Post by southsidesignmaker on Dec 21, 2011 10:26:21 GMT -6
napervillesun.suntimes.com/9536446-417/residents-air-their-feelings-about-boundary-change-process-at-packed-d203-meeting.html
Concerns about future school boundary changes drew a sizable crowd to the Naperville School District 203 board meeting Monday night.
The meeting itself was held in the auditorium at Naperville Central High School to allow plenty of space for the public.
Monday�s meeting served as a follow up to a recent meeting of the district�s Enrollment Capacity Study Group, which discussed a variety of hypothetical scenarios concerning boundary changes that would be needed to address the district�s changing demographics.
Committee member Wendy Serafin, who also serves as the Home and School president at Highlands Elementary School, outlined the progress of the study group so far.
�We�ve met four times, once in October, twice in November, and then the December meeting and we�re here tonight to gather more feedback,� Serafin said. �It�s been recommended that there be more time given to assess the proposals ... We realize there is an imbalance in terms of enrollment in the northern and southern schools.�
The auditorium, with a listed capacity of 876, was more than two-thirds full by 7:30 p.m.
Superintendent Mark Mitrovich outlined reasons for the boundary changes. Mitrovich said a combination of program development, enrollment imbalance and changes in administration and teacher performance were among the reasons driving the discussion to change boundaries.
�Beginning in the fall of 2012, administrators will have their evaluations based 50 percent on student achievement, and the state Legislature has determined that teacher performance evaluations will begin in 2016,� he said. �These are mandates and we have no choice. There will also be standardized tests that students will take in core subject areas that will allow us to compare students here in Illinois with others throughout the country taking the same tests. We need to move quickly to address our programs to meet these requirements.�
Mitrovich said one of the district�s issues is to consider offering full-day kindergarten classes, but that the additional instruction could not be accommodated at all of the district�s schools.
�We can�t offer full-day instruction at some district schools and not at others because some don�t have the room due to enrollment,� he said. �We know people in the community are passionate about their neighborhood schools and there are consistent, high quality programs at every one of them. You can ask parents all over the district who will tell you that.�
Parents at Monday�s meeting expressed similar concerns, from students attending the same school older siblings once did, to concerns about students being bused away from schools they can currently walk to every day.
�We need a long-term solution because students in the elementary grades should know where they are going in the future and not find out a few years from now they are going somewhere else,� said Tracey Schroeder, who currently has children in kindergarten and third grade in the district. �I want my children to go to the same schools and think there should be a grandfather clause if necessary.�
Lynn Zimmer, who has a fourth-grader at Meadow Glens Elementary School, said the first proposal published on the district�s web site should be ignored and that she is concerned about her child being bused to a high school three miles away instead of attending a school just three blocks away.
�I think a big reason behind this is the overpopulation at the northern schools and that student performance could be affected if the numbers aren�t equaled out somehow,� she said.
Teachers like Ryan Smith and Jen Schuemelfeder, who both teach English at Naperville North, said they came Monday to �listen to the community� and learn more about how the proposals could affect jobs.
�I realize things are in the proposal phase right now,� Smith said.
�I also have concerns about forced transfers if enrollment at our school changed drastically,� Schuemelfeder said.
Even students like Katie Squire, an eighth-grader at Washington Junior High School, came out to make a statement about the future of the district. Squire came with a poster asking that her school be saved, along with some cowbells she decorated with the school�s name.
�I�m going on to Naperville Central next year, but I want my younger sister to go to the same junior high I did and have the same great experience,� she said.
The Enrollment Capacity Study Group is scheduled to meet again Jan. 11 to discuss the latest public input and ideas concerning the boundary process. The goal is for the group to bring some sort of recommendation to the School Board Jan. 23, although the study group could also request more time to study the matter.
*******************************************************
It appears many districts will be challenged as school populations move within a district. Boundary and school changes seem to always be an emotional time for many school families.
Concerns about future school boundary changes drew a sizable crowd to the Naperville School District 203 board meeting Monday night.
The meeting itself was held in the auditorium at Naperville Central High School to allow plenty of space for the public.
Monday�s meeting served as a follow up to a recent meeting of the district�s Enrollment Capacity Study Group, which discussed a variety of hypothetical scenarios concerning boundary changes that would be needed to address the district�s changing demographics.
Committee member Wendy Serafin, who also serves as the Home and School president at Highlands Elementary School, outlined the progress of the study group so far.
�We�ve met four times, once in October, twice in November, and then the December meeting and we�re here tonight to gather more feedback,� Serafin said. �It�s been recommended that there be more time given to assess the proposals ... We realize there is an imbalance in terms of enrollment in the northern and southern schools.�
The auditorium, with a listed capacity of 876, was more than two-thirds full by 7:30 p.m.
Superintendent Mark Mitrovich outlined reasons for the boundary changes. Mitrovich said a combination of program development, enrollment imbalance and changes in administration and teacher performance were among the reasons driving the discussion to change boundaries.
�Beginning in the fall of 2012, administrators will have their evaluations based 50 percent on student achievement, and the state Legislature has determined that teacher performance evaluations will begin in 2016,� he said. �These are mandates and we have no choice. There will also be standardized tests that students will take in core subject areas that will allow us to compare students here in Illinois with others throughout the country taking the same tests. We need to move quickly to address our programs to meet these requirements.�
Mitrovich said one of the district�s issues is to consider offering full-day kindergarten classes, but that the additional instruction could not be accommodated at all of the district�s schools.
�We can�t offer full-day instruction at some district schools and not at others because some don�t have the room due to enrollment,� he said. �We know people in the community are passionate about their neighborhood schools and there are consistent, high quality programs at every one of them. You can ask parents all over the district who will tell you that.�
Parents at Monday�s meeting expressed similar concerns, from students attending the same school older siblings once did, to concerns about students being bused away from schools they can currently walk to every day.
�We need a long-term solution because students in the elementary grades should know where they are going in the future and not find out a few years from now they are going somewhere else,� said Tracey Schroeder, who currently has children in kindergarten and third grade in the district. �I want my children to go to the same schools and think there should be a grandfather clause if necessary.�
Lynn Zimmer, who has a fourth-grader at Meadow Glens Elementary School, said the first proposal published on the district�s web site should be ignored and that she is concerned about her child being bused to a high school three miles away instead of attending a school just three blocks away.
�I think a big reason behind this is the overpopulation at the northern schools and that student performance could be affected if the numbers aren�t equaled out somehow,� she said.
Teachers like Ryan Smith and Jen Schuemelfeder, who both teach English at Naperville North, said they came Monday to �listen to the community� and learn more about how the proposals could affect jobs.
�I realize things are in the proposal phase right now,� Smith said.
�I also have concerns about forced transfers if enrollment at our school changed drastically,� Schuemelfeder said.
Even students like Katie Squire, an eighth-grader at Washington Junior High School, came out to make a statement about the future of the district. Squire came with a poster asking that her school be saved, along with some cowbells she decorated with the school�s name.
�I�m going on to Naperville Central next year, but I want my younger sister to go to the same junior high I did and have the same great experience,� she said.
The Enrollment Capacity Study Group is scheduled to meet again Jan. 11 to discuss the latest public input and ideas concerning the boundary process. The goal is for the group to bring some sort of recommendation to the School Board Jan. 23, although the study group could also request more time to study the matter.
*******************************************************
It appears many districts will be challenged as school populations move within a district. Boundary and school changes seem to always be an emotional time for many school families.
