Edited by author 05-24-2008 02:36 PM
Exactly the point, Ann. I had heard rumblings that this issue was being considered.

But nothing official anywhere that I've seen until the announcement is made. Typical District 65 Administration decision: it is done. Too bad for you if you don't like it.

As a parent in a family with two wage earners, it's ridiculous to change the current school schedule without at least one truly compelling reason and parent involvement.

Just think about it: District 65 has the middle schools starting at 8 a.m. You know, teenagers...the very people who studies show sleep later for biological reasons.

And when do grade schoolers start school at all schools except the magnets? Answer: 9 a.m. You know, 5 year old through 10 year olds...many of whom are up at the crack of dawn.

Sure looks like they've got a great schedule for District 65 schools, truly based on the needs of our children and families.

Rhonda Present posted this blog entry on Evanston Now (http://www.evanstonnow.com/schools/rhonda-...e-dismisses-parents) in response to this issue:

If they haven't done so already, the next time parents of Lincoln, Lincolnwood, and Oakton schools open their children's backpacks they will find a letter from D65 Superintendent Hardy Murphy informing them that school hours will change next year. The letter, which was dated May 13th (but not sent home until May 23rd right before the long holiday weekend and on a shortened school day when many children weren't even in attendance), explains that beginning in September 2008, the starting time will shift to 9:00 a.m. to bring it into alignment with other D65 elementary schools which will all dismiss at 3:20 p.m.

While I support the goal of consistent scheduling across the District and the desire to ensure that all teachers can take advantage of professional development training (the rationale outlined in the letter), I take issue with a school administration that would go about making such a dramatic change without the input of the parent community. As I understand, none of the PTAs of the three affected schools were given an opportunity to even comment on the proposed schedule before it was announced. And, unless I missed something, this matter never even came before the School Board, which would have given the public a chance to express their views.

One would think that after months of community dialogue about how the school calendar impacts parents' ability to work and care for our families, that there would have been more sensitivity and thought given to these issues. But, based on the letter that went home on Friday, it doesn't appear that they were part of the equation at all. Rather, the administration credits itself for giving parents early notice so that we can "adjust [y]our schedules and routines for the new school year."

Do they really think that it's as simple as letting your employer know that you can no longer get to your job on time because the schools have decided to change their hours? Are they so removed from reality not to know that family budgets are already stretched terribly thin and that many parents who dash to the train after dropping their child to school at 8:20 will now have to find away to pay for before-school child care. Who knows if such care is even available since there is no mention of it in the letter nor could I find anything about it on the District web site (unlike our neighbors inWilmette School District 39 who have a whole page on their site devoted to this topic). Have we considered the affect the scheduling change will have on families who rely on a child in middle school – which starts at 8:05 a.m. - to make sure a younger sibling gets to class safely each morning? And, what about the families of incoming kindergartners whose decisions about where to send their child next year were based, at least in part, on knowing when the school day would start and end? How will they even be notified of the change and what impact will it have on their choices and lives come this fall?

In the closing paragraph of Dr. Murphy's letter, he invites parents/guardians to contact his office with questions or concerns. I encourage everyone –whether you have a child in one of the affected schools or not – to make that call to 847-859-8010 and communicate what the school hours change will mean for you and other families. It is also important that parents contact members of the D65 School Board and come out in force to their next meeting which will be held on June 9th, to let them know that we want an educational system that works for all stakeholders – teachers, students and parents – and that the needs of one group should not be sacrificed for those of another. If what we are seeking is a uniform schedule across the District, then let's sit down and craft something that makes sense for everyone involved.

It beats me why this change is being done now - just when the district is in the process of creating a strategic plan for the next 5 years. Why not leave start times alone for one more year and discuss changes in the context of the big picture - change the start times for all the schools to 8:00, which would work far better for most working parents.

But I've given up trying to figure out why D65 does what it does when it does. No logic that I am familiar with seems to apply. Although I do know that when it is a choice between the convenience of teachers and administrators vs. convenience of the parents, the former always wins.

Sadly, Mindy, here's the main reason that the District 65 Administration does things:

Because it can without any concern of real repercussions.

There is NO oversight by the majority of the School Board who are too weak-kneed to challenge anything and who, after discussing inconsequential details ad nauseum, meekly vote "yes" on everything presented to them. The District Administration has ingrained in the Board members that parent input is bad and it is not to be encouraged.

The majority is convinced that the Superintendent (who has never been a classroom teacher) knows all and must guide them through the mine field of parent involvement by ignoring it. Meanwhile, the Administration is completely free to do exactly as it pleases on virtually every issue.

This is Evanston, Illinois. We can and must do better.

I agree I am a mother of three and it's bad enough that I could only get two of my children into the magnet school and the other didn't get accepted now they are changing the time to convience whom??? I start work at 8:30am sometimes 8:00am. My middle child attends Lincolnwood and they other two King Lab. How am I suppose to get him to school when I am suppose to be at work. The 8:20am start time is great at Lincolnwood. I think they should have voted on something like that. Everyone can't afford before and after school care especially with the gas price going up and up. I think that was a poor decsion on the District.

Robert Crown SO SORRY THIS IS LATE.

PLEASE PLEASE ATTEND - YOUR COMMENTS ARE REQUIRED. BE THERE.


Wednesday, June 4 2008
7:00pm - 9:00pm

Public meeting about Crown Center

Tell us about Evanston’s Indoor Recreation Needs!

The Evanston Recreation Board and administrators from the Parks/Forestry and Recreation Dept. and ETHS School District #202 invite you to attend one of three public meetings being held to discuss Evanston’s recreation needs.

Topics to be discussed include:
* How should we address Robert Crown Center infrastructure issues?
* What are the potential benefits of coordinating our long-range plans?
* How could rebuilding the ETHS Fieldhouse factor into the City’s recreational needs?

All meetings will take place from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Meeting dates and places are:
* Wed., May 28 at Robert Crown Center, 1701 Main St.
* Thurs., May 29 at Chandler-Newberger Center, 1028 Central St.
* Wed., June 4 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, 1655 Foster St.

Questions? Please call 847/866-2914.

Edited by author 06-09-2008 10:28 PM
About 75 parents and children filled the District 65 School Board meeting tonight to send the message that changes in school start and end times negatively impact children and their families. In late May, the District announced that the start time for three schools -- Lincoln, Lincolnwood and Oakton Schools -- would be moved to 9 a.m. from 8:20 a.m., beginning this fall. Magnet schools will, however, continue to begin at 8 a.m., as will the middle schools.

Based on a review of the recent Board agendas, the Board did not discuss or vote on the change in the bell schedule before it was announced. This evening, the issue was again not on the agenda. But noting the large number of parents and children in the room interested in the issue, Board member Mary Rita Luecke moved to amend the agenda to allow the issue to be presented to the Board. The Board then voted (6-0 with 1 absent) to allow six representatives of the group to speak for three minutes each at the beginning of the meeting, rather than waiting for public comments at the meeting’s conclusion. School Board meetings routinely end at 10 p.m. or later.

Lyna Smith, an Oakton School parent, noted the high cost of child care and, with the changing bell schedule, she said that both before and after school care would be required for her young children. Ms. Smith said that morning care would cost hundreds of dollars more per month for her three children, in addition to the after school care that she is already purchasing. Given the high cost of morning and afternoon child care, she questioned whether she could remain in her home in Evanston and whether her children could stay at Oakton where everyone knows their names.
  
Lincoln School parent Neel Watkins, a single parent and Evanston resident for virtually all of her life, said that affordable morning childcare is a major concern for her family as well. Maria Liccardo, a Lincolnwood School parent, noted that the bell change is another dictate handed down from the District with little or no discussion with parents and very little time to respond to such a major change.

Mahesh Mohnalkar, a Lincoln School parent, observed that no office in Evanston or Chicago starts its work day at 9:30 a.m. He said that the District’s stated benefits of the later start time are a reduction in busing costs and more opportunities for professional development of teachers. But he encouraged the Board to ask the parents in the other seven elementary schools in the District about school start time and he predicted that parents would prefer an 8:20 a.m. start time so he suggested that all elementary schools begin at 8:20 a.m.

Michelle Kemp, an Oakton parent, said that she is a single parent with no relatives nearby and a long commute to a job on the south side of Chicago. She said that the 8:20 a.m. start time gives her the opportunity to take her child to school and to speak with her child’s teacher on a more regular basis, rather than waiting for a formal parent/teacher conference. She said that her child deserves to have some free time after the school day is done and a later afternoon dismissal time will reduce that time.

The District announced the bell change to parents on Friday, May 23 -- the Friday before the Memorial Day holiday -- through a note sent home in children’s backpacks. At least one speaker at the meeting noted that several parents were not aware of the change as recently as today.

School Board meeting just adjourned. Near the end of the meeting, the School Board discussed the issue of the starting and ending times for Oakton, Lincoln and Lincolnwood then deferred to the Administration's decision to change those times beginning this fall.

No vote was taken. But according to the Board members, they were all consulted before the change was announced. At least two Board members stated that parents and PTAs will just need to adjust their schedules to meet what the District has decided.

The sentiment by several Board members seemed to be: it's too bad that parents are inconvenienced or will need to spend even more money on child care but that's not the District's concern. According to those Board members, this decision is in the best interest of the children of the District.

The District's main reason for the change: more professional opportunities for teachers. But didn't the District just allow more early dismissal days in the calendar for that specific purpose?

Today's WSJ has an article on Thurgood Marshall Academy in Washington DC. As most know, DC has one of the lowest ranking school districts in the U.S. and the school demographics for TMA are that 70% are on free lunch program -- demographics not unlike Oakton.

ALL of the students from the first four years are in college.

Fascinating. What could D65 and D202 learn from them?

I'm forwarding this post from the PTA yahoo group...

Ridgeville Farmer's Market
Wednesdays 4-8pm

Please pardon the non-school-related post here, but I think lots of
Oakton families might like to know about this neighborhood gem...

Ridgeville Park (on the northeast corner of South Blvd and Ridge, all
the way east to Elmwood) is hosting a weekly farmers' market this
summer, every Wednesday from 4-8pm. It's been quiet for the first two
weeks of the market, and the three farmers that have been coming are a
little discouraged. If we as a community don't support this market,
it's doubtful it will be able to continue, so I just want to encourage
people to come by and pick up some locally grown produce!

There are also some Oakton families who have a casual agreement to
come to the market each week and share a picnic dinner. There's a lot
of space for the kids to run around and play, draw with chalk, and
play in the nearby playlot. If you know families who have incoming
kindergarteners, you could let them know about this informal meeting
every week, which would be a chance to meet some current Oakton
families and buy some fresh tomatoes at the same time!

And if THAT weren't enough, you can also catch an honest-to-goodness
Oakton parent playing fiddle there with a banjo player on July 2 and
August 6. I'm not telling you her name, but I do hear she takes
requests. ;)

Thanks for sharing the news about the farmer's market on Wednesday's. Often I can't get to the one on Saturday, so this is a great alternative!

How was the market?

 JUST A REMINDER - TONIGHT AT JAMES PARK

June 19
James Park
 Tom Schraeder & His Ego
"Sophisticated melodies and arrangements and surprisingly insightful and world-weary lyrics," one of the Chicago Sun-Times' Ten to Watch in 2008

www.myspace.com/tomschraeder

Just a note to any incoming Kindergarten families... there is an informal standing playdate at Oakton School every Friday at 3pm and Saturday at 10am. The first playdate is scheduled for this Friday, June 27 at 3pm.

This is a chance for incoming Kindergarten parents and students to get to know one another before school starts. Please feel free to contact me with any questions...

Julie Fleetwood (co-PTA President, Oakton School)
julieort@hotmail.com

What do you think would be the best organiztional recipient at Oakton School for a small charitable donation.