PEORIA -- Here's a summary of the public comments for the Peoria District 150 School Board meeting of Jan. 10, along with a complete recording below. Many comments involve management and communication issues:
Richwoods High School teacher Tonya Strong: "I was threatened by a student" for the first time. "We need an alternative high school" for students who can't fit into a regular school. Big classes are also an issue. The union contract limit is 29 students, but 39 classes are over that size. Some have up to 35 students. Over the holidays the locks were changed without telling anyone, and the new key cards are not yet working.
Sevina Sierra: $3 is "a little steep" for grade school games. Why was the 6th grade moved out of Columbia School to Thomas Jefferson school? The dress code is not being enforced. Students are wearing their pans "dragging" and nobody does anything about it. "If you have a rule, enforce it. If not, get rid of it."
Sharon Crews: Class sizes are an issue, classes at Whittier are still too big. See her report below to be posted later.
Terry Knapp: Large classes mean more safety problems. The Strategic Plan developed by the community a few years ago stressed class size and safety. Get rid of the Edison contract which is costing almost $1 million a year, and spend that hiring teachers. There's been no public discussion of the Edison contract. Students riding the bus to the charter middle school are on the bus for one hour and 15 minutes each way, making the day too long for them. And there are reports of busses left open at night and raccoons entering the busses and leaving feces behind.
A mother, Ms. Tate: instead of criticizing, people should volunteer to help. Teachers need training on how to involve parents in the schools.
Bob Darling, teacher union president: Praised Brian Devine for leading the student chess tournament.
Supt. Grenita Lathan's response: The locks at Richwoods are being fixed. "We're moving away from keys in the district." Class size is being worked on. Workshops for parents and training for teachers to involve parents will take place. A report on Edison and other programs will go to the board in March.
Here is the recording:
Update 1/11/2011: Here are the comments from Sharon Crews whose research is always amazing and eye opening:
Recently Whittier parents expressed concern about the overcrowded conditions at Whittier and asked why the Tyng area students had not been reassigned after the opening of Harrison, as was the original plan.
The data in my handouts has led me to believe that either Harrison is under-utilized or the number of classrooms needed was underestimated.
It isn’t just Whittier classes that are overcrowded; the building itself is bursting at the seams because of the added classrooms needed.
For kindergarten through 4th grade, Whittier has 130 more students than Harrison has. For these grades, Whittier’s 466 students take up 20 classrooms and Harrison’s 336 take up 15 classrooms. Whittier has four 1st grades; Harrison only three; Whittier has four 2nd grades; Harrison only three; Whittier has four 3rd grades, Harrison only two; Whittier has four 4th grades; Harrison only two.
Whittier has 20 preschool students in one classroom. Harrison is using up 5 classrooms for 103 preschool students. Perhaps some of these preschool classes should be moved to another primary school.
Harrison does have two fifth grade classrooms and two sixth grade classrooms.
Whittier has 15 special education students in two classrooms. I assume two classrooms since there are two teachers.
Harrison has 10 special ed students in one classroom.
In total Harrison has only 60 more students than Whittier has. Even with preschool and 5th and 6th grades, Harrison’s total enrollment is 546 to Whittier’s 486 total. Harrison is using 24 classrooms and Whittier is using 21—that means that the new Harrison houses only 3 more classes than does Whittier. For a school meant to be birth through eighth that does not bode well for the future.
Whittier’s enrollment in 2008 was 371 and in 2009 it was 401. In four years Whittier has gained 115 students. In 1999 there were 302 students at Whittier with a steady increase that has resulted in 184 more students now.
Six of Whittier’s classrooms have 26 or more students—which are too many for primary school. The lowest class sizes are 23, 22, and 20. Harrison’s classes above 30 are misleading because class sizes within grade levels are not very well balanced. Whittier’s are very well balanced.
Only one Whittier class does not have any mainstreamed students. There is an average of 3.3 students with IEPs per class. I would think parents would like to be informed of the educational philosophy that is guiding the district’s mainstreaming practices and to be told how the present practices differ from those of the past.
Teachers could have and I believe did inform you about the overcrowding at Whittier. When teachers talk about class size, they are accused of whining and are told that only averages count. When parents complain, they don’t care about averages. Whittier’s problem should have been solved last summer by making plans to keep the original promise to Whittier and its parents. I hope more find the courage to come to this podium more often. I have provided the depressing data from Glen Oak, which is very overcrowded. I hope those parents get the courage to come to this podium. Many District 150 parents don’t take the walk to this podium; they just take a hike to remove their children from the district. Please resolve this problem at Whittier and please do not allow inaction to destroy this school that has always given District 150 much to brag about.
By the way, Amanda Lundeen at the Attorney General’s office told me today that the decision rendered by her letter of December 2 (despite the clerical errors) still stands and that I should receive the disputed data from District 150.
ENROLLMENT DATA FOR WHITTIER AND HARRISON (as of November, 2010)
(Compiled by Sharon Crews)
Kindergarten through 4th Grade enrollment data:
Whittier 466 in 20 classrooms
Harrison 336 in 15 classrooms
Number of classes per grade level:
PreK KK 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Whittier 1 3 4 4 4 3
Harrison 5 4 3 3 2 2
Preschool Enrollment
Whittier 20 in 1 classroom
Harrison 103 in 5 classrooms
5th and 6th Grade enrollment at Harrison:
5th Grade 56 in 2 classrooms
6th Grade 51 in 2 classrooms
Special Education classes:
Whittier 15 in 2 classrooms (at least, two teachers)
Harrison 10 in 1 classroom
Overall enrollment:
Whittier 486 in 21 classrooms
Harrison 546 in 24 classrooms
Class sizes at Whittier Class sizes at Harrison
29 1 36 1 (classes at grade level not balanced)
28 2 34 1 (classes at grade level not balanced)
27 1 32 1 (classes at grade level not balanced)
26 2 29 1
25 4 27 1
24 5 26 1
23 1 25 1
22 2 23 3
20 1 22 1
20 2
19 4
17 1
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