When I moved into my Highland Park home 39 years ago with a 6-month-old, I cared about a diverse community with a good school system. That’s what Highland Park offered.
Fast forward 39 years. I’m in a different house in Highland Park with grandchildren attending local schools. I retired from teaching English at Edgewood and participated for over two years on the SCFFAC committee to stay involved in the District 112 community and help our school district survive. I learned that the common denominator unifying all members of our community is our passionate interest in and support for education.
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Some hard realities exist: D112, like most Illinois school districts, is in big trouble financially, and things are not going to get better. Our buildings’ average age is 75 years, and they cannot continue to provide the technological support and learning opportunities that our children deserve. We have 12 buildings; a typical district our size has only seven buildings. We cannot continue the way we are now; that is a fact. Another fact is that 100 volunteer community members — including insurance experts financial whizzes, human resource advisers, lawyers, teachers, accountants and stay-at-home parents — researched and debated to arrive at a financially sustainable solution. Unfortunately, our recommendations were not affordable. The Middle School Campus solution is affordable and exciting.
I know that individual connections to buildings are strong. A new configuration is just different. Our neighborhoods will still be our neighborhoods. Our school communities will broaden and diversify – a true positive for our children. Our middle school campus will offer cutting edge and equitable opportunities for all the children in our community including, but not limited to: STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) classes, greater teacher collaboration, increased extra-curricular activities, resources for special needs students, age-appropriate competitive sports, staff resources, cooperative groupings, and continued learning growth. Our park district will continue to offer enrichment activities and opportunities for our children in different buildings. We will still have our parks and open land.
I know change is hard, but change can be enriching and exciting. I know that it is essential for each community member to become educated with the facts and to be open-minded to this improved, although different, school system. I know that our community has the responsibility to pass a referendum that will secure our excellent school system in a financially responsible and sustainable manner. We cannot ignore our problems, but we can certainly fix them.
Sara Sher
Highland Park