ATTENTION ALL EC, PEP & 4/5 Enrichment Parents and Supporters,
As many of you know, we are currently facing challenges from District 47 related to reduced staffing of the extended curriculum program in our schools. Many of you reading this understand the monumental loss this could be for our children and their classmates. Now, it is our job to support our kids and their teachers by showing the school board and superintendent how vital these programs are and ask that they find other areas to make budget cuts.
We encourage you to step up and show your support in the following ways:
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Plan to attend the February 18 school board meeting. Show up, bring your kids, and wear green in support of the EC program. The meeting begins at 7pm, and early arrival is encouraged. The more people who attend, the more effective our voices will be.
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Consider sharing your personal experience by speaking at the meeting. Our goal is to maximize the number of voices the board hears. Please be respectful and stick to the facts: the district has publicly communicated that they are cutting EC staff, but hasn’t provided specifics beyond that. Note that if you plan to address the board, you must sign up prior to the start of the meeting.
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Take this survey to help us coordinate our message. We want to clearly convey the importance of EC to all of our children and families and ensure all voices can be heard, even if you can’t be present at the board meeting.
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Sign this petition to show your support.
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Contact the individuals below in the district office and let them know your concerns:
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Kathy Hinz, Superintendent: khinz@d47.org, 815.788.5012
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Aimee Kasper, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment: akasper@d47.org, 815.788.5030
Please help us keep momentum and attention on this topic. District 47 needs to adequately maintain gifted education programs in our schools!
Sincerely,
The CLFOGE Board
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Top concerns regarding gifted education and the proposed staffing reductions by District 47:
- Decreased access to appropriate learning opportunities for advanced students that already don't get their academic needs met on a daily basis.
- Retention of quality teachers specifically trained to assess and meet advanced learner's specific academic, social and emotional needs.
- Impact on motivated students that benefit from 4/5 book/math clubs seeking to move into higher academic tracks.
- Decreased inclusion of high-risk/historically underrepresented groups in EC if access to and assessment for these enrichment programs are reduced.
- The effect that reduced supports at the elementary level will have on enrollment of students seeking higher level courses in middle and high school.
* We will update these concerns with information gathered from the survey linked above.
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Resources:
An Overview of D47's Elementary EC program - A great read to supplement your understanding of D47 EC and PEP programs, curated for us by D47 EC elementary teachers.
NAGC's Position Statement & Framing Papers Guiding Best Practices
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