Post by wvhsparent on Feb 5, 2007 11:38:58 GMT -6
Are eight-grade graduations overdoing it?
Pomp and circumstance at middle schools losing favor with districts
By Madhu Krishnamurthy
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Monday, February 05, 2007
The sweaty palms.
The nervous anticipation of walking down the aisle without stumbling on stage as parents and grandparents cheer on.
The sense of accomplishment, relief.
Who can forget graduation day? It is an experience like no other.
But does the tradition lose some of its value if graduations now mark every step of student life?
Preschool. Kindergarten. First grade. Fifth grade. Eighth grade. High school. College.
How much is too much?
One Lake County school district is pondering just that.
“By the time they get to high school, it’s really not a big deal anymore,” said Principal Nate Carter of Lake Zurich Middle School North. “It’s kind of anti-climactic.”
That is part of the reason why Lake Zurich Unit District 95 is considering doing away with formal middle school graduation ceremonies in favor of a modest promotional awards recognition. Other reasons are so teachers gain roughly two days of instructional time and the district saves money.
Middle schools across the suburbs have varying traditions when it comes to recognizing students’ promotion to high school, including ceremonies with pomp and circumstance.
Could District 95 be out in front of a new trend?
Indian Prairie School District 204 in Naperville stopped having formal eighth-grade graduation at its six middle schools last spring. None of the neighboring school districts had such ceremonies, so the district surveyed parents online about whether they would welcome ending the practice.
Parents responded overwhelmingly in favor, said Kathryn Birkett, District 204 assistant superintendent for secondary education.
The cap and gown were out. In their place, the middle schools now have recognition ceremonies by each eighth-grade team.
“It’s much more personalized,” Birkett said. “The parents are there. We make it so that every student is recognized. And we got great feedback after it took place. Any change won’t be a 100 percent. But we are very pleased.”
Saving money and gaining instructional time was merely a bonus, she said.
“We really feel students should be aiming for high school graduation,” she said. “That’s momentous. And middle school graduation should be more low key.”
These districts are moving closer to the norm nationally, said Sue Swaim, executive director of the National Middle School Association.
“If you would look at the 15,000 to 16,000 public middle schools across the country, they do not do a formal graduation,” she said.
Jason Leahy, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association, said discussion over underscoring high school graduations is taking place at many districts, but he could not say whether there is an increasing shift toward eliminating eighth grade graduations.
“Should we try to do more to raise the level of significance for high school ceremonies? The conversation is not uncommon,” he said.
Though not at Barrington Unit District 220’s Barrington Middle School Prairie Campus, where eighth-grade promotion looks and feels a lot like high school graduation but for the caps and gowns, says Principal Art Fessler.
The usually two-hour long ceremony at Barrington High School includes speeches and the band, orchestra and chorus playing and singing to a crowd of about 3,000 people.
“It’s a pretty elaborate and formal ceremony,” Fessler said. “It has all the elements of what a graduation would be.”
There never has been talk of eliminating it because parents simply want the recognition as much as the students, he said.
“It’s hard work at middle level,” Fessler said. “They do some pretty significant things. I think it’s appropriate to be recognizing not only the kids but their families as well.”
Yet, Fessler says he plans to scale back this year’s program to an hour and a half and make it an evening ceremony instead of during the day to accommodate working parents.
For parents, the satisfaction of seeing their kids get through an awkward phase in life is an achievement in itself. Yet, marking that passage from eighth grade to high school is as much a reward for them as it is for the students, some say.
Teresa Daleske of Lake Zurich saved the glossy blue gown her son, Jack, wore upon graduating from eighth grade two years ago.
Her 13-year-old son, James, will wear it in May when he graduates from Lake Zurich Middle School North. Daleske had planned to use the same gown for her other two children when they finish eighth grade, but might not have the chance.
“I think it’s important to be able to celebrate important events in your life and moving on from one stage to another. And graduation is a very concrete way to do it,” Daleske said. “It’s a very definite ending, beginning to go from eighth grade to high school.”
Daleske understands District 95’s concern with saving money wherever it can with its over-stretched resources. The district cut programs and staffing this year.
The two middle school ceremonies run roughly $7,000 yearly for the cost of diplomas, transportation, equipment such as risers, traffic control, and flowers. That doesn’t include the cost of lost instructional time as students have to be out of class for graduation rehearsals, officials said.
Parents have to pay $20 for the gowns. And often, relatives end up spending hundreds of dollars to fly in for the ceremonies.
Daleske says she could forgo the pomp and circumstance, but would still like to see the kids’ hard work recognized publicly with parents and grandparents present.
There is consensus on the District 95 school board that the middle school ceremonies are unnecessary. But before a decision is made, officials plan to survey parents and students about discontinuing them and what to do in its stead. The schools’ parent-teacher organizations are split over the issue.
It’s already too late to change it this year. Students have been measured for their gowns and the diplomas have arrived.
It’s about tradition, says Peggy Walding, president of Lake Zurich Middle School South’s parent-teacher organization, whose son, Scott, 13, will graduate from eighth grade this year.
“That’s what I think it really comes down to,” she said. “I would feel saddened if they would do away with the tradition.”
Pomp and circumstance at middle schools losing favor with districts
By Madhu Krishnamurthy
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Monday, February 05, 2007
The sweaty palms.
The nervous anticipation of walking down the aisle without stumbling on stage as parents and grandparents cheer on.
The sense of accomplishment, relief.
Who can forget graduation day? It is an experience like no other.
But does the tradition lose some of its value if graduations now mark every step of student life?
Preschool. Kindergarten. First grade. Fifth grade. Eighth grade. High school. College.
How much is too much?
One Lake County school district is pondering just that.
“By the time they get to high school, it’s really not a big deal anymore,” said Principal Nate Carter of Lake Zurich Middle School North. “It’s kind of anti-climactic.”
That is part of the reason why Lake Zurich Unit District 95 is considering doing away with formal middle school graduation ceremonies in favor of a modest promotional awards recognition. Other reasons are so teachers gain roughly two days of instructional time and the district saves money.
Middle schools across the suburbs have varying traditions when it comes to recognizing students’ promotion to high school, including ceremonies with pomp and circumstance.
Could District 95 be out in front of a new trend?
Indian Prairie School District 204 in Naperville stopped having formal eighth-grade graduation at its six middle schools last spring. None of the neighboring school districts had such ceremonies, so the district surveyed parents online about whether they would welcome ending the practice.
Parents responded overwhelmingly in favor, said Kathryn Birkett, District 204 assistant superintendent for secondary education.
The cap and gown were out. In their place, the middle schools now have recognition ceremonies by each eighth-grade team.
“It’s much more personalized,” Birkett said. “The parents are there. We make it so that every student is recognized. And we got great feedback after it took place. Any change won’t be a 100 percent. But we are very pleased.”
Saving money and gaining instructional time was merely a bonus, she said.
“We really feel students should be aiming for high school graduation,” she said. “That’s momentous. And middle school graduation should be more low key.”
These districts are moving closer to the norm nationally, said Sue Swaim, executive director of the National Middle School Association.
“If you would look at the 15,000 to 16,000 public middle schools across the country, they do not do a formal graduation,” she said.
Jason Leahy, executive director of the Illinois Principals Association, said discussion over underscoring high school graduations is taking place at many districts, but he could not say whether there is an increasing shift toward eliminating eighth grade graduations.
“Should we try to do more to raise the level of significance for high school ceremonies? The conversation is not uncommon,” he said.
Though not at Barrington Unit District 220’s Barrington Middle School Prairie Campus, where eighth-grade promotion looks and feels a lot like high school graduation but for the caps and gowns, says Principal Art Fessler.
The usually two-hour long ceremony at Barrington High School includes speeches and the band, orchestra and chorus playing and singing to a crowd of about 3,000 people.
“It’s a pretty elaborate and formal ceremony,” Fessler said. “It has all the elements of what a graduation would be.”
There never has been talk of eliminating it because parents simply want the recognition as much as the students, he said.
“It’s hard work at middle level,” Fessler said. “They do some pretty significant things. I think it’s appropriate to be recognizing not only the kids but their families as well.”
Yet, Fessler says he plans to scale back this year’s program to an hour and a half and make it an evening ceremony instead of during the day to accommodate working parents.
For parents, the satisfaction of seeing their kids get through an awkward phase in life is an achievement in itself. Yet, marking that passage from eighth grade to high school is as much a reward for them as it is for the students, some say.
Teresa Daleske of Lake Zurich saved the glossy blue gown her son, Jack, wore upon graduating from eighth grade two years ago.
Her 13-year-old son, James, will wear it in May when he graduates from Lake Zurich Middle School North. Daleske had planned to use the same gown for her other two children when they finish eighth grade, but might not have the chance.
“I think it’s important to be able to celebrate important events in your life and moving on from one stage to another. And graduation is a very concrete way to do it,” Daleske said. “It’s a very definite ending, beginning to go from eighth grade to high school.”
Daleske understands District 95’s concern with saving money wherever it can with its over-stretched resources. The district cut programs and staffing this year.
The two middle school ceremonies run roughly $7,000 yearly for the cost of diplomas, transportation, equipment such as risers, traffic control, and flowers. That doesn’t include the cost of lost instructional time as students have to be out of class for graduation rehearsals, officials said.
Parents have to pay $20 for the gowns. And often, relatives end up spending hundreds of dollars to fly in for the ceremonies.
Daleske says she could forgo the pomp and circumstance, but would still like to see the kids’ hard work recognized publicly with parents and grandparents present.
There is consensus on the District 95 school board that the middle school ceremonies are unnecessary. But before a decision is made, officials plan to survey parents and students about discontinuing them and what to do in its stead. The schools’ parent-teacher organizations are split over the issue.
It’s already too late to change it this year. Students have been measured for their gowns and the diplomas have arrived.
It’s about tradition, says Peggy Walding, president of Lake Zurich Middle School South’s parent-teacher organization, whose son, Scott, 13, will graduate from eighth grade this year.
“That’s what I think it really comes down to,” she said. “I would feel saddened if they would do away with the tradition.”