Joe Williams in a relaxed atmosphere at the McHenry County Fair.
Future McHenry County Regional Superintendent of School Joe Williams is quoted in an article on Home Schooling published by the Illinois State Board of Election.
Here’s his two paragraphs:
“Joe Williams, ROE #44 assistant superintendent in McHenry County and also the county’s lone truancy officer, said very few abuse cases happen among the 60,000 or so school- age children there. ‘Maybe two or three per year,’ he said, adding that if truancy is an issue, he is prepared to take it to court if needed.
“’On whole, it’s been a largely positive experience regarding the home school families in McHenry County,”’he said. ‘They work hard, they love their kids, and if they need something, they’ll call.’ But he also said he has no hard numbers on how many home school kids are in the county.”
A 1950’s Illinois Supreme Court decision prohibits regulation of Home Schooling.
Williams is running unopposed in the fall election.
I don’t know how to take Mr. William’s quotes, I believe that this is draconian style of administration and could potentially do more harm than good.
There is no jursdication of the county or state to know the number of home schooled children nor are the parents required to ask permission or notify the county or state of their decision to home school. This is the real reason why Mr. Williams has no clue on what is “hard numbers” of home schooled kids in McHenry County.
Well there are numerous numbers about homeschool growth. Several studies tell us we have doubled the numbers since 1999.About 2.5 million. Simply google Homeschooler growth. Unfortunatly Joe and other ROE’s don’t seem to know whats going on in education.This is why many politicians want to do away with the positions. Cook county has fired the last ROE for corruption and done away with the position.
Most citizens don’t even know that we have this huge layer of expensive administration of ROE and lots of staff. At a time when the State is broke I hope someone can do some drastic cutting and this layer would be the perfect place to start. Can these ROE’s identify any value they bring to the tax payer or children?
Mr. Williams has violated our rights as a home schooler. We believe he has also violated our civil rights by entering our home without a search warrent.We are filing a complaint with Lisa Madigans office and the Inspector General.We are hoping for a full investigation which will rule in our favor.
He does not understand that Home Schoolers have rights under the constitution. A Truency officer and also the Assistant Superintendent of schools is a real conflict of intrest in our opinion. You never know who you are talking to and what role they are assuming.
We have so many home school groups and the ISBE.org web site is very clear on home school rules. read questions about home schooling.
you can see in this article that Mr. Williams is not considering the cost to the tax payer of having a heavy hand in an area he has no authority over. Should these cases go to court its a huge liability to the tax payers.
The attorney Generals office of Mchenry County should be controlling the situation better than they are in my opinion but perhaps they don’t have staff who know the rules related to Home Schoolers and how well organized we are to present our cases in court. Most of the time its a slam dunk but the tax payers will pay for every case so i hope someone out there is keeping track of this.
As this article points out. One minute the schools are blaming parents for not teaching students at home. This is why Illinois numbers are so bad. Then in the same sentence saying parents can’t possibly be allowed to teach their children without big brother watching.
Its not about the kids its all about the money and ensuring everyone has a job. We need serious reform and accoutability something educators don’t like to hear very often.
A home school is actually a private school in the eyes of the court. As it should be.We should have the Freedom to educate our children as we see fit. With the religious support that we choose or not choose. Its also about providing a safe and positive environment for students to learn at their own pace and with extra supports. Something they rarely get in a public school.
Many homshoolers are parents of special needs children like us.
Visit HSLDA for information on the support from the courts for Home Schoolers. Or US department of education on Home School. Its a dangerous position we will find ourselves in if we allow School administrators to take over the parenting of our children.
From our experience with Mr. Williams on many educational issues I regret his potential placement in this role. It may be a serious problem for home schoolers and public education students alike.
Would love to know if anyone else has had problems..Perhaps our problems are based upon something personel.