District 204 growth slows

[gatormom]

Frontier Campus venture brings college atmosphere to District 204

By Britt Carson
staff writer

Frontier Campus doesn't look like a typical high school, but on Aug. 28 about 150 high school students from Indian Prairie District 204 arrive for their first day of classes at the new office building.

The campus, which is a joint venture between District 204 and College of DuPage, is in the Fry Building, just down the road from Neuqua Valley High School on 95th Street in Naperville. The top two floors of the office building hold science and computer labs, teacher work rooms and a kitchen for the culinary program.

The building offers two things for students: regular high school classes and COD classes to earn college credit, said Dave Scheidecker, dean of the campus.

The campus is open only to seniors and geared toward those students who have fulfilled many of their academic requirements and might otherwise graduate early.

Of the 150 students Frontier will accommodate, about 20 are from Waubonsie Valley High School and the rest are from Neuqua Valley. The building also helps relieve overcrowding at Neuqua as enrollment continues to increase.

Not sure if Frontier was meant as a means to help relieve overcrowding or is now being used in that manner. This article was from the opening of Frontier.

[bob]

But Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said he wouldn't base his opinion on one year and pointed to several grade levels, such as fourth and sixth, that are among the highest the district has seen.

At the high school level, he said research shows the optimum size for a building is 1,800 students. Even with three high schools, there would be about 3,000 students at each.

In the meantime, he said current enrollment alone demonstrates a need for at least one more high school.

"Good God, we don't have any room," he said. "We can't be running high schools at 4,400 and 3,600 and that's what we do now."

3000 is the max.

Let's say the enrollment become 8100. The simple solution would be getting rid of the freshman campus at NV and turning it into a middle school and then selling off a MS ( the one that gives us the biggest return). 3 HS at 90% capacity and we rid ourselves of a bad decison (frosh campuses.)

[rew]

The Frontier campus was developed outside of the overcrowding issue, but it has been said that , if need be, the school could assign seniors to the alternative campus to help the overcrowding, ie. seniors who wanted early dismissal might be assigned there.

The students who attend Frontier are not at the regular campus. You are not allowed to go between buildings, you are 100% at one or the other. Any senior invovled in music, or film production etc cannot be a Frontier student because their electives are in the main bldng. The Frontier students maintain block scheduling, like college. They may have classes that meet M W F or T R or AM or PM. It is not geared towards the senior that wants to take a full load of classes.

It is a novel approach and I think the students have embraced it. It is an alternative to a traditional senior year.

[Arch]

Information re: frontier seems to be conflicting this morning.

[blankcheck]

That is not true. Kids do go between buildings. Ant even pointed that out.

[bob]

blankcheck said:

That is not true. Kids do go between buildings. Ant even pointed that out.

Rew is saying kids that are in the Frontier program don't move between buildings. NV is also using Frontier to hold non-Frontier classes there. Hence, kids moving between buildings.

[blankcheck]

What I do not understand is why the district is delaying any type of relief at the middle school level if it is needed. The 10% increase in students will take awhile to get here considering the housing market for high priced homes.

People voted based on boundaries and high enrollment numbers (thanks to a very clever marketing company) that probably will not be seen.

You have to remember with a new comprehensive school, you also need a comprehensive staff for that school. Yes, we would have to hire more teachers to teach in portables but there are many other positions we would not have to hire for example another athletic director.

They could also look at another Frontier campus located in the northern end of the district as well as portables at middle schools and high schools. You say that they need to be replaced every 5 years. That may be all we need is five years.

[Arch]

5 years is also longer than a lot of people stay in one area due to job relocation... so I can understand not wanting to pay for something they feel they will never get to use.

[rew]

That is the first I have heard of students going between the bldngs. Did the student opt for this arrangement or were they assigned?

[rew]

Question...why do the DHs enrollment numbers for each of the schools for 2006, conflict with the enrollment numbers on the school's 2006 report cards? Are the numbers fall (DH) versus spring 2006 (report cards)

[Arch]

rew said:

Question...why do the DHs enrollment numbers for each of the schools for 2006, conflict with the enrollment numbers on the school's 2006 report cards? Are the numbers fall (DH) versus spring 2006 (report cards)

I'm not certain when the report card numbers are generated but any time you look at a potentially evolving number at different times, you can get discrepancies.

[bob]

People voted based on boundaries and high enrollment numbers (thanks to a very clever marketing company) that probably will not be seen.

What marketing company? Do you mean the compmnay that did the survey?

[proschool]

blankcheck said:

What I do not understand is why the district is delaying any type of relief at the middle school level if it is needed. The 10% increase in students will take awhile to get here considering the housing market for high priced homes.

People voted based on boundaries and high enrollment numbers (thanks to a very clever marketing company) that probably will not be seen.

You have to remember with a new comprehensive school, you also need a comprehensive staff for that school. Yes, we would have to hire more teachers to teach in portables but there are many other positions we would not have to hire for example another athletic director.

They could also look at another Frontier campus located in the northern end of the district as well as portables at middle schools and high schools. You say that they need to be replaced every 5 years. That may be all we need is five years.

Why do you think the College of Dupage is going to want to pay for another Frontier Campus? Iwould like to see another one but pretty soon every high school in Dupage is going to want one and we will paying all the extra taxes to the College of Dupage.

[proschool]

bob said:

People voted based on boundaries and high enrollment numbers (thanks to a very clever marketing company) that probably will not be seen.

What marketing company? Do you mean the compmnay that did the survey?

If it was a marketting company they are not that clever. We know that the district will be built out some time soon (within the next 5-7 years IMO. The land is just to valuable to be farm land)but I don't understand why they said that they had any idea of how built out it would be in 2007.

[anteater]

archwinsome said:

Anteater,

What class is she taking there and is it simply a class that should have been taught in the main building but could not be due to lack of room?

It is anatomy and physiology, and I believe the answer is yes. In this case, I think it probably stems from a shortage of science rooms, which would be one reason specific classes are scheduled over there. Also, in a subsequent post that quoted a Britt Carson article when it opened, the last sentence specifically mentions its use to relieve overcrowding. While I hate to rain on Harry's parade, I'm not sure that making the maximum possible use of Frontier is in the students' best interests. Of course, I might feel differently if the next referendum includes a covered moving walkway between campuses...air conditioned, of course! ;)estrained glee