William "Wes" Smithing - RBHS D208 School Board Member

04/05/2021

I work for United Airlines and have been working throughout the pandemic, as an essential worker I understand the stresses and implications that COVID has brought onto our lives.
In the last year:
• United furloughed over 27,000 employees
• Suspended raises and bones
• Paid 80% salary for most of 2020

I tell you this because I have done what I needed to do to provide for my family. I am grateful to have employment as so many do not.
My situation is no comparison to the social and emotional struggles our high school students have endured. I am so proud of Ava from the RBHS Clarion editorial staff to share her story in a recent student opinion piece.
https://rbclarion.com/top-stories/2021/03/31/how-covid-19-took-a-toll-on-my-mental-health/

04/04/2021

My United Airlines job requires me to negotiate many contracts. This is why I was one of two board members who negotiated for all the community stakeholders with the RBEA and their four teacher reps . While the RBEA reps have been in the school for many years and are respected and well liked, none of them lived in D208. They are doing their jobs well in representing the needs and demands of their members but realistically may not necessarily represent the broad and diverse stakeholders of D208 communities of Brookfield, Broadview, North Riverside, Lagrange Park, & Riverside as a whole. I’m prepared and experienced to represent the best interests of our diverse community through these current and future challenging financial times.

Teachers and the school board at Riverside-Brookfield High School approved a new three-year contract last week with more than two months remaining on their existing deal. That fact stands in stark contrast to the previous two contracts, which were ratified months after the prior contracts had expire...

04/03/2021

I am so proud of RBHS students to having the choice and advantage of in-person learning four days a week. The board of education and I have worked to make the in-person learning environment a model for other districts across the state.

We have successfully:
• Increased the airflow through the HVAC system
• Enhanced the cleaning procedures throughout the building and in every classroom
• Added individual COVID barriers to every teacher space
• One-way staircases & defined hallway lanes for social distancing purposes

“The lack of a single COVID transmission in school shows that the risk of catching the virus while attending school in-person is quite low, and the benefits of actually being in school are countless” (Liam Mathews, Editor-in-chief RBHS Clarion newspaper)

“The pandemic has already robbed us of a year of our lives, and I believe that now is the time when we should be taking our lives back. Since RB started allowing in-person learners in January, there has not been a single COVID case transmitted in the school, as all students, teachers and personnel have worn masks and followed CDC guidelines at all times. I truly do not believe it is at all unsafe to come into school at this time.” (Liam Mathews, Editor-in-chief RBHS Clarion newspaper)

Please read the entire piece from Liam:

I have spent most of this school year staring at a screen all day, wondering when school would feel normal again. If you had asked me at any time before we got wind of RB starting a new hybrid learning model, which involves four days of in-person instruction each week, I probably would have told...

04/02/2021

I work for United Airlines and have been working throughout the pandemic, as an essential worker I understand the stresses and implications that COVID has brought onto our lives.
In the last year:
• I have flown on 87 planes
• Been to 17 states & 1 foreign country
• Stayed in 31 hotel rooms
• I followed proper precautions and I never contracted COVID

I tell you this because I have done what I needed to do to provide for my family. The airline/hospitality business has been affected greater than any other sector next to our children and their social, emotional, and educational level. This virus has altered our children’s learning experiences and that process will never be the same again. There is no comparison, our children will live with the learning loss for a lifetime. We need experienced leadership from our community now more than ever. Unlike other current Board candidates, I live in Brookfield and I’m the proud father of a recent RB graduate, a current RB Senior and RB Freshmen. To say I am completely invested and committed to the needs of our students would be a great understatement.
Please vote and tell your neighbors and friends to vote for Smithing & Towner on April 6, 2021. Keep the leadership of the educational system in the community, for the community.
Ways to assist,
• Flyers to homes
• April 6 – volunteers, assisting with polling location education
• Spreading the “YES” vote for “Kids in School” campaign
• Educate neighbors and friends to vote for Smithing/Towner (Vote for Two)

03/19/2021

Support "Kids in School" Campaign

The nation’s public-health agency said K-12 students should remain at least three feet apart in classrooms rather than the six feet it had recommended previously, a change it said was made possible by new scientific findings.

03/16/2021

Almost 40% of children that take student loans fail to finish college. Not everyone is built for college. RBHS being the leader and innovator in education and career readiness is preparing our children with the tools to be successful in a post high school environment. Visit our new web page devoted to the Trades and Apprenticeships. https://www.rbhs208.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=248958&type=d&pREC_ID=2138544https://www.rbhs208.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=248958&type=d&pREC_ID=2138544https://www.rbhs208.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=248958&type=d&pREC_ID=2138544https://www.rbhs208.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=248958&type=d&pREC_ID=2138544https://www.rbhs208.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=248958&type=d&pREC_ID=2138544

https://www.wral.com/fact-check-how-many-student-loan-borrowers-failed-to-finish-college/19524091/

Riverside Brookfield High School is a secondary school located in Riverside which educates grades 9-12. It serves the towns of Riverside, Brookfield, LaGrange Park, North Riverside and Broadview.

02/19/2021

RBHS Staff and Administration have already accomplished what other districts are just beginning to think about. Follow our lead.

https://www.rblandmark.com/2021/02/16/rbhs-mulls-in-person-classes-4-days-a-week/

02/18/2021

Yard sign design complete - what are your thoughts?

02/03/2021

https://www.rblandmark.com/2021/02/02/high-school-athletes-coaches-eye-sports-restart/

Kids need activities for strong mental health. RBHS as run a full schedule of afterschool activities either Virtual and/or In-Person since August.

High school sports in Illinois are slowly emerging from a pandemic that caused a winter slumber. Last week the Illinois High School Association allowed interscholastic competition to begin in what are classified as low-risk sports and allowed some moderate and high-risk sports teams to begin practic...