for tarnishing the image of both the high school and the school district in the national news media.

Dr. Leis announcement has only made the matter worse and placed his own ethical values in a position to be questioned.

Mr. Caudill was one of the highest paid members of the school district. Due to his own fault and actions he is now being placed in a "new position". The taxpayers have every right to know the compensation of this "new position" that did not exist previously and was created expressly for him, because he screwed up. By what authority does the school board allow the Superintendent to suddenly create such a highly compensated, unbudgeted position?

Now the school district will have to hire a new principal and true to form they will probably hire someone and then pay them an amount equal to or even greater than what Mr. Caudill earned. Meanwhile the school district has put Mr. Caudill on a shelf and is content letting him stay there for the next several years until he retires? Running the numbers it looks like what Mr. Caudill did to himself eyes wide open is going to end up costing the taxpayers of Naperville will over a half million dollars in salary and benefit and probably a golden handshake at the end before all the dust is settled on this one.

Hey, hire me! Hire me! I know how to screw up too! Let me get a foot on this gravy train. I could use another half million dollars in my retirement fund.

I have never been more disgusted and ashamed of our school board than I am now. They have made some real blunders in their time, but this one is epic.

But CJ I don't understand your logical on why a person who is "decent & good" should not have consequences" when they do something wrong? Do you have two sets of laws or rules? If you are a decent person & run a stop sign it is ok?

Spanky...I agree...but again a few errors in grammar does not get me all upset. Everyone did not get 100% in English writing classes and after many years, things are forgotten. Yes, in the days of spell/grammar checks in Word you'd think one would have less but it doesn't get me upset...at least not as bad as "I seen the person..." or "axed" for "asked" etc.

Spanky,

Spare us you personal grammar lesson.

Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.

important (adj.), importantly (adv.), more/most important (adj.), more/most importantly (adv.)

When combined with a preposition, the adjective important is followed usually by for, in, or to: Important to [for, in] understanding our actions is the original cause of the problem. Important can also use to plus an infinitive or no preposition and a that clause: It was important to see [that we see] his reasons. Following the superlative, important usually combines with of: She was the most important of all the contestants.

Either the adjectival more/most important or the adverbial more/most importantly may serve as a sentence adverb; both are Standard in this use: More [Most] important [importantly], we now have the right answer.

I just read Dr. Leis's Talk203 letter about the incident.

Isn't there a single professional in the District with the guts to correct his grammar?

"More importantly, it takes our eye "off the ball" of making sure each student learns."

Dear Dr. - it's "more important," not "more importantly."

Every time I attend a speech by the Superintendent, I end up appalled by at least a couple of his errors.

All anyone can offer is as much of the truth as they know. I know Jim Caudill is a good, decent, honest man. Anyone who goes above and beyond the call of duty knows what it is like for others who do the same. Those who do their job but never give more than what is required may collect a paycheck but not the wisdom to judge another who values every opportunity to make the world a better place.

CJ...I'm not sure what you mean by useful or why your are mentioning it & why you think I am "above the call"? I am not. I simply do what others do. Congrats on your children's achievements but I'm sure it is not just Caudill's doing? In fact, one could say perhaps they would do even better if it were not for some poor advice. He has opened this question up by his unethical behavior. And even if he didn't & all previous children have done well that does not as someone else mention, negate what he did now & how he is influencing current children. Just because one child grows up & leaves a home does not mean a parent could do dire damage to another child still at home, so that does not really support him. I agree, mistakes and bad judgement calls are made at every level but this is not "a mistake or bad judgement call"! He knew what he was doing was wrong. He didn't know he just had to cite her and not ask permission & yet he still committed the offense. Maybe you think this would be equal to "a little white lie" but I don't & as we all know it is those little white lies even that can cause so much damage. I assure you even if your children are at top ten schools & have great gpas, if they did this there would be big consequences. In fact, one can make the case that there should be even more because of all people they should know better!

He cheated, he was caught, he is punished.

The punishment fits (in fact, it is a little light in view of what other Districts have done recently in the same situation).

Admitting it once caught does NOT negate the need for ramifications. It does show that he understands he screwed up, and I hope it means he understands there s/b ramifications.

His past achievments cannot negate his cheating.

203 has a "zero tolerance" policy, he is an author of that policy, he is the beacon to which the District takes it's direction, and as such he cannot remain as Principal.

Those who support him are good parents and friends, and it is good that you remain so in his low moment.

Those, however, who make excuses for him and believe he should remain Principal and that no ramifications are required for his actions are either morally corrupt or, in the best case, situationally ethical.

I continue to be dismayed at those who not only condone but would enable such conduct by anyone who is supposed to be a leader and role model in our community. Is it possible that all of those who continue to support Mr. Caudill are morally illiterate?

How can we expect our children to grow up and become good role models themselves if we are not good role models to them and, even more importantly, if we present them with role models who are now known to have flaws in their personal character? If parents, teachers, principals, and school board members are not all united and following the same moral compass we can only blame ourselves if our children receive a very mixed message.

How can we understand what we should be expecting from our high school principals if we are not highly tied into the educational profession? Rather than making decisions based upon a variety of personal opinions it might be helpful to review and understand what the education profession itself considers to be the necessary attributes and qualifications for a school principal to possess. From: http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2333/Principal-School.html

"In the mid-1990s the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) decided to review principal qualifications. The NPBEA included most of the major national organizations that represent education administrators from state superintendents to principals. The NPBEA also included organizations that represent professors who prepare school administrators. One of the members, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), took on the major role of developing a set of standards for school leaders. Working with the member associations and representatives from thirty-seven states, the CCSSO led the effort to identify a new set of standards for principals. This group was known as the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC).

The six standards that were created by ISLLC were designed to influence the preparation of principals, guide states in the development of their own state principal standards, and serve as a tool for licensure or evaluation. The six standards address a principal's need to promote the success of all students through the following:
� The creation and implementation of a shared school vision
� The nurturing and sustaining of a culture and instructional program conducive to learning and staff development
� The ensuring of the management of school operations to produce a safe and effective learning environment
� The collaboration with families and the diverse communities schools serve
� The promotion of integrity, fairness, and ethical behavior
� The interaction with larger political, social, legal, and cultural contexts of schooling."

WOW! Six major points. One-sixth of what a principal should be doing is promoting "integrity, fairness, and ethical behavior". One-sixth of what a principal should be doing is "nurturing and sustaining of a culture and instructional program conductive to learning and staff development". One-sixth of what a principal should be doing is "interaction with larger political, social, legal, and cultural contexts of schooling". The concept of plagiarism can be directly linked to a full fifty percent of what a high school principal should be doing.

There is no going back. There is no middle ground. The school board simply can not passively ignore this issue. The school board must decide if it tolerates plagiarism and cheating or if it embraces a culture of honesty and integrity. If our school board truly embraces a culture of moral literacy it has no choice other than to fully condemn plagiarism in any form.

High school students between the age of approximately 14 and 18 know full well the difference between right and wrong. They know full well when they cheated. They know full well when they plagiarized. They know full well when they got away with something that they knew was wrong. They also fully understand the consequences when and if they get caught. Make no mistake our children are watching this carefully. They are listening and they are learning. We are about to teach them the rules of plagiarism as they apply today in Naperville. What are our children about to learn from this lesson on plagiarism? What are our children about to learn about the value our community places upon honesty and personal integrity?

Hi 1Prof,

I have a daughter going into senior year at a top ten university. She has been on the Dean's list the whole way through, the result of her own hard work. She was under Jim Caudill's guidance for three years in high school. I also have a junior at a local university with a 3.2 GPA. He was under Jim Caudill's guidance as well. But I am even more proud of their genuine desire to find a way to be useful. As a professor, you have gone above the call of duty in helping students see that the goal is progress, not perfection. Mistakes and bad judgement calls are made at every human level. I also have two children at NCHS now (an incoming freshman and a senior) -- we couldn't get by without boundaries and rules. We concientiously abide by them and believe in justice. I believe our community's goodness will prevail.

Hi TJ,

I like your question. Why don't we ask Mr. Caudill himself how he would handle a situation where a student copied a paper? I am thinking he would handle it much like any high school principal following specifically written guidelines. Jim listens well and has a way of making students and parents feel that their thoughts and words are important. Under his and our NCHS staff's care, our children develop their own voice and enchanting sense of self and place in our world. That's a pretty sound foundation respecting others as well.

The problem I now have is how to differentiate this from a high school student who simply "grabs" a 2 page paper off the web, readers digest, National geographic or some other publication and submits it for a grade. I also wonder what kind of punishment this student would receive from Mr. Caudill if they were caught?

Simple, this has been addressed before. This is the way in which the school handles it. The student receives an F on THAT assignment. They are not kicked out of the school or out of the class. In fact they can still obtain a passing grade in that course. Theoretically an A is still possible depending on the weight of the grade assigned to that assignment.

CJ on June 11, 2008 11:40 PM
He made a mistake, knows it and his apology is sincere.
... He grabbed a three minute speech out of his files and read it to students.

------------------------------------------

Hi CJ, it seems like you are implying that this is not as big of a deal as has been playing out? can't disagree with you, I'm not sure it's such a big deal either. Jim Caudill has been shown to have an excellent track record at NCHS. The problem I now have is how to differentiate this from a high school student who simply "grabs" a 2 page paper off the web, readers digest, National geographic or some other publication and submits it for a grade. I also wonder what kind of punishment this student would receive from Mr. Caudill if they were caught?

CJ...

After reading your last post I really wonder what your children are learning from both Caudill & you then. Your children would not be considering "making a mistake" for doing the same in college! They would at the very least receive an F on the paper/speech they did & quite possibly receive an F for the course. In some schools, like those mentioned by people above that have "honor codes" they would be kicked totally out of the school. A mistake would be crediting the wrong person or placing the wrong year it was made. This man did not even know he had to simply provide credit rather than ask permission. At his age he should know this! Your children will be suffering considerably in college if they have learned this is "just a mistake!"

Jim Caudill is my children's high school principal. I, like other NCHS moms, not only trust him to lead, but value his patience and insight. He didn't let us down. He made a mistake, knows it and his apology is sincere. There isn't a high school principal anywhere who hasn't made a mistake in judgement. He grabbed a three minute speech out of his files and read it to students. Rules and boundaries keep us on track. Sometimes so does a gentle nudge, as Jim so often shows our children in his day to day hustle and bustle role as high school principal.

Google "principal" "plagiarism" and just look at how many hits are returned. Then drill down and look at how many national and local news stories have been written about this incident. Absolutely amazing.

If this much negative press, public embarrassment and humiliation had been brought upon a company in the "corporate world" the responsible individual would have been sacked immediately.

The fact that Leis and the school board still haven't reached a final decision does not reflect well upon their own personal ethics and decision making abilities. It is time for the entire lot of them to put an end to this kettle of poison and terminate Caudill so everyone can move on and put this behind us. The longer they let this linger and fester the worse it will be for everyone, especially the students.

We all have to face the fact that Caudill shamed himself. He will never be able to hold his head high in this community and command the respect that he once did. He will never be able to serve as a teacher or principal in this school district because the students will no longer respect him. The gossip and people talking behind his back will never let him live this down. It is time for a clean break and let him move on and at least attempt to restore his reputation and credibility somewhere else.

He broke our community trust. He failed as a leader and as a role model. He violated the most sacred principle of his profession. He did it this consciously, with full knowledge, and with premeditation. For this we owe him absolutely nothing.

Charity gets us all through the day. Without it there wouldn't be a spin left to our world. We all qualify for charity.

Charity is for those who are unable to do for themselves....I do not think Caudill qualifies for this whatsoever!!!

A small word. Charity. Who would be without it?

From http://www.socialworker.com/jswve/content/view/79/55/

"(3. A Typology of Plagiarists
Clearly, from the few preceding examples, there is a range of plagiarism from which one can develop typologies of plagiarists. Many authors have attempted to analyze what motivates plagiarism and distill a universal typology (Baggaley & Spencer, 2005).
One possible typology of plagiarists might include the following:

The Unconscious Plagiarist

Thought Process: �I didn�t remember that I read it somewhere.�
Thought Process: �Isn�t this all just common knowledge?�

The Ignorant Plagiarist

Thought Process: �I changed some words [the �and�s and �the�s]�
Thought Process: �I put the citation in the reference list at the end.�
Thought Process: �I didn�t know.�
Thought Process: �I didn�t know that I couldn�t quote from myself without attribution.�

These first examples of plagiarists are difficult for most professors. If the student is genuinely ignorant or unconsciously plagiarizing, the professor often asks, �Does this justify heavy penalties that are often mandated by departments or universities?� and can be torn about how to best handle the situation.
The next group of examples generally produces less angst in faculty and often produces anger and frustration in students.

The Con Artist as Plagiarist

Thought Process: �I can change the paper enough that no one will figure out the source.� This manifestation and subsequent detection of the �Con Artist� generally produces no angst in faculty.
Thought Process: �I suckered someone else into writing my paper, my parent, significant other, or friend, by telling them if they don�t help me out, I�ll fail the class, flunk out, or won�t get into an MSW program�

Subcategory: The Con Artist Enabler

This subcategory raises for faculty the issue of how to handle the fellow student enabler. In other words, should the fellow student suffer the same penalty as the �Con Artist,� especially when it is clear to the faculty member that there is a power imbalance or the �Con Artist� preyed on someone vulnerable and may even have framed this in a way that presented the failure to help a classmate as a violation of collegiality?

The Thoughtful Thief

Thought Process: �I knew they wouldn�t mind if I used their paper.� Usually the original author was not asked for permission.
Thought Process: �Oh, I would not have used it without permission if I knew it mattered that much.� In this case, the original author is usually asked for permission, and if the original author does not bluntly deny the right to use the paper, the �Good Thief� assumes permission.

The Big Spender

Thought Process: �I bought it; it is my property.� This student has no apparent guilty conscience over the plagiarism.
Thought Process: �I can�t believe you don�t believe I wrote this.� This student attempts to place the faculty member in a defensive position by attacking. Some students add tears to the attack, while others threaten to complain about the faculty member to the administration, hoping to trump the situation by adding anxiety.

The Opportunistic Plagiarist

Thought Process: �My organization has files of papers� it would be a shame not to use them.� Sometimes this thought process is supplemented with the thought �If I don�t make a good grade on this paper and in this course, I will pull down the GPA of my organization,� or �I am just using the papers to get some ideas.�
Thought Process: �After al,l this is a free paper site on the Web�why not.�

Other Plagiarist Enablers.

There are a number of types of enablers. Faculty, administration, and fellow students can all appear in this category. Students in this category are generally not identified by faculty, either because they are not detected or because they deny complicity, so one half of the plagiarism often is undetected or unproven. Plagiarist enablers can appear in several subcategories, the �See No Evil� enabler, and the �Let�s not Make A Hassle Over Nothing� enabler.

The first subcategory, the �See No Evil� enabler, includes the following two enablers: the peer who says, �Go ahead, use my work, no one will ever know,� and the professor who says, �I know that this is not something you would do knowingly.� These two examples of enablers generally are not consciously complicit in encouraging plagiarism. Both are likely to see this as an exceptional circumstance calling for mercy, rather than an acceptance that plagiarism should be challenged or ignored.
A second subcategory, the �Let�s Not Make Cause a Hassle Over Nothing� enabler, includes the following situations: The professor who turns a blind eye to work that does not fit with the student who turns it in, and the administrator who says, �Let�s not make such a fuss over this.� or �Aren�t you overreacting?� Other versions of this category may include faculty members who say to colleagues who detect plagiarism: �Don�t you think you are being too hard on the student?� or �Do you know what that student is experiencing in his/her life?� or �I don�t think this is a big enough problem to jeopardize his/her standing in the program, or mar a perfect GPA, or delay graduation,� or �Are you sure you were clear in your assignment?� This second subcategory is the more pernicious of the two categories. In these examples, the enabler is likely aware at some level that s/he is complicit in the plagiarism. Faculty and administrators who are unwilling to deal forthrightly with the problem promote an atmosphere in which plagiarism becomes the norm rather than isolated instances.

Other common errors made by students may include:
Only citing sources used at the end of the paper
Not citing on PowerPoint slides
Changing a few words and not attributing the source as an �almost� quote
Giving the source as a Web site rather than the specific part of the Web site used
Giving a primary source obtained from a secondary source without crediting the primary source (as: as cited in)
Not citing pictures and graphics
Not citing conversations, classes, and so forth that contribute heavily to the ideas developed by the student
Not citing from previous work done by the student
Turning in a paper written for another class without instructor permission
Copying and pasting and dropping the source as the material is transferred into the new document
Not So Unintentional (i.e., buying a paper from a Web source)
These sources vary: papers written to order, purchasing a prewritten paper on a topic
Copying a friend�s paper, with or without the friend�s permission
Copying a paper in an organization�s files (fraternities and sororities are notorious for paper files)
Getting substantial help from a friend or another instructor on the paper
Copying a published paper
Our favorite: getting parents to write the paper but not removing telltale comments, such as, �Hope this helps you get a better grade. Be sure to bring your laundry home this weekend.�
Submitting work done as a team/group for another class as one�s own work and without permission of the team/group

Faculty responses to this increase in plagiarism can be seen to form a continuum, ranging from plausible denial to career cynicism. Many faculty who have not yet detected much plagiarism ask, �Is it really that big of a problem?� Other jaded faculty will reply, �They all do it, and you can�t catch them, so why bother trying?� But what is the proper response to waking up during an avalanche? And more to the point, what is the unique social work educator response? )"

From http://www.concernedjournalists.org/excerpts-ethics-codes-plagiarism

"(Excerpts From Ethics Codes On Plagiarism

Printer-Friendly E-mail
Society for Professional Journalists, July 30, 2006

Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise
Plagiarism is the act of lifting the words and work of others and representing it as one's own. It will be a firing offense at The Enterprise.

Detroit Free Press
When material is used in a story from sources other than the writer's own reporting, those sources--other publications, previous Free Press stories, radio or TV newscasts, etc.--should be indicated in the story. That attribution need not be made for simple, verifiable facts like dates, but is essential for information that goes beyond simple fact-quotations or descriptions not heard or seen by the current reporter, characterizations or other generalizations not based on the writer's own reporting, etc...

Using someone else's work without attribution -whether deliberately or thoughtlessly--is a serious ethical breach. Staff members should be alert to the potential for even small, unintentional acts of plagiarism, especially in the reporting of complicated stories involving many sources.

Borrowing ideas from elsewhere, however, is considered fair journalistic practice. Problems arise in the gray areas between the acceptable borrowing of inspiration and the unacceptable stealing of another's work. Our standards:
Words directly quoted from sources other than the writer's own reporting should be attributed. That may mean saying the material came from a previous Free Press story, from a television interview, from a magazine or book or wire service report.

When other work is used as the source of ideas or stylistic inspiration, the result must be clearly your own work. That is, what is acceptable to learn from another are the elements of style and approach-tone, rhythm, vocabulary, topic ideas-and not specific words, phrases, images.

Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald
Plagiarism is one of journalism's unforgivable sins-and, at this newspaper, a dismissible offense. Material taken from other newspapers and other media must be attributed.

Rochester (N.Y.) Times-Union and Democrat and Chronicle
Using the words or the illustrations of others-writers, artists, or the publications in which their work appears-is plagiarism. It is a form of deception and it violates the spirit of this code. We should not borrow the work of others unless credit is given to them. Questions about specific applications of this guideline should be discussed with an editor.

San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News
Plagiarism exists in many forms, from the wholesale lifting of someone else's writing to the publication of a press release as news without attribution. The daily newspaper should be an original work. Do not borrow someone else's words without attribution.

Sioux Falls (S.D.) Leader
Plagiarism will not be tolerated

Tacoma (Wash.) Morning News Tribune (draft)
Staff members shall not plagiarize. When other person's unique ideas or writings are quoted or paraphrased, they must be attributed. But because the question of plagiarism is a complex issue, and absent a written policy on plagiarism, staff members should discuss issues of attribution with their supervisors on a case-by-case basis.)"

What has gone wrong with our values in Naperville? What has happened to personal character among those of us who live or work or teach in Naperville? What is happening to what we as a community are teaching all of our children?

Plagiarism is stealing. Yes, stealing. Plagiarism is taking without permission. Yet there are some who do not think what has happened is wrong or bad.

There is no justification. There is no rationalization. By his own admission, what Caudill did was premeditated and was done with full knowledge. Caudill was fully cognizant and knew the full intent of what he was doing. This was not an accidental, not even close. On this there is no ambiguity. There obviously and understandably is now a lot of regret. However, what has now been done as a result of the conscious choice and decision of an adult can not be easily undone.

There are those who forget that plagiarism as a concept operates within a value system that depends upon personal honor and integrity. It is a value system that is not based upon a law; therefore the concepts and arguments of intent or severity are not relevant.

Our military academies have always maintained a reputation for operating within an honor system that is intolerant of anyone who violate their code of honor. Plagiarism, cheating, and other similar violations are treated harshly with expulsion. There are no second chances. Everyone knows, understands, and respects the honor system or suffers the consequences. Those with honor choose not to associate with those who will not live up to the same standards.

For some things there are no mitigating circumstances. For some things here are no second chances. Plagiarism by a high school principal is one of them.

From http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2004/06/10/City/Cook-Resigns.As.Chairman-1359345.shtml

"A collective gasp emanated from the overcrowded board room as Keith Cook announced his immediate resignation as Orange County School Board chairman Monday night at a Board of Education meeting in Hillsborough.

Cook's resignation came as a result of a plagiarized graduation speech he delivered on May 28 at the Orange High School graduation service. The speech was originally delivered in 1998 by Donna Shalala, then U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. Cook selected the speech after performing a Google search for "graduation speech." Throughout the ordeal, Cook has maintained that the speech wasn't attributed to Shalala on the Web site.

"I have tried very hard in 15 years in the community to carry myself in an ethical manner," Cook said in a prepared statement. "We are all human beings, and human beings make mistakes.""

From http://www.lemoyne.edu/library/plagiarism/news.htm:

"Christine Pelton, a high school teacher in Piper, KS, has resigned her position after being told by the school board (led by the superintendent) to change the grades given to students who plagiarized in her biology class. Information on this topic can be found in transcripts in Lexis Nexis, local newspapers in Kansas, and national newspapers. On 2 April 2002, the Piper School Board voted (in an open meeting this time) to require Pelton to change the grades of the 28 students. The vote was unanimous, with one abstention. According to a brief article in the Topeka Capital-Journal on Nov. 10, 2002, the chair of the school board was recalled in a narrow vote and others were facing a recall as well. The superintendent and at least one school board member have resigned. (This news seems to be reported only in Kansas newspapers, available in Lexis Nexis if you don't live in Kansas). In May 2002, the Kansas State Legislature gave her a citation and standing ovation. Ms. Pelton was also interviewed by Oprah Winfrey (in a program about people who stand up for what they believe). The transcript of this interview is available in Lexis Nexis, and aired on June 17, 2002."

Yes Thom...I thank God you are not doing actual research & making decisions based upon it! "I sense..." careful Sylvia Browne will sue!

Dan,

This confuses me;

3. Use this as an advantage to improve the schools. Unless of course standing still and falling behind the rest of the world like 204 is the policty.

"You've been talking up 204's frontier campus so much, what happened?

As far as Jim's replacement at Central, a change in leadership is alway an opportunity.Let's hope that Jim's successor manages to impress both you and me. Considering how well the kids do there and all the academic awards they win, Jim's replacement will have some big shoes to fill.

Regarding this;

Second, a 16.4% contribution versus 15.4 cannot buy you the higher pension versus social security (3 to 4 times?). Impossible.

Please stop being so disingenuous. You of all people understand the advantage of the Teachers Retirement System being able to invest their funds. I remind you of last years income that I had posted previously.

This is for FY2007 in millions

Teachers 826
school Dist 116
State of Ill 738
Investment income 6,831

Pretty obvious where the moneys coming from to pay the more generous benefit, and all the state has to do is keep the same commitment to funding their side as employers on the private sector have to do for you and I.

As far as your comments regarding dealing with the issue. Yeah 20 years of underfunding by Repub's created the problem, but there was a solution enacted. From Hynes;

"To correct this condition and limit future underfunding of state pension benefits, Public Act 88-593, effective July 1, 1995, created a fifty-year funding plan with an ultimate target of achieving 90% funding of system liabilities".

This was working until Blago decided to pass making large enough payments for two years in 2005-2006. So we have plenty of blame to go around it seems.

Lastly, just to drive 1prof crazy I note the final results of the Sun's admittedly non scientific poll;

Question was "How do you feel 203 handled the two plagiarism cases?'

54 too lenient
93 too severe
94 just about right

From talking to people around town I sense this is pretty close to how people feel. A fairly small minority want a more severe punishment, and a significant majority are content, or feel it's too severe. Seems about right to me.

Are you people forgetting something?

This thread is supposed to be about PLAGIARISM. If you want to discuss pensions or something else take it to another thread already.

Please FOCUS people!

Go back to my comments on plagiarism.

1. Agree, no Central.
2. Should check if he deserves to stay to increase his pension. Maybe he should stay @ 50% of his salary. He might not want to work since he could make more on retirement (his best 5 years, a paycut would have no impact).
3. Use this as an advantage to improve the schools. Unless of course standing still and falling behind the rest of the world like 204 is the policty.

Dan

Thom, two good comments were made on this blog about pensions.

First, government employees including teachers took jobs with high job securtity, low pay, and disproportiately higher pensions. Now that they have received higher pay, maybe the pension should have been correspondingly adjusted rather than provide a double benefit. These "unfunded costs" have really exploded in the last ten years as salary increase assumptions have been exceeded, not just because the state has not funded plans. But a good union steward would put 100% of the blame on the Republicans not funding pension for 20 years.

Second, a 16.4% contribution versus 15.4 cannot buy you the higher pension versus social security (3 to 4 times?). Impossible. So whatever the numbers are, you have to increase taxes, increase employee pension contributions (employees to pay for their 401k's) or cut benefits. I suggest that if you doubled the state income tax, you will not get double revenue since taxpayers (wealthy, of course) will move income to other states. That is what California tries to deal with. Michigan raised taxes last year and revenues fell more.

Do we have a problem? Yes.

Should it be fixed? Yes.

Are the legislators or governor dealing with this? NO

As I said, the Sun should run a series on this issue.

Dan,

In a prior post you made these recommendations to make up the pension deficit.

1. Increase the state income tax to 10% and double property taxes.
2. Cut teachers salaries by 10 to 20% and use that money to fund the pensions.
3. Cut the pension benefits (not to social security levels, but to what the funding should pay).
4. Combination of 1, 2, and 3.

Let’s look at the actual numbers;

Pension Fund deficit for State employees, and K-12 and university teachers is $40 billion. The deficit has occurred because the state has not contributed over the years the sums it is obligated to make. I quote one of your references;

“During a period of fiscal stress,….. state contributions declined sharply in fiscal years 1982 and 1983 and only increased modestly through fiscal year 1995” fast forward to 2006-and 2007 and the state did the same thing cut the payments it’s obligated to make. Now you love to blame Democrats for all our problems, but the impartial observer will note that 82-95 was a Republican rein. And 2006-07 a Democratic one.

So let’s get back to your cure.

#1 increase state income tax rate to 10% and double property taxes.

Let’s do the math, 2007 personal income tax receipts was $9.4 billion @ 3%. If you increase that to 10% the number becomes $31.36 billion an increase of $22 billion .If we do as you suggest and disregard you claim regarding doubling property taxes, we will pay off the deficit in only two years. Little quick don’t you think?

#2. Cut teachers salaries 10-20%.

The teachers are already paying 9.4% of their income into the fund. What is lacking is the state not living up to its obligation to fund their portion. It would be the same thing as if any company in the private sector suddenly said. “Gee times are tough. We’re not going to pay our portion of our employees SS. You’re company goes bye-bye when you do that and you land in Jail.

#3. Cut the pension benefits to what the funding should pay.

I agree, that’s all they’re entitled to. If the investment gain isn’t there then they have to accept that. But the state has to live up to it’s obligation of making it’s contribution just as any company in the private sector has to live up to it’s obligation to pay their share of their employees SS. The bottom line is ultimately the employees are going to get screwed because the state isn’t holding up its end of the bargain, in much the same way all of us will probably get screwed with SS because our government has “borrowed” our SS funds and won’t be able to pay it all back most likely.

This comment of yours is misleading;

You KNOW that teachers pensions are SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER than Social Security, but the funding is not. In my experience, between 15 to 20% of salary is set aside for more modest private sector pensions.

What sets the teachers pension apart from SS is the investment income, which allows it to pay those larger amounts, (please see prior post). Private sector pensions are in excess of SS and are 100% employer funded. So you have two misleading statements in one sentence. In fact you consistently try to bring in private sector pensions in the comparison. It’s a complete apples and oranges comparison.

Regarding this;

If you look at the chart, the actuarial liability has been exploding in the last ten years due to excessive salary increases (the primary driver of the liability). This is not some leftover debt from the 90's.

What chart at that link? However this was at that link;

Active teacher; avg age 41, Avg salary 58K, avg service 12 years.
Retired teacher; avg Age 69 avg service 29 years, avg. benefit 40K.

So you feel 58K is too high an average salary and 40K to too high a benefit?

Lastly this

Thom, you are quick to point out George Bushes deficit increases (based on Democratic funding plans of the last two years…

Dan, please give it up. Do you expect any sentient being to think that the entire increase in out national debt of $3.6 trillion which is a 64% increase of the total national debt in under GW Bush’s tenure somehow was only in the last yean and a half? Please!

I’m at least honest enough to agree with you that Rod baby has been a disaster and the state has suffered for it. How about a little reciprocal honesty from you that GWB and the republican congress has been a disaster too.

Thom, do you have any other options……... But my solution is to cut spending, not increase taxes (your position). So there is no argument, only a difference of opinion.)

I never said we only need to raise taxes. We need to do both, cut spending and raise taxes. Neither will do the trick, nor even both combined will most likely not do enough to address the problem.

Jim Lynch, if your ghost is looking over us I apologize for another pension post.

.

As far as deficits are concerned, whether we are talking Bush or Clnton, it still sounds like the old joke ----now that we know what they are, we are only discussing Price!

They both increased the national debt (though the liberal left TRIES to paint Clinton as working in a surplus). He did manage a surplus for about 14 months working with a conservative House that forced certaqin issues on him AND he complketely hamstrung the military (hello, Osama!)

The botton line is that they both allowed too much spending (though, to be fair, I must offer a lesson in American government and point out that the President does NOT create the budget ---- the Congress does. The Presdident can only veto it!)

Postscript: How many folks retire with SS payments 0f $80,000? $90,000? $100,000?

Our teachers do. Tough life --- originally government workers got great benefits because the salaries were so low. Now that the salaries have caught up, they still get the great benefits.

For you economists out there, you have what is called a basic economic disparity (an untenable situation) when the folks providing the service on average are getting more than those paying for the service.

Can Thom & Dan quit talking about this crap on this thread and get back to the issue of fraud & cheating and whether Naperville 203 has ethics or just situational ethics?

As I said ----- The Teachers' Pension is for full retirement (not just a SS replacement)! Like ALL government programs, it is much more lucrative than what we common folk can expect for ourselves.

The contribution by the teacher is significantly LOWER than that which we put into SS, and the return is WAY, WAY HIGHER. Nuff said on that.

The Sun should put together an investigative series on pensions!!!

Thom, I lost track of the contributions, also Chicago teachers are different than the suburbs. The TRS contribution is 9.4% employee (that District's "pay" on behalf of teachers so teachers do not have to pay income taxes on these contributions like we do on social security) and 0.58% school district (I think that this only applies to teachers salaries that are paid with Federal dollars).

Source (both for authenticity and not to do a Caudill
http://www.trs.state.il.us/subsections/employers/employerservices.htm#rates

The following information is from the Illinois Comptroller.

Source: http://www.ioc.state.il.us/FiscalFocus/article.cfm?ID=222

In fiscal year 2006, teacher contributions were $799 million. State contributions (the comparable employers share to SS) was $601 million. If the teacher contributions were 9.4%, then the state's portion was 7%. The total is 16.4% versus 15.3% for Social Security.

You KNOW that teachers pensions are SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER than Social Security, but the funding is not. In my experience, between 15 to 20% of salary is set aside for more modest private sector pensions.

If you look at the chart, the actuarial liability has been exploding in the last ten years due to excessive salary increases (the primary driver of the liability). This is not some leftover debt from the 90's. Also, if you look at the TRS report, the state should be funding the plan at $1 billion annually for the last three years, instead, the Democrats have funded an average annual contribution of $725 million. Source http://trs.illinois.gov/subsections/pubs/summary.pdf

For those few companies in the private sector that have defined benefit pensions, benefits are lower. Also, for those who retained defined benefit plans, they have significantly reduced the payments for new hires, beginning in the early 90's. And don't forget about all the people who have lost pensions due to bankruptcies.

I asked Thom for a solution, but I forgot there is another solution (really part of cutting benefits). Freeze the plan. People get only what they earned to date. Going forward, have them join social security and create a defined contribution plan at a five to ten percent funding. This would cap our liability and nobody would be harmed (teachers do not have collective bargaining rights to a state pension, they depend on the whim of the legislature).

Thom, you are quick to point out George Bushes deficit increases (based on Democratic funding plans of the last two years), but the State is even worst. They have increased benefits and not provided the adequate funds to promote other social iniatives. And the bill is coming due. I think that my impacts are not far off, but they are significant.

But again, this would be a good investigative series for the Sun.

PJ,

When in Rome... But hey, guess what Einstein? We are not in Rome. What they do anywhere else in the world doesn't matter here in Naperville. What a non-relevant, pointless argument to try to shift the focus and soften what has been done by comparing this act against how other cultures may or may not view plagiarism. I'm no expert on how it is handled in other countries and for that matter could care less. That is not what is important to this thread and this discussion.

The only thing that matters is the value our culture places on plagiarism.

1prof -

I see your point, but killing a human being and copying a passage from a book are hardly the same thing.

Also, the cultural difference is just a possible explanation...not an excuse. I'm not saying we shouldn't attribute quotations, but plagiarism can be and often is inadvertent. Some people - especially young kids - simply don't know any better. Granted, this kid lifted most of that speech and probably knew what he was doing...and he deserves to be reprimanded - but I still don't think it's analagous to theft.

Some students copy entire term papers and pass them off as their own. This is completely unethical, and ought to be punished severely. However, some students are simply unsure of their own voice or their ability to paraphrase...they aren't necessarily trying to subvert the system. A large number of writing teachers and professional organizations are adamantly opposed to sites like Turnitin.com for precisely this reason.

Kids have to learn to cite, but it's not enough just to threaten them by likening plagiarism to thievery - ideas, in this context, are not goods/services to be sold. It ought to be a matter of respect and leaving a paper trail of your "influences", rather than a contentious, finger-pointing competition for "originality".

Dan and Anonymous, and with apologies to Jim Lynch;

To be exact Teachers pay in 9.5% of their salary into the TRS Teachers Retirement System. I am unsure of the exact percentage but the school district to a smaller degree and the state government to a larger degree put in approximately the same amount.

I will verify, this but my understanding is that the state is guilty of;

A. Underfunding the pension fund. (comparable to your employer not paying their side of your SS remittance, Employers pay the same amount we do in our name to SS).

B. Raiding the fund, to pay for general expenses(comparable to the Fed's borrowing our SS deposits)

Considering that the TRS is in lieu of SS, and the initial payments mirror SS payments, the simple fact is that the TRS is in lieu of, and functions as, the teachers version of SS. This is all they get, there is no additional 401K program like many of us have , and that often match the first 3% of our income 50-100%.

Where people get steamed is the benefit side of the TRS. They are far better than SS although SS does more things, such as disability payments.

Why is there such a difference in benefits between the TRS and SS?

As the following information shows. The TRS invests the remittances and the income derived is significant.

This is for FY2007 in millions

Teachers 826
school Dist 116
State of Ill 738
Investment income 6,831

Pretty obvious where the moneys coming from to pay the more generous benefits.

To Dan,

Can you tell us the total deficit in the various state pension funds and based on that number how you get to the huge proposed increases in the state income tax and property taxes.

Also will you please clarify;

Is your position that actuarially the 9.5% that teachers pay and the corresponding amount pad by SD's and the state is insufficient to fund the present benefits, or is it the the fund deficit (whether by borrowing's or a failure to fund in the first place) is insufficient.

OH BOY PJ...you need to find out what the laws of our land are & why we have to go by them. Murder of our definition in our country is not the same in other cultures so does that mean we should not see it so black & white here & not punish? Wow! Wait until your words are used and then see how you feel. What you say is true but not applicable here...we go by what our land states!

Dan...please do not even think of cutting teachers salaries in any way. My increase for my last contract is not even keeping up with gas prices alone, much less how everything else is going up because of the increase in gas. I have less extra money to save or use than I did even 13 yrs ago much less 18 when we hit a recession then...which was nothing like now.

To clarify: The Teachers' pension is NOT their bersion of SS ----- It is their version of both SS AND a true pension (ie 401k, etc).

To explain it as only "SS" is silly.

I am amazed at how many people see this as a black-and-white, cut-and-dry issue...as if using the same words as another person were somehow akin to walking into your neighbor's house and stealing his/her television set.

Notions of plagiarism and intellectual property are culturally and socially constructed norms, not objective moral truths. The idea that words and phrases "belong" to a particular person is specious at best. No one writes alone. Anything you write is alive with everyone you have ever known, with everything you've ever read, remembered, or imagined. Our thoughts are a product of other's thoughts. Even Shakespeare's ideas were rarely his own.
Also, in many eastern cultures, citation and referencing are far less important than they are in North America.

Sometimes, a good idea is simply that. Does it matter who said it first? Sure...but not that much.

My final thoughts on the Naperville Central plagiarism.

1. Removing Caudill from Central is correct. I only wanted to hear Thom say that and he ultimately did.

2. Based on comments in the LTE in the Sun that were critical of Caudill and that he only ran Central for five years, the Board should conduct a hearing on his performance to see if he deserves to be kept on for the two years that he wants to or should immediately be fired.

3. Caudill should keep the pension he has earned. The problem with firing him today (if that is what the hearings would support) would be that he would not get two more years @ 6% bumps that would increase his pension and increase the Illinois debt.

4. Based on some of the criticisms and comments (such as 1prof), this is an ideal time to reevaluate high school education. A new principal should be brought in to bring a fresh perspective to this matter. The Frontier campus at 204 is one model. There is no reason why North Central could not take over a wing of Central and create a similar program that Frontier/204 offers. This would be a good use of the soon to be excess capacity at Central as enrollment will continue to drop. Create CHOICE within the building and let the best program survive. Or whatever other programs great minds can think up.

5. The comments supporting Caudill remind me of Father Flanigan. He is a good guy in dealing with the bullies at Boys Town. But Central is not Boys Town and the school has not progressed (and nor have most American public schools for that matter) in upgrading the education. Students are proceeding faster at the elementary level, but there is not a comensurrate improvement at the high schools. Funny, but my parents looked at moving to Naperville in the 70's. I was concerned because Central did not offer AP classes at the time. But at that time, only three Illinois districts did. Now if you don't, you are the exception. Why not lead (like 204) than implement programs ten to 20 years after innovative districts (back in 1970 it was New Trier, Evanston and Reavis--the last one was a shocker, but they offered the classes).

Dan

PS All public pensions in Illinois are not funded adequately EXCEPT Municipal Employees (excluding Fire and Police). The reason is that to obtain the benefits that these underfunded plans provide, the COMBINED funding for employees and employers should be between 30 and 40% of salary versus the 7% teachers pay and the 10% the State of Illinois pays (total 17% and declining)(Municipal plans are funding at 25 to 30% of salaries). Four alternatives.

1. Increase the state income tax to 10% and double property taxes.
2. Cut teachers salaries by 10 to 20% and use that money to fund the pensions.
3. Cut the pension benefits (not to social security levels, but to what the funding should pay).
4. Combination of 1, 2 ,and 3.

Thom, do you have any other options. (BTW, George Bush should have vetoed the extra $50 billion in Democratic domestic spending this year even if it meant shutting the government for six months. You are right, he has increased the deficit. But my solution is to cut spending, not increase taxes (your position). So there is no argument, only a difference of opinion.)

Thom & Dan...

I think you both have done your best...Thom if he didn't post you would have the last word...so hey...you could have no replied. If you reply then you are contributing & can't blame him either. Just move on & to something else...as I say to my students about couples...who care who starts making the relationship better...it will end up benefitting you so...

Anonymous,

If I might, I will let Jim Lynch's words stand as my response. From the ombudsman thread;

By Naperville Sun editors June 5, 2008 4:42 PM

Thanks, Thom, appreciate it. Naperville has been great - I'll miss it. Also, understand what you were saying in your last post. Totally justified.

All the best,

Jim

Thom Higgins,

How long are you going to flog this dog until you will finally let it go and let the thread return to the issue of plagiarism?

Or in your usual fashion will you continue to post rebuttal after rebuttal in your blind quest to always have the final word?

Jim,

It started off with some people posting that Jim should loose his pension. On 6-1 @11:32 I posted a response reminding them what people call a teachers pension is the equivalent of our Social Security. That's a important point in my estimation. It's one thing to loose you company pension. It's another more serious thing to not have a company pension and then loose the equivalent of his SS coverage that he has paid into for years.

That apparently caused an anonymous poster last night @11:21 pm to claim I was "trying to pull the wool over people eyes"

I made a short response, and then Mr. Denys got into the conversation. I would not have posted anything regarding the issue today had the anonymous poster not implied that I was somehow trying to deceive the readers here with incorrect information, or had Mr. Denys not gotten into the act.

Dan,

There's a lot to your comments that I have questions regarding but briefly two things;

If you can actuarially make the case that the funds that have, or should have been paid into the system are not sufficient to pay benefits, then you have an argument to make freezing benefits. Are we in agreement that it's not just teachers but fire, police and I bet municipal workers too?

Considering that the teachers and state pay very close to the percentages of their income as what you and I, and our employers pay in to SS, how can you tell the teachers that the deal suddenly is off so to speak? Remember the teachers pension is the equivalent of yours and my SS. Can you imaging the uproar if the Feds say they can't pay our SS because they've raided the cookie jar too much?

I don't disagree that there will be some kind of "come to Jesus" moment for state pensions, and for the SS program too. Federal and state governments have used these funds as their own piggy banks, and I worry about this countries ability to pay for all of its promises. Google David Walker, newly ex-head of the GAO some time. There will be hell to pay regardless of which group takes the hit.

Convert to a Defined Contribution plan for what is the equivalent of teachers SS? You want to pass on the coming disaster that will befall most Americans in the coming years to the teachers too? If you do even the most cursory study of 401K's you will find that too many people don't invest in them, when the do they do it poorly, and a too many think that it's a piggy bank to raid for Christmas Shopping. My favorite debacle is a company called Reserve Solutions Inc. of New York offering debit cards to help workers access funds from pre-approved 401(k) loans. Can you imagine it? And please do not loose sight of the fact that the Teachers Retirement System is their SS, and is not comparable to a IRA or 401K that you or I might have. Your examples of IBM is talking about a pension above and beyond SS.

Perhaps a better alternative would be to allow the government to invest some part of the SS trust fund in creating good paying American jobs, pay them a return too boot, and increase the benefits you and I receive. Of course the government would have to stop raiding it first.

OK, a third comment. "Tax,spend and build debt liberals"? May I remind you that the deficit was $5.7 Trillion when GW Bush was inaugurated. It's $9.3 trillion today. A staggering increase in 7 1/2 years. BTW under Clinton the increase for 8 yeas was approx $1.5 trillion. Say what you will but GWB killed the tax and spend liberal meme for our lifetimes

There are two problems with teacher pension benefits. First, they have not been funded as they should have been. Not allowed in the private sector, only the public sector.

The second relates to generous benefits. They include benefits based on higher percentage of salaries than the private sector, the infamous end of service "gifts" that you never see in the private sector, annual increases, and extremely subsidized medical expenses (that are not even allowed in the private sector).

These pensions are going to bankrupt the state. We cannot attract new business (Mitsubishi would love to get out of here), we are only attracting distribution businesses. Amazing how our state is barely breaking even (along with other Blue states such as California and New York) while Red States such as Texas and Florida have had record surpluses (Florida had its first reduction in taxes this last quarter).

Solution. Freeze pension benefits to what have been earned to date. Going forward, make the pension plans defined contribution rather than defined benefit. IBM did this 20 years ago. Follow the lead of the private sector. Alternatively, Illinois should declare bankruptcy and pensioners would be treated as unsecured creditors for their unfunded pension liabilities. Under the bankruptcy laws, their pensions would be reduced accordingly.

This should be done for all underfunded pensions in Illinois. They would then be in line with the private sector (better than PBCC pensions that the airlines had to take). So they would be fair.

None of the Illinois political leadership has the courage to fix this mess. If you want to see Illinois's future, look to Michigan. They had to increase taxes and deficits grew!!! Detroit is generally a ghost town with significant crime problems. This will spread as more areas are controlled by tax and spend and build debt liberals.

Anonymous,

There are two issues here, contributions and benefits.

As far as contributions, the teachers retirement retirement plan and SS are quite comparable, Both have the employee paying 7-8% approx with the employer paying the same, although state governments allow themselves to skip some of these contributions to the teachers fund I believe. Both have problems with deficits, and the funds being raided to pay government expenses. The retirement plans can, and do, from time to time, suffer from portfolio losses on their investment.

Where you are getting cranky, is in the benefits side of the equation. The teachers retirement plan has better benefits, and the reasons why I think are two-fold. One, they are usually invested so have capital appreciation, and secondly, all they worry about is teachers retirement. SS has a host of other things they pay for that you might not be aware of, so there's the "rub" so to speak.

To me it's important that you know that your contribution as a taxpayer as a percentage is comparable to what an employer pays into SS, and as it's often referred to as a pension plan, that people do not confuse it with now vanishing defined benefit pension plan on top of SS as once was existed in the business community.

I believe, but am not positive, that the police and fire plans are set up the same way. Don't know about municipal workers.

Good God Thom Higgins!!! Did I actually read above that you compared SS to the Illinois Teachers Retirement?!!!!! Please please please tell me you did not just do that. If so, can I switch my meager SS payments for a teachers pension!!!! I'd do it in a heartbeat!!!! Mr. Higgins, you might be able to pull the wool over some idiots eyes in Naperville on the pension but not mine.

To Sgilly,

We may agree on the location of the editorial being misplaced, but there is indeed a place for the staff of the sun to insert its own opinions. If the editorial would have been put its opinion where all editorials are usually put, "no harm no foul". It is the front page status and only that,which concerns me.

As for more thorough reporting I have no opinion regarding it but will say that in past articles our local paper has done an excellent job of reporting in a concise, well thought out manner.

Regarding your comment that the story was deemed newsworthy because of reader participation, that may initially be true but would not any news organization want to report on a story that brings in this type of local concern. As for your embarrassment for the paper well I guess time will tell, it would appear the paper got it right in that the board has spoken and the principal has been relieved of his post.

As for me it is a placement and timing issue but what do I know I am only a s/man.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
By sgilly on June 4, 2008 10:01 AM

In answer to the Naperville Sun Editors previous question, "Do we feel we did our jobs, and spoke for the many in the community who took the time to share their thoughts with us about the situation, and did we carefully and thoughtfully articulate the reasons for our position?"

The answer is NO. Journalistic ethics from the Society of Professional Journalist are: to seek the truth and report it, to minimize harm, act independently and be accountable.

The Naperville Sun's editors should be held accountable. The Sun's job is to be impartial and REPORT the news - the facts. At no time should they have decided to print THEIR OWN opinion on the FRONT PAGE. I think they should be held accountable and fired for their actions!!
By sgilly on June 4, 2008 10:14 AM

Ted Slowik-- In response to your comment that you put the editorial on the front page because "it was all anybody in town seemed to be talking about", I am embarrassed for you. If that is the way that you deem stories newsworthy, you have a serious problem.

Response from Ted Slowik:

Newspapers report the news in an objective manner in the news pages. For as long as newspapers have been in existence, they've also had an opinions section, where letters to the editor are published and where an editor typically writes an editorial outlining the newspaper's position on a topical issue. Sometimes, throughout history, newspapers run editorials on the front page. They don't do it often, most general-interest newspapers, that is. No one is obliged to agree with the newspaper's position. The newspaper -- by putting an editorial on the front page -- is saying, "We think this topic is of particular importance." You can agree or disagree with the position of the editorial, but as far as its placement, I maintain that putting the editorial on the front page demonstrated the seriousness of the issue, the level of interest within the community about the topic, and it achieved its goal of prompting spirited debate.

Dan,

It seems you are down to the Multi Variable Calculus class taught at Central during the 2007-2008 school year as it relates to college credit. Let me make some calls and I will report back.

Regarding this;

like the coverup of teachers using District property to campaign against the law.

I think you were meaning to say "... district property to campaign, which is against the law."

In fact it was one teacher, who used 203 servers one time, to send out an e-mail to 8 recipients. It was not swept under the rug, the teacher apologized and was reprimanded. I know some want to make this into Watergate but please......

Thom

I acknowledge your facts, unfortunately, you have to dig through volumes to get there. Let's make this VERY SIMPLE! (the dates are approximate, I trust the exact dates could be filled in)

Prior to 2004, only enought students for one class in District. Taught at North by a COD sanctioned teacher.

2005-2006 Need for two classes, both taught at North by sanctioned teachers.

2007 to 2008 One class offered at each school. North teacher sanctioned (COD credit), Central NOT SANCTIONED (no COD credit). Students at Central not told of no college credit, not "promised" in handbook.

Now Corrected? Don't know. Leis said he would bus those students at Central who wanted college credit instead of taking the class at Central (don't know if this was communicated).

All of the above is consistent with your facts and mine. I do not know if Caudill or Leis told the Central students about not getting COD credit. Don't know if they asked. I was checking out the information for my son. The class is a good idea IF you are going to get credit. Otherwise, you will have to take it twice (at Central and at college). Makes no sense.

This could have all been avoided if Central would have made certain that their teachers were qualified. Sounds like a job for the principal, at least he should take the responsibility.

My concern as a parent was how many other problems like this are being covered up? Like the coverup of teachers using District property to campaign against the law.

In light of these situation, plagiarism is minor. Maybe that is why Caudill might either not realized the severity of his actions or thought that anything goes.

For all those who seem to think this is no big deal maybe you should try looking at this from another perspective.

Educators and police officers are both government workers. Citizens and taxpayers place an enormous amount of public trust in both educators and police officers. The worst possible thing to do in the education profession is to plagiarize. The worst possible thing to do in the police profession is to break the law.

Whether on duty or off duty, a police officer who is found guilty of breaking the law is going to get fired AND loose their pension. Police officers simply do not tolerate other police officers who do not uphold police professional ethics. It doesn't matter if it is a newly hired rookie who "didn't know better" or a Police Chief with 30+ years of experience who claims they "simply forgot".

The police work rules help maintain our trust in our officers and hold their duty to others to a higher standard. Maybe this is an appropriate time for the school district to review the education system work rules and institute appropriate sanctions when educators violate our trust or abandon their duty to others. Why should any educator tolerate another educator who does not uphold the ethics of their profession?

Ted,

The plagiarism issue DEFINITELY belonged on the front page --- great job!

It does not matter that the principal has a lot of other good things he has done or that many people support him (though not quite as many as don't support him). The issue of plagiarism is one of the few that trumps all of this other chafe as trust and honor are basic building blocks of education.

He broke that trust BigTime and though he admits it was wrong, ramifications are still due. The reassignment "feels" like the right thing (losing his pension was a spiteful suggestion!)

It is important that the Sun, and we citizens, not FORGET that the Superintendant had stated that the person who committed the plagiarism will be reassigned --- we need to hold him to his word on this.

Dan,

This was an ongoing program,in place, a year ago when you supposedly had the conversation with Dr, Leis. Some busing of students between schools has occurred in the past, and the class has been taught at both schools in the past few years.

The bottom line is students from both schools have been able to attend and receive credit, although students from both schools might have to travel to the other school. This contradicts your assertion that it was open to North students only.

Did you know that students at North (and Benet) took an advanced math class beyond calculus received dual credit, but Central students do not? Reason, the Central teacher was not qualified, he did not have a masters in math. So COD (the source of 203 colldge credit transcripts) will not grant college credit for the course at Central, they will at North.

In all of Thom's verbage, the truth gets lost. Case in point.

In his last point (included in the blog and on his web page), does not address the key point.

North and Central offer multivariable. AGREE.

Our teachers (Craig Morse in the past and Liz Moore now) ([2 at NNHS] per QE203 web site)are sanctioned by COD. AGREED

Last year we offered two sections of MVC for BOTH NCHS and NNHS students. They were both taught at NCHS by Liz Moore. AGREED (at that time Central students were bussed to North for the class).

The issue is that when CENTRAL began to offer the course (this year or last), the CENTRAL teacher assigned was NOT COD sanctioned. NOT ADDRESSED BY THE RESPONSE OR QE203. And the students did not get college credit, one of the few dual leval classes in 203.

Is this a problem? Not for me, my child was not impacted. Did anyone poll the Central students and parents of this class how they felt about this issue? If 203 and Caudill were concerned about QUALITY, that would be the logical next step. Is any school perfect? I DOUBT IT. We are all humans. That is why we can always improve.

Why defend mediocracy? Instead, make it better.

Meesage to Thom

I asked the question expecting no answer from Leis. However, I might have certain issues with Leis (and he with me), but one attribute that I have generally found is that he is honest.

Thom, the Naperville Central course guide clearly did not list the math class as getting COD credit (North's did). I asked for an explanation of this discrepancy expecting a short answer, such as yours or these teachers, that it was a typo. To my surprise, Leis fully investigated the situation and wrote me that the teacher at Central did not meet COD's requriements (a Masters in Math although he had a masters in something--you know, to get the higher salary). He went on to say that if Central students wanted to get the college credit, he would bus them to North where the teacher was certified. In joking, I asked, why not have a qualified teacher from Norht teach the class. His response was that he did not want to interfere with how Central was run.

So Thom, did I make all of this up (ie I am a lier)? Was Leis lying? Or were those math teachers covering their butts? Had they checked with Leis on his comments?

But come back to the important point. All high schools need leaders that rise to the occasion and improve education. Two years ago Benet decided they need to enhance their science cirriculum, set forth a plan, raised $16 million need to modify the 100 year old buiding to accomdate the plan, and it will be done. Two year cycle. They already have the highest ACT score, but they are not complacent. Same for 204.

Hopefully 203 will look outside to find a new leader that can fill this void.

Dan, Regarding this;

By Dan d on June 4, 2008 9:52 AM

I do not know all of these names. All I went on what Leis told me. It has been a year since I raised this issue, Leis most have intervened to fix this. GREAT!!!!!!!!

You would think that a competant principal would not need their boss to fix such issues.

As I said in my prior post, this information was from a year ago and was partly in response to the same charges you made then. You have had this information for over a year, which is why I can't understand why you continue to make the same unfounded charges when you have knowledge of this. And please tell us all how Dr. Leis wouldn't have known this back then and explained it to you had you asked? You statement strains even the most charitable view of credulity.

Ted Slowik-- In response to your comment that you put the editorial on the front page because "it was all anybody in town seemed to be talking about", I am embarrassed for you. If that is the way that you deem stories newsworthy, you have a serious problem.

In answer to the Naperville Sun Editors previous question, "Do we feel we did our jobs, and spoke for the many in the community who took the time to share their thoughts with us about the situation, and did we carefully and thoughtfully articulate the reasons for our position?"

The answer is NO. Journalistic ethics from the Society of Professional Journalist are: to seek the truth and report it, to minimize harm, act independently and be accountable.

The Naperville Sun's editors should be held accountable. The Sun's job is to be impartial and REPORT the news - the facts. At no time should they have decided to print THEIR OWN opinion on the FRONT PAGE. I think they should be held accountable and fired for their actions!!

I do not know all of these names. All I went on what Leis told me. It has been a year since I raised this issue, Leis most have intervened to fix this. GREAT!!!!!!!!

You would think that a competant principal would not need their boss to fix such issues.

To all,

I simply point out that in the five years that Caudill headed Central, there were no changes (except for firing a newspaper advisor and enhancing their Math Team after I made an issue out of it during the election--I know a couple of the students, they did a great job, I am glad they had a chance that those before them did not). In contrast, 204 has done more.

My simple point is that quality education evolves and needs leadership. Mike Jaensch says 203 schools are two years behind Europe. Test scores decline from 8th grade to high school. Social promotion is a concern. 1prof has students that are not prepared. 20% of 203 residents send their children to private schools for a variety of reasons (in my case, better education at a higher elementary cost, lower high school cost), only 10% in 204.

In short, any organization that does not CONSTANTLY change itself to improve its operations will fall behind. Parents and many (but not all) teachers try their best to maximize the experience. There is not the same commitment in 203 leadership. We are now three to five years after Jeansch's committee said that there needed to be more foreign language in the elementary schools. Next year's program in insufficient and too extreme to risk a child's education (I have no more elementary students, but the proposed program does not beat the alternatives available).

My point in high schools is that there needs to be an ALTERNATIVE to AP. I say this from experience. That was the conclusion of District 204, not overcrowding. A "World Class District" would be a leader (like 204--give them the logo), not a follower. I think that 1prof would totally endorse.

Thom, ask Leis about Central's math teacher, he gave me the info (I do not want to share his personal e-mail). As to the Lederman, two points. First, when my daughter took courses at Benedictine, it was very difficult to schedule. College schedules and course offerings at "related" schools did not mesh. Besides the three courses offered directly at Benet by BU, she was only able to take two more. I would assume the Lederman program had the same logistics problem since we looked to see if North Central would offer courses that did not work at BU. Same problem. Second, you seem to be able to get the facts (and in my case, if the assistant principal did not follow through, it was yet another reason to pursue better alternatives, it did not matter what the real number is, the failing was the administrator). Maybe the administration will give you the numbers they did not bother to provide me. The Frontier campus addresses all of these concerns.

By the way, I am glad to know that you are privy to my private conversations with Caudill. You should run for king of Naperville!!!

Dan

PS Last time for me. Despite all of the accusations ("Preliminary" Adverse Determination--not final--these were the charges they could have pursued) listed, not the final determination. Thom gave me the final determination (I never saw it since nothing happened). No actions or penalties against me or my firm. And this has nothing with Caudill unless Thom is trying to say that admitted plagierist is better or the same as someone who was accused and cleared. Have another whatever you take when you type your comments.

I did a little more digging and here is some more information regarding D203’s math program’s that once again show that Dan Denys either doesn’t know what he is talking about or is willfully attempting to mislead the reader.

The following is about a year old as a compilation of responses we received regarding D203’s math program by, Tom Luthy (NNHS) and Scott Miller (NCHS), Math Instructional Coordinators (department heads) for the high schools.

To read it in full, please go here;

http://www.qualityeducation203.org/napervillemath2.shtml

Central and North offer Multi-Variable Calculus dual college credit to students through COD. The math curriculum at both high schools is the same. Up until this year there were only enough students from North and Central combined to put together one section of Multi-Variable Calculus. Last year more Central students took MVC than North students. Out of being fiscally responsible in 203, Central bused students to North to take MVC along with North students in one section. Next year MVC will be taught at both North and Central due to the increase in the number of students taking the course.

Our teachers (Craig Morse in the past and Liz Moore now) are sanctioned by COD. They must have a Masters Degree in Mathematics in order to teach MVC/Linear Algebra for it to be dual credit. They are highly qualified math teachers who would be welcomed to teach on campus at COD (as does former math team coach Bill Petersen) Last year we offered two sections of MVC for BOTH NCHS and NNHS students. They were both taught at NCHS by Liz Moore.

For academically talented and mature students the option of participating in the Lederman Scholars program at NCC would meet the academically challenging needs of those students.

We also offer students to take courses beyond Multi-Variable at North Central College, such as Differential Equations. Last year at Central 90% achieved a 5 and 100% received a 3 or greater. This is even with the largest number of students taking the BC test ever at Central.

As far as courses taught at the high school or taken at a college while a student is in high school being accepted for credit at a college or university that a student attends, there are no guarantees. Each college or university has its own policy as far as accepting credits. For example, some colleges only accept a 5 on the AP Calculus exam for students to receive credit.

Also, Central and North offer AP Statistics to students after they have mastered Advanced Algebra. In my opinion, this is an educational advantage for 203 students.

The goal of the District 204 Frontier campus is to give students the opportunity to graduate high school with one semester of college credit. This program started the in the Fall of 2006. This program is for students that are not enrolled in an Advanced Placement course during senior year. This program is not designed for students taking courses beyond calculus [and was also instituted to alleviate some overcrowding problems].”

When you consider the ACT scores that D203 students achieve, and all the Math and science awards they two schools win, for Mr. Denys to make the claims he has is laughable.

Dan.

You're trying to change the subject again. Let's get back to your original charge.

Compare Central to Nequa. They implemented an alternative college program. When I asked Caudill about a similar program in 203 (maybe run by a local full four year college like North Central rather than COD) his response was how could high school students be taught by "non-union" teachers. So much for Central.

You criticize 203 for not having a program like Nequa's. You even suggest they implement one "maybe run by North Central College".

Well as I've indicated above there has been 203 students going to North Central College for years! Further, North Central implemented the Lederman Scholars Program for students with a GPA > than 3.75 to start attending North Central starting in their Sophomore year.

So,logically, how could Caudill have said to you "how could high school students be taught by "non-union" teachers" since they have been taught for years by "non union" teachers?

Answer; He didn't. It's one of the many fabrications you come up with when you are backed into the corner. Just like this one;

But when I asked Caudill's assistant on how many students actually participated and what classes they were taking, they could not provide an answer. Looks good on paper, but it is not implemented in practice.

If one was to believe all of the damaging comments your claim D203 teachers and administrations have told you in the past, you'd need to believe in the tooth fairy too.

So instead of apologizing for being wrong, you change the subject and go on and on about Nequa's program. That isn't the point, the point is you claimed 203 didn't have a program, yet they do. And while they don't have the separate facility like Nequa has, one would hope that the fiscal conservative in you would appreciate the cost savings.

Lastly this;

Did you know that students at North (and Benet) took an advanced math class beyond calculus received dual credit, but Central students do not? Reason, the Central teacher was not qualified, he did not have a masters in math. So COD (the source of 203 colldge credit transcripts) will not grant college credit for the course at Central, they will at North.

I am not 100% certain, but I think you are incorrect. My memory is that the Central kids go to North to take the class there.

You know I did like Eigenberg's character on Sex And the City...just saw the movie but now I'm not to sure what I think of his ethics.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/983696,6_1_NA03_EIGENBERG_S1.article

Lets say Eigenberg became an awesome actor...we can disagree but maybe level of Tom Hanks, considering how he started out HA! Now lets say Eigenberg is asks to make a speech for students or commencement at a college like many celebrities are asked to do. He is not making the speech for "profit" as he says nor any "personal gain...to promote himself" but he does plagiarize. I tend to think he would be in big trouble & it would be all over the press! If Hanks or Oprah or who ever did it would be a major thing. I have no doubts the principal was nice to him & helped him but it makes me wonder...if Eigenberg is a "nice guy" is he trying to get away with anything that may be unethical...perhaps getting out of that ticket because he is an actor in a big HBO series & now movie...hmmm! No, I'm not saying he does but if he thinks if you are a nice person you should be cut some slack at this point in the man's career & age, when he should know better by now...hmmm. I have no problem as kids are learning but there is a point where they learn I can get away with it...mom likes me...Ugh!

Dan, regarding this;

By Dan D on June 3, 2008 4:44 PM
True to Thom Higgins form. Never tell the rest of the story. No action, no penalties, nothing

Well in my defense it’s a pretty long story. But since you asked, I’ll take the easy way out and pull some information from a post made by “Shocked in Naperville” on Feb 2, 2008 on the “Cast your vote in our 203 referendum poll” thread here in the archives . There are numerous posts on the subject including one by me on 2-1-08 that has links to the relevant IRS doc’s

As I see it, you have your legal council resigning, your partner resigning, you selling bonds without the proper license, the deal collapsing, fines being paid, and a host of comments by the IRS, some quoted below, that I’d be ashamed to have attached to my name. Yes, you didn’t pay the fines, but were the actions ethical?

Here’s Shocked in Naperville;

From the Bloomberg article;

Taxpayers never get most of those benefits; the winners are the banks, insurance companies and financial advisers that get paid millions of dollars for crafting these transactions and then profit by using bond proceeds for their own investment gains.
You have people who are deliberately trying to find a way around the law, and that's not good for anyone,'' says Charles Anderson, field operations manager for tax-exempt bonds at the Internal Revenue Service, which is investigating such bond deals. ``Clearly these schemes are designed so no money would be used and the maximum money possible could be made by the banks. It's not an accident.''

The 1999 variable-rate bonds, which initially sold at an annual interest rate of 3.3 percent, were supposed to make more computers available to kids. The schools got almost nothing. Of the $150 million from bond proceeds, a total of $833,000, or less than 1 percent, was used for technology. The Illinois authority ended the program in 2002 and bought back the bonds to avoid having the IRS declare them as taxable.

The IRS Adverse Determination tells this;

*Idea for the bond offering was Warren Matha’s of Austin Meade (partly owned by Denys) who pitched it to the IDFA (Illinois Development Finance Authority), suggests the state use NTN (owned by Matha + Denys) as program administrator, and to do a demand survey to gauge interest.

*Official Finance team
Program Administrator NTN (Denys owned.)
Underwriter George K. Baum
Financial Advisor Austin Meade (Denys owned.)

*Legal council thought the suggested offering amount, made by Austin Meade was too large, ($300 million dollars) and prudence required the demand survey results should be discounted.

* Legal council withdraws due to concerns of the deal structure, and fees. Stated the deal structure was “an abusive transaction as a matter of Federal Tax Law”

* There starts to be concerns by IDFA regarding the survey, done by Denys company. NTN

*IDFA conducts own survey finds demand to be $110 million dollars. Austin Meade (owned by Denys) previously said it was $248 million dollars!

*Offering amount reduced from $300 million dollars (as suggested by Denys) to $150 million dollars, based on new IDFA study. Deneys partner Mahta resigns before bonds sold. Does he realize the deal is kinky like the first legal council, and got out first?

*Denys company NTN gets fired, after it is discovered it was not legally able to act as a broker/dealer and offer the bonds. This happens after bonds are sold. IRS characterizes NTN’s actions as “fraudulent assertions and omissions” “NTN entered into contract (to sell bonds)fraudulently” Wowiee!!!

*Denys resigns from NTN. Bond deal falls apart

Yes I know all about College Prep...starts in-utero right? The whole College Prep can be a problem but I won't even open up that can of...worms!

Bravo on COD! They should not grant credit if it is not a Master's level in the specific discpline! That is 36 more graduate credit hours (approx min.) which someone with a Bachelors in Education may not have. I hear soooo many stories of HS teachers teaching a discipline they do not have any education in. I have one past student teaching my discipline & she has very few hours in it...wasn't her minor even! It has to be equivalent to the college! I doubt UofI would accept it either or many other schools. I take it North & Benet had someone teaching that has a Masters? Heck, there are only some course community college offer that are accepted by universities also. Not unusual here! The Sr level courses they want someone with a PhD typically...no different.

I am not surprised Ivy League want 5s...that makes perfect sense when state schools want 3 or above. Why wouldn't one expect an ivy-league school to have more standards? True of ACT/SAT scores they have to have so...This is what is the concern lately, that only a small percentage take an AP course & do get at least a 3. The research also looks at when you get a 3 what % would that typically be in a college course final grade. Watch a student take an AP course & then take that same course in college & see what grade they get. Many of mine are quite surprised when they get Cs or lower! The research shows this!

Every school is different. I've had university professors call me & ask if I was the student's professor & when I say yes they will accept the course knowing what I expect of my students.

I think the idea of writing, math etc depends on the situation. Some faculty (at least at college level) will work with all levels but it all depends on how much the student comes for help or utilizes the the writing lab services etc. Hard with HS students when they are involved in activities etc. Social Promotion is not a shock to College professors. Students are usually required to take a math and writing proficiency exam when they enter college. Many are surprised they do not qualify for the first college level writing or math course (does depend on school, and level community college vs university). Unfortunately, this can place them at a disadvantage then when they are struggling in these areas and register for a science course which may require some math or a humanities or social science course which requires writing lengthy term papers.

Getting back to the nature of this thread...if social promotion is happening and questionable stance on ethics for plagiarism is also occuring, the school board needs to seriously look into these issues. When they are searching for a new principal they need to really look for extensive experience with these issues.

1prof

I know that AP tests are growing. But what is the value if only 15% pass and of those, colleges only provide credit for 10 to 20%?

Without Thom Higgins blasting me again, I have significant AP experience as both a student and parent. AP credits (as well as CLEP tests and community college work) allowed me to get ahead a year in college. I used that extra time to switch my major. Same for my children.

However, the AP classes 35 years ago and today place a heavy emphasis on memorization rather than critical thinking. They are the most difficult multiple choice questions I have encountered. This is why the top colleges minimize the credit they grant.

But one positive development today at least in the private schools (and for 1% of 203 students in PI PLUS) is that instead of making all students proceed at the same pace, they provide opportunities to move ahead. Math is the most clear example of this trend. It use to be that the advanced math students took algebra as freshmen. Today, progressive schools provide a path that students complete algebra and even geometry (depending on their ability) in elementary school. This is excellant. I remember simply wasting time in 7th and 8th grade math.

But this causes high schools a problem. Students complete the Calculus BC class in their sophomore year. What do you do about the last two years. North, Central and Benet have one more year of math on campus. A transitional year for seniors would bridge the gap. And with real college professors, not high school teachers with education majors. Of course, a high school teacher could get a college "certification" (a real masters degree in an academic area).

Based on the Benet and North expereince, the math classes beyond AP Calculus BC for qualified students have had a far more meaningful benefit for the student. Further, colleges were more receptive to granting credit for these courses.

The challenge is to create similar tracks in other courses. You mentioned writing, by the time you get to high school, there is probably a three grade range of abilities of students at each class level. How are their needs being met with a "one size fits all program" (excluding the top 10%)? The classes might be "college like" but not necessarily providing college credit.

But here is where the educators should be coming up with a new approach. Not more AP classes, but classes that promote critical thinking. Not for all 100%, but for the 40% that want to learn and be challenged. Except for science, you run out of classes by the senior year.

I find it extraordinary the Mike Jaensch commented that his children did their early elementary schooling in Germany and when they enrolled in 203, they were two years ahead of their class. Yet you have not seen a single peep out him him for educational improvements in his first year on the board. Or does he feel Germans are superior? Maybe he is too busy in his union duties at American Airlines trying to get his 40% pay cut restored.

But look at the enthusiasm at the Frontier 204 campus. They have leap frogged 203 in just ten years.

1prof

Thanks for pointing out the clarification, I do not dwell over these posts. What I meant was non "college prepatory classes" for those who are taking a meaningful college prepatory program (at least 80% plus of Naperville students).

There are requirements for industrial arts classes, a watered down consumer economics class (you can take a test to opt out, but there is not an AP Economics class alternative like New Trier or Stevenson), and other classes. They have eliminated the requirement for "keyboarding", it use to be that you could skip the class only if you passed a proficiency exam. Further, there is limited "tracking" of students beyond the top 10% in most courses. Also, a friend has told me that if you do not do well on a math test in 3rd grade, you will not be able to take Calculus BC either.

I agree with your assessment about dual credit courses. Did you know that students at North (and Benet) took an advanced math class beyond calculus received dual credit, but Central students do not? Reason, the Central teacher was not qualified, he did not have a masters in math. So COD (the source of 203 colldge credit transcripts) will not grant college credit for the course at Central, they will at North. (BU provides the credit at Benet as well as allowing students take classes directly ab BU).

More importantly, your comment points to a growing trend in colleges, reluctance to recognize AP and Dual Credit courses. Top colleges typically only grant advanced standing for AP scores of 5 (nothing below), not credit. I was amazed at the scrutiny by various schools (from Ivy League to Big Ten) of dual credits. You have to submit teacher credentials, textbooks and syllabus to be considered for credit, even for credits at courses taken at local colleges (such as BU classes offered through Benet). I will note that Purdue will "pre-certify" classes for college credit for participating high schools (a nice idea).

I think the Frontier campus is an excellant OPTION. Almost like a post-grad year at a boarding school. I think we are talking about more than 5%, more likely 25 to 40%--if they are given the opportunity. They had to limit Frontier to 600 students (out of 2,200 seniors at Nequa/Wabansee). You would be surprised what people will do when they are given CHOICE (the cornerstone to the American capitalist society!!!).

Higgins quotes the Lederman program. But when I asked Caudill's assistant on how many students actually participated and what classes they were taking, they could not provide an answer. Looks good on paper, but it is not implemented in practice.

You comment about reading and writing, it will never improve if you put 85% of all students into a single program. I guess the only person who benefits is the one in the middle (40th percentile). Those above do not realize their potential, those below fall behind. By the way, I had several parents tell me that the number 1 problem in 203 is SOCIAL PROMOTION. The system promotes it.

Hope that answers your questions.

Dan D...

I hate to tell you, but AP classes are not going anywhere anytime soon. Tests taker numbers keep going up! From 2000-2005 it went up 200,000, totaling 610,00 taking one of the 35 AP exams. Problem is only about 15% pass with a 3 or above! More than 15,000 HS offer AP classes, so I don't think they are going to disappear soon.

Stats from:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/02/08/ap
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/07/ap

I do totally agree with you on students transitioning...it is one of my major issues with students...especially 1st generation college students. I just did a literature review on it in fact. Taking a college class while a senior can help, however there are still problems which need to be addressed. Taking a college course or two while in HS is still not the same as leaving for a 4 yr college. You are also now upping the rigor on top of other HS courses, all their HS activities etc. It can give you the environment & requirements etc, but it all depends upon the student. Some students just want to transfer the HS mentality to college and that just does not work. Many of my HS students struggle more than those who are just one semester different but have graduated & are a full college student.

Since Thom Higgins did not give a source to his "factual statement" on the reason 204 established their Frontier campus (must have gone to school with Caudill), it does not reflect the OFFICIAL position of District 204. Either he has some inside union information from 204 or ?!?!?!?!?!.

Here are 204's EXACT WORDS from their web page on the purpose of the Frontier campus. Please note that they are VERY proud (as they should be) about a very innovative program. This leaves 203 in the dust.

In conjunction with the College of DuPage, Indian Prairie School District 204 has set a new standard in education. Frontier Campus offers a college-like setting where high school seniors can earn college credit while completing their high school education.

Why Frontier Campus?
Over the past two decades, coursework offered in public schools has accelerated, resulting in most subjects shifting down a grade level. As a result, many students are left with a less-than full schedule their senior year. While studies show the best thing a senior can do to get ready for college is take an academically challenging senior year, many of our students have late arrival and early dismissal and very few classes. At the same time, the average student now attends college for five years to earn a bachelor's degree. That extra year of tuition at an Illinois university costs a family on average $7,587, not to mention room and board and textbooks.

In addition to providing a challenging senior year and saving tuition cost, helping our students succeed as they transition into higher education is a priority. Research shows that 17% of students drop out of state colleges and universities during their first year. While there can be many reasons a student fails, transitioning to a new educational environment with an increased academic rigor plays a major role.

Frontier Campus addresses all of these concerns and sets a new standard in education.

Life at Frontier Campus
Frontier Campus offers something unique to seniors. Classes are held away from the main campus in a space shared by District 204 and College of DuPage. Students take classes on a block schedule. As in college, the classes meet for three hours a week during two 90-minute periods on either Tuesday/Thursday or Monday/Wednesday. Fridays are "Flex" days where students can schedule meetings with teachers for tutoring or to make-up work missed during the week.

Benefits of Frontier Campus
Challenges, Rewards and Freedom
Seniors can take a wide selection of entry-level college courses, challenging themselves while earning college credit. The environment is unique for high school students and very different from what they traditionally experience. The college setting and block schedule create a greater sense of freedom for students.

Students have the opportunity to graduate from high school with a semester of college credit—without having to pay college tuition!
Frontier Campus students taking College of DuPage courses pay only a $10 enrollment fee per semester. While students are responsible for purchasing their college textbooks, the program represents a significant tuition savings for families.

Frontier Campus offers high school students the chance to "test drive" college with a safety net.
Block scheduling closely resembles college life, helping students at Frontier become acquainted with the study skills necessary to succeed in college. Unlike college, if a student's cumulative grade drops below a "C", the student is required to meet with the teacher to receive extra assistance on Fridays. In short, Frontier offers a college opportunity in a college setting with the safety of high school. Our students have the best of both worlds.

True to Thom Higgins form. Never tell the rest of the story. No action, no penalties, nothing. Accusations that have not been pursued. I believe the basic tenant of our society is that we are all innocent until proven guilty. Why not post the final settlement that does not mention my firm? Talk to anyone. Once you are in the cross hairs of the Federal government (IRS included), you are pursued until the dying end. George Ryan, Dan Walker, Tony Rezko, Betty Loreen Maltese, how many corrupt Cook County Judges, etc. Thom, post the GUILTY verdict.

By the way, I respect that Thom should have an opinion on high school options. But my point was Caudill's response. Concern for the union first. Students?????

Thom's daughter is approaching high school. Let me tell you, AP classes are a thing of the past, started in the 70's (my blue collar high school had them 25 years before Naperville), top tier colleges substantially ignore them. I think for the benefit of his daughter programs should be constantly improved to be relevant and not sit idly by. The current status quo will become more obsolete every year.

But school programs were not my point. Several students and parents claim Caudill was a poor principal in the letters to the editor. Let everyone testify to the Board and see if it is acceptable not to cancel his contract (give him another position) since he has knowingly violated the morals clause (unless 203 does not believe in ethics as Mike Davitt suggests).

Dan...

Also be clear...what do you mean by College classes? Dual Credit, AP classes or???

Kevin (most recent) sorry I did not even see two with all the posts.

Dan..

"Wasted time in non college classes"

Wow! Be very careful here. You are suggesting it is a waste to actually have non college classes? Who is going to HS then? We don't need HS classes? When reading & writing & math scores are still a horrible for many! The HS is not just serving the top 5% of students etc. They serve all students with all levels of competencies. It almost sounds like you are suggesting to just change HS to College! There are many professors who are not thrilled with Dual Credit courses. The issue also is whether a professor teachs the course. To receive credit for a college course for many disciplines you have to have at least a Masters degree.

Many thanks to the Naperville Sun for setting the record straight in regard to Linda Kane. This disclosure should end all of the wild speculation and unfounded accusations once and for all.

Instead of looking for someone else to blame maybe all of the people who unjustly pointed a wagging finger at Ms. Kane can now refocus their anger and direct it where it belonged from the beginning; on Jim Caudill and no one else.

If we are really fortunate our next principal will have as much personal integrity as Ms. Kane.

Dan,

No shame? Let me say that if the IRS offered that opinion of my business practices I'd consider changing my name. Escaping personally paying the fine that was levied in this matter, and conducting yourself in the highest ethical manner are two very different things. You consider the document clears you? Wow!

At it's core Caudill is guilty of an ethical lapse. Do you really want to keep talking about this? Should I post the link to the IRS doc's and let the readers decide the ethics on display there? As many have said in this thread, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone..” – John 8:7

As far as your constant complaint about curriculum vs Nequa I will re-post my comments from earlier this year. As usual your claim fails the sniff test, as does your supposed quote of Caudill.

District 203 students (at both Central and North hs's) have been going to the North Central College for over 10 years. 203 started working with Dr. Richard Wilders back in the mid 90's to invite students into their university during the high school years (and after graduation). 203 has students who go to NC college at all times in the day. North Central has also set up the Lederman Scholars program and now invite students with a minimum of a 3.75 to begin attending classes from their sophomore year to senior year. All other students can also apply for their general courses at any time during the high school years. 203 also has some students going to the College of DuPage if this is their choice.

As far as students going to college of DuPage in lieu of their senior year, I would bet that is not a direction the district would like to persue. The courses 203 offers seniors well prepares them for college as our 25.0 ACT scores, the exceptional performance in ACT college readiness scores, and Central's 26 National merit scholars, indicate. (I can't find North's number here). Neuqua is encouraging students to go to COD because they also have a space issue that will be resolved with the new school, as much as anything else.

By 1prof on June 3, 2008 12:12 AM "Kevin...this man humilitated himself & his family by his behaviors. We did not do anything to him! He deserve to be called out on his actions. So would you say that Clinton's unethical behavior should be just between he & his wife? We should not make any comments on his behavior? Anyone doing unethical or illegal behavior has MANY consquences. You don't want the consequences don't do the behavior!"

1prof, there are two Kevin's on this thread, please cite the correct one in your entry as people might get the two mixed up. That has happened in the past with other names and mine too...this Kevin gave his last name and should be addressed that way to tell the difference between us. Thanks!

Thom,

Set the record clear, your first post said nothing. But I am glad to see you final say it straight.

By the way, when accusations do not result in any action, there is no shame, just a hassle in clearing one's name (maybe it it tragic to have to spend time and money doing that). Thom it would be nice if you told the whole story (even though you do not like the ending), rather than to continue to leave false impressions. People did not accuse Caudill or plagierism that turned out false, he did it.

In reading the Sun today, I have one more observation for the adminstration and Board. I think Caudill's actions are "comparable" to Nixon's (to paraphrase Lloyd Benson, Caudill is no Nixon). Nixon did what an admirable thing and resigned. In shame, no less.

If Caudill wants to remain as a 203 employee, then a full investigation into his actions from all sides needs to be undertaken. Bear in mind, he was the leader of Central for only 5 years, not 34 years. If there is any truth to the comments in the letters to the editor, he should leave not be offered to continue to work.

I will say that in the four years I evaluated Central as a school for my children, it had not improved. Wasted time in non college classes, long lunch hours, and lack of key programs compared to North still existed. The only thing I noticed was that the place was not maintained, the cafeteria was a storeroom for junk that should have been sent to storage or thrown out, and change that occurred only from outside pressures (like Leis promoting more AP classes to improve the school's Newsweek rating).

Compare Central to Nequa. They implemented an alternative college program. When I asked Caudill about a similar program in 203 (maybe run by a local full four year college like North Central rather than COD) his response was how could high school students be taught by "non-union" teachers. So much for Central.

My comments are minor, it would be good to get Ms. Kane and others to see if Caudill should remain employed at all.

Regarding what Anonymous wrote:

"But should she or anyone else for that matter sit by silently and do nothing and compromise their personal ethics because of the really, really bad choice Jim Caudill made? I would hope she would not. I would hope others would not. I would hope they would stand up and represent honor and dignity and responsibility and respect and professional ethics even when Jim Caudill was personally unable."
********************************************

Then why not tell us if Linda Kane contacted any member of the Naperville Sun staff regarding Mr. Caudill's speech? You imply that if she did contact the paper, she did so in honor and professional ethics. Why hide the answer then?

We want to know and a defense of why we want to know is not necessary. Disclosure of such is part of the story. The whole story.

Response from Naperville Sun editors:

We received no contact from Linda Kane regarding this incident. We heard about it from people after Jim Caudill went around apologizing for his conduct.

Thom...

Yes...don't know why it did not register my name.

So, if I go to work & take the poll the go home it won't let me take it again...then go to the library it won't let me take it again etc? Really? No not a Gallup Poll but the point is people use these...you should hear the people in town & students who say, "Did you know that 50% of Naperville people feel..." and base it off the poll. That is just totally wrong! Just like the Shere Hite women & sex survey...huge book, media & totally garbage! Many of my older students remember it & never knew how bad stats it was until they read it as the bad example in our text. Men were thinking their wives were having affairs & hiring private investigators...can you imagine an already domestically violent husband hearing in the media '95% of women married 5 years or more are having affairs'? Many people do take them just at face value, believe it & change their attitudes & behaviors based on it. People do not know the questions to ask to even critically think about it. It is not being carried away it is critical thinking & being ethical with results. Thom...think of how many people just believe the supermarket tabloids...just incredible!

As for the statutory claim...yes I was forgetting she wrote this 11 yrs ago & could not still register, however she still has the copyright as many people do not understand...following link...he is very lucky she did not register it or he would be in even more trouble & that is quite a concern. I just always use the US links! I would still advise her to consult an attorney...maybe some other things I'm not thinking about.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci

"The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (See following note.) There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See “Copyright Registration.”

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time."

Throwing Stones...I tend to agree...not likely first time! Just because you do not have proof does not mean he did not do it...ask a bunch of officers how many times they are quite sure without having the proof yet...ya sometimes the opposite but geez just look at Drew Peterson as an example! HA! No, there is no way I would be a jury member for him.

Dan...I love your comments!

Kevin...this man humilitated himself & his family by his behaviors. We did not do anything to him! He deserve to be called out on his actions. So would you say that Clinton's unethical behavior should be just between he & his wife? We should not make any comments on his behavior? Anyone doing unethical or illegal behavior has MANY consquences. You don't want the consequences don't do the behavior!

Let's be perfectly clear on this aspect of the issue. Jim Caudill trashed his own reputation. Jim Caudill's own choices and actions led to any humiliation he may feel. Jim Caudill and Jim Caudill alone was responsible for starting his own public hanging when he made the decision to step forward to the podium and open his own mouth. Jim Caudill needs to take full responsibility for what he did as well as taking responsibility for the results those actions have had upon our children and community. Those who would attempt to shift the burden and responsibility away from Jim Caudill and blame other people and even the Naperville Sun for having a hand in this mess are dishonest and not being fair and unbiased.

Let's be perfectly clear on a second aspect of this issue. A lot of people keep bringing up Linda Kane's name. Some are using innuendoes. Some are outright accusing her. So far I have not seen a single reliable source even come close to connecting Linda Kane with what has happened. I'm not sure how the people making these allegation came to the conclusion that Linda Kane would remember one speech from 11 years ago... assuming she even did remember it; not that this aspect really matters in the bigger picture of what happened. But should she or anyone else for that matter sit by silently and do nothing and compromise their personal ethics because of the really, really bad choice Jim Caudill made? I would hope she would not. I would hope others would not. I would hope they would stand up and represent honor and dignity and responsibility and respect and professional ethics even when Jim Caudill was personally unable.

Considering how unsubstantiated attacks have been handled on other threads I'm a bit taken aback that the Naperville Sun hasn't warned posters to lay off Linda Kane unless they have some kind of proof. It is very sad to see Linda Kane's good name being sullied because of the poor choices made by Jim Caudill.

When did the Naperville Sun become the National Inquirer?

I could not be more disappointed in the Naperville Sun’s public hanging of one of Naperville’s leading educators, Jim Caudill. Jim has selflessly served this community and our children for over 25 years. I returned to raise my children where I was raised because of people like Jim Caudill who love this town and people.

What Jim did was wrong and will be dealt with by the school board. For the Naperville Sun to make such a blatant attach on a man and his family that has done more good for this town is unforgivable. Jim may be asked to resign his position but it should be done with the grace and tact deserving of a man who gave his life for this community. You trashed his name and have humiliated his family with your propaganda. This was not fair and unbiased journalism but rather it reeks of a hidden agenda.

“He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone..” – John 8:7 (wouldn’t want you to condemn me for plagiarism and put me on the front page of the SUN.)

Response from Ted Slowik:

I stand by the editorial, thought it was a well-reasoned articulated position on the issue of plagiarism that concluded it would be impossible for anyone to continue in the role of principal given the situation. We put it on the front page--it made the front page for the first time a week after the incident--because it was all anybody in town seemed to be talking about. We said, here's what we think, and we opened the floor for debate, and we've published a lot of views from both supporters and critics. I vehemently disagree that we in any way "trashed" Jim Caudill's reputation or that WE humiliated him. Perhaps you forget that the first news story about the incident appeared on Friday May 23 three days after the incident with no reference whatsoever on page 1--just a straightforward account on page 9, not even a picture. Nothing sensational. What followed was the community reaction. It would have been irresponsible to ignore the community debate at that point. For every person condemning us and accusing us of sensationalizing this issue, there would have been at least an equal number of people accusing us of being part of some sort of conspiracy to cover up or downplay the incident if it didn't make the front page.

Dan D,

Please note;

by Thom Higgins on June 1, 2008 5:42 PM

Aghast,

You might read my comments of 5-30-08 @12:11 AM

As I stated then, while I like and respect Jim, I concur with the district that the transgression was too great for him to remain as principal. As opposed to some posters here, I take no pleasure in that fact. Again see my post referenced above.

If that isn't clear enough well then.......

As far as your snarky comment regarding his becoming a Wall Mart greeter, well at least he hasn't had the IRS "strip search" his business activities and present him with an adverse determination, as some people have experienced to their great discomfort. It would seem to me that that person should share the same sense of shame that Caudill must feel.

Once again, let us not forget that this is, in it's essence, a tragedy for all those involved. We need to be about talking about how we go forward and strengthen Central instead of gloating over one man's misfortune.

What good is attaining top ratings for high schools if this is how we resolve matters? What good does it do to be number one? What has happened to us? Did Linda Kane contact the media? I only want a yes or no answer and not pontification about transparency. Did Linda Kane contact any staff member of your paper regarding Mr. Caudill's speech? Please let us know. And don't say it's not important. I am not asking what's important to you. I am asking a straight forward simple question and the answer is either "yes" or "no".

Curious postings. I cannot beleive that anyone would support Caudill after this. And as someone said earlier, this probably is not the first time.

But just like Nixon, he should leave the district (complete resignation) and either retire on a smaller pension (he will not be able to game the system for two or more "bonus" years, but he will still earn $90,000 plus). If that is not enough, he could get another job. He could become the WalMart greeter, if he can pass the background and lie detector tests.

I see Thom Higgins is having a hard time responding the Aghast's comment. Thom, say it out loud. "I agree that Caudill should no longer be NCHS principal." I look at your old post you referenced and all you say is that the situation is tragic.

You told me you were a fan of Shakespeare, he wrote tragedies and comedies. It was tragic that Nixon made one mistake, but resignation was appropriate. It was tragic that B. Clinton outright lied to the American people, he deserved to be dragged through the mud and impeached. He had to use the first $10 million of his windfall after Presidency to pay off his legal fees. (Note that I was bi-partisan) We can go on.

The comedy by the way is the person who feels that adults should be held too a LOWER standard than students.

Anonymous,

Is this you 1prof? Sounds like it from your response.

I think you are getting carried away with your dislike of the Sun poll. Since you teach statistics, you might want to tell your students that internet polls such as this one usually have techniques to identify the voter. You can vote to your hearts content but it registers only once. Try voting on the Sun poll a number of times, it doesn't register. Anyway this isn't a Gallup poll, it's a poll on the Sun web site. Relax!

Ted, please correct me if I'm wrong with the Sun's polls.

I also think you are incorrect regarding statutory damages. See this;

Under 17 USC 412, statutory damages are only available in the United States for works that were registered with the Copyright Office prior to infringement, or within three months of publication.

Link; http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000412----000-.html

Glad to hear we agree on his pension.

Liebert on June 2, 2008 2:21 PM
Again this is the first time he got CAUGHT...not the first time he PLAGIARIZED!

__________________________________________________________________

Hi Liebert,

You must have accidently sent your posting before you had a chance to offer any proof. I anxiously await your proof.

Thom...

First 102 out of how many Napervillians? Oh & wait...are any of hte 102 even from Naperville? Anyone, anywhere could have clicked their response! Right! No Gender, Culture, Age...can people go in multiple times in the day & click their response...so we have no way to know even if these are 102 unique individuals or someone who wants to make a point? How many times did you click it Thom? :-) This is not research at all! If decisions were made based on this I would sue! This is totally useless. It is as bad as one new station going into a bar after the OJ Simpson trial & asking 2 people & saying, "Chicagoans feel..." Great examples of what not to do for my students learning Statistics!

No I don't think you are minimizing the ethicalness of this. You know lawyers may be able to "stretch" the financial gain. In some respects his speech represents the school & the image which could bring more students by reputation if the parents want to move into the district to go to NCHS. Ya...I agree very much stretching it...I agree Actual damages may not make sense to go after, but Statutory Damages may be an option.

Next, I never said he should lose his pension. Perhaps a portion for this past year that he did not "sucessfully meet" per this incident could be deducted. If you have no proof of problems the previous years I think he should get what he earned prior. I would agree that would not make sense.

Mr. Thom Higgins,

Keep in mind this is the first time Cuadill has been caught. It is unlikely that this is his only failure in 34 years.

People usually don't get caught the very first time they PLAGIARIZE.

It is very hard to catch PLAGIARISM!

This could be his second time or 100th time. No one really knows!

Again this is the first time he got CAUGHT...not the first time he PLAGIARIZED! What are the odds someone is going to get caught the first time he speeds...very small! Catching plagiarism the first time someone does it, is even smaller!

The fact that he was so BOLD indicates to me he had done it before and had not been caught...he had confidence he would not be caught. He screwed up big time...please stop defending him!

This is the culmination of several people in authority at NCHS displaying a total lack of common sense this year. Among some really bad decisions--deciding to turn the school newspaper into "High Times," banning "White Christmas" from a Winter Concert because the title includes the word "Christmas," and now stealing someone's words while the originator was in the audience.

Supt. Leis has got to make a good decision about the new principal. Here's hoping that someone from outside NCHS is brought in to be principal and that the new principal has a good deal more common sense.

I'm deeply, deeply hurt by the some of the racial comments made on this blog and the fact that The Sun decided to let them run.

I was hoping for a more progressive communtiy in Naperville. I guess I was wrong.

Response from Naperville Sun editors:

Forgive us for missing them--but exactly what racial comments offend you? This is a thread about plagiarism, and we don't recall seeing comments that introduce race into the debate.

1Prof,

Let's not get too carried away here.

As far as the Sun poll, as I check it now, 102 have taken it. Is it definitive? No, but it is a data point reflective of how people feel who have read the Sun's webpage. That's all.

Can he be charged criminally in any way? Absolutely not.

Could he be charged civilly, with violating the implied copyright of Nowicki-Plackett? Technically yes, but she would have to prove she was damaged in some way. This falls far more into the "imitation is the highest form of flattery" rather than something that injured the original writer. This is light years away from say an author copying, for financial gain, from another author's formally registered copyrighted work. And please no comments here that I'm somehow minimizing the ethical ramifications of his actions. I'm not.

There are some on this thread that seem to think the revolution starts here. Burn Caudill at the stake, and then it's on to Leis and the board next, and when that's finished they can start on city hall, and council. Well, while the posters enjoy the image, it ain't going to happen, and to my mind the hyperbole, and incorrect information, is unfortunate, and forgets that this is in it's essence a tragedy for all those involved. We need to be about talking about how we go forward and strengthen Central instead of gloating over one man's misfortune.

As I've stated before, loosing his position as principal has to be an immense disappointment to Caudill. He has given 34 years to this district, apparently with distinction. Does he deserve to loose his pension? no, not to my mind, not even close. Which leads me back to the comment of letting the punishment fit the crime. He made an error in judgment. No one died; no money was stolen, or lost. To say he should loose his pension over this is to me far in excess of the transgression. I would be shocked if anyone could find a comparable example where a person lost their pension or was sued. And let's remember pension is a bit of a misnomer here. For 34 years he has paid into his pension fund just like we pay into SS. Teachers do not pay into SS. So this is not a pension as understood in the workplace where it is in addition to SS. He loses his pension he has nothing.

To anonymous 6.01.08 6:10 pm

I am sorry you took offense to my position. The position is quite straightforward from my view. The sun reported on what many people thought with regard to this incident.I feel the opinion of the sun has no business being front page status on a situation such as this. Let the ELECTED school board handle the repercussions as that is part of their many tasks. I am in no way saying what the 203 principal did is correct. What I am saying is the sun overstepped what I feel (opinion) is their responsibility to our community in reporting the news. Personally I am not interested in the opinion the sun has on this issue, and am troubled when it hits "Front Page" status. As for your concern to my employment status and relation to Mr. Caudill you should be aware that I neither work for the district or know of the man at any capacity. My argument with regard to this situation lies with the location of our community newspaper's editorial and why the staff at the sun felt this "important location" was necessary.

My stance is simple, let the school board deal with the punishment not the public and certainly not the paper. I don't need the newspaper trying to make history rather do what they do best and report history.

Anon. I am assuming in line 4 of your blog the word "ethical" should actually be "unethical", not being a smart a_s just seemed to make more sense. Have a good evening.
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By anonymous on June 1, 2008 6:10 PM

South Side Maker
These are not opinions, they are facts.
Mr. Caudill plagiarized.
As many have mentioned in this blog, this is both an ethical and a could very well be a legal matter if pursued.
Are you that ignorant?
Do you work for 203? Related to Caudill?
You really are blind to this matter.
The Naperville Sun has done a wonderful job of bringing this matter to our attention.

Thom Higgins...

Careful with statistics...as I have my students critically think...

might mention here that the latest Sun poll results here are something like 50% believe the districts response is appropriate, 30% feel it's too severe and only 20% want a more severe response.

What is your sample size? 50, 30 & 20% of what? 1K? 100? How many Gender? Culture? Age? SOOOOO many factors! You can't take this just on face value.

I take it you also do know that once you write a speech it does infact have a copyright! Students papers do have a copyright! If the speech was improv or it was not written or recorded it would not have a copyright.

So you are saying these exes should get those severence & benefits and because they do Caudill should? I don't agree with that logic!

From Laura Sterling's letter to the editor you would think Caudill is the #1 principal & leader in the world! The only one that can do this job...we are in big trouble then! If he had such impecable creditionals then why is he plagiarizing? No one else in the world has better credentials than him? Geez...how did Naperville get him then? I do not mean to suggest anything about Naperville but if this were true you would think there were would be tons of other towns fighting over him with an even higher salary package...well hmmm ok, so why are we worried...he'll get another job! Of course that is if they do not care about ethics. What is ethics worth today? If you are a nice guy & work hard you don't have to have ethics apparently. All the other great things you do balance it out. God...sounds like an domestically abused response..."but he is such a great guy" RIGHT (and no, I'm not saying it is only the wife that is abused!). How is it that some feel you can act unethically as long as you are a great guy.

Sterling also states he knows "all the kids". Well this is exactly why we should be concerned. If he has such a great relationship with all the kids in the HS, then they probably do use him as a role model & we should be quite concerned on what they will be modeling from him. Perhaps I (and apparently Sidney Poitier "The Measure of a Man") am just old fashion but you know, in my book being a man (or women/human being!) is not just admitting you made a mistake AND saying "I'm sorry", but it is taking the consequences like a man! You don't try to get out of them like kids using excuses "He started it"..."but you didn't punish him"..."I didn't have time Mom!" etc. Yes, he can make this a teachable moment by taking the punishment he deserves, learning from it & never making that mistake again. Model to your students that you are a man of honor! Do not let your students learn our society's ethics and values are being diluted with each generation. With each new generation, older generations seem to complain of the younger ones being worse. I'm not sure they can complain when they are being so unethical. And do we have to wonder why with this example! They are learning from us! What we do & how we hold ourselves accountable! All those who feel he is such a great guy & we should cut him some slack will not be able to hold any of the younger generation accountable then. If we continue to cut more & more slack what will our society turn into? We won't be able to complain then when we are the ones creating it now!

The fallacy with the argument that corporate execs mess up and are rewarded with multi-million dollar golden parachutes is two-fold:

1. corporate execs are not government employees and are not accountable to the taxpayers.

2. corporate execs are not teachers and are not role models for our students.

As a government worker he probably will be able to retain his pension unless he is charged with some type of "official misconduct". What will be even more important to watch is his rate of pay with the new assignment and any pay raises for the next few years until he does retire, assuming he sticks around. The back door that we all have to be watchful for is that goodbye paycheck boost that they are known for handing out to bump up the retirement benefits based upon the final year wages.

So then can you imagine if her son is plagiarizing now what he will do later & think the rules/laws do not apply to him as an adult! OMG...this is exactly why they have to handle this correctly with this principal!

South Side Maker
These are not opinions, they are facts.
Mr. Caudill plagiarized.
As many have mentioned in this blog, this is both an ethical and a could very well be a legal matter if pursued.
Are you that ignorant?
Do you work for 203? Related to Caudill?
You really are blind to this matter.
The Naperville Sun has done a wonderful job of bringing this matter to our attention.

Aghast,

You might read my comments of 5-30-08 @12:11 AM

As I stated then, while I like and respect Jim, I concur with the district that the transgression was too great for him to remain as principal. As opposed to some posters here, I take no pleasure in that fact. Again see my post referenced above.

I might mention here that the latest Sun poll results here are something like 50% believe the districts response is appropriate, 30% feel it's too severe and only 20% want a more severe response.

With respect to civil and criminal penalties, my understanding is the if the speech was copyrighted then yes it is civilly actionable. I do no believe that there is any standing for criminal charges in a plagiarism case.

As far as being an expert on the STNG regarding the numerous personal changes, it was reported in both papers.

I'm uncomfortable speaking for the Sun but I can see no reason to think Lynch would not receive any benefits and or severance from the Sun.

I do think that based on 34 years of service Caudill certainly deserves to receive his pension. And before you all jump down my throat, consider all of the corporate execs that mess up big time and are rewarded with multi-million dollar golden parachutes, not to mention their full pension. I forget the musical but what's that song about the punishment fitting the crime?

A NEW CONCEPT

Take a look at this comment from Laurie Sterling's letter to the editor today:

"My son knows there is a zero tolerance policy for cheating at school, but he is not so arrogant to think all the same rules that apply to students equally apply to adults."

HUH?!?!?!?!?

I think that most of the comments on this blogs suggest that the rules for Caudill (and all other adulsts) should be GREATER than those of students. Now a new concept.

I guess this Ms. Sterling admires the Lewinsky actions of Clinton and the lies of George Ryan. She must be annoyed that Rezko is on trial.

I would not want to be part of her world. Or maybe she will stoop to tolerate any indiscretion of someone she supports.

Boy, Thom Higgins knows all. Now he is an expert on the Sun Times Group.

While he is pretty straightforward about Jim Lynch, he could not squeeze out similar appropriate words "Caudill did wrong and must lose his job."

Too bad 203 was not a public corporation. If so, Caudill could be held criminally and civilly responsible for his actions. And then he would LOSE his pension, just like Jim Lynch does.

WHAT IS COMMUNICATED TO OUR NEWSPAPER DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

After communicating with the sun it has become apparent to me that the front page editorial last week of the "203 principal incident" is a representation of what the newspaper editors see and read. They have done nothing more than report and form their own opinions based on the input they receive from the community at large. It is such a shame that the portion of the community that has chosen to be represented is so lopsided. I would not expect and did not see many coming to the aid of this embattled principal. What does surprise me is that more folks would not have voiced concerns that the Sun may have wanted to let the 203 board do their investigation before the paper put in their 2 cents.

As for me I am surprised that our sister district has been taken apart by such a lopsided "front page editorial". With the 204 district in the news it seemed the reporting was much better researched by many at the sun. Which makes me question what is going on over at the paper? I would still like to thank those at the Sun for addressing my concerns in a timely fashion. Maybe with Jim Lynch not at the controls of "day to day" operations these occurrences will be more frequent--I hope not!! I am sure the Sun will only take blogs and lte as a starting point to stories in the future, some bloggers (including myself at times) are just not up to speed at what is going on at the paper or how the news is published.

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By Thom Higgins on May 31, 2008 3:51 PM

I hate to burst the bubbles of the Jim Lynch fan club here but I believe that due to the continuing financial difficulties of the Sun Times News Group, Jim will be stepping down shortly. Jim has always been fair and a gentlemen in my dealings with him, but I have to say the hyperbole that has been used here in conjunction with his name is more than a bit over the top. I'm sure Jim has had a good chuckle over it. My best wishes on your new endeavors Jim.

Editors, please correct me if I've heard wrong.

By Anonymous on May 30, 2008 8:36 PM

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To All Bloggers,

The attacks on the Naperville Sun for finally performing its watchdog duty in this town are uncalled for! The Sun has done a great job!

It is District 203 that does not tolerate plagiarism...it is their own policy. The Sun simply called them out to make sure they apply their policy to themselves as well as their students.

The Naperville Sun tested its power of ink for the first time since Mr. Jim Lynch arrived. It was a total success story!

I expect Mr. Jim Lynch will be testing his power of ink on City Officials who caused a 20% tax increase on my tax bill. Our City and our School System are both broken.

Please encourage Mr. Lynch in his performance of his watchdog duties....unless you guys all want to see your tax bils double in the next 3 years.

I salute Editor/Publisher Jim Lynch and ask him to continue down the path he is taking. Don't be intimidated by these so called Establishment Folks who think they are above the law and rules that they drafted themselves!

Harold and Eva White no longer own the Naperville Sun. IF you establishment people wanted to continue sweeping all your improprities under the rug, you should have put your money together and bought the Naperville Sun.

Apparently you screwed up and the Chicago Sun Times bought it. They want to make the Naperville Sun a real newspaper under the leadership of Editor/Publisher Jim Lynch.

Ralph,

Don't get too upset with the school board just yet. Remember they hired a superintendent and he alone is responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the school district. The principals report to him and when they screw up he has to deal with it.

If the school board oversteps their authority and fires Caudill then they really have to fire Leis first.

Now I'm not saying that is necessarily a bad thing either considering some of the ethical decisions that have been made on his watch. Rather this is one that even the school board has to sit back a bit and watch how Leis handles it. If they have to step in though it basically means they have no confidence in his ability to manage the school district employees. In the event that does happen he would be well advised to quit before the other shoe drops.

I think the Naperville Sun is doing a fabulous job with its new investigative reporting!

Kudos to the Sun!

A principal who plagiarizes should be dumped.

This principal is still being paid his full salary for doing NOTHING!

Expect more editorials...imagine we are paying him to do NOTHING with TAXPAYER FUNDS!!! Time to go after the School Board who allows this NONSENSE! No courage to fire the PRINCIPAL! A bunch of WEAKLINGS!

The Naperville Sun is finally doing its duty to save taxpayers money in both city government and school districts!

A special salute to the Naperville Sun Editors! Keep up the excellent work!

Upton 1878...

Sorry if you do not understand the difference between Plagiarism, where someone takes credit for the words someone else claims & those who are anonymous & are not claiming their words. If it is anonymous then they are not crediting themselves...they do not care to & thus would not be upset...though I believe the laws do say you still have to credit "anonymous" and they did so I don't see any issue or irony here?

Even the respected papers do know the power of persuasion & that you need to grab people's attention quickly. Big font is important. Heck I have to captialize, make big font & different color in my syllabus just to get students to notice the policies..."I didn't see it" Give me a break...but that is the nature today. You want them not to miss it, you want to grab their attention quickly. That is not a problem. Look online at the Chicago Tribune now...

"Obama Leaving His Church" (Like I care!)
"He Zones, She Sells And Its Legal"

And scroll just a tad down...

"It's Cleavage Season...Deal With It"
"The Blogger, The Chef, The Terrorist"

The Sun Times has a big Read New Alert on Obama leaving his church! Were you expecting the Naperville Sun to be a Wall Street Journal?

What is wrong with Drew Peterson being in the paper...other than the fact that we don't need to be serving his inflated ego! We should just not pay attention to him & he'd probably show his true colors & make sure we didn't miss noticing him! Mr. Peterson is news. The public should know what the heck he is doing as he sits free. Hey, if anything it got this not too intelligent women to stay away from him. She apparently could not atleast error on the side of caution herself rather than risk being a victim. How many women have to "go missing or have accidents" after being with this man before women will say "hmmm...he might just be a loser!"

I hate to burst the bubbles of the Jim Lynch fan club here but I believe that due to the continuing financial difficulties of the Sun Times News Group, Jim will be stepping down shortly. Jim has always been fair and a gentlemen in my dealings with him, but I have to say the hyperbole that has been used here in conjunction with his name is more than a bit over the top. I'm sure Jim has had a good chuckle over it. My best wishes on your new endeavors Jim.

Editors, please correct me if I've heard wrong.

steve, you are absolutely right! no toll for you!!! lol......:)

To Anonymous on May 31, 2008 10:20 AM: You missed the point, entirely. Of course it is all legal, but who's talking about legalities?

It is about the irony of the Sun's policies for the public opinion that they print, post and publish. It is about the irony of post-ers vilifying people for not taking responsibility for their actions while not taking responsibility for their own words by hiding behind a veil anonymity.

If yesterday's Naperville Sun's front page wasn't a textbook example of a tabloid, then what is?

NEW SCANDAL ROCKS... in 72pt type caps (did the exclamation points get lost?),

PLAGIARIZED, PLAGIARIZED, PLAGIARIZED

And, yes, all this preceded by "FIRST PHOTO OF DREW PETERSON'S LATEST EX-GRIRLFRIEND.

Come on Eds., if it walks like a duck...

Since when has this speech been deemed as "entertainment". What the heck is he doing entertaining them anyways...they should be learning about academic integrity along with him! You want entertainment...bring in a professional who will not plagiarize. I didn't know entertainers could plagiarize...that is what you are saying!

A typo is not the same as Plagiarism! If you can't figure that out! That is a mistake! That is not something one deliberated on...should I change it or not? The principal KNEW they were not his words & "he says" he meant to ask, which he knows then it would be unethical if he didn't but still did not. Problem is he did not even know he did not have to get permission but just credit her! The Sun gave credit with our comments by saying "in the blog you will find these...." basically. That is giving credit! In addition they did place "Anonymous" or the name provided. That is not plagiarism that is providing credit! That is all the principal had to do!

I agree fully with

By Anonymous on May 30, 2008 8:36 PM

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To All Bloggers,

The attacks on the Naperville Sun for finally performing its watchdog duty in this town are uncalled for! The Sun has done a great job!

It is District 203 that does not tolerate plagiarism...it is their own policy. The Sun simply called them out to make sure they apply their policy to themselves as well as their students.

The Naperville Sun tested its power of ink for the first time since Mr. Jim Lynch arrived. It was a total success story!

I expect Mr. Jim Lynch will be testing his power of ink on City Officials who caused a 20% tax increase on my tax bill. Our City and our School System are both broken.

Please encourage Mr. Lynch in his performance of his watchdog duties....unless you guys all want to see your tax bils double in the next 3 years.

I salute Editor/Publisher Jim Lynch and ask him to continue down the path he is taking. Don't be intimidated by these so called Establishment Folks who think they are above the law and rules that they drafted themselves!

Harold and Eva White no longer own the Naperville Sun. IF you establishment people wanted to continue sweeping all your improprities under the rug, you should have put your money together and bought the Naperville Sun.

Apparently you screwed up and the Chicago Sun Times bought it. They want to make the Naperville Sun a real newspaper under the leadership of Editor/Publisher Jim Lynch.

It they wanted to keep it a tabloid newspaper rubberstamping the establishment they would have appointed Mr. Tim West to run the newspaper. They obviously wanted to change course after they saw the establismhment bring this wonderful newspaper down to a pathetic ciculation of 15,000 from 22,000 and declining.

Mr Lynch not only stopped the decline but reversed it. The Naperville Sun is up some thousands since he took over.

Mr. Lynch does not work for the establishment. He is not here to protect the establishment. He is not here to cover-up for the establishment.

He is paid by the Chicago Sun Times and his loyalties are to the Sun-Times. The Sun-Times has a history of investigating corruption and cronyism in school districts and city hall in the City of Chicago! It is simply doing the same in Naperville.

My advice to all you establishment folks is straighten out. If you don't you may be the next person in a front page editorial in the Naperville Sun. We know what the consequences will be if you appear there. So do your jobs properly and stop wasting taxpayer money.

Putting this Principal in a bullsh*t job to save his a$$ after plagiarizing is another waste of taxpayer money that will not be tolerated. If the School Board does not remove him from this "fabricated job" they made just for him, expect Mr. Lynch to wirte another editorial right on the front page asking for the entire School Board to RESIGN!

If the School Board Members do not resign expect Mr. Lynch to endorse a new Slate of Candidates for election and oust them all. These are tough economic times and their should be ZERO TOLERANCE when it comes to wasting TAXPAYER MONEY!

Thank you, Mr Jim Lynch, for the fine work you are doing to make our beloved Naperville a better town to live in!

What I don't understand is how a thread regarding the fate of an administrator who has put in 27 solid years for district 203 has devolved into a bunch of name-calling between so-called adults.

By Editor Must Go:

I think you should join Egoff the troll under the main street bridge.
Spelling errors are not illegal, nor are they are unethical.
Plagiarism is darling. Let's not forget that.
I have to laugh at the people who try to compare plagiarism, to spelling errors or anything less.
Here is a suggestion. The next time you have a report due for school/work etc.. Why don't you plagiarize it and see what happens? Give it a whirl...why don't you...
Oh and then when you are done, tell everyone you plagiarized and see how they react.
I'm sure you will be laughing all the way to the bank too!
Or maybe you will have to go live with Egoff under the bridge after you lose your job for plagiarism...
Hey Naperville Sun...I don't live there currently, but I can't wait to move back and renew my subscription to such a wonderful paper! At least someone has their wits about them. I can't wait to put my children in 204 too!

As some of us choose to, and do have the sense to post anonymously on a public blog, it doesn't mean we don't have the cognitive ability to offer a sane point of view to an insane situation. Fabricated or borrowed names bring nothing of merit to this conversation.

Really, kids...just demoting the man at the same salary for an act of laziness that caused him to steal where he felt he could? Does his direction have anything to do with Hankong Su's poor choice? Perhaps not, but this only points to the fact that educators must be diligent when looking for plagiarism and cheating in today's educational environment. Telling the principal it's ok, just apologize and go on is not the message I want my children to learn. Mistakes can happen, at times without meaning to, but this was calculated. Was the man too tired? Too busy? Burned out? Doesn't make it right. His salary level required more of him, in my opinion, and if it was all becoming too much for him, he should have resigned earlier. Now this is what he will be remembered for. Unfortunate, but if I go astray, I must pay the price as well.

Upton1878,

Even books have been published with anonymous authors. A lot of well known authors also publish their work under a "pen name". Their choice. And it is perfectly legal.

Because one remains anonymous does not mean that what they write is not theirs. The same rules still apply to not use copy-written material inappropriately and to fairly quote sources when using another persons work. There is no irony here. Just a free choice made in a free society.

You chose to go by Upton1878. So be it. Just recognize that that name is for all practical purposes just as anonymous as anonymous.

NEWS FLASH

In yesterday's edition of the Sun, there was a story about the Valedictorian at NCHS and the fact that he plagiarized parts of his speech. In the story, in the second column on page four of the paper, the Sun says he will be "Striped of medal".

Is he going to be "striped" or stripped?

A SPELLING SCANDAL AT THE SUN!

I feel these types of systemic spelling errors originate at the top of this organization. I don't come to this decision easily, but after much thought, I feel that the editor must be terminated. This is truly the only course of action that is appropriate based on the lofty standards of The Sun. If the STNG is truly concerned about the journalistic integrity of this fine paper they will ask for the resignation of the editor immediately.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a revenge-minded current (or former) reporter, editor, copywriter, or any other newspaper employee with an axe to grind towards anyone at the Sun.

you can reach me c/o the main street bridge...under the shrubs near walgreens. important to take those meds! don't YOU forget now! sorry, have to go collect a toll. :)

now that that is taken care of...good luck to all and to all a good life! will continue to read...most amusing...if i can find a power outlet! (managers keep chasing....) lol.

I just came here to say that this entire thread is comedy gold. Thanks for giving me a good laugh this morning. Keep up the great work, Napervillians!

heywakeup,

"Er, hey Anonymous...Caudill isn't a TEACHER!!!"

Guess again. Caudill could not be promoted to be principal if he wasn't a teacher. In fact it isn't uncommon for a principal to teach one or two classes just because they love their true profession so dearly.

As a teacher though, what did Caudill teach us? What did we learn from him? How will we perform when we are faced with our own test?

Not verifying the facts and plagiarizing are not one in the same

No, but they are both unethical. And they both were mistakes.

The difference is that reporting the truth (instead of wild accusations) is supposed to be the main point of the Sun. Giving a 3 minute speech for entertainment is probably least important thing that Jim Caudill did all year.

Anyone who read the wild accusation and misses the "correction" is left with the wrong idea - that the school board is having illegal meetings. The Sun made this accusation without any proof - without bothering to check ANY facts. That is a serious lapse in journalistic integrity. It is libelous.

The Sun made a "mistake" and is allowed to print a correction. Perhaps the Sun will learn from it's mistake.

All I'm saying is that after 34 years of dedicated service, doesn't Mr. Caudill deserve the chance to apologize and move on?

First one black eye for the school district.

Now, a second black eye for the school district.

How bad and how deep does this scandal run?

Will Leis handle this mess ethically or will he just give the school district another black eye?

Does anyone here see the irony in the fact that the Sun hosts this blog where anyone (and most--including myself...) can post anonymously and also reprints some of the juiciest ones in the printed edition of their publication while at the same time requiring letters to the editor (which arrive by email or the post) to have a verifiable name and address?

What a funky double standard--not to mention the doubt that it casts upon their credibility.

It is also ironic that this entire thread is about an act, plagiarism--whereby someone claims another's words as their own--yet all the participants here, especially those who most vehemently decry the principal's actions and call for his ostracism, won't even put their own (real) names on their statements and take credit and responsibility for their words.

Larry Decker,

What the... ??? You claim to be Larry Decker, whoever that is, not that most of us know and care even less. Then you write "Larry Decker and I have lived in Naperville since 1975."... so, Larry are you having an out-of-body experience or what?

Seems more like you are a just another candy-ass posing to be Larry Decker which puts you in the same league as Caudill. No wonder you are so quick to defend him.

If you are going to lie, cheat, steal, pretend or do whatever the heck it is that you are attempting to do you should at least review your own lies before you publish them. Not that I condone lying in any form, just realize that even a 9 year old could cover their tracks better than you.

If this were me....If I would have been the bonehead to plagiarize someone else's speech, the first thing I would do is resign. How could I ever hang my head high, when students and staff are expecting me to lead them? What kind of example would I be setting for my students by staying there? Caudill should be embarrassed. He should also be thinking of his students and not himself. How can he effectively lead a group of impressionable young minds, when he can't even put a speech together. Maybe he belongs on cafeteria duty the next two years.
Anyone on here who thinks it is ok to plagiarize, really needs to get a grip. I don't give my adult students a pass when they plagiarize, so why should a principal get one??
To add to the list of past "NCHS" stories...I remember a final exam from Chuck Geitner, where he left the room for a half hour or so. The answer key was on his desk. About half of the class ran up there to copy off of the answer key..
In my opinion, there needs to be stricter policies in place.
They need to make an example of this. Not only for the sake of the students there now, but the students who follow.
These people are not "gods", they are just people. They make mistakes, and those mistakes need to be corrected.

Caudill is a big boy, he can handle his mistakes. Why should we coddle him? That is what this is...coddling, isn't it. Give me a break people! What benefit are you getting out of standing up for this moron? He can't even write his own speech and you want to pay him a six figure salary with your tax dollars. Are you people insane? Forget plagiarism, this man can't even come up with his own ideas. I think they should make Nowicki prinicipal. After all, it was her speech she wrote in high school! Yes, good people make mistakes. There are a lot of so called "good people" in jail too. You always see it on the news. "He/she was a good person, I don't know how he could have committed such and such crime. He/she never caused any trouble..bla bla bla. You people who support this really need to wake up!
A new word for you people, "Caudillitize"...
Student: "No, teacher, I didn't plagiarize it, I Caudillitized it"...
Teacher: "OK, then we will give you a pass on this one. Thanks for clarifying"

Former Student

I can't believe the people who just recently posted now that think because you have done some good things in your life you should not be punished. I wonder about your character now! Ya, you might have nice salaries but how is the question now if you don't think this is a problem! Those little fish if allowed to continue feeding on unethical behavior will grow & become big fish & they are much harder to reel in then! I'd rather deal with them when they are little.

Then there are some who think just because some get away being unethical that we should not attempt to punish people who are unethical & do illegal behaviors? You should be more passionate then about making sure these behaviors are punished!

When does a speech become a big deal? Does it have to be outside your community? On tv or tape? In the paper before it is a big deal? Students can say it is no big deal...just a HS class geez! That is like it is no big deal going through a red light when no one else is at the intersection! Ya, people do it...doesn't make it right! Doesn't mean we should not punish them.

I agree...he should not be being paid the same for less work. Not much of a punishment! You punch your brother while playing a video game...ah just play the video game alone! What a lovely lesson that is for students! What these kids learn will be our future! Oh a little plagiarism here, then it keeps growing...if no one finds out what is the big deal...if I work for a small company what is the big deal. Oh just keep it private in the company, who cares if my kid gets hurt. All the examples which qualify with this OMG no wonder our society has the problems it does!

First for some of you...there is a difference between exact quote, paraphrasing & common knowledge. If you find something in many sources & the majority know the fact it is common knowledge then and can be used without citing.

Plagiarism can also be considered fraud & you can go to court under copyright infringement!

Big$Education...

I just don't get how you don't see this as a public interest when you pay these employees! This is not a private matter! Hmmm with that...lets say an officers or government official does something illegal...private matter? Come on!

I am not sure how many of you people actually went to NCHS and personally delt with Mr. Caudill. I did, class of 1985 and I am not afraid to use my real name (unlike most candy ass bloggers), Larry Decker and I have lived in Naperville since 1975. Mr. Caudill did make a error in judgment. Why are you so quick to get rid of him? When I was a student at NCHS I was far from perfect. If I had interest in a subject I did great, if not I was lucky to get a C. When I needed help, Mr. Caudill(a Dean at the time) was very supportive and listened to me and gave me a lot of support et cetera that I still remember today. He really cared about me and my issues even though I was not a perfect Naperville kid. Mr. Caudill unlike Mr. Paulson, I cannot even type what my family and I think of that power tripping horrible person, who actually smilled when he told me some bad news to me and how my family would be embarressed. Jim Caudill made a mistake, who does not? So just because "The Power of the ink" demands his dismissal? Belinda you are clueless by the way. I guess this issue, although it is not minor should be handled by 203 admin, not the Sun. I was talking with some high school friends prior to this issue. We all brought up Mr. Caudill and some other people who helped us learn, grow and be good people. We also thought that it was pretty cool how we remembered the same people who made a difference in our education. Oh, by the way all of us enjoy a very nice lifestyle, even though we were not honor role types. So please do not go on a witch hunt. There are much bigger fish to fry these days. Spend your time on going after people who do more than make a judgement error. Jim Caudill is a good man who I remeber really caring about me 23 years ago. How many of you remeber someone from school 23 years ago. I do like the Sun but lately the headlines have been terrible, I miss Jerry.

Larry Decker

egoff,

and what or who is an egoff and how is that any more or less anonymous than anonymous? Even if I registered a name and say I picked George Pradel no one would know for certain if I was or was not the real George or just someone posing as the real George.

So go ahead and attempt to dismiss posters because the Naperville Sun allows everyone to be anonymous. Go ahead and pump up your own post to be something that is somehow supposed to be better than a post by an anonymous because you use your own made up name of egoff. Surely there is some logic in that and the rest of the thoughts that emanate from your delusional mind. Fact is you are just as anonymous as anyone else... funny how the pot always calls the kettle black.

Hey egoff, is my being anonymous any different than you being "egoff"? That is such a yawn post, in my opinion, as there are very few that feel real names with online blogs are the best way to go, in this world of google, zaba and zillow...and any other privacy encroaching search facilitator available today. If I am harmful or rude or threatening, the Sun has my IP and will deal with it appropriately, that should be enough unless I want to be known for purposes other than sharing ideas on this blog.

"It will blow you away how much teachers get in Illinois when they retire."

Er, hey Anonymous...Caudill isn't a TEACHER!!!

I am simply amazed at the number of people who think Caudill should have gotten only a slap on the wrist for this...the highest academic crime there is.

Well, I guess we have our answer to that old question "Is Las Vegas becoming more like the rest of America, or is the rest of America becoming more like Las Vegas." Obviously, its the latter. We have more and more people who would just assume throw our academic standards into the toilet. Maybe they are right. Why should we punish high school students for plagiarism if we aren't going to punish school administrators for it, and why punish school administrators for when college administrators aren't punished for it (Glenn Poshard at S.I.U.), and why punish college administrators if adults out in the "real world" aren't punished for it. (Joe Biden). For those of us who actually care that this country stand for something, for some sort of credibility, hopefully this is a step back toward accountability and the "R" word - Responsibility.

because going by "egoff" narrows it down to who you are.
i'm just a nobody resident, parent and taxpayer here, but i've seen how people who question District 203 are villified for implying that anything is less than perfect. it's almost as if we were all in NCHS and the building was on fire most parents would shout down the "dissenters" screaming "fire" until they saw the flames for themselves. just because we keep telling ourselves we're the greatest doesn't make it true - and it hampers our ability to improve.

I hope Dr. Leis is reading these posts. I hope he is realizing that his district is really in poor shape. I couple of years ago some students stole the ACT and the entire junior class at naperville central had to retake the ACT costing the district something like a quarter million dollars. Now he has the valedictorian plagiarize his commencement speech. Mr. Caudill's fiasco. I hope it doesn't get any worse for you Dr. Leis.

Egoff..what kind of name is that?
Are you a troll?

How about you put your address and phone number down. How about a picture too??
Let's see if you are willing to do that.

Jay,

Welcome to my world.

Anonymous' post @5:55 is typical of what I face. Let's reflect on the comments of this one post;

Pretty clear he doesn't like Unions or government workers.

I won't consider that 203 is less than perfect? Please read my comments today on this thread. It's clear that I feel Jim could no longer remain as principal and I indicated the decision to form an advisory committee is a needed step to ensure only the highest ethical standards are adhered to for D203. Do the lapses by Caudill and the valedictorian show that things at Central are less than perfect? You betcha.

Anonymous wants to claim that qe203.org's website is not "true and factual" To Anonymous, please post here anything that is not, along with your proof.

For the rest please take a moment and look at this page that I link to often. It is my analysis of a number of studies that all
show the excellent results D203's students achieve.

http://www.qualityeducation203.org/20080205referendum/costperformance_mediasurvey.shtml

It really frosts the districts critics every time I link to it. please note there are links to all the original studies. Every fact and statistic can be referenced back thru the links provided to the original source.

Because this information is so damaging to their desire to distroy D203's reputation they consistently try to discredit the information and now are trying on the charge that I'm some how "ethically challenged" because I have aggregated all this different information using respected sources and reported their results. This is perfectly illustrative their sad attempt to turn fact into fiction.

He attempts to make fun of my donating to the Naperville Education Foundation. Here is a short blurb on what they do;

* Funds $1,000 trustee Awards for all 21 schools

* Supports innovative faculty-designed projects, thus far including 187 General Grants, 79 Fine Arts Grants, 115 Multi-Cultural Grants and 68 Technology Grants.

* Awards grants for beneficial student-initiated projects.

* Co-sponsors the Excellence in Education Banquet.

* Maintains and Endowment Fund.

* Administers the Jeanine Nicarico Memorial Fund for Literacy, John W. Scherer Memorial Fund, Zachary Clifton Memorial Fund, Sue Thomas Memorial Fund, Judith Griffith Mattison Memorial Fund and the Richard Brassington Memorial Fund.

* Manages the Kid Booster Program

Anonymous tries to make this sound as though it's a bad thing to be caught donating to the NEF. Well, I'm more than happy to be associated with such an organization.

And lastly the ugly, ignorant, and disgraceful last paragraph stating that the only reason I would do all this is I'm hoping "it will pay off with favorable treatment for my kids" and "I'm fearful of what a teacher might do to my child if I spoke out honestly about issues facing our schools" Have you ever heard of a more ridiculous statement in your life?

So, here it is all in one anonymous post, the hatred, the futile attempt to twist and obfuscate, and the sick and ugly sentiment that one must have to actually post that last paragraph.

It would be laughable if it wasn't so very twisted. But this is the reality of these few sad people who hate D203 and all that it stands for. Go back thru the archives here to the threads this spring.It is on full display. I will never forget Mike Davitt stating that "he doesn't hate teachers he despises them".

Lastly, to Anonymous;

You are a coward for not having the integrity to post your own name.

I agree with Jason Petty. Congratulation Mr. Caudill. You now get to sit in an office, not worry about kids, and get paid handsomely for it. When you are sitting at PSAC wondering what the new principal is doing with your school don't worry you are making a lot of money to do a smaller amount of work. Did anyone consider what the school would do with a brand new principal. Who is going to want this job by the way? What are they going to say to the candidates in the interview? They will probably promote an assistant principal to do the job, and with the ones they have employed at the school now that is not a good thing.

Maybe Naperville Central should be like the Bulls and try to bring back Tom Paulsen.

And by the way, Mr. Caudill did not give the speech at the graduation ceremony. He gave the speech at the commemorative ceremony for a small portion of the school. Therefore, not that big of a deal.

Does anyone remember when the English teacher got fired from her Newspaper job a few months back? How do you think this whole thing got started. I hope she is glad she got her revenge...you lost your $3000 stipend for the year, this man gets humiliated and can never work as a principal again. Way to go...Linda Cain

anonymous? ooooohhhhhh! whatever...if you can't sign your name...no thank you. have a nice day.

Like many others have pointed out Mr. Caudill will retire in grand style. Go to www.thechampion.org and you can look up Mr. Caudill's salary and calculate his retirement pension. It will blow you away how much teachers get in Illinois when they retire. But then again, as broke as the state of Illinois is, you can finally see first hand for yourself why they are so broke.

Moderator Jim,

I see everyone is threatening to pull their subscriptions because you are doing your duty as a watchdog for the community.

In the early 90s when the Napergate Man decided to use your newspaper to play watchdog thru the use of full page ads, the outcry was even greater. The pressure on the Naperville Sun was so great they refused to publish Napergate V and VI even though they were PAID ADVERTISING!

For reasons only the Naperville Sun knows, they decided to let the Napergate Man resume his watchdog ads with Napergate VII to Napergate XXXXIV.

I believe if my memory serves me right the Naperville Sun went from 15,000 subscribers to 22,000 subscribers with these watchdog ads while the establishment folks were threatening to cancel their subscriptions but obviously never did.

Without anyone performing watchdog duties after 2001, the Naperville Sun crumbled from 22,000 back to 15,200 despite an increase in population. The decline continued until you, Moderator Jim, were retained as Publisher/Editor by the Chicago Sun Times to turn around this failing newspaper.

In your first year playing your watch dog role, you stopped the decline and increased circulation by 1000 to 16,200. That is a FACT! I do not know what happened in your second year but I suspect you moved it up at least another 1000 subscribers and most likely more!

Residents both loved and hated your principal editorial. nothing wrong with that! That sells more newspapers. That means you are on the right path and succeeding. Your duty is to your employer...not special interest groups! People also loved and hated those Napergate ads when they first popped up...no one cancelled subscriptions though as promised!

In due time Napervillians for the most part began to like the Napergate Man for performing these watchdog duties. I see a similar pattern evolving here. You are being given a hard time. But in due time readers will also understand you are providing a service to this community that will be eventually appreciated by all residents.

All the threats you are receiving for cancelled subscriptions are uncalled for. They are simply pressure tactics. Bullying tactics! No one cancels a newspaper subscription because it becomes controversial and hard hitting. Actually readers begin to love it, want to subscribe to it, and can't wait to retrieve their copy from their driveway early in the morning!

The Naperville Sun has all the data on pre-Napergate and post-Napergate subscriptions. You have all the statistics at your fingertips. Don't be intimidated! Just keep plugging along!

Politicians and administrators just got a little too comfortable after the Napergate Man retired in 2001. Now that you are filling a vacuum the Establishment Folks don't want filled, they are all panicking. Let them panic!

When a newspaper is not watching, the town goes down the tubes. Before the Napergate Ads, the Brestal Law Firm provided numerous and huge contributions to city council members who in turn voted for his development proposals 99.99% of the time. Do Napervillians want the town to go back to that level of CORRUPTION!!!

For the newcomers in town this is what will happen if you do not allow Moderator Jim to run the Naperville Sun in the professional manner he is capable of. We need to encourage him! We need to support him against all those who dare to threaten him!

Because of Moderator Jim, the City of Naperville and the School Districts will be pushed to excellence! Because of Jim, corruption and cronyism will stop at City Hall! Because of Jim, excess fat will be eliminated from City Departments. Because of Jim, Principal Caudill will not be allowed to continue receiving his salary for much longer in an unnecessary position basically created for him to do nothing! If this position was important and necessary some body would have already been retained for it.

In summary what is happening is not new. Much worse happened when Napergate full page ads hit the Naperville Sun in the early 90s. The establishment threatened to destroy the Naperville Sun with cancelled subscriptions. Yes, they did and the Naperville Sun hit a record 22,000 in subscriptions while the establishment old timers were hollering and screaming. And that was a remarkable penetration number since Naperville only had a population of 80,000 at the time.

Keep on your path Moderator Jim and please don't be shy and let us know when you hit 35,000 subscribers. Good luck to you and keep up the fabulous work you are doing to resurrect the Naperville Sun!

anyone who goes by 'anonymous'...make sure your cat is on a leash! yikes! stay out of my sandbox! at least mr. caudill had the guts to own up to what he said/didn't say...more than some here! can't forgive 'anonymous' but CAN forgive him!!!

Mr. Jim Lynch,

Have no fear!

Myself and many of my friends who are not subscribers plan to become subscribers soon because of the courage you showed in your editorial stance!

Keep up the excellent work! You called it as it is...as it was!

These heavily entrenched establishment folks need to understand the rules apply to all with no EXCEPTIONS! Especially PRINCIPALS!

Caroline...

Jay, Concerned, et al,

You can forget trying to reason with Thom. If you notice he sure does come off like just another unionized government worker. He won't even consider that SD 203 is less than perfect nor that there might be any room for improvement. Pick your poison, is he closed minded or just narrow minded?

Just to show how honest and forthright Thom is he will often point you to a website he maintains as his "proof" that what he says is true and factual. All this really suggests is he on about the same ethical level of the proverbial ladder as Caudill.

I guess since he donated a little bit of money to NEF he has to constantly convince himself that he didn't throw his money away.

What he really strikes me as is one of the many cheerleading Naperville parents who relentlessly pump up and praise the teachers no matter what in hopes that his publicly playing politics will pay off with favorable treatment for his kids. Thank goodness not everyone in Naperville allows themselves to be held an emotional hostage; fearful of what a teacher "might do" to their kid if they speak out honestly about issues facing our schools.

Southeast Side:
Not verifying the facts and plagiarizing are not one in the same...Get a grip!
Maybe stealing from the local 7-11 is ok with you too!

Jay,

I sincerely appreciate your point, but as probably the one person who has spent the most time battling those few people who do everything in their power to publicly denigrate D203 schools, it's administrators and teachers, I'm not going to sit back and let them make these unilateral statements such as our schools have no impact on student achievement, or any study that shows D203 schools excellence are by definition faulty, to name but two ridiculous charges. If you look at this archived blog you will see their Orwellian attempt to prove black is white and fact is fiction.

http://blogs.suburbanchicagonews.com/newsblog/2008/05/survey-says-waubonsie-one-of-n.html

Getting back to your comment regarding pointing out the districts short comings, yes people should be able to point to deficiencies. But I submit that it needs to be done in a respectful manner, by people of good will, who as you say desire these issues to be resolved honestly and professionally.

I think in this matter the district has acted correctly, and I certainly sense no backlash or vilification of those feeling that Jim needed to go.

While he is a valued long term employee, the district has taken what I consider to be the appropriate step of removing him from his post as principal. Not a happy decision by Leis I'm sure. But the decision to face this issue head on, and to go further and create an advisory committee that will ensure this matter will not be just swept under the rug shows, I hope you agree, that this sad matter is being handled in an honest and professional manner.

BTW to the Editors;

I understand that the Sun was in error with it's claim that the district broke the law by not posting a notice 48 hours before Wednesday's meeting. In fact notice was made to the Sun. I see a oblique reference in a post above but no notice on this blog or on the webpage. May I suggest one be placed here prominently somewhere?

It's pretty clear he intentionally copied the speech and used it as his own. Since she'd gotten married after leaving high school he forgot that the author was in the audience. Once he realized it, then the jig was up and he quickly admitted his guilt. It's possible, even likely, that he's plagiarized before and if they hadn't made him resign the District would've been obliged to check. Do we really want that?

A Principal should be above even the appearance of wrongdoing or unethical behavior, much more delve into it. Is that too much to ask?

As for the Sun, yes, get a fact wrong on a short deadline is a "mistake". If they intentionally published misinformation or we completely negligent in checking their facts, then that crosses the line in unethical territory. See the difference?

Good point Jay!
I wholeheartedly agree. If we didn't point out these mistakes and make examples of them, there wouldn't be any lessons learned. Now would there?
It seems the only people saying that this is acceptable are the people that work in 203 or have some affiliation to Caudill. As a professor, I deal with this more than I would like to. My zero tolerance policy is in place, because these people are adults and should know better. Anything else, is just a lame excuse. Besides, it is important to remember, this isn't a personal attack on Caudill, it is an attack of the behavior. I am sure he is a good person, but a lot of good people do stupid things. You still need to correct the behavior. Especially in this case, when you have CHILDREN looking up to this person as a role model. You need to set the standard for their sake, and for the sake of all the students who follow. Does anyone talk about the students here??? What about them? Everyone is so worried about Caudill, they forget who he is supposed to be LEADING---IMPRESSIONABLE YOUNG MINDS.

Sensational or not, it's still news. In my business, if I took someone else's words as my own, I would be in court explaining and paying my mistake away. Why are we talking about sugar-coating plagiarism of any sort? One of my english professors at Illinois Wesleyan was fired for plagiarism back in the day, (1978ish) extremely well-respected man before this happened. College and university proffs must search out plagiarism in writing on campuses all over, I believe it has become big business. What do we want our college-bound students to think about consequences for this type of behavior? He made the choice willingly, right? Yes, it was a mistake and at times mistakes come with a price. The VALEDICTORIAN did the same thing? I wonder how many scholarships he may be losing, where's he going to college, do they know and have they uninvited him to attend?

The Sun regrets its oversight in failing to verify the facts, and apologizes.

Apparently the high standard that you want to hold Mr. Caudill to is too much for the Sun to live up to. Apparently the Sun can make a mistake and apologize, and go on.

I encourage everyone to contact Dr. Leis and the school board with emails in support of Jim Caudill. Please support this educator who has dedicated 34 years to the community.

http://www.naperville203.org/board/Members.asp

"Her dismissive point, and I hear it a lot from her staff, is all I have to offer is words," he said. "Just words.

"'We holds these truths to be self-evident,'" he continued as the crowd began to cheer and applaud, "'that all men are created equal' -- just words. Just words."

The applause increased.

"'We have nothing to fear but fear itself,'" the pol said. "Just words. 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' Just words,'" he said, switching effortlessly from our Founding Fathers to FDR to JFK.

And then, the piece de resistance: "'I have a dream' -- just words," he said.

Barack Obama rebutting Hillary Clinton circa 2008?

Nope. Those were the word of Deval Patrick, ultimately successful Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate, responding to then-Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey in October 2006.

Of course, if you mistook the speech for one from Obama, you can be forgiven -- just this weekend Obama said something quite similar.

"Don't tell me words don't matter," Obama said to Wisconsin Democrats. "'I have a dream' -- just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal' -- just words. ' have nothing to fear but fear itself' - just words. Just speeches."

(The above is a report available on GOOGLE)

I frankly don't see much difference between what Senator Obama did and what Principal Jim Caudill did and I don't remember any media outlet suggesting that Senator Obama resign. The hysterical SUN Editorial calling for Mr. Caudill to resign is a typical case of political correctness gone amok. The liberal media ignores years of service to our community and pillory a fine public servant like Jim Caudill, but fail to criticize or condemn the same behavior from one of their favorites, Senator Obama. Mr Caudill has apologized and so did Senator Obama. That should be the end of the vendetta.

Russ Marineau

no comment on the revised 'focus' of local journalism since its latest purchase. can you say tabloid? yep, i literally know what one is. fyi - The Beacon News is what i 'think' they call a broadsheet? don't want to offend anyone whatsoever. i 'think' you are all wonderful human beings just trying to make a living and support your wonderful families.

now that that is out of the way, people should be able to form their own opinions...preferably not being embarassed enough by any mistakes they have made in the past, if any and signing their name. i'm no saint...never will be...whew, what a relief! (i'll leave all that pressure to others.)

Thom,

I understand your point but bear in mind it's also a self-fulfilling prophecy. Smart parents who care about education and have smart children move to Naperville because they've heard how good the schools are. The kids work their butts off making our district look good and have parents who make sure they come to school rested and prepared.

I worry when every time someone points out a shortcoming in our schools they get shouted down and villified. We need people pointing out the shortcomings so they can be worked honestly and professionally. That's how we'll continue to improve.

I am a 30 year resident of D203 and graduated from Central over 20 years ago. Jim Caudill was a counselor at the time at Central, well liked and highly regarded. I have seen him move-up over the years to his current position and I am not surprised. What he did was disappointing and showed bad judgement. He should be disciplined, not fired by any means. His reassignment, with what should be a reduction in pay, may do just that and I am sure he is personally devastated. That should be punishment enough.

As far as the Sun's role in this. This is the same paper that kept shoveling American Idol contestant Gina Glocksen down our throats for weeks on end, many times on the front page. She is not even a Naperville native and only lived here a couple/few years (she is a native of Tinley Park). The Sun by printing all these stories about her, pretty much hyped (and/or guilted) the City Council into the "Gina Glocksen Day" celebration and giving her the key to the city. I am proud to say I have never watched American Idol or much of the other garbage on television. Good Grief!!

This is another case where the Naperville Sun sensationalizes news. The paper has become a "Star Magazine" wannabe. Get out of Hollywood and do some REAL reporting. I'm seriously considering pulling my subscription and going with the Herald. A local newspaper demanding someone's job hours after an incident, before knowing all the facts??? Come on! I fire you! Your days are numbered in my home!

Mr. Caudill should be fired. Period. End of discussion. He is a role model who made a very bad decision. He is paied a very large amount of money and with that kind of reward - comes certain responsibilities and obligations. I am appalled by the comments - he has so many good years of service - he has done such a great job - and on and on and on - like that makes it ok to cheat. Because folks - what he did is CHEATING. Honestly, can you imagine the discussion between parents and Mr. Caudill if a student is caught breaking the rules. The parents say, 'but he's such a good student. He has a good heart. He didn't mean to hurt anyone. He really doesn't deserve to be punished. - and Mr. Caudill saying, 'You're right - he's a great kid - I won't punish him.' Come one - You know that WOULD NEVER happen. He's be all over wanting to make a point and to pump up his ego.

A very simple solution at graduation would have been.... 'Students, Parents, honored guests. I really struggled with a speech this year but found some very encouraging and appropriate words written by Miss Nowicki that I would like to share with you.....'. Wow - that was really hard to come up with.....

Or, he could have maintained a friendship with the newspaper editor and sought out her help on his speech - like a TEAM player would.

I am not surprised that there are people saying he's done so many good things so it is ok. That's why a lot of kids today don't have the respect and moral beliefs that generations of yester year had. Adults are too laxed today. People need to start being accountable for their actions. No one is holding a gun to their heads and making them make poor choices. You make a choice - you take the heat.

Concerned,

You miss my point. There are a variety of "ingredients" that make Naperville schools what they are. Anonymous wants us to believe it's only family and students, and the schools/teachers have no positive effect. I disagree, and the numerous studies, not just one, bears this out. The quality of education provided by D203 makes a difference in our students educational achievement.

I agree that if you remove any one of these key "ingredients" whether it be the family structure, the children themselves, or the school and their teacher, you will have reduced performance.

But you have to give credit where credit is due and D203 deserves a great deal of credit.

Yes, people it IS a high school and thankfully some concerned parents do have a grip. We care very deeply about our children and what they are learning within this environment... and that includes everything they learn outside the structure of the classroom.

Now if we could only get a principal who had some personal ethics and morals. How about reassigning him to cleaning bathrooms. Maybe if he got his hands really dirty he would start to value the expression "keep your hands clean"?

As for as the open meeting act the Naperville Sun got it correct and it is just one more example of the total loss of ethics that permeates the ethical culture of the school board and administration. For them to violate the rules deliberately to circumvent parents and concerned citizens at a time so sensitive is inexcusable.

Who was responsible for calling this meeting like this? How many heads do we have to lop off before the school board and administration starts to get the message?

It's high school people! Get a grip

"Did it affect the outcome? Unlikely--the school board had already called a meeting (Did it give 48 hours notice, by the way? We don't recall seeing notice about a Wednesday night meeting posted on Memorial Day or sooner, so it probably was an illegal meeting.)"
--Naperville Sun editors on May 29, 2008 8:31 PM responsible

I just want to tell the Naperville Sun since they seem so misinformed in their editors blog comment above that personnel meetings are not covered by Sunshine laws and as such no notice need be given about the meeting. Personnel meetings are protected as a form of private meetings for the sole purpose protecting employee privacy. I condemn the Sun for making the sensationalist,outrageous, and misinformed claim that the District 203 School Board meeting on Wednesday night, which was called for the purpose an internal personnel matter was illegal. Perhaps the Sun should use a little more discretion when the editorial staff comments on its own blog, or perhaps if they want a little more credibility they should leave blogging to bloggers and not actually feel it necessary to defend their actions to bloggers. Isn't that what the paper is for?

Response from Naperville Sun editors:

In an earlier comment, The Sun questioned whether the meeting was properly posted. The district did, in fact, post notice of the meeting Monday afternoon, Memorial Day. The Sun regrets its oversight in failing to verify the facts, and apologizes.

As far as open meetings, a board can adjourn to executive session to discuss personnel, land acquisition and other protected topics. But notice about the meeting must still be posted at least 48 hours in advance, and the board must convene and take roll in open session before adjourning to executive session. Every public meeting has an open portion.

Some teachers are great and others are not.
Sadly, they all get paid the same and are retained the same, just as though they are building cars on an assembly line.
Meanwhile, to get high scores on AP tests, if my kid has a great teacher, then they are set. If they don't then they buy an AP prep book and study their tail off. That way, the sub-par teacher appears to be doing as good a job as the great teacher.

They really should let the kids fill out evaluations of their teachers like they do in colleges. I'd really like to see the teachers who deserve it get paid a lot more than those who don't.

"Did it affect the outcome? Unlikely--the school board had already called a meeting (Did it give 48 hours notice, by the way? We don't recall seeing notice about a Wednesday night meeting posted on Memorial Day or sooner, so it probably was an illegal meeting.)"
--Naperville Sun editors on May 29, 2008 8:31 PM responsible

I just want to tell the Naperville Sun since they seem so misinformed in their editors blog comment above that personnel meetings are not covered by Sunshine laws and as such no notice need by given about the meeting. Personnel meetings are protected as a form of private meetings for the sole purpose protecting employee privacy. I condemn the Sun for making the sensationalist,outrageous, and misinformed claim that the District 203 School Board meeting on Wednesday night, which was called for the purpose an internal personnel matter was illegal. Perhaps the Sun should use a little more discretion when the editorial staff comments on its own blog, or perhaps if they want a little more credibility they should leave blogging to bloggers and not actually feel it necessary to defend their actions to bloggers. Isn't that what the paper is for?

Ok Thom..let's put them in an inner city school and see what happens..
I'm sure a lot of the great teachers in the inner city get this kind of recognition and salary...right!
That study doesn't mean anything.

Anonymous @12:07

I couldn't disagree with you more on the test scores being only the result of parents and the children themselves. From national studies by US News and World Report and Newsweek, to local studies from the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald and Chicago Magazine, to the Illinois State Board of Education report cards, it is the same tale. D203 schools excel compared to other similarly high socioeconomic status communities. For some analysis and links of the various studies go here;

http://www.qe203.org/20080205referendum/costperformance_mediasurvey.shtml

I agree "anonymous" with your statement saying, "The test scores in the district are high due only to the children themeselves, educated and professional parents and a solid home environment"

Let's take these same bunch of teachers, administrators etc.. and put them in an inner city school. Let's think about that one for a moment..hmmmmmmmmmm I doubt you'd have the same result.
It is in large part due to the students themselves. Let's give them some credit for once. Maybe we should take some of those teacher salaries and give it to the children for their college funds for all their hard work, instead of giving six figure salaries to the teachers.

Southeast Side-
I am not a losing school board candidate.
I am a former student of that district and a professor...
So, I don't see how your outsider view is relevant. I've been a student at Naperville Central and I know what what goes on there.

I will never understand taxpayer complacency re the Caudill incident. We as heavily-taxed taxpayers in District 203 not only expect and deserve excellence from the district-------we are dearly PAYING for it as well. Look at your tax bills, Naperville citizens. Roughly speaking, 70-80% feeds District 203-------------mostly salaries I might add. How many coaches does the Naperville Central High School football team have anyway? How many are on the team's salaried staff? Someone said 12?

Also, Supt. Leis' behavior re the Hynes family and their seven year old autistic son is outrageous!!!!!!! Two DuPage County judges thought so too!!!! See Naperville Sun articles re this case/complaint in 2007. Another role model that isn't a role model for our children. What would these "professionals" do without their contracts and unions to protect them? How many are ducking and hiding after the current scandals?

Wake up, Naperville!!!!!!!! You're not getting what you think you're getting. The test scores in the district are high due only to the children themselves, educated and professional parents and a
solid home environment!!!!! And yet the district, the teachers and the administrators take the credit and always have!!!!!! And they demand salaries to match their brilliance as educators.

Time for real change, Naperville!!!!! Let's give credit where credit is due instead of lining the pockets of those that just happen to be in the school system.

Did your job allow you a 12% increase last year?

My comments on May 29th concerning Mr. Caudill's exemplary record are my comments only, and not those of my other family members. They were unaware of what I wrote.

It is not only unnacceptable, it is illegal. Miss Nowicki could easily sue this man for what he did.

I'd like to know what law school you attended. You are clearly not qualified to make such a statement. Also - nice touch in "piling on" a story from a year ago that is totally unrelated. Which of the losing school board candidates are you, "anonymous"?

What they lose at the ballot box they attempt to win back through the media. Ugh.

Personally, I’m appalled by how many adults seem to think this is okay.

Wow, “let he who is without sin…” what is the message there? “Hey kids, go ahead and cheat, all the adults do.” As an adult, I’ve never represented someone else’s work as my own. I thought most adults fall into that camp, but these blogs make me wonder. As a student, I remember copying something from an encyclopedia in 5th grade, but we don’t hold students or children to the same standard as adults. And there’s a big difference between punishing bad behavior and stoning someone to death.

I also liked “What goes around…” too because of how Linda Kane was treated this year. It certainly came back to bite Caudill for mismanaging that situation.

I’ve met the man and heard him mispronounce simple words in other speeches (that I wonder if those were his own words now). He’s a nice guy, but maybe he shouldn’t have been put in this role for his own sake. And, even if he were my best friend, after this came out, I’d have recommended he resign voluntarily to keep some honor.

My sympathies go to Leis for having to manage these unfortunate events. Where I work there are clear policies about what’s improper that can result in punishment up to an including dismissal. This is no different. If the district doesn’t have similar policies then they need to create them.

Finally, the axiom we should be quoting is “Cheaters never win and winners never cheat.”

Southside resident:
An apology is not acceptable for plagiarism, are you kidding me???
It is not only unnacceptable, it is illegal. Miss Nowicki could easily sue this man for what he did.

Which brings my thoughts to another incident about a year ago...
If you are clueless as to what happened with Leis and the autistic boy...take a gander at this.
Let me know if you think that is acceptable as well???
Cmon!

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2007/07/shame-on-naperville-district-203.html

I open my paper,no I preview the front page and imagine that, "another positive read" on a great school district in a great town. A few weeks ago I had article inserted in the paper regarding school district 204. At the time I asked the editor "why many of the editorials presented by readers" were always so negative in nature. I was told that on average there were not enough positive posts to make up for the large negative ones. He then asked me if he could publish my article and become "part of the solution" and not part of the problem. I thought the problem he was talking about was the lack of positive lte.

This says to me that as a rule the "letters to the editor are negative by nature". There has been a previous post here acknowledging that the overall communication regarding this 203 situation was overall negative. My point is if most lte are negative in nature why would our paper run such a one sided editorial on the Front page of the paper. And to add insult to injury, run another negative article front page today.

For those blaming Jim Lynch call the paper you may be surprised at what you are told.

To justify ones actions by the overall response of lte is great if you keep that news to the editorial section of the paper. As to judging and punishing of 203 employees I would certainly appreciate if you would leave that to the ELECTED 203 BOARD. You have crossed the line when an editorial is installed on the front page, especially in a case like this when the career of an educator is on the line. You have not been elected policeman,judge and jury.

When I open my Sun on Sunday I expect to see well researched articles not a Mug Fest. LET ME REPEAT YOU HAVE GONE OVER THE LINE WITH THIS STORY.

Justice Served! Not only is Caudill getting his due but, the valedictorian who plagiarized his speech as well. Do you think he earned his degrees through plagiarism as well?
So... what kind of "reassignment" will our tax dollars be paying for!

As for the Naperville Sun coverage... "News sells, bad news sells better!" (Chuck Tatum -Ace In The Hole 1951)

If it wasn't for this news item, the Naperville Sun would be so thin you could read a newspaper through it!

GO REDSKINS!

SUN,
CONGRATS ON GETTING WHAT YOU WANTED -- A GOOD MAN OUT OF HIS JOB!
THE NAPERVILLE SUN HAS TURNED INTO THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER OF DUPAGE COUNTY.

THANK GOD! I DROPPED MY SUBSCRIPTION.

I don't know Mr. Caudill, other than what I've read in the papers concerning
Central High School. From what I gather he has served the school and
district well and honorably. Probably influenced the lives of many many
students over the years in many positive ways. But now, so suddenly everyone
in Naperville is a "Puritan" and wants his head to roll. It's sad that we
live in a time when a person must be fired for a mistake in which an apology
would be sufficient. A time when some people with "serious" offenses are
often let off by judge/jury or technical error. No, we instead have the
world of bloggers who would rather tar and feather this person. But I'll bet
if this person were related to anyone of those bloggers, you'd suddenly see
a different argument. My my....think about it. What goes around comes
around.

I'm not canceling my subscription to the Sun. No way! I am grateful for the reporters and editors that brought this Caudill story to the attention of the community. Can you imagine how much wrongdoing would get swept under the rug if there were no newspapers in this town? ::shudder::

life is too short to dwell on the fact that people are not perfect. let them apoligize and then lets all just move on.

We'll be canceling our subscription to the Sun. This was the last straw.

My family and will always remember and appreciate Jim Caudill's years of excellent service to Naperville Central and its students. Hopefully the District will be able to find a successor who can perform as well and maintain the school's high levels of achievement. The spotlight is clearly bright and not for everyone.

Can someone fill me in on how this story came to light? I missed these in the reporting:

- Who recognized the similarity between Caudill's speech and the one delivered by the student 11 years ago?
- Was the media contacted before Caudill was confronted with the discovery of his use of the student's words in the previous speech?
- How was the media alerted about this situation?

Let me first say that I know Jim Caudill a bit and I like and respect the man. I also think it’s crucially important to recognize that this matter only became public after he came forward and “outed” himself.

That said, as the principal of a premier high school he has certain standards that he must meet, and tragically, one day last week he failed in that responsibility. After 34 years of what I understand to be dedicated service to the school district, the students, and this community, that is truly a tragedy.

The district has apparently concurred with that assessment, and Jim will no longer be the principal of Central. I can only imagine what a blow that is to Jim, his family and friends. Based on his long and excellent service, he will be reassigned. I wager it will be of little solace for a man who, from what I witnessed, not only throughly enjoyed, but also was absolutely committed to his job at Central.

Let us all hope that some good can come out of this. I understand the district, based on this situation, and apparently a similar act by the class valedictorian, has elected to create an advisory committee to strengthen the expectations and understandings of what is expected by students and staff. This is necessary and all to the good. In the high-stakes, high-pressure world that both high school principals, and students live these days, the bedrock foundation that they must build on is an absolute commitment to the highest ethical behavior. There is an age-old lesson in this for all of us. Let’s hope we are wise enough to recognize that.

Mr. Caudill clearly made the wrong choice and demonstrated in front of he entire community that he is a person of low values and questionable ethics.

Anyone who would support such a person who has shaken the moral fabric of an entire educational institution and a school district isn't standing any higher on an ethical ladder than Mr. Caudill.

Sadly, Mr. Caudill should be very thankful and counting his blessings that he was not outright sacked like he deserved. Even though he made the worst choice of his career, even though he committed the most egregious error in the education profession he somehow has managed to retain his employment in the school district. That leads me to believe that with Mr. Caudill and the rest of the school board members it is getting very crowded indeed with all of them hanging on to the same rung of the ethics ladder.

The one bright and shining light in all of this is that we will be getting a new principal. We can all now look forward to a day when someone new will fill the position and start work to build and regain all of the trust that was lost by the selfish actions of one small minded person.

Most if not all of you have some sort of personal vendetta or issue with this case here. If you do not, you need to calm down. As a teacher from an outside district, I do not understand what the big deal is. A small mistake becomes a major problem, so Caudill becomes a non-important district employee that makes the same money with no spotlight. That's what you bible-toters have brought this to. And Caudill should actually be happy for it, and he is one of those who wouldn't take a step back. He will make the green and not have to work for it now; thank you Napervillian parents and board!

Speaking of headlines. What's the front page of Friday's SUN going to be? Naperville Central Principal Ousted or Popejoy Dismisses NFSOC or (isn't
the Naperville Park District ready decide on Hobson Ponds purchase on Thurs?).

I've had problems with what the SUN considers "front page" news in the past, but the Caudill editorial probably isn't in the top ten. Not sure when this started, maybe when the SUn became affliated with the SunTimes group or Lynch became publisher/editor. The missing middle-school girl's IPOD story made
headlines twice (maybe 3 times). Then there was the
exclusive 3-part holiday interview with Furtenau, that consisted of his lawyer doing most of the talking. Then the "exclusive investgation" into the "far-left" funded critics of the Dupage election commission. Maybe even the Birkett's son getting busted with pot headline. If these stories warrent big bold headlines/half page color photos - why is the text not on page 2 or 3 (usually the story's not found to page 4-5 or later). Tabloid???

How selfserving of the Naperville Sun editors to state they had little impact on the end result of the public flogging of Jim Caudill. The editorial on the front page of the paper was in a word - inappropriate. Perhaps you received guidance from the "anonymous" Linda Kane on that piece. It is now your turn to accept responsibility for your actions that took a personnel matter and encouraged the personal vendetta it became.

Response from Naperville Sun editors:

Hold on a minute here. No. 1, we've had absolutely no contact with Linda Kane. No. 2, you seem to be saying that Kane's removal somehow has something to do with the principal's admitted plagiarism. You imply that Kane leaked word of Caudill's plagiarism to the media. That seriously misses the point. This is about plagiarism and academic integrity. Are you saying it's Kane's fault anybody found out about the plagiarism, that it would have been better to hush this up, keep it secret, sweep it under the rug, cover it up? We strongly advocate transparancy. Caudill was going around apologizing to everyone for his actions. He's the one who spread the word, because he knew what he did was wrong and there was no way he was going to get away with it.

I think it is wrong to fire him. When a student is caught with plagiarism, they get an F. Not expelled from the district or school. It is extreme to fire the principal. I am shocked at our community. So much for being the most friendliest town.

Belinda: you are simply silly. You worry about city officials wasting or spending too much money? Either you don't pay one or don't look at yours but about 72% of your taxes are spent by SD203. More than that percentage if you live in the much vaunted SD204. Suffice it to say, Big Education is where you should be watching your money. With all of this academic chicanery at Central, you ought to ask yourself if you are getting your money's worth. Well are you Belinda? Naperville is fabulous and so superior to other towns but again we have egg on our collective faces. The school board will handle Caudill and they should do it out of the public eye. It is a personnel matter and the public (and the Sun) have no business in personnel matters. Its called invasion of privacy and we would suspect if the big government school monolith is not careful, they could be embarassed in a federal civil rights case. As far as east cost people bringing open government to Naperville, remember this; Dick Furstenau is east coast material who rode in on the big wave at Bell Labs in the 70's. The majority of you came way after that! (This was the end of Naperville being a midwest community and simply a community in the midwest after this crowd arrived) Finally, I think the Sun editorial staff should meet and publish an opinion on the student valadictorian. Returning the medal is insufficient. His work should be rejected and his diploma should be returned. In any case, some sort of follow up response to the latest developments seems to be required. Obviously, the academic integrity of our great high school is under assault and its from within. We have seen the enemy and the enemy is us.

The folks at the Sun may say they had little impact but I find that suspect. In the past this paper has been very fair in running all sides to a story ie 204 school district. To say that the comments from people writing /calling / voicing an opinion were overall negative is not the complete story. The folks motivated enough to voice an opinion were the ones that communicated with the paper and of course their opinion was probably overwhelming negative. I would like to see the school board work without interference / pressure from the paper and the public with regard to this delicate subject.

I feel that the Sun was misguided by intentionally putting this article on the front page of the paper, I miss the guidance that Jim Lynch gave to this paper - his departure will be sorely missed.

Those of you who posted comments blaming the "media" for Caudill's deserved exit are delusional. That's just like killing the messenger. Roll back the clock for a second--if Caudill would have done the right thing and either 1) received prior permission to use the speech or 2) cited the author somewhere along the way, he wouldn't now be packing up his office. Someone needs to grow up and take responsibilty for one's actions.

Isn't plagiarism cheating? What are the districts consequences for cheating (buying a term paper online, for example), does the student get expelled? Perhaps that's only on the college level.

I can't believe that Mr. Caudill will still be employed by this district. I wonder if he will still receive the same salary and pension benefits. Less responsibility with the same salary and benefits. Some punishment!!!

Dear Naperville Sun Editors,

You write: What transpired then was the community response--phone calls, e-mails, letters to the editor, blog posts--overwhelmingly negative about Caudill.

What you didn't address was the fearful parents who now know that the breast beating defenders of academic integrity are the same ones who anonymously made a personnel matter of a co-worker public for their personal gain.

Can you imagine the power these teachers hold to retaliate against the students of parents who speak out?

Can you imagine how we must weigh speaking out in Mr. Caudill's defense against the retribution our children at NCHS would suffer?

You've missed an entire side of the reporting equation.

Southeast Side
You mention circling the wagons?? That is all they do in that district...protect their own. If they had their way, they would sweep it under the rug, just like they do with everything else.
What happens in Naperville, stays in Naperville...
I've been through that district and have lived there long enough to know that they'd rather hide than face the consequences. I'm glad someone finally brought an issue like this to light. Otherwise, they probably would have only given him a slap on the wrist.

We would agree with the comment of Upton1878 (birth year and last name of "The Jungle" author) who said you overestimate the media's role in this. This incident occurred on May 20, a Tuesday, first reported in The Sun on Friday, May 23--a small story on page 11 with no page 1 reference. Appropriate treatment, we felt at the time. What transpired then was the community response--phone calls, e-mails, letters to the editor, blog posts--overwhelmingly negative about Caudill. We digested all this (By the way, The Sun has in no way attempted to link this incident to the dismissal of student newspaper advisor Linda Kane, unlike other media.) Was the front-page editorial dramatic? Yes, it was intended to have an impact. Did it affect the outcome? Unlikely--the school board had already called a meeting. It's obvious the school officials knew what had to be done before the Sun editorial ran. Is Jim Caudill a good educator and administrator? Yes. Did we bring him down? No. Our words were rational and devoid of any emotion. It was with great difficulty that we reached our conclusion, that it would be impossible for Jim to continue as principal. So be it. Are we gleeful that such a distinguished educational career came to such an abrupt end? Absolutely not. There were no high-fives in the newsroom today. Do we feel we did our jobs, and spoke for the many in the community who took the time to share their thoughts with us about the situation, and did we carefully and thoughtfully articulate the reasons for our position? Yes.

NOTE: An earlier version of this post questioned whether the meeting was properly posted. The district did, in fact, post notice of the meeting Monday afternoon, Memorial Day. The Sun regrets its oversight in failing to verify the facts, and apologizes.

Congrats Naperville Sun and Editors....you got what you wanted. Hopefully none of you ever make a mistake, b/c I'll expect to see it on the front page with a full editorial inside.

What a joke.

Why does everyone treat these comments as if they are the most important writing they will complete in their lives and write 1,000 or more words to express their opinion?

Why does D203 consider themselves such a great institution when they are nothing more than a well-off suburban area surrounded by the likes of Aurora, Bolingbrook, etc. and really are not a special place to attend school?

Finally, why does a certain mom (Sandy D) from Waubonsie feel the need to comment about things they know nothing about and trash talk about JV games in relation to an event like this? When you troll message boards all day long, no one will take you seriously, especially when you make up rumors and post other senseless information.

This is just sad. A tempest in a teapot - ginned up in the media by the disgraced journalism teacher - trumps 34 years of exemplary service. Caudill has already got what he deserved - a big black eye. Instead of using this incident to teach a lesson, Leis and the board buckled under the pressure from the media. Instead of circling the wagons and protecting their own, they turned into a circular firing squad. The real loser here are the students of Napervile Central - who have to make do with a weaker substitute.

NCHS is a good school, but it's not Harvard. It's academic reputation cannot be harmed by a speech given for entertainment purposes.

Pure and simple, this is ginned up controversy by Linda Kane, the former Central High newpaper editor, who was forced out after she repeated disobeyed rules and finally for printing stories that glorified drug use - against established policy. Kane can't get her job back as editor, but she apparently was able to bring Caudill down with her.

I thought as a community, we could forgive a mistake by a man who has given his blood, sweat and tears to use for 34 years.

I guess the old adages are both true:

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
- William Congreve

There are no second acts in American lives.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Mr. Caudill had every opportunity to do the right thing before the ceremony and prepare his own work. He chose differently.

Mr. Caudill had every opportunity after the speech was discovered to be plagiarized and do the right thing and resign.

He showed us once again that he is incapable of making the right decision under pressure. It is appropriate that he was removed from being principal which is the same as being fired. It is truly a shame that Mr. Caudill did not have the personal character or moral fortitude to resign. Hopefully he will be kept in a position well away from influencing students since he has now clearly demonstrated his true nature. It is disturbing on one hand that it took the school district and his colleagues 34 years to see his true character for what it is.

The school board clearly showed more that they closed rank and protected Mr. Caudill by reassigning him to other duties rather than outright firing him which he more than deserved. The next election will tell if these school board members made the right decision in the minds of the voters. If they disagree voters will put pressure on the newly seated board to finish the job. Since there are no criminal charges there is no statue of limitations under which future board school board members could not reverse the present school board actions. Maybe Mr. Caudill would be well advised to get his resume in order before that day comes.

It is shocking to learn that the valedictorian also plagiarized other material. This cast serious doubt on the integrity of the entire institution to now have at least two plagiarized speeches in quick succession coming out of the same school. This speaks volumes about the academic culture at this school and who, more than the principal, sets the tone for culture in any academic institution?

The punishment for the student does seem appropriate. Should we assume the principal's speech will also be edited out of any official record of the proceedings?

The Media and the teacher are responsible for the RAPING of this teacher and principal. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. We do NOT live in a perfect world as most of Naperville residents think we do.

REMEMBER: "He who is without sin, cast the first stone". Oh, do I need to tell you who that is? Did I just plagurize? SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.

FORGIVE, FORGIVE, FORGIVE.........

I AM THOURGHLY DISCUSSED WITH ALL INVOLVED WITH A MAN WHO HAS BEEN THROUGH LOADS OF CLASSES AND EXAMS TO GET WHERE HE GOT TODAY TO BE PRINCIPAL.

JIM CAUDILL, I AM PROUD OF YOU AND ALL OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, YOU EARNED THEM WITH HARD WORK.

WE LOVE LOVE YOU,

MIKE, JOYCE, MIKE, PAT & JOELLYN

Belinda,

You are naive to think that a newspaper that is read by less than 15% of the town is responsible for removing someone from their job. They may fan the fire, but the 203 board and administration do not live in a vacuum and are well aware of the sentiments of the residents as well as their responsibility for enforcing district policy and protecting the integrity of the school system.

This situation is complex and requires more than a armchair quarterbacking and a knee jerk decision.

"[The Sun] is a hard hitting no nonsense high-powered newspaper?" Wow.

Yes, the Sun was a town tabloid and still is by most, if not all, of the commonly accepted definition (here's Merriam-Webster's for one).

of, relating to, or resembling tabloids; especially : featuring stories of violence, crime, or scandal presented in a sensational manner"

The principal's infraction is serious, but not sensational. A front page editorial, a subsequent front page acknowledgment of your own purported impact and a full page of quotes from anonymous sources, now that's what I would call sensational. Let's call it what it is: tabloid journalism to help resurrect a struggling paper.

Yes, in the print media world tabloid may only refer to the size of the paper, but stop anyone on the street and ask them about the content and presentation of a tabloid paper and they will describe the Naperville Sun to a T; just look at its recent front pages. It is clear in whose direction the Sun is heading: the New York Post, the Daily News and the king of them all the [British] Sun; textbook definitions of tabloid press--oops, I mean no nonsense newspapers.

It time to take a step back on this one, reflect and and let the board do it's job.

p.s "we can get a City Manager from the East Coast who knows how to clean up City Hall." Like one from Staten Island maybe?

Belinda,

You are naive to think that a newspaper that is read by less than 15% of the town is responsible for removing someone from their job. They may fan the fire, but the 203 board and administration do not live in a vacuum and are well aware of the sentiments of the residents as well as their responsibility for enforcing district policy and protecting the integrity of the school system.

This situation is complex and requires more than a armchair quarterbacking and a knee jerk decision.

"A hard hitting no nonsense high-powered newspaper?" Wow.

Yes they were a town tabloid and still are are by most, if not all, of the commonly accepted definition (here's Merriam-Webster's for one).

of, relating to, or resembling tabloids; especially : featuring stories of violence, crime, or scandal presented in a sensational manner"

The principal's infraction is serious, but not sensational. A front page editorial, a subsequent front page acknowledgment of your own purported impact and a full page of quotes from anonymous sources, now that's what I would call sensational. Let's call it what it is: tabloid journalism to help resurrect a struggling paper.

Yes, the in the print media world tabloid may only refer to the size of the paper, but stop anyone on the street and ask them about the content and presentation of a tabloid paper and they will describe the recent Naperville Sun's to a T; just look a their covers.

Let's all take a step back, breathe and let the board do it's job.

The power of ink, like the power of a gun can be used for the right or wrong reason. If we all were fired for doing something wrong, everyone of us would be looking for a job. I guess Newsweek should cease publication for misinformation by not including 3 Naperville High Schools on it list of 1500 Best high schools, which are now on their "corrected" list? Newspaper editors should be reassigned every time a correction or retraction is published?

I don't know what Mr Caudill's reassignment is, but I do not support removing him from his current position. I hope he is allowed to continue his good works within the school district.

I think, for the most part, the district got this right. It is a huge blow to Caudill to have to be reassigned, but he does get to keep a district job and ultimately receive his pension.

Mr. Jim Lynch,

You showed and proved the POWER OF INK!

You proved that you have the power to remove someone from a position he does not deserve...that he is not worthy of! Kudos to you!

Keep up your great work and let us not forget to go after some City Officials who do not need to be gainfully employed in our town at taxpayer expense when they can not control EXPENSES!

You have got your work cut out for you!

I have always admired brave citizens like you and the Napergate Man!

Good luck to you!

And thank you for all you have done for this town since your arrival 2 years ago from the East Coast!

Hopefully, we can get a City Manager from the East Coast who knows how to clean up City Hall!

I am very impressed with how you have taken the Naperville Sun from a lazy sleepy town tabloid newspaper to a hard hitting no nonsense high-powered newspaper worthy of a city like Naperville!

He will be paid more, we know that for sure.

It is sad they had to use the student to take some of the flack for Caudill.

Why not digitize Caudill's image out of the graduation like they do on the Cops show. Treat all plagiarizers the same--anonymous.