Clow and Graham elementary schools would be closed under a concept plan being considered by Indian Prairie School District 204’s boundary committee, something that’s not sitting well with some parents.
The two Naperville schools could be “repurposed” as the committee looks at ways to reduce overcrowding in some buildings, increase usage at others and address future enrollment declines.
Any school that is repurposed will be closed and could be sold or used for another program or service, district officials have said.
Serena Lee, whose third-grade daughter attends Clow, said while ideas and proposals have shifted during committee meetings over the summer, one thing that hasn’t changed in one of two concepts being discussed is closing Clow and Graham as elementary schools.
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“What we’re asking — and where our frustration is — is for those who have the decision-making power to put the concepts forward and work to put concepts that minimize the disruption of our kids’ lives,” Lee said.
Online petitions to keep both schools open are circulating. About 1,500 people have signed the one for Clow, located 1301 Springdale Circle, and more than 500 have signed the one for Graham, at 2315 High Meadow Road.
Lee said one of the reasons her family moved from Chicago to Naperville last year was because they liked the school and its close proximity to their home.
Walkability is a big concern for many of the families who live within Clow’s boundaries, she said. Were it to close, students would have be bused or driven to school, she said.
“Aside from it being a close-knit (school) community, the fact almost everyone walks is a huge deal,” said Lee, who started a Facebook page for Clow with more than 300 members.
The concept plan calls for Clow’s boundaries to be realigned so that students will go to one of three different elementary schools based on where they live. In Lee’s case, her daughter would go to Spring Brook, which is more than a mile away from their house.
Becky Thorn, parent of a Graham student, said people who live in her area are as alarmed as Clow residents at the prospect of their school closing and their children sent to other Indian Prairie schools.
Committee members need to be using the most recent enrollment numbers from this school year to make decisions, something Thorn said she hopes will be available for their Oct. 27 meeting. One thing she thinks members are not factoring in is the popularity of and enrollment in the preschool program at Graham, she said.
The keep-Graham-open group is making T-shirts and signs in preparation for a town hall they plan to hold in early November, said Thorn, who moderates their 400-member Facebook page.
“We’re trying to make the community aware and that the school board takes us into account,” she said.
Lee and Thorn said they are more supportive of a second concept also being discussed in which Clow and Graham are not repurposed and classrooms are added to Longwood Elementary, even though it means several elementary schools will feed students into multiple middle schools when they progress to the higher grade levels.
Organizers said they want to mirror the protest that Welch Elementary School parents successfully waged to keep their children from eventually being bused five miles away to Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora rather than attending nearby Neuqua Valley in Naperville.
Indian Prairie district officials have tried to emphasize that all the concepts proposed are in a state of flux and may never come to pass. A statement released after the Sept. 22 committee meeting said the “boundary adjustment process is ongoing. Concepts that are discussed during the boundary meetings are not proposals for boundary adjustments.”
School board member Susan Demming reminded the public of the same thing at Monday’s board meeting. None of the board members have had any input on anything being considered and won’t until later this year, when they get the committee’s recommendation, she said.
“We do appreciate the feedback that we’re receiving,” Demming said. “Again, as a reminder, there have been no decisions made at all of what is going to be presented to the board.”