The Landmark, July 29, 2020
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OBITUARIES Continued from page 14 an, Lisa (Robert) Fry and Kevin (Heather) Buckley; the grandmother of Kevin, Lauren and Cate Whelan, Declan and Jack Fry and Emmet Buckley; the sister of the late James P. (late Peggy) Casey and the late Theady (late Helen) Casey; and the aunt of many nieces and nephews. Services were held on July 27 at St. Mary Church in Riverside, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside. Memorials to Misericordia Home, 6300 N. Ridge Ave., Chicago, 60660 (www.misericordia.com) are appreciated. Arrangements were handled by The Original Kuratko Family, Brian D. Kuratko, director.
Kenneth C. Freschauf, 68 Pepperidge Farm distributor Kenneth C. Freschauf, 68, more affectionately known as Dad, Uncle Kenny, The Bread Man and Grandpa Ken was graciously cared for by Seasons Hospice at MacNeal Hospital where he died from complications of end stage Parkinson’s disease at the age of 69 on
CLASS RANK Equity issue from page 1 and class and serves no useful purpose. “In my opinion this is also an equity issue,” said District 208 school board member Ramona Towner. Those in favor of eliminating class rank also say most colleges and universities don’t consider class rank in their admissions process. They also say class rank encourages students to sometimes try to game the system, making course selection decisions based on grades rather than interests. They also say that class rank can provoke needless anxiety and stress for some students. “We don’t want students to compete against each other; we want them to compete against themselves,” said RBHS counselor Jim Franko at the July 14 meeting of the District 208 school board. RBHS mulled a similar move a decade ago when then-Principal Pamela Bylsma announced a study to examine whether the school should eliminate class rank, using many of the same arguments being made today. The idea never gained traction, apparently. One of the two new student representatives to the school board said class rank does motivate him to study more. “Personally, I don’t see myself competing with myself really,” said rising RBHS senior Michael Ciszewski, who will join the board in an advisory capacity, along with Lily Adlesick, at the August meeting. “If I have competition from another person, I feel like
July 22, 2020. He was a Brookfield resident who formerly lived in Berwyn. Born Sept. 14, 1951 to Raymond Freschauf and Gabrielle (nee Smith) Freschauf, Mr. Freschauf was a fiercely independent Pepperidge Farm bread distributor for over 30 years. He will be remembered fondly for his gentle nature, witty sense of humor, his kindness to stray animals -- all of whom he named Fred -- and his quest for a good bargain on just about anything. Mr. Freschauf will be deeply missed by family and friends, including his surviving siblings, Joy, Robert and Gilman; his daughter, Karen; his former wife, Nancy; his daughter-in-law, Lora; his nieces, Julie, Karolyn (her husband KENNETH C. John) and Jennifer; FRESCHAUF his great-nieces and nephews, Sarah, Trevor, Steven and Anna; his longtime companion Karen and her family, Paul, Ray, Sarah, Emerson and Elliott among so many others. I’m more motivated to work for it.” For a long time, RBHS has honored the top 10 students in each class with medals at graduation. That tradition would probably come to an end if RBHS eliminates class rank. Ciszewski, who said he ranks in the top 10 of the Class of 2021, contended that many high-ranking students want to keep class rank. “Personally, I think we should keep it,” Ciszewski said. “But I spoke to a lot of students about this, and what I’ve seen is that the people that are in the top 5, 10 percent, 25, would rather keep it. They see it as getting a reward.” But Ciszewski said many other students either don’t care or would like to eliminate class rank. “Most students do want to get rid of it, or some don’t even know what it was,” Ciszewski said. “Many students don’t really care about it if they’re not in the top 5, top 10. But the people in those percentages really do know they’re in those percentages and care about that.” Board member Laura Hruska seemed reluctant to eliminate class rank, saying at the board meeting that the school should honor and recognize very high-performing students. “Why would we want to take away an achievement,” Hruska said. “How do we also recognize that special group? I don’t want us to regress to the mean where everybody is equal.” RBHS Principal Hector Freytas said that if the school board does eliminate class rank, it could adopt the so-called Latin model used at many colleges and recognize graduates as cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude graduates.
A celebration of life will be held in his honor at a later date. At the request of his family, in lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at michaeljfox.org. DuPage Cremations Ltd. and Memorial Chapel, West Chicago, handled arrangements.
Justin J. Nitz, 48, of North Riverside, died suddenly on July 19, 2020. Mr. Nitz was born Nov. 2, 1971. He attended Ames School and Hauser Junior High School in Riverside and was a proud graduate JUSTIN J. NITZ of the RiversideBrookfield High School Class of 1989. A former caddy at Riverside Golf Club and a former seasonal worker for North
Riverside Public Works, Mr. Nitz was a voracious reader. He was known as the “movie critic” with his cousin Scott, with whom he would rattle off lines from the movies. He loved playing video games with his nephews, fishing trips with his family in Wisconsin and going to Las Vegas with his friends. His biggest passion was spending time with family and friends. He will be missed by all. Mr. Nitz was the son of Mary Lou Nitz (nee Sauer) and the late John Nitz, who was a retired North Riverside Police sergeant; the brother of Jason Nitz; the uncle of Hayden Nitz and Bobby, Gaby and Izzy Sauer; a cousin of many; and a dear friend of Diane Nitz. Family and friends will be received at the Conboy-Westchester Funeral Home, 10501 W. Cermak Rd., Westchester, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 from 3 to 8 p.m. with a chapel service, stories and eulogies at 6:30 p.m. Interment is private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the family would be appreciated. Arrangements were handled by The Original Kuratko Family, Brian D. Kuratko, director.
Cum laude graduates would be those who graduate with grade point average of 3.0 to 3.49, magna cum laude would be those graduating with a 3.5-4.0 GPA, and those graduating with a GPA of above 4.0 would be summa cum laude. Freytas said such a system would allow RBHS to recognize more students, and more minority students. “How many Latino and black students have been ranked, let’s say, in the top 10, top 20, top 50,” Freytas said at the July 14 school board meeting. “I’ve seen a few, but this is an opportunity to include more of our changing student and changing demographic.” The median grade-point average at RBHS is 3.3. The school uses a weighted gradepoint average, where grades in Advanced Placement and honors classes are given a higher weight. After eliminating class rank, LTHS ad-
opted a system of honors graduates which recognizes the top 5 to 7 percent of students. Class rank is becoming rare at highperforming suburban high schools in the Chicago suburbs. Other high schools that no longer rank their students include Barrington High School, Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South, Fenwick, Oak Park and River Forest High School, New Trier, Lake Forest, Stevenson and York to name a few. Scott Eggerding, the director of curriculum and Instruction at LTHS, said that said that he has seen some positive effects from eliminating class rank there. “While we have not seen any decrease of students getting into selective colleges, we have seen more students in the middle of the class get into higher-ranked institutions,” Eggerding said in an email. “We also have less competition among students to play GPA games to improve their ranking.”
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