District 41 Think Tank Proposal Released

The final Think Tank proposal (to be presented at 2/25 BOE meeting) has been posted online (link below) with details of what each elementary school plans to roll out this coming Fall.  

AND, PLEASE...no matter what you think of the proposal......YOU NEED TO ATTEND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING TO HEAR THE PRESENTATION GIVEN BY YOUR SCHOOL PRINCIPAL DETAILING THE PLAN FOR YOUR KIDS.
MEETING MONDAY, FEB. 25th 7:30PM  AT HADLEY.   This is your only chance to hear this presentation.   Even if you have seen the proposal at prior meetings, it has changed.  Math has gone from ability grouped, to not ability grouped, to getting rid of gifted.  Who knows where it is right now? 

BOARD IS VOTING....Many people feel that this is a done deal (as presented by the administration), but THE BOARD WILL BE VOTING ON WHETHER OR NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROPOSAL (on March 11th), and there are board members willing to listen to the public.   This is a change to what we were told in December about board approval not being required. 

Here's a quick summary of what each school plans to implement next Fall:

Churchill School
Grade 4/5: multiage literacy/social studies with teacher specialization in STEAM/math and literacy/social studies

Forest Glen School
Grade 2: teacher specialization based on staffing
Grade 3: teacher specialization
Grade 4/5: multiage literacy/social studies with teacher specialization in STEAM/math and literacy/social studies

Abraham Lincoln School
Grade 2/3: multiage literacy/social studies with teacher specialization in STEAM/math and literacy/social studies
Grade 4/5: multiage literacy/social studies with teacher specialization in STEAM/math and literacy/social studies

Benjamin Franklin School
Grade 2: teacher specialization
Grade 3: teacher specialization for 2 sections only due to current staffing pattern
Grade 4/5: multiage literacy/social studies with teacher specialization in STEAM/math and literacy/social studies

NOTE: This is Phase 1 planned for 2013-2014 school year.  Phase 2 for 2014-2015 will implement multiage for grade 2/3 in literacy/social studies at all four schools. 

How can the district call this a pilot?  The proposal is different for EVERY school.  A true pilot is done on a small scale basis.  The teacher survey results clearly indicate that district-wide teachers think this is too much, too soon.  With all the concerns surrounding this proposal (from teachers and parents), lack of support and the lack of time to train our teachers, why are we rushing?    And why would you even think about launching for 2/3 next year after seeing the teacher survey?

PLEASE pass this along to everyone!

Link to the entire Think Tank presentation:
https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=33480272

In case you missed it, teacher survey info links:
http://www.d41.org/thinktank.htm

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS/CONCERNS?  The ONE thing that is going to slow this down or make changes to the proposal is talking to the Board. 

Here's what you can do:

- Attend the BOE meeting on Monday, Feb. 25th, 7:30pm at Hadley.  

- Email the Board with your concerns ASAP. 

Use this link to email the entire board: 

http://www.d41.org/allboard.asp?dm=district&df=41

- Talk to your school principal and let them know what you think.  These proposals were determined by the schools themselves.