Awake Illinois founder Shannon Adcock is not taking time to celebrate the recently announced retirement of State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen Ayala.
For many parents Ayala is a personification of the poor public policy undertaken during the Covid pandemic. “Having looked her in the eyes at a state board of Ed meeting – to speak of the evil they rained down on children – I’m left worrying who will fill her shoes,” Adcock said on Twitter.
Adcock on Ayala retirement: ‘I’m left worrying who will fill her shoes’
Ayala is resigning as of Jan. 31, 2023. She oversaw one of the most aggressive campaigns with heavy Covid protocols the damage of which many are now saying will take decades to recover from. Her departure was announced in a press release yet she did not release a statement herself.
“Dr. Ayala represents the highest level of dedication to public service, and over her long career she has positively impacted thousands of Illinois students,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said in his praise of Ayala.
Adcock previously demanded that Ayala step down at a meeting in April for failing to do more to safeguard the integrity of education throughout the state during the pandemic.
“Carmen Ayala should resign, as should every member on the board who did not fight for children and lawful due process the last two years who all waged war on our children,” Adcock told Prairie State Wire.
“They should all be gone, every one of them. Other than that, they’re doing great.”
In the Midwest, Illinois was an outlier with students missing more in-person education than surrounding states.
AP news noted Illinois kept schools shuttered long after it was shown the institutions were not the “super spreaders” once feared.
As a result the typical student in Chicago missed half a year of school, or 21 weeks in reading and 20 weeks in math, between March 2020 and June 2021.
Those states and school districts that emphasized in-person instruction appear to have had lower decreases in academic uptake during the pandemic.
