“Well, I guess you can cut the arts as much as you want, Gene. Sooner or later, these kids aren’t going to have anything to read or write about.”
–Glenn Holland, “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” 1995
I went to Whittier Primary School this morning. My kids will be going there next fall (I’m sure District 150’s administration is thrilled — I’ll have so much more to blog about now). Jackie, my oldest, has been going to a private school. It’s a small Christian school that’s been struggling to reach critical mass and just couldn’t do it, so it will be closing at the end of the school year. She’ll be going into third grade. Maggie, my youngest daughter, will be entering kindergarten.
So we went to the “Kindergarten Roundup” this morning to meet the principal — interim principal, as it turns out — and the teachers, and take a little tour of the school, and take a bus ride around the block. It was a fun morning.
One of the things we (and some other parents new to the school) wanted to know was what time school started and ended. I thought the answer was a little odd. “This year, school starts at 8:45″ and “lets out at 3:15.”
This year? Why the disclaimer?
Well, as it turns out, I had missed a very important part of the story on this past Monday’s school board meeting. Apparently, one of the school district’s efforts at saving money is to shorten the school day and cut some of the arts in the process:
But officials early on in the meeting Monday said job cuts may not be on the horizon, alluding to discussing late into the night the option of shortening the school day for primary students and their teachers instead. Students would have 45 fewer minutes at school; teachers’ days would be a half-hour shorter.
The savings, officials said, were estimated at $600,000 to $750,000 by reducing what’s spent on part-time prep teachers. An additional $45,000 to $60,000 would be saved by eliminating missed prep periods.
Scheduling changes would make up for some of the lost day and art or music classes could take some of the cuts, officials said, not essentials such as math and reading. That measure is expected to be discussed more at the May 5 board meeting.
Make the day shorter, and cut the arts. That’s how they’re considering saving money. Oh, but they won’t cut “essentials,” such as multiple superintendents math and reading. It’s interesting that they don’t see the arts as “essential.” Research shows:
- Learning in the Arts is Academic. Learning experiences in the arts contribute to the development of academic skills, including the areas of reading and language development and mathematics.
- Learning in the Arts is Basic. Arts learning experiences contribute to the development of certain thinking, social and motivational skills that are considered basic for success in school, life and work. These fundamental skills encompass a wide range of more subtle, general capacities of the mind, self-perceptions and social relationships.
- Learning in the Arts is Comprehensive. The arts help create the kind of learning environment conducive to teacher and student success by fostering teacher innovation, a positive professional culture, community engagement, increased student attendance, effective instructional practice and school identity.
But hey, gotta save money somewhere. It only makes sense to cut multiple superintendents instruction time and the arts.
Hat tip: Billy Dennis and PeoriaIllinoisan.
Good post. Kudos.
In every school system it is a continual battle with bureaucracy. We’ve been paying through the nose for new office space, etc. for the administrators and very little of those dollars going to actual education for the kids.
They have already cut art in the middle schools to the point of there not really being any.
I already told you and you laughed at me…
It is time to get rid of the school board, the district offices and rethink this whole public education idea.
VOUCHERS. VOUCHERS. VOUCHERS.
Oh yeah… I forgot… Tenure. What is that all about? Why tenure for K-12 and Jr Colleges? Are they publishing? Are they doing research for the school? There is absolutely NO OVERSIGHT for tenure teachers, AND short of “buying them off”, bribing them, in order to get them to retire, there is nothing that can be done to unload some of these highly successful teachers that have been contributing to the fine school AYP reports.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Yes, reading and math are important – but without art and beauty in your life, there’s nothing to read about, unless you want to read about math.
Music actually lends to the kind of brain function that helps with math. Art contributes to the kind of analysis and critical thinking ability necessary to understand what you are reading.
It’s really frustrating how bloated the administration is in District 150, and how few positive results they manage to produce.
Why should they produce results? … they get paid fat money and if they get fired, they get paid off in even fatter money and they can just go someplace else.
I’m so glad you heard about this, CJ. I’ve been wondering where the community outrage is for the last several days as no one seemed to catch this latest 150 plan…
When I first read about this earlier in the week, I did a lit search to see what educational researchers have found relative to the effects of shorter vs. longer school days. Kindergarten seems to be the only grade that isn’t adversely impacted by less minutes of school per day.
I wonder if 150 actually understands that not only does fine arts education teach important art and music skills but it also works to help kids generalize the skills they’re working on in other more academically based curricular areas? My son, who attends a 150 primary school spent the last several weeks in both math and art talking about geometry and symmetry. In music, he’s learning about quarter and half notes…you can’t tell me that these concepts won’t translate to math…
Seriously, District 150 is an urban school district facing incredible challenges, especially in light of NCLB and other educational mandates. Other urban school districts (I found one in Boston and one in Charlotte) are actually ADDING minutes to their school days in order to adequately educate students. I don’t think we need that, necessarily, but I don’t think this is a case of less being more, either. I wonder what all these kids will do with 45 minutes extra everyday?
These changes seem premature and totally inappropriate to me. Why the youngest kids, who we KNOW benefit the most from such education? Why arts over other programs (IIRC, 3 high school AD’s were on the chopping block until this suggestion arose…why does ANY disrict need 3 ADs?). What about those staggered start times that would save $400,000 that were discarded last year?
I’m concerned that no one seems to be worried about this…it really was buried in that PJStar article and not many folks actually saw it. Also, I wonder if the teaher’s union will have a response, as I imagine that there will have to be some sort of adjustment to the collective bargaining agreement, as once you take art/music/etc from schools teachers lose “prep” time that they are contractually entitled to in their contracts.
Hinton is set to discuss his plan at the next board meeting. May 5th, I believe, though I don’t know that any votes will be cast at that time…
JC
More latch key kids. This new scheduling will be a headache for parents who… want to be parents.
In some schools, it’s not as if the school will actually be open and staffed fewer hours: at least in the case of Whittier, they have a latch-key program that will still run beginning at 6:30 a.m. and going until 6 p.m. That’s almost as much time for paid babysitting as there will be the school day.
There’s a rumor that at least one of the “demi-superintendents” is retiring and will not be replaced (will wonders never cease), but I don’t know whether or not that’s true. Can someone who knows more than me verify this statement?
Retiring at his superintendant’s rate? SWEEEEET! How many ex-superintendants can we be paying for at the same time?
I assume Martha is talking about Cindy Fischer:
RIGHT ON, kcdad, you got up on the right side of the bed today.
CJ, I think you should reconsider your decision as to school.
I know this is beating a dead horse but how much would be save by closing one or even two of the high schools? It is criminal that D150 is cutting the school day and the arts and refuses to even discuss closing Central.
Central? If they’re going to close a school based on enrollment, it would be Manual. If they’re going to close one based on geography, it would be Woodruff. I can’t imagine why Central would even be considered as a candidate for closure.
The problem isn’t buildings and it isn’t money. The problem is the system is designed as a business not a school. Education is not the goal, teacher’s and administrative benefits and salaries is the goal. It is systemic and the only solution is to get rid of the system.
See? You can argue buildings all day long… or as the District 150 has done … for the last 5 years… but Central is a falling apart piece of urban renewal waiting to happen. Manual is the best structure in the whole system.
Oh… but it is in “that” part of town… wouldn’t hurt a few of them white folk on the North side to come down and spend some money on Lincoln Ave.
Why Central? Because it is an old old building. We know how much the current District 150 administration dislikes old buildings.
I admit I’m a closet conspiracy theorist, but maybe there really IS a “big picture” on the part of the administration.
First, you cut the arts & music programs from the younger schools. THEN, since you don’t have kids who have had any public artistic education (some lucky families will still have their kids in Community Theatre or Youth Symphony), you can eliminate the fine arts academy. LASTLY, since you don’t have a fine arts academy anymore, why advocate for keeping Central?
Sorry Martha, but I think you are giving King Hinton and his merry band too much credit for having a master plan beyond next week. Hinton’s brain is too well marinated from his years of a strict Cheetos diet to come up with anything that crafty. Besides, if you saw his rant last Monday night you would know “everything he does is for the kids” blah blah. In lieu of an art program I figure Hinton will have the children paint the houses he squandered $900,000 for last year. After all you don’t want his Chinese teachers living there free in unpainted houses do you?
^oo^~
I am a Whittier parent as well, and was very disturbed by this proposal. I personally cannot find anything redeeming about reducing the instruction time for my daughter by 45 minutes a day. I have already emailed all of the Board members, and spoken personally to one. One Board member basically told me to speak to my principal, since he was counting on them to give the feedback. Well, I’m meeting with the Whittier principal on Tuesday. I would encourage all of you District 150 parents, some-day-parents, and anyone who supports the idea of a good school district in Peoria to contact each of the Board members. Their email addresses are all available at http://www.psd150.org.
feral: What was the content of Hinton’s rant?
Karrie,
I thought it started as the usual Hinton “pity pity me” public speech full of double talk which the King mastered long ago. He turned it in to a rant of union spanking and a swipe at public foes like me in which he repeated several times that “people who know him knows he loves children”…and how he “hired” (SOME) or has worked with (SOME) teachers. Too bad Hinton still doesn’t realize he is in so far over his head! Talk about a public death from drowning in arrogance!
Why people don’t stop and analyze his repetition of terms/whatever I’ve never understood…but PLEASE don’t call double talk something more than what it is – gibberish to fool the stupid.
BTW there was no follow up comment by any and especially certain BOE members after the rant, so I have to believe it was pre-approved in executive session. Shame shame shame
^oo^~
Just an FYI – part of the theory is that children will not lose 45 minutes of instruction time because they won’t be walking to and from music, stopping for the big group bathroom break, etc. The other piece is that teachers will embed the arts into their instruction – which is what someone else mentioned earlier (although they had the music teacher embedding math). Another is that this will also free the teachers and staff up for a common prep in the AM. The benefit being that teams can get together to do grade level planning, meetings, transition activities, etc. The day all together should be lengthened, but the die hards would never let the contract go longer in the day without being paid. Sadly those teachers that walk in the door right before school begins and right out the door when it’s over are the ones who need to go – and many are the high payed ones who someone here thought should be kept. The reason they have to shorten the educational day for kids is because of the union contract.
What a mess! Shorten the school day and eliminate art and music. That should really draw newcomers to District 150 schools. The Board states one objective and then acts in a manner completely counter to it. The PJS article said the shortened day was in lieu of layoffs. The first objective of Dist. 150 is to educate. The education offered to students should not be compromised in order to save jobs.
Additionally, what about working parents? How are they supposed to deal with a shortened school day? The aftercare program offered at the Dist. 150 primary school my children attended was unacceptable and out of control.
I think this is a cool concept.
Give it a read. Local too.
fixmedia.org
“jfgdkhfgh”,
While you are right about the reasoning the District is giving for this change, your blaming the teacher’s union for this is quite rich. I have no doubt that there are bad teachers out there. But I also don’t know if the value of common planning outweighs the benefit of a longer school day. And I would be almost all empirical research would back me up.
I’ll ask you the same question I asked Dr. Gorenz in an email (a question he didn’t answer): If this is really “what’s best for the kids”, why is it being proposed as a money-saver? Why haven’t we done this for years.
This is a bad idea. And it will fail.
o_f_k… you are the bomb.
I love watching bureaucrats trying to protect their jobs and their bureaucracies with nothing but babble to support them.
The presumption of course, is that the bureaucracy is worth saving… that question is never asked.
Chris, perhaps you would like to try and explain why public school teachers need tenure protection. Can you explain why school policy is developed around the needs of teachers and administrators instead around the needs the students?
I have to agree, however, that although the unions are not the whole of the problem, they are certainly symptomatic of the problem.
tenure has its value. Without it the administration would just get rid of every teacher who says anything they don’t like, and the schools would be way worse than they are. I seem to recall a certain teacher at Woodruff who was, fired for talking to a Board member, wasn’t it? Put your head in the sand if you want to, but retaliation happens.
So how did tenure help that teacher?
What a really great administration we must have, eh? All this for the good of the students and AYPs.
Don’t change the subject. Tenure has nothing to do with the issue of a shortened school day. I have no information about the District’s tenure policy, and at the moment, this is the bigger fight to have (for me). KCDad, feel free to rail against the machine all you like. But I don’t really have the understanding to debate you on the subject.
Is the shortened day the subject, or a symptom of the problem? My point is that we can rail about the policies and personalities of the administration and school board for 45 more years (I first moved to Peoria as a child in 1963)or we can change the system and make it work FOR the students.
Tenure is established under the Illinois School and not determined by individual districts. Iowa did away with tenure several years ago and they seem to be doing okay.
The school code sets forth a method to deal with underperforming tenured teachers. In order for the method to work, districts must have a solid evaluation process and instrument and use both as intended. When a tenured teacher receives an unsatisfactory evaluation, they enter a process called remediation. This is a lengthy process and involves coaching and frequent evaluations. If a teacher successfully completes remediation, they retain their position; if they don’t successfully complete remediation, their contract is not renewed. Under past superintendents, District #150 utilized this method – a few teachers made it through remediation, but more did not. Now – who knows?
Highlights of Hinton’s “rant” were the comments he made that he ususally doesn’t care what the community thinks, how integrity is his very soul, and that Peorians should just trust him. After that, it was difficult keeping dinner down!
IF the district does decide to reduce the length of the primary school workday, they will be required to enter into special collective bargaining with the PFT because the length of the teachers work day is established by the CBA. Based on what I’ve heard from some of the primary teachers, they are very unhappy about this proposal and do not intend to support it at all.
It will be interesting to watch and see how the district stays in compliance with the Illinois Curriculum Guidelines for the arts under this new proposal for the primary schools. This proposal will not only greatly reduce the arts programs at the primary level but also physical education and that also comes under the state curriculum guidelines and the state mandates the minimum minutes each grade level must have PE each week.
Speaking of noncompliance issues under Hinton’s leadership, rumor has it the district is not in compliance with their special ed program and the situation is pretty serious. Also in the noncompliance arena – word is that one of the Directors failed to complete their assigned portion of the district’s Title I Plan causing them great difficulties with the government over that.
There was a surprise announcement at an Administration Building meeting late this week – the unexpected retirement of Art Ellis, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, effective 06/30/08. Hmmmm . . . .
The Caterpillar funding for the position held by Susan Grzanich (remember she worked for Hinton at Edison and he brought her to the district at a very good salary) ends this year and there is speculation within the district that Hinton will place her in the position of Curriculum Director (even though she doesn’t hold a Master’s in C&I). One more good example of the success of the Hinton Friends and Family Hiring Plan!!!
At the last BOE meeting, one of the honorably dismissed clerical staff was rehired – only one. That person worked in the accounting area and oh, by the way, is rumored to be Hinton’s cousin! Needless to say, the district’s clerical staff is outraged. And you didn’t really believe me about the Hinton Friends and Family Hiring Plan!
One of the most interesting votes the BOE took (7-0 in favor) was to close Loucks School. Does anyone else find this vote precipitous since they are under contract to Edison and voted on the closure before securing a signed release from Edison to release them from their financial obligation to Edison under the terms of the contract? Edison always has the right to say so sorry, you will pay us the balance remaining on the contract regardless of the Loucks closure. Wouldn’t that just be a real pip! Shades of purchasing the Prospect homes before having a signed agreement with the Park District.
High School closings – CJ, you are correct in stating that WHS makes the most sense geographically to close. But in addition to that, it is also the most troubled high school in the city – a fact the administration is trying really hard to conceal. There are competing gang issues (the Face Off gang being one of the newest on the scene), and stories of students being threatened, afraid to eat in the lunchroom, fights, etc. are way to common. Word has it the principal rarely leaves her office and that discipline is administered disparately. Talk to the parents of kids at WHS and see what they have to say – I’m betting you will be as stunned and outraged as I was.
Illinois School______? State Board of Education?
Sorry, KC Dad – should have been Illinois School Code and the Illinois State Board of Education. Didn’t do a very good job of proofreading that one.
By the way, you may just be right about the voucher issue. That may be the only way for Peoria to get the mess with the district straightened out, because the BOE and superintendent have certainly made a fine mess of things.
Folks, I’ve covered school boards and education issues at newspapers across Illinois and Missouri.
Peoria is not unique. Conservative-minded people rail against tenure and teacher’s unions. Teachers unions complain about low pay. Administrators blame low scores on the socio-economic factors. Suburban parents complain about the lack of discipline, black parents complain their kids are punished more often that white kids.
It’s all true, to some extent.
But in almost every instance, school boards that actively listen to and respond to conerns from parents are the ones with the most buy-in from the community. And districts that realize that teaching kids is hard work, and that academic success cannot be accomplished by chasing the latest trend and spending a ton of money doing so, are the ones with the greatest success.
There was also passing mention of a proposal to use the Loucks building for “something else” – Ken Hinton and Cahill know about it but didn’t say what it was and the board didn’t push to find out. Debbie Wolfmayer brought up what had happened to Blaine Sumner but then backed down. He was also adamant that the Loucks closing was temporary because he KNEW they WILL get the state funding for building a new Loucks. He also said he had a meeting in New York in May and would talk to Edison and hoped they would “give consideration” – with Loucks closing.
That’s correct, Kohlrabi, Hinton did state he had a meeting scheduled with Edison in NY in a few weeks. But they voted to close Loucks last Monday without knowing what Edison’s position will be concerning releasing the district from their financial obligations remaining under the contract. It still is a case of putting the cart before the horse.
Billy: I notice that in all those complaints in common in Illinois and Missouri, where is the concern for the students learning? Certainly not in test scores, that is about the schools not the kids. Certainly not discipline, that has to do with the lack of purpose and meaning for the students. And race… there is a problem that goes waaaaaay beyond the school doors.
Teaching isn’t hard. Teaching in this public “indoctrination for low wage jobs ” system is difficult. It is difficult to say with a straight face,”Study hard, and you, too, can become a major stock holder in a multinational corporation and direct national policies to enrich you and your friends”, to a young urban kid whose Dad is in prison and whose older brother was just killed a gang related shooting. It is even harder to say “You can hope to get a factory job and pay your taxes and spend your evenings at the local bar medicating yourself against the depression that you will never be able to afford the lifestyle you see on TV and in the movies. But don’t worry, you will never be more than one paycheck away from poverty or one illness or accident away from bankruptcy. Thank God we have a government that cares about us. God bless America. Oh yeah… Support the War on Terror!”
kcdad says: “It is difficult to say with a straight face,”Study hard, and you, too, can become a major stock holder in a multinational corporation and direct national policies to enrich you and your friends”, to a young urban kid whose Dad is in prison and whose older brother was just killed a gang related shooting.”
Perhaps. But it’s not difficult to day that if you study hard you can get a decent well-paying middle-class job, so you can send YOUR kids to a good school, then college to that can become a major stock holder …. etc.
And you expect this generation to think about two generations from now? they can’t even think 20 years from now. They have been terribly jaded and discouraged by the selfish excesses of our generation.
Yeah … only white, middle and upper-class peoeple think about making their children’s lives better.
Thpt!
Think about or have the means to do something about it?
Art and music are essential! They involve social studies, math and science. Without them there is no art and music.
I hope that in addition to discussing this here, we are all planning to email our board members.