D65 Parents' Movement in the Making
As I walked in the door around 11:30 p.m. tonight, after returning home from the four-hour-long D65 School Board meeting, the first thing I saw was the sign my daughter stood holding earlier in the evening which read, “I matter.” It made me sad to think that after hearing the powerful testimony of parents on how school hours impact them and their families, that D65 leaders would stand by their decision to move Lincoln, Lincolnwood, and Oakton to a later 9:00 a.m. start time beginning next year. They cited transportation cost savings (although no specific dollar figure was ever provided) and alignment of teacher work schedules (to enable full participation in professional development training) as their rationale. These aren't bad reasons, per se. However, there was not one compelling argument made in the entire discussion as to how such a change could possibly be good for the children whose “best interests” school administrators and board members are there to represent. And, shouldn't that be our #1 priority?
I suppose if I am to glean any hope from the experience, it was seeing so many parents come together – across race, gender and economic lines – to sign petitions, speak out, and stand united in our quest for a school system that is responsive to the needs of our families. Clearly, another seed for a D65 parents’ movement was planted tonight - in the hearts and minds of the hundreds who participated in and listened to the deliberations. And, maybe if we focus on that, we can get a little sleep and the energy that we'll need tomorrow to take it on.
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Change in bell schedules
In addition to withholding student fees and classroom activity fees at registration, everyone who is negatively impacted by the change in bell schedules should immediately apply to the magnet schools, which have the 8:00am start time, with a letter stating that it is imperative that your child be admitted because of the financial hardship to your family that would otherwise be caused by having to pay for morning child care. Emphasize that the district notified you of the change in bell schedule after the deadline to apply to the magnet schools had passed, and that the magnet schools have small class sizes and could easily admit more students, and should do so to ease the impact of this situation. When your application is denied, protest and demand a meeting with the powers-that-be to make your case. Mass applications and protests and meetings like this will generate attention, and perhaps affect decision-making for 2009-2010.
Also consider some sort of protest in September at the neighborhood school. Perhaps drop children off at the old time, organizing a couple of parents per day to watch them on the playground, or set up the old Safety Patrol program so that responsible fifth graders watch the younger ones. Continue to make your voices heard! Good luck!!
Quick Math Lesson... and how about finding the "win-win"
I read today in the Evanston Roundtable that this start time change at three schools will save District 65 $100,000 in transportation costs.
At $35 per week, before-school child care costs at least $1000 per year per child. Given three schools changing start times, there will likely be more than 100 new children in before-school care next year.
One hundred more children in before-school child care wipes out the $100,000 savings for the District.
All the District 65 has done is to gain itself a savings of $100,000 in its own budget, at the expense of more than 100 families paying $1000+ per year out of pocket. This is cost-shifting from the District directly onto the backs of working families.
District 65 could easily have found the "win-win" in this scenario. Change all the school start times to 8:30 a.m., and 65 still gains the savings in transportation, parents still get to work on time, and kids have one less transition to make and one session of daycare instead of two per day.
I am sorry to see that both the Administration and the Board continue to view education in this town as a zero-sum game--the District must always gain at the expense of at least one community stakeholder. I am especially disappointed in our newer Board members, who so quickly have forgotten who it was who worked on their campaigns and got them elected.
Parent's movement
I am saddened ,but unfortunately, not surprised at the reaction parents received at the board meeting last night. Clearly everyone had reasonable and valid concerns about the school time change. You expressed your concerns clearly and with supporting evidence. A diverse and representative group came to the meeting in significant numbers, as well as with many signatures on your petition. You weren't even asking that they stop the time change plan immediately, but simply to give the community time to discuss it with the Board and Administration in a public forum.
This type of scenario has played out too many times before. Our group, Evanston Citizens for Appropriate Special Education (CASE) organized in a similar fashion to compel the school board to intervene in the failing policies and practices in the D65 special education system. For years the Administration has defended the status quo when parents express concerns about the treatment of their children with special needs. It is like throwing stones at a fortress. Parents feel dismissed, their concerns are ignored or minimized. The "authority on high" is in control and the board kowtows. Some members make efforts at asserting their opinions but tend to back down quickly and then move on to other topics. The Superintendent is condescending and rude to board members and parents when he is annoyed. He feels he has a mandate to make decisions without engaging in discussion with the community. This mandate does not apply when decisions have a delitorious impact on children and families.
Parents in Evanston want to take part in the governance of their school system and should have access to reasonable discussion and exchange at school board meetings. Holding parents to three minute time limits doesn't allow for meaningful participation and fosters resentment. Parents are viewed as "an angry few" who don't really represent the community at large. It takes most parents a while to realize that their efforts at being reasonable and working within channels are futile.
I believe it is time for parents in Evanston to come together around our varying concerns for our children and demand a change. Supt. Murphy and his staff are employees of the taxpayers of Evanston. School Board members are elected by the citizens of Evanston. Parents and children are the stakeholders and our interests should be given the respectful consideration they deserve.
Contrast with D202
Cari,
You only have to contrast District 65 with District 202 in this respect. When they proposed creating the System of Support (SOS) program, ETHS had many public forums to explain the program to parents and solicit responses. They incorporated the input from these meetings and made adjustments. Now, a year after initial implementation, they have planned another series of public forums "to discuss proposed changes to the system of supports and gather community input."
D65 Board member Andrew Pigozzi stated on Monday night, "We can't have a public forum on every issue," which begs the question of why they can't have a public forum on ANY issue.
Very Disappointed
Well, we fought the good fight. Six parents representing all affected schools gave passionate, heartfelt speeches to the D65 Board of Education last night on the impact of shifting from an 8:20 to 9:00 start. Big thanks go to Oakton parents Lyna Smith & Michelle Kemp, Lincolnwood parent Maria Liccardo, ParentsWork Founder and King Lab parent Rhonda Present, and Lincoln parents Neel Watkins and Mahesh Mohnalkar who shared their stories. There is no way we could have had more thoughtful, honest pleas to have the District reconsider its decision for the 2008-09 school year. Parents in the audience held signs made by Mahesh saying "Families Matter" "Let Us Speak" "Hear Us Now" "I ride the 8:40 train" and "Start Time Matters!". Kids held signs saying "I matter". It was very powerful.
Despite some hopeful moments, the decision was not overturned. As a next response, we are suggesting that parents who feel comfortable doing so may protest the lack of voice we have in decisions made affecting our families by withholding student fees when you register your children this summer so that perhaps our dollars, if not our voices, will have an impact. More to come on that.
Evanston parents: thank you all for your support, attendance at the board meeting, words of encouragement, participation and solidarity. I understand that the Fox News segment did not air last night due to bigger stories on the weather, but know that this will continue to get press coverage. The Roundtable reporter was there until the wee hours last night. I wouldn't be surprised if this get picked up by the Tribune too. Below is the note I sent to Superintendent Dr. Murphy and the Board of Ed. These people represent you. Continue to let them know your thoughts.
Pam Daniels
PTA Co-President, Lincoln School
Evanston, IL
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"Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes." -George Soros, Chairman of the Open Society Institute
Dr. Murphy and the District 65 Board of Education:
You decided some time ago in executive session to change the bell schedule at three schools by forty minutes. You gave us three weeks notice before school is out to cope with the change. The stated rationale-- teacher training and reduced bus cost-- is weak at best with unquantified bus savings and the unaddressed issue of K-5 magnet schools in teacher development harmonization. There were NO parents who spoke out in favor of the change. Over 150 people have signed an online petition asking for a postponement of the decision to align start times for one year to allow for more input, plus another 85 paper signatures at Lincoln School. We had parents who have never spoken out before come to a Board of Ed meeting and demonstrate the negative impact on families across all three affected schools and still no change of action. Wow.