A task force of teachers and administrators working to shape the future of Elmhurst School District 205’s three middle schools wants feedback from parents. But the latest vehicle to gather input indicates parents want to know more before they weigh in.
The Middle School Task Force is looking to define the philosophy, find best practices and develop consistency for 6th through 8th grades, and includes principals and six teachers from Bryan, Sandburg and Churchville schools. The process included focus group interviews with parents, a time study at all three schools and a survey of parents.
“What we’re trying to do to bring everything back to our big ideas, and ‘for all students’ is one of our big ideas,” said Superintendent David Moyer.
The district hired consultant District Management Council to assess the schools and come up with ideas for improvement.
About 3,160 surveys were sent out to middle-school parents and almost 400 parents completed the survey. Thirty-eight percent of parents ranked instructional coaching as an idea worth investing in, with the idea of an intervention and/or enrichment block of time also getting support.
Parents also indicated that they wanted more information about the ideas put forth by the consultant, and the district noted that many parents answered “not sure” to many ideas.
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“We are trying to dig deeper to figure out what some of these comments meant,” Moyer said.
Middle schools will soon hold parent nights to talk about the task force’s work, gather ideas, and get feedback.
Board member Jim Collins wondered if re-administering the survey after the parent nights might be a good idea, because so many parents indicated they needed more information.
The task force will also continue to look at any schedule adjustments to be implemented next school year, and will encourage middle schools to focus on one overarching goal for 2016-2017.
Board member Margaret Harrell wondered how feasible it is to have schools set a big goal for next school year, considering that it’s already May. Sandburg principal Linda Fehrenbacher said this would be a pilot program, and the goal could be different at each school.
The district will also develop strategies to increase instructional coaching at all grade levels.
“We would very, very much love to implement instructional coaching … but that would entail more money,” said teacher Katy Padberg, noting that coaching has worked well with technology and reading. However, she believed there was some pressure to stay revenue neutral.
Collins encouraged the task force to be honest about what it believed students needed to achieve excellence, and let the community and the board decide if and how these ideas could be funded.
Parent Kristen Whitehurst said she was concerned about the amount of homework and tests already putting pressure on kids.
Some students, she said, were using lunch periods to make up tests or meet with teachers, causing them to worry about catching up if they are sick.
“My daughter is 11. Is this really how we think children should be living their lives?” she asked.
She also had issues with the survey, saying she was disappointed with it on many levels.
“The questions were leading or vague and did not provide information so parents could make good choices,” she said.
She added that parent questions about the proposed changes to the district’s middle schools have not been adequately addressed.
“Our concerns have been met … with defense of DMC,” she said.
The task force’s report can be found at www.elmhurst205.org.
Carol Morency is a freelance report for Pioneer Press.