The Public Building Commission is worried. They still have $30 million more in bonding capacity, and they might not get to spend it if District 150 doesn’t get its act together soon.
You may recall that the Public Building Commission (PBC) was established in 1955, but school districts used it so much in the 1980s that there was significant voter backlash, which led to the state legislature making school districts ineligible to get funding through the PBC after 1993. Well, District 150 didn’t let that stop them. In 2006, thanks to then Senator Shadid and Representative Schock, District 150 got access to the PBC once again, but only until July 1, 2011. According to a Journal Star article from earlier in the year, “any project needing funding must be significantly completed by July 2011.” And that means there’s not much time left.
Spending PBC money is a win-win for District 150 and the PBC, but not for voters and taxpayers. If municipal organizations stop borrowing from the PBC, it will cease to exist, so the PBC has to keep marketing itself to other governmental bodies. Executive secretary for the PBC James Thornton has been doing just that. For months now, he’s been trying to cajole District 150 to find a way to max out the PBC’s bonding capacity. Of course, the benefit to District 150 is they get to raise taxes for capital projects without having to get voter approval.
District 150 has a new Harrison School and a new Glen Oak School under construction, and they have done remodeling and enlargement at Richwoods, Northmoor, Lindbergh, and Kellar. After all that, they thought they had used up all their PBC bonding capacity, but surprise! Due to recent annexation, the total Equalized Assessed Value of property in Peoria went up. Since the PBC’s bonding authority is set as a percentage of EAV, its bonding capacity also increased. So now the PBC and District 150 are just looking for a project — any project — that will allow them to spend this extra money.
To hear some board members talk about it, they view it as some sort of moral imperative that they use every last dollar of bonding capacity (also known as debt) — that they take full advantage of this “opportunity” to access the PBC before the five-year window closes. Thus, they are doing back bends to try and please the PBC. That’s one of the biggest reasons why they closed Woodruff High School.
That’s no way to make educational decisions. And it’s not in the best interests of taxpayers, either.
BAM–The BOE has never met every week–change is probably better because usually it’s every other Monday. Now the meeting time will be more predictable–every second and fourth Monday–so they don’t have to worry about those months with five Mondays.
Frustrated: So do you think that these 8th graders (I would imagine a few hard core) should be allowed to run Trewyn because that’s just the way society is–if some of these kids were transferred to Richwoods, would you be in favor of the same “hand-up-in-the-air” philosophy? I don’t think it can be “fixed” by the schools–but the kids should not be in school with kids who do behave (still optimistic enough to believe they are the majority). Hence, my plea for an alternative school. Evidently, you are not putting blame on administrators and an administration that absolutely refuses to follow the rules they themselves have put in place. Three suspensions are supposed to bring about an expulsion. First of all, many are not suspended for some very bad behaviors. Secondly, they are allowed to accumulate many more than three suspensions. Some of these students are in school on condition of probation with the legal system. One offense and they are supposed to be thrown back into the legal system–but administrators often do not want to be the ones to administer such a harsh punishment–which sometimes would mean prison time. One year of really tough, no nonsense discipline (a total shift in mindset in 150) would reveal, I believe, just how “good” some of these kids can be when faced with real consequences. Then we’d know who the real troublemakers are–and the problem would be more manageable. And many of the kids and their parents would thank 150.
I am disapointed to say the least, although not suprised. I am a product of the South Side. I attended Manual High School. Although I never had a class with you Ms. Crews, I always thought of you as part of my high school. While I understand your frustration( I taught under a weak administration myself); I think you have forgotten the children. I went into education after I watched many of my peers; good kids; many from homes where mothers lacked the capacity to raise them. These good kids could have been saved by schools. They could have been inspired by teachers. They could have been taught to be good at being good. Instead, they struggled academically because they struggled sometimes they acted out. This acting out behavior caught the attention of teachers, but not for the good. These students learned early that schools didn’t want them. They were not a place for them. Some of them fell off the landscape at Manual by just not showing up. They weren’t the top students. No adult in the building ever learned who they were and they just stopped coming. They soon fell in with the wrong crowd. They had not learned to be good at being good, but soon became good at being bad. Because everyone wants to be good at something. I watched my peers all of 15 years old lose hope. They became members of the latin kings; they drank too much; they started doing drugs. Some of my friends died. Some of my friends went to jail.
I came back to Peoria to teach at Blaine. My cousins attended Blaine. My husband attended Blaine. I loved my students, but struggling with an administration that didn’t know how to lead under a superintendent that didn’t care enough was hard. There were teachers in my building who hated these children. One of my kids got shot at one evening and the teacher in the room next door to me said and I quote, ” What does it matter? He’s a waste of space anyway.” When they moved to close Blaine and throw it together with Trewyn, I begged Ken Hinton and others not to do it. I told them that they were crossing major gang territories and that it was unfair to my students. The changes were made and I sadly said goodbye to my hometown.
We cannot assume that kids come to school knowing how to be good “at doing school”. Schools are not merely places where kids learn how to read and do math. Schools are places where kids should be taught the behaviors we want to see. Schools need to take a problem solving approach. Schools should serve students. I lead a school in Humboldt Park on the West Side of Chicago now. Our neighborhood can be a scary place. We face drugs, gangs things that children should not have to face but do. Everytime I work with even our most difficult children I remember those peers I lost and I work that much harder so they see that school is a place for them.
Removal does nothing to address the problems that bring kids to misbehave in school; teaching does.
Trisha,
Thanks for your post. I mostly agree with you, but I believe that a properly administered alternative high school could do exactly what you are talking about. It should not/would not be a place to “remove” students to, but a place where they have the opportunity to learn the behaviors that they are lacking.
One of the reasons I have opposed closing a high school, despite the “lower student numbers” is that data-driven research shows that smaller schools keep students from falling through the cracks when they don’t attend, exhibit behavior issues, etc. Smaller schools means that teachers/admins can intervene earlier because they have a smaller student base they are working with. They can help students stay in school and stay away from the short-term rewards of the streets.
I agree that schools should be a safe place for students, teachers and staff. Whatever it takes to maintain that should be what D150 commits to. It is what our students need. But helping students learn appropriate behaviors (which should happen in the home, but often, unfortunately, doesn’t) needs to be done in a setting that is separate and has additional support systems in place beyond the regular high/middle/primary school setting. The goal should be to get the student into a normalized school setting as soon as it is appropriate.
BTW, all my kids went to schools in Peoria, including Christ Lutheran and Peoria High. We have not given up the fight!
Sharon,
I cannot come to the Godfathers meeting tonight as I have a conflict, as I have most Sunday nights. Please let me know what happens. Jeff knows my D150 email. Please try to keep people from turning this into an “us versus them” situation as that is exactly what certain people want. Thanks.
Trish, I only wish you were closer to having your Superintendent Certificate than next December. Peoria could certainly use you! I know for a fact that in the years you have been gone, you have only improved! Taking a school from over 400 behavioral incidents per year (some going from classroom to hallway and spilling into other classrooms) to less than 150 incidents in less than one year is a remarkable feat! I congratulate you! PBSI works! You are proof! I hope our board members and administration are reading this and that they contact you. If they can’t find you, they can certainly contact me and I will put them in touch with you. Thank you for commenting, Trish!
Trisha: I feel I misrepresent myself when I read what you just wrote. In the 1960s through the 1980s I probably wrote and said exactly what you just wrote–I still believe it and what you say (agree with it all). During my career, I have also heard teachers making remarks such as the one you just quoted–and have fought against that attitude vociferously. Conditions have changed much in the last 15 to 20 years–now I am finding that I have to stand for doing what is best for the majority of students (and they aren’t rich and white) in the south side schools. I appreciate what you said and did about Blaine–you were right and we’ll be right again about Woodruff. I say continuously that I want to see a viable alternative school (not a dumping ground) as a place for the troubled kids who cause trouble–a place where they can get some real help without hindering the education of those who find it easier to conform to the normal school setting. Both types are attending schools in Peoria’s south side. My heart goes out to both sides–I’m just advocating different educational opportunities for each. I have not written off the kids who have become involved and intrenched in gangs–like you, I can think of many who were near and dear to my heart–but my caring didn’t keep them out of trouble. That pull into the world of easy money and recognition is very strong. Today’s classrooms just aren’t the place for that kind of recruitment–and it happens every day. You speak of the days when those outside lured students into the gang world–today the pull takes place inside the school. Schools just have to try harder to end that sort of thing–the attempt to end it isn’t happening at Trewyn and Manual right now. I don’t want rules without love for kids attached, but I don’t want no rules because of a permissive kind of love that brings about no change in the lives of kids. I hope this makes sense: I want to go back to the days when it was the administrators (the deans) who were hard on kids so that teachers could work with the kids and even protect them from the deans’ office, etc. That is what used to happen; I could cajole kids into behaving by just threatening to send them to the dean. Today the deans and administrators are their advocates. It is the administrators who make the teachers the bad guys–and the kids know it and take full advantage (and why not–I don’t blame the kids at all–never have).
Trisha: Forgot to ask–are you related to the Bill Shrode who married Joy Benz? Are you related to the red-headed Billy Shrode that was in my class a long time ago?
Middle Aged- Thank you for your kind words. It is PBIS Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports. Ms. Crews, I want to push back respectfully. Some of my favorite people back in Peoria remind me of this blog occasionally and sometimes when I am home visiting family for the holidays I look to it. I am in total agreement that Peoria has been a hot mess for years. Administrations have stunk. Manual was in trouble in 1991 when I graduated. To be honest though students at Manual were in trouble back then. Hot in the city, I believe that alt schools should exist one of my peers from my masters program at bradley leads an incredible alt program in mclean county.
My problem is that my alma mater used to fail with a lot of kids. When I was a freshman at Manual there were 300 kids in my freshman class. When I graduated there was less than 200. We were failing with kids of color living in poverty in the south side and on the near north side for a lot of years. There would be a smaller segment of students in need of alt programs if schools adjusted to the kids in front of them now. Use research based systems and structures proven to work with students that have no models of middle class normed behavior at home.
Hot parents should teach kids, but what if they don’t have the capacity? We in schools have to teach the behaviors we want to see. We have to teach students the middle class norms that are needed for school and beyond.
Ms. Crews- Bill never married Joy Benz that I know of….. He made the unfortunate decision to marry me a few years back. What was he thinking? He has black hair but I know he was in your class. I asked him about you when I read you on this blog last Christmas. I never got to write all of your notecards because I was in an enriched lit class with a very nice gentleman whosename I cannot recall. I wish I had written all those darn notecards, my dissertation is soon due.
While we are having this conversation, can I make an observation? as someone with an inside and outside lens? If you were me the firebrand 2o some odd years ago have you let the problems with horrific leadership put out your fire? Your drive to serve children? All children? Special Ed students??
“I believe, also, that you and Frusrated (and I) agree that high performing students should be given the utmost in educational opportunities. If special ed students are mainstreamed (as they are at Manual), then the higher performing students in the same classes (because there are large numbers in Manual classes) will be short changed–no doubt about it.” Do you believe that only high performing students deserve the utmost in educational oppurtunities?
I used to tell my fellow student teachers, when you hate one child it’s time to go do something else. For some students we are all they have. My peers, my students now, schools may be the only hope they have. If we don’t believe there is hope for them who will?
“Probably the most damage to the district was done by the publication of the NCLB scores.” I would disagree. I think NCLB calls attention to what should have been called attention to years ago. We are failing with students of color, those in poverty and if we don’t find more successes we fail as a community, a nation etc. In the passed if you didn’t make it out of college or even high school you could be picked up by the legal economy. You could find a respectable job and become a blue collar worker and support a family. Those oppurtunities no longer exist. We have to create systems that support students. If we don’t learn to do it while they are students we will pay for them after. Hot- I know you like research. Research says…..People who graduate high school contribute 286k to the nation over their lifetime. Those with a college degree contribute 780k. Those with less than high school cost this nation on average 5,200 a year.
Trisha,
Yes, graduating is important to future job earnings, but our students need to graduate able to read at least at a level to read employment applications and with the behavioral skills to successfully work at an entry-level and beyond job. That is one of the issues we are dealing with every day. (for example: you cannot call your boss a m-f if you disagree with them and keep your job!!)
Those are the skills we try to teach every day. Some of my students do NOT know how to write their signatures in cursive handwriting. Yet they are in high school. We have to remediate that skill while teaching them other skill sets/behaviors they should have gotten at home. We KNOW this is part of our job; yet we are not given any credit for doing so. We are judged solely on PSAE scores for our students at the high school level. That is where NCLB and ILL scores fail.
Why is the ACT test part of the PSAE for all high school students? That test is for college-bound students and Illinois is one of only a few states that requires that test score for their PSAE (NCLB) high school scores. And ALL students are to be tested at grade level, not reading level. That means SPED students must test at an 11th grade level when they may be at a much lower grade level in reading proficiency.
I personally have students (SpEd) that are at grade 3 level reading and they cannot read well enough to comprehend most of the ACT. Even if we bring them up 3-4-5- grade levels in reading in a year we are penalized because they do not meet or exceed on PSAE (NCLB). We cannot win! No matter how well we do.
And if we socialize students so they can behave appropriately at a job interview and subsequently get a job there is no recognition of what we have done. It is no wonder that education professionals get discouraged when no matter what they do it is not good enough.
Thanks for your comments and I appreciate your input.
Trisha, I think we may be talking about different eras. The Shrode (and may not have been Bill) who married Joy Benz would have been in his 60s now–he died a year or so ago. The other “red-haired” Shrode (if I remember correctly) was probably in my class in the 70s or 80s.
Were you addressing this question to me, “Do you believe that only high performing students deserve the utmost in educational oppurtunities? ” My answer, of course, is “no.” I think Frustrated and I frequently have these arguments–my response is always that I want to be sure that the kids in the inner city get the same opportunities as those at Richwoods, for example. At one time (not that long ago–and I trust you are testament to that), those opportunities were offered at Manual–but no more. I am not convinced that the both groups (the special ed and the high-performing) can receive the best education in the same classroom as is currently being done at Manual. However, I think this mass-mainstreaming will soon be occurring in the other schools; an educational excuse will be given, but money will be the deciding factor.
I disagree with you on only one point–I think–and that is about NCLB. I don’t think it has helped one bit. It has signed a light on the problems, but it has done nothing to help end the problems. It has discredited the public schools–and we know that the private schools are not going to take on the children that you and I evidently spent our lives caring about.
I need a bit more feedback from you to understand –you seem to be disagreeing with me about something–haven’t figured it out because I can’t find much that you have said that I haven’t or wouldn’t say myself. With regard to my own teaching experience, I very rarely taught the top students–I always preferred the basic classes. Having started my career at Roosevelt Jr. High in the 1960s, I had a special love for my black students and their problems–and I am eternally grateful for all they taught me and gave me. When you say (maybe to me) that I have forgotten the children, that might be true only to the extent that I am retired and no longer have those day to day encounters with kids. Right now (more from afar), I am focusing on some of the problems that began at Manual in the 1990s–administrative attitudes and decisions that I definitely believe are destroying the school–to me those problems are not caused by the kids. The chaos that exists today just is not good for any kids. I know that there are teachers that don’t care about kids–probably shouldn’t be teachers, but I don’t think those who truly don’t belong stay that long–they would find teaching too intolerable. However, too many administrators are making assumptions about teachers–assuming that they don’t love kids if they want to see fair and consistent consequences for bad behaviors. You can love kids and ask them to behave at the same time–I hope that is the role of all parents.
Playing with numbers from the recently released school report cards:
Enrollment at D150 is up! A 1.3% increase from 13,642 in 2008 to 13,825 total in 2009.
Enrollment at Manual is up! The high school portion increased 8.8%, from 588 to 640.
Enrollment at the high schools as a whole is up! An increase of 1.7% (3,854 to 3919).
Reported class sizes are down! The claimed average high school class size went from 12.1 to 9.9. The biggest difference came at Richwoods, which seemingly went from 14.1 to 10.1. The average claimed class size at virtually every reported grade level is lower than the prior year – however, the total number of teachers and certified staff ratios is also virtually the same. In other words, it’s a near statistical impossibility to have all these class sizes going down, with more students and virtually the same number of teachers and certified staff.
Operating expense per pupil is virtually the same as last year. $11,398 vs. $11,383. This is still above the state average, but is quite an achievement when you consider that the state average increased 5.1%, from 9,907 to $10,417.
Composite test scores are up, from 63% meets/exceeds to 64% meets/exceeds (compared to the state average going from 75% to 76% – so while the overall is below the state average, the year over year gains are consistent with the state average)
Student mobility is down, from 30.1% to 28.8%. (state average is 13.5%) I believe this area to be one of the most significant factors in poor student achievement. Consider this: In the year that Thomas Jefferson’s students had to move buildings due to a fire, scores went 82% down to 70%. No one wants to see that kind of scenario again, but relatively speaking, TJ students “only” moved from one building to the next – their teachers, curriculum, etc. were probably the same. Students who move from one school to another from one year to the next (28.8% of all students in the district) have far more changes to deal with.
% of low income students is down slightly (from 70.3% to 69.7%) at a time when the state average is up from 41.1% to 42.9%. Consider also that at D150, 17% of low income 11th graders meet or exceed achievement testing goals, comparing to 62% on non low income students.
Alas, the number of students per administrator is down again, despite the increase in students, so that the ratio goes from 168.1 to 164.6, meaning about 2 more administrators in 2009 than the prior year.
So, Jon, what does the 9.9 class size number tell you about whether or not there is room at the three high schools for Woodruff’s 945 students. Are there enough rooms to hold the students? Do you think that all of Woodruff’s students can be placed in the current classrooms with the same number of teachers? If not, how many extra rooms and/or teachers will be needed to house the Woodruff teachers in new locations? How many extra rooms are in the three high schools? Those are the “real” numbers with which Jeannie Williamson should be working. The FOIAd information that I received amazes me–I had no idea of the really low numbers of special ed students per room, per teacher–they occupy considerable space and certainly skew the averages. My bet is that many Woodruff special ed students (and others) will have to be mainstreamed to have enough classrooms for the merger. Manual’s special ed students are already mainstreamed.
My Manual enrollment figures are in the car–I think the biggest gains were in the 9th grade–last year there were about 168–this year 222. Part of the reason for the gain is artificial. Last year the cap was 150–and then 190 showed up, so most were sent to other high schools. The previous 9th grades were usually from 190 to 200. So 222 represents closer to normal enrollment–maybe a 20 to 30 higher.
One example of Richwoods classes–one social studies teacher has 6 classes (teaches an extra class) of 29 students each–that would be high-end enrollment.
The 9.9 average class size doesn’t tell me much because I really don’t believe it. Also, I know of situations were 4 intervention teachers share a room each working with 4-5 kids – not necessarily the same, but perhaps some of those small spec ed classes are similar in that they currently share rooms. Of course, if you believe that class size number, then you might also believe what was reported in the PJStar about the size of Central – claiming that 2100 students will fit (Woodruff was 1,555), based on “regular” class sizes of 25 and spec ed class sizes of 10. What I do know, is that if 9.9 is true, there is absolutely no way to financially support that low of an average class size, whether you have 4 high schools or 3. Heck, at that claimed class size, 100% of your students could be special ed and the average class size would still be too low to be financially feasible. The number of high school teachers as a whole would have to go down.
Take your Richwoods teacher with the 29 students per class and see how that fits the claimed class size. For every ONE of those teachers, you would have to have something like FIVE teachers averaging only 6 students per class, six classes per day, to bring the average down to 10. How reasonable does that sound?
I’m guessing too–except that I do have all the real numbers of English and social studies (including special ed). I believe I can generalize that the five teachers averaging only 6 students per class will be special ed–not basic. At Richwoods, in general (with exceptions), the enriched and AP classes are not all that small. Of course, no matter how well one plans, some classes are bound to be small just because of scheduling problems. Therefore, one English class may have 30+ students and the same kind of English class at another hour will have 20–so the average class size is still 25. At Richwoods and Peoria High, all social studies class except one at each school are double digits. At Richwoods 30 classes are 25 or over (mostly over) and only 7 below 25 (with 1 in single digits). At Woodruff, all social studies classes are double digits with 10 being 25 or over. AT Peoria High only one social studies class is single digit. I would love to be a fly on the wall to learn how Williamson is using all these figures to come up with a plan for placing the Woodruff students–it can’t be easy. The latest I’ve heard (all rumor) is 400 to Manual and 400 to Peoria High and the rest to Richwoods. I don’t know how 400 can be sent to Manual, which is supposedly a “choice” school (for low-performing students).
BAM–So what do I know. Until I heard it on the radio this morning, I didn’t realize that board meetings are always on the 1st and 3rd Monday–I just thought it was every other (which makes no sense because they always skip 5th Mondays). Anyway the switch is to accommodate Durflinger’s schedule.
Sharon, the enrollment figures I quoted were from the school report card for the years 2007/8 and 2008/9 (the most recently available and just issued). The numbers are the Fall enrollment figures, so Fall of 2007 (the last year before restructuring), there were 588 high school students at Manual, and Fall of 2008 (the first year of restructuring), there was an 8.8% increase to 640 students. This is more in line with the 2006/7 year, when there were 633 students that Fall. In other words, this “‘choice’ school (for low-performing students)” reversed that downward trend in its first year. If what you recollect is correct about the higher enrollment of 9th graders THIS year, then that trend of increased enrollment will likely continue this year.
I have heard that awful rumor myself. 400 children to Manual? Wow! From what I am hearing, there may not be enough staff to tend to the children they currently have enrolled! To force feed that school 400 children is absolutely insane. Hopefully, the BOE read yesterday’s paper and decides that they truly made a mistake and voted to close the wrong high school. I am just heart-broken that we can’t come up with a better plan than this. Here it is the beginning of November and no plan. I can’t stomach another decision tonight that will not have a plan.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33575731#33575731
Interesting video. Charter school in Detroit.
Jon, the figures I quoted were from my FOIA about a year ago 2008–about the 150 cap and the acceptance of about 168 9th graders. My newest FOIA was 9th grade enrollment at 222 as of October, 2009 (a year later than the 168 figure–which should have been 190+because that’s how many showed up and were not allowed in). It’s also my understanding that Peoria High sent those kids back to Manual this year as sophomores. I assume the Illinois Report Card number is a year behind. Just asking–I don’t have last year’s figures handy for 1st semester–are you sure the 640 didn’t include the 7th and 7th grades? I know that when I asked for attendance figures during 2nd semester of 2008-09, the enrollment for the high school only was 516. The 9th grade enrollment will generally be higher–the higher the grade level, the more the enrollment seems to go down. A flutuation of 20 or so isn’t exactly a trend. Of course, what is really important (and I will FOIA the info soon) is how many of the 222 are at Manual as a result of “choice” or are they just kids who live in the Manual attendance area?
Savepeoria: Count on it–there won’t be a plan–unless someone changes the course of the Titanic.
MAWB: I got as far as the 100% graduation rate and the number going on to college–and I recognized it as the same kind of speech Kherat made at the BOE meeting two weeks ago. A while back there was also a video done of Manual’s success story under new leadership. I wish I weren’t such a cynic–with PR these days it’s hard to know what to believe and what not to believe. The 100% graduation rate sends up a red flag for me right away. No school with standards will probably have a 100% graduation rate. I’ll watch the rest later–I didn’t give it much of a chance–only because I need a nap to get ready for the BOE meeting.
“By contrast, District 150 has about 1,600 fewer students than a decade ago and about half what it did at one point in the 1970s.” PJSTAR
SO why are we having problems placing the students from Woodruff if the enrollment is so much lower?
According to the numbers, I know some of you are teachers so this should be easy, in the last decade enrollment is down more then the entire Woodruff enrollment meaning that the facilty is not needed.
Example
Woodruff enrollment= 1555
Students who have left District 150 since 2000=1600
Wow we have a surplus of facilities now.
Go to the buildings and find the empty rooms–that’s all I’m asking. To restore offices, etc., back to classrooms would cost money–from where will the money come for that restoration? At Manual the empty rooms first became ROTC space, then offices, and now more offices and 7th and 8th grades–and I think a health center, etc. AT PHS the space became a Fine Arts School.
Sharon all Im asking is if enrollment is currently half what it was in 1970 where did we house all those students? If in 10 years the entire student body of Woodruff has left 150 why do we still need the same number of schools? I think that once again this is a case where if 150 opporated in any manner that was efficient this would not be an issue.
Simple question: If in 1970 the same schools handled double the current enrollment numbers why cant they handle half the students now?
Simple answer–they have expanded programs, etc., that occupy the rooms that will be needed for the added Woodruff students. The room might be there but it is not in configuration for classrooms. I’m not sure about all the rooms at PHS–there may be some empty ones one the 3rd floor (is there a 4th). Does any PHS teacher know if there are empty rooms at PHS. I am fairly certainly Manual space is used for other purposes.
This is going to involve abstract thinking so try to follow:
There really shouldnt be any need to turn offices into classrooms or anything else.
Ten years ago the district had 1600 more students then it does now.
The current enrollment at Woodruff is 1555.
That means that the number of students in the district now is shy one “Woodruff High” anyway.
So we consolidate the current number of students into the existing buildings and that would bring the schools to the enrollment levels they were at a decade ago.
You think that in a decade programs have expanded that much?
You think that programs have expanded THAT much from 1970 when enrollment was DOUBLE the current levels?
Once again programs may have to go etc… the district should have more then enough room to house its current enrollement and if it dosnt then there have been some major flaws in how there facilities are being managed.
Woodruff has 1500 plus high school students. If the district high school enrollement was down 1600 then there should be room for the Woodruff studetns at the other high schools but if the 1600 is district wide – all grades – that may not be the case. District 150 has already closed – or are closing – other schools – e.g. Blaine Sumner, Loucks, now Kingman and Irving. Apparently there isn’t enough room for the lower grade students after these closures because they are proposing expanding Lincoln to accomodate them.
Link :to study in 1977 by USCR commission gives stats on enrollment as of 1968 thru 1976 (1968 – 26,000 dist 150 enrollment) current 2009 -14,600 looks like a loss of 12,000 student to me.
appendix A has figures
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/usccr/documents/cr12d4511.pdf
Stephen–I think the problem is probably due to the expansion of the special ed program (in addition to the use of classrooms for office space, ROTC, Fine Arts, etc.). I just FOIAd class sizes for English and social students classes at the four high schools (including special ed). Even I had not realized how many rooms are designated for special ed–that means many rooms are being used for a very minimal number of students. There are no vacant rooms–I don’t know how they are going to re-open up space for classrooms–evidently Jeannie Williamson is finding a way–that what the BOE members say, so it must be happening. I’m very curious as to how.
If you listened to the board meeting tonight, you would have heard what kohlrabbi just mentioned. As a resullt of the closure of Blaine, Kingman, Tyng–classrooms and schools are overcrowded. The discipline problems at Trewyn have been magnified by dumping students from Blaine there. So how did the district save money by putting displaced students at Trewyn–they have just hired back two retired administrators to help with the discipline.
My error it is appendix B
Precint: That was fascinating reading. This document spans the early years of my teaching career–and even though right in the middle of it at Roosevelt Jr. High from 1962-1969 and then moving to Manual in 1969, I was relatively unaware of the significance of the period–too busy teaching I guess. There were no televised board meetings–as a teacher I really didn’t know what was happening until it happened. The most disturbing part of the document is “The district’s associate superintendent, Dennis Gainey, who was the principal author of the 1968 “Quality/Equality” desegregation plan, had by 1976 arrived at a view paralleling that of Superintendent Whitaker: “If you are talking about learning math, reading, physical education, I
really don’t see a great deal of good of mixing the races.” Mr. Gainey added, “As far as academics, I really have nothing to show that, if programs and teachers are equal,
that you need white kids for someone to learn.” What a “convincing” argument for maintaining segregation! How shameful!
Can someone enlightening me about IL spec. ed. law? The District is faced with a huge budget deficit and in the name of saving money is closing schools and overcrowding classrooms and yet spec. ed students sit in classes of 5?? I understand laws have been developed to protect those with disabilities but is there no give when State and Local funds are shrinking? Every student and program must take it on the chin except special education? I am not trying to be nasty, I really want to understand.
This year because of changes in workload, the district (and all other districts) was to have a plan for special ed caseload. Instead of focusing on class size the focus is to be on caseload. Here is some info: http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/pdfs/work_load_plans.pdf
Here are the traditional guidelines for how many students should be in a sped class: http://www.isbe.net/spec-ed/pdfs/class_size.pdf
Has anyone seen 150’s caseload plan? Is it even done?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t there something recently that Dist 150 had more children labeled SpecEd than most other districts in the state? I thought they were trying to cut back on that number and mainstreaming more SpecEd children into regular classrooms. Granted, there are all kinds of SpecEd… But, I’m wondering why so many classrooms if they are cutting back?
I’m ignorant about much of special ed guidelines, etc., but don’t special ed students continue to receive services even when they are mainstreamed? Manual has mainstreamed many, if not all, but the special ed teachers are still offering some services–I don’t know how that works or if it is working. I’m not sure how the special ed “label” can be removed unless fewer students are tested, etc. Is that legal?
Sharon, I was wondering the same thing. Once a child is “labeled” Spec Ed… it must be difficult to get that label removed. It must have to do with IEPs…. is that the right term?
Once again, I’m ignorant of special ed guidelines–I await an answer from someone who is knowledgeable.
Yes, they do continue to receive services after being mainstreamed. Individualized Education Programs (IEP) help track a child’s progress and determine if the education program is appropriate. I would guess that a child could exceed their IEP benchmarks and move past being considered special ed.
More info on special ed students and IEP http://emergepeoria.blogspot.com/2009/11/inclusion-is-not-just-disability-issue.html
I have seen where 1 or 2 classrooms on each floor is reserved for break out sessions with different students. Often times there is more than one special session going on at a time.
Emerge, that would have been my guess–just wanted confirmation. I am looking at enrollment figures at the high school level–I have classes and teachers listed but not room numbers. Do you think then that it’s possible that there is more than one teachers (each with his/her own students) in a particular classroom at the same time?
Yes.
I have seen 2 – 3 teachers working with different students, of different levels in one classroom.
With special education, there are MANY considerations. Federal legislation with regard to special ed requires a few things as absolute: free and appropriate public education (FAPE) and placement within the least restrictive environment (LRE). When a child is found to have one of the nine possible special education disabilities, an IEP is written for the student. Within the IEP is that child’s individual plan for one calendar year with regard to the child’s disability. Obviously, for some children an IEP is quite complex, for others, it’s fairly straightforward.
If a child has a mild disability, then “mainstreaming” might well, indeed be that child’s LRD, that is, the environment where a child will have the BEST chance of thriving. For kids with speech/language disorders or even mild cognitive disorders, placement in a regular division classroom might be just fine (sometimes known as mainstreaming). But, for children with more significant disabilities, sometimes a smaller classroom IS the least restrictive environment for that child. Decisions for each child are made on an individual basis. It is NEVER okay to say, “all kids in this school will be in a regular classroom” as a blanket statement. If it’s appropriate for all kids, that’s one thing, but again, the right to a free, appropriate public education is universal but the decisions related to how that education will be delivered is an LRE determination made by IEP teams. LRE for some kids is a small classroom with a 1:1 attendant…for others it’s 20 minutes of language consultation between the child’s speech-language pathologist and classroom teacher with no direct services to the child.
Keep in mind, yes, the % of kids in special ed in D150 is high…somewhere in the range of 25%, if I recall. But, that number included ALL kids with IEPs, not just kids in special education classrooms…
Clear as mud, right? đŸ™‚ Happy to clarify/expand upon any points, should you wish.
Good information from all of you. One other wishful thinking thought: Wouldn’t it be great if science could work on unlocking the cause (and, therefore, cure) of these disabilities. I think they have only touched on the study of the brain. I’m sure some of the problems must be due to the mother’s nutrition (probably the father’s too), drug and alchohol abuse, etc. I’m still of the opinion that the problem of below level readers is that development is arrested at some stage of development–too far out? I can’t help but believe that teen-age mothers might be one of the major causes–something physical, not just lack of educational opportunities in the home.
Someone just reminded me if why more space has been used up in the high schools–the computer age hit since the 1970s. All high schools combined several rooms to make computer labs. There are no empty rooms at Manual. While I was there, teachers’ lounges were eliminated–used for other purposes. The old study hall became the dean’s office with little cubicle offices and a conference room. I believe (but don’t know how they’ve been used) that all the classrooms in the industrial arts hallway have been transformed–probably into the 7th & 8th grades (not sure). I haven’t been inside the building since “restructuring.”
JC – Thank you. Yes, it is pretty clear. It is clear that it is an expensive proposition to educate the significant number of spec. ed. students in the District. And from your post the obligation is not reduced or adjusted if the budget shrinks. SO . . . that means resources directed to other educational services must be altered.
Frustrated and anyone else who may know: Aren’t some of the funds specified for special ed only–so the money couldn’t be used otherwise anyway? I have never been clear as to if and/or how many teachers are paid through funds other than 150’s education fund.
Im not asking you to go building to building to find empty rooms Sharon and I know that you feel very passionatly about keeping some under used school open but the fact is its probablly not in the districts best interest.
The computer age didnt hit in 2000. The numbers show that overall enrollment is down 1600. Thats more then Woodruffs entire enrollment currently.
Also we are still assuming that most of the current facalities were constructed to house double the number of students that they currently serve.
Ditch computer labs, cut programs whatever the district made the mess clean it up.
Besides dont worry in ten years enough people will have left the district again so the space issue shouldnt be a problem.
Stephen: I understand your point and even your reasoning. Frankly, I didn’t have that much luck using the computer labs–too difficult to schedule time, too much time to get students to set up (bell would ring before that got any work done), and all too often some computers or printers weren’t working. However, do you really believe that 150 will give up the computer labs?
My intention is not to argue with you–just to present my misgivings about the plan to close a high school. I don’t have to go buillding to building to check out empty space–I have friends in the buildings. I have no doubt that buildings could be reconfigured–to turn spaces back into classrooms (but programs, etc., will have to be dropped). I’m just wondering how much all that reconstruction will cost and if it will be done before the chaos of August 2010, when the Woodruff students arrive at buildings that aren’t ready for them.
I don’t care how much you all try to argue otherwise, there is no way that closing a high school can be considered a good educational decision. Before this decision came to the table, the BOE and administration were touting small learning communities. Closing a high school might be a necessary financial decision. I’m just asking that people don’t confuse the two. They should just admit it’s not the ideal choice but it has to be made–then I’ll have respect for their honesty.
I know this city and district 150 loves to hire consultants etc…has 150 ever thought about hiring someone outside of education like a logistics manager or business consultant to assist in running their operation? I mean they cant seem to run a school that shows results in terms of quality of education could there be a way to at least run the district effeciently and not at such a giant deficit?
Stephen – Hopefully the Board will be wiser this time in selecting a Superintendent. I have never joined in on the Hinton bashing because in my dealings with him several years back, I always felt he was “trying” to do the right thing. That being said, the lesson the Board should have learned and apply with this next hire is that business acumen and focused leadership are as important or more so, than knowledge of educational philosophies, etc. The District was thrown a curve ball with the decline in the economy and cuts in State funding, but the results would not have been so devastating if it had not been teetering on disaster beforehand.