Wagon trains pulled by third graders through Thatcher Woods ... an Iditarod race complete with sleds designed and built by seventh graders ... fourth grade Ellis Island immigrants and officials ... medieval plays composed and presented by sixth graders. As District 90 parents, these are just a few memories we have from watching our children move through their educational beginnings here. As a Dist. 90 educator, I know that these are the kind of unique educational opportunities we teachers may jettison because skewed teacher/student ratios will render them unmanageable.
Those of us who fill the role of both Dist. 90 parent and Dist. 90 teacher have a unique perspective to offer on the value of our current educational system and the difficulty of continuing it with an insufficient budget and overcrowded classrooms. The experiences mentioned above are just a tiny fraction of what we may no longer be able to create without a successful referendum.
The after-school math program for the students who just need a little extra help? Gone.
A reading specialist to work with children who are reading below grade level? Gone.
The ability for faster learners to move at a more appropriate pace and be better prepared for high school honors classes through our ATP (academically talented program) classes? Gone.
Field trips that allow children to witness real-life applications of their classroom knowledge? Gone.
The music and art that give children another way to view the world, express their thoughts, and find success at school? The professional physical education instruction that lets children vent physical energy and creates a value around fitness and health? Gone—or, perhaps worse yet, thrown to the bailiwick of regular classroom teachers, who lack meaningful training in these areas.
As we have shepherded our own children through this school district, we have appreciated each parent-teacher conference at which the teacher showed how well he/she understood the quirky traits of our offspring ... each moment that a teacher took to reteach a concept to our confused progeny ... each clever project ... each note home to explain, confirm, alert. As parents, we appreciated those marks of excellence; as teachers, we know how much extra time they take. And we question how well we will be able to provide them if our class sizes swell and our resources diminish.
Passing a referendum March 21 will impact our wallets right along with the rest of the River Forest community, and we will certainly wince mightily as we vote "yes." However, we also have an insider’s view of the devastation of a "no" vote. Without a successful referendum, Dist. 90 will be all but unrecognizable.
Lisa Groves
Third grade teacher, Lincoln School
