If you have an English speaking student at Conrad Fischer, what about them? The main focus for the principal is the non-English speaking students and the others just get left behind. I know this from experience with my own children. Also, most of these students are coming from the apartments across from Dominicks in Bensenville. A part of Addison is also included in Conrad Fischer. How would anyone feel if there English speaking child came home with homework that is only in Spanish? That's what has happened to my children. I would have to send it back and write to please send the English version home for my child. Also when my child was in kindergarten the teacher was bilingual and was teaching them in Spanish. I brought my concerns to the principal and Superintendent and nothing was done. The kindergarten curriculum does not have Spanish in it for any Elmhurst School. I did not attend the last PTA meeting, but have heard that 57 percent of the students did not have adequate scores on the isat's and will be given vouchers to attend any school in Elmhurst of their choice. Again, do not know if this is definitely true or not, just what I had heard. If you do not have an English speaking child at Conrad Fischer, you would not understand the frustration of being discriminated against in a school. We are the taxpayers, not the takers. The principal received a $10,000 raise this past year. Where is this Title-I government money going? To the kids, or to her?

I live near Conrad Fisher. This doesn't surprise me one bit. Section 8 residents are proliferating the area. An illegal immigrant with four uncontrolled kids was recently 'renting' the house behind me. (Thank God they're gone).

I bet most of those 60% are from homes with no father and a mother who expects society to take care of her kids.

The real losers at Fisher are the kids who are held back from advancing because the teachers have to spend more time with those who are grades behind the others.

Too bad this school has to taken all the children of illegal immigrants living in south Bensenville.

Thanks for showing your 'ignorance' by attacking rather than having an open dialogue.

I did not state that all Section 8 vouchers are illegal immigrants. The two can be one and the same but in a majority of cases they are not. Irregardless they are both a social problem that plays havoc on our neighborhoods and schools. How do you explain the 40% rise in 5 years of the poverty rate at Fisher and the free fall drop in the ISAT over that same period of time? The two are correlated.

BTW

You state that 'nobody is raising my kids except for ME'. Does that mean your kids aren't getting free breakfast and lunch at the school? That you don't need the Section 8 voucher to take care of them?

Welcome to the real world, where all children are created equal. Elmhurst kids are no different from Bensenville kids, children on section 8 or any other minority. The only guarantee is that your Children will grow up as misguided and narrow-minded as you are. Be Gone. Back to Stepford with you!

"But the majority of students at Fischer come from a different environment, she said."

Does that environment include students from OUT OF DISTRICT? How come Lincoln and Bryan do not have that problem?

District 205 somehow has to make sure that everyone that goes to a district 205 school, is within the district boundries. There was a D 205 report a week or so ago that showed the increased enrollments, and Conrad had an increase of 34 students. Seems high, when there are not that many new homes in that area. Are some students just using an address of a relative?

Also, call me whatever, but classes should be taught in English, homework should be written in English. When I when to high school, some 25 years ago, there were ESL classes, but that was it, English was the language for the main classes.

We moved to Elmhurst 20 years ago, we were lucky that we bought south of North Avenue, because when you compare the middle schools now, they are not on the same level, based on test scores and other ways to measure, Churchville does not compare to Sandburg

There are 150 students at Fischer eating free breakfast right now. In the past all children have been entering the school approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of school. Because of the free breakfast this was changed and the taxpayers children would have to stand outside until 5 minutes before the bell about 2 feet away from moving cars while the teachers had their backs to them. Any child could have been pushed into a moving car and seriously injured or worse. After many complaints, this was changed back to letting our children inside. Why should my children have to stand outside and freeze because I can afford to feed them. Now these families are receiving free daycare, free breakfast, free lunch and a link card with money on it for anything they want. They can get cash with the link card to buy cigarettes and alcohol. Why do they need the link card when the school is paying for 2 of their meals? I've seen many families at stores use the link card and then get into a brand new car. How do they afford that? I don't have a new car. The district said that they paid out $14,000 last year for students to have free orchestra/band lessons, but if can't afford it for my child are they going to pay? I doubt it!!!

Just so everyone understands how much the non-English speaking families are catered to I will give you the breakdown of classes at Fischer. Kindergarten has only 1 half day English Speaking class, 2 Spanish- 1st grade has 1 English, 3 Spanish- 2nd grade 2 English, 1 Spanish-3rd grade 3 English, 1 Spanish, 4th and 5th only English. There is also a Spanish PTA that the principal has created herself. The regular PTA also has a bilingual president that claims to live with her mother in Addison and no one seems to know if she really lives in the district. The Spanish PTA complains that the Science Olympiad needs to be in Spanish also. Why should we cater to them? They came to this country and should learn our language, not the other way around. I don't believe if I moved to Mexico that my kids would get an English speaking class,or free anything!!

If people are concerned with Fischer school then take the concerns to the school board meetings. I don't have the answers to all of the above concerns since I don't know enough about what is going on at Fischer first hand.
If enough people go to the school board meetings and voice their concerns then there will be a chance of change/improvement at the school. Remember, this is an election year (4/13).

YSET has been created to help families of high school students in Elmhurst. If residents want to help poverty-stricken families in Elmhurst - what can be done? Karen, could you do a feature on that...I know a big food drive is upcoming for Thanksgiving. The Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot will benefit many local charities....how? What else is there? Thanks!

We had brought our concerns to a school board member in 2009 and she told us to stop emailing her. I have emailed the superintendent numerous times, tried to set up a meeting and do not receive a response by phone or email. We've had several children seriously hurt while at school and parents have not received phone calls to say they were injured. The most recent was a child running into the metal corner of a chalk board. They put a band aid on the cut and sent her home without calling a parent. That night she was in the emergency room getting stitches. A child broke her toe and was sent to a picnic without her shoe on, a child sprained his ankle and was handed an ice pack by the principal and no one even looked at it or called the parents. He walked on it for 2 and a half hours during school and then had to wear a cast for 10 days. We had a child slip on ice during recess and break her 2 permanent front teeth and the principal claims there was no ice or snow on the playground equipment, there are pictures to prove otherwise. Two letters were found in classrooms that were threats against other students and teachers. A child was chased down at recess, tackled, laid on top of and the other child tried to kiss her. These are some of the incidents that I know of that have occurred while Jane Bailey has been principal of the school. No accountability for any actions, that is the Jane Bailey approach and her salary is $108,000! Big waste of tax money!

D205 parent: please stop school bashing. Most of your facts are wrong and I would spend the time pointing them out, but my guess is you'd prefer to believe the lies.

D205 Parent, your posts are full of inaccurate statements. For example, your classroom information in terms of the number of "Spanish" classrooms are flat out wrong. I have a hard time believing the validity of all your other statements when I know for certain that several of your claims are false. And the fact that you're suggesting that Jane Bailey actually wants these students from impoverished homes to attend Fischer so that she can gain financially from it or even that Fischer could gain financially from it is just plain stupid. I'm sorry, I can't sit back and read this garbage without saying something.

At Risk and ESL does not mean the class is taught in Spanish as you inferred from your earlier comments. Those classrooms are not instructed in Spanish. They are taught in English and supported with ESL strategies that assist with building background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension-all done in English. They are not taught in Spanish. Once again, your comments were not accurate.

Also, please understand that what is going on this year is NOT Ms. Bailey's policies or ideas. You need to direct your comments and anger to Karen Mulattieri. All Conrad Fischer parents, or future Conrad Fischer parents need to start attending the Curriculum and Instruction meetings for the Board of Education. If e-mails and phone calls aren't working, perhaps complaining in person will.

There has been a great deal of concern regarding Spanish speaking students. While that is a valid concern, let's also remember that there are many children from other countries at Fischer as well. If you are a part of the Fischer community you may have attened Heritage Night. This event was so well received that there were many cultures represented. There are students at Fischer from Poland, India, Italy, Albania,Turkey, China, Mexico, just to name a few. Students will continue to filter into all D205 schools with different cultural backgrounds and different languages. ESL is not Spanish instruction. It is instruction in English as a Second Language. Strategies are used to support students who are in the process of acquiring English. This problem WILL NOT go away and will continue to increase across the country. We need to find solutions and we need to support.students and staff Instead of complaining, To those complaining I would suggest you use your time to volunteer at Fischer and you will see what a difference you can make in the life of a child. I have done so and cannot believe how rewarding the experience has been. There is no greater reward than the smile on their faces!

Just some facts sprinkled with a little commentary:
*Bilingual laws in the State of Illinois are some of the strictest in the country (One of only a few that still require it. Even Texas is considering ending the mandate). The fear of losing funding drives the push for bilingual and segregated classrooms. The state legislature is where to start to change this if you are unhappy.
*If you check the Illinois Report Card website, you will see that Fischer has higher test scores than most schools with similar demographics. http://iirc.niu.edu/
*Title I funds do NOT pay the principal's salary. It could fund additional teachers if the district decides to use if for that purpose. She does not have any benefit at all for gaining Title I status; it is just a lot of extra work that no other principal in the district has to do.
*There have been meetings at the school informing the community about the bilingual law and programs, and as others have said, board meetings for Curriculum and Instruction. Attend them. Educate yourself and let your voice be heard.
*Parents are a child's first teacher. I can only hope that D205 parent is not teaching her children the hate that spills from her posts. Fischer is a diverse community that reflects the real world. That is an enrichment to a child's education, not a curse.

Bottom line is the Fischer students do not receive the same level of education as the other grade schools in Elmhurst and ENGLISH is the only language that should be spoken in our schools! ONE NATION UNDER GOD! AMEN

The goal of all schools is to raise the achievement of their students, no matter what their level of learning is when they enter. It is a fact that some children speak another language or live in poverty. They did not choose to be in a situation where they don't understand the language or live in a family where the income doesn't cover all expenses. Some schools serve more of these students than others, and they must adhere to state laws governing these (serving free meals, offering transitional bilingual classes).While some may believe it's better to teach non-English speakers in an English-only classroom, that is not the law. The school and district are simply following state law: http://law.justia.com/codes/illinois/2010/chapter105/010500050HArt_14C.html

Elmhurst Mom, I was raised in Elmhurst and attended Conrad, Churchville, York. I attended the gifted programs, received enough AP credit to graduate from college a year early and earned my Masters from the University of Illinois. In addition, I have had a successful career as a corporate executive, that has allowed me to provide very well for my family. I never attended a bilingual program. My siblings and husband are teachers. My first language was Spanish. My parents were immigrants to this country. My father bought a house in Elmhurst because of the quality of the schools. My immediate and extended family all made it a priority to learn English and advance their careers in the United States. To assume that most families haven't taken the time to learn Spanish is a gross overgeneralization. I personally don't believe we should have to provide instruction in Spanish, but we do have to provide support for all children to learn. Yes there are some families that have not learned English, perhaps they have just recently arrived here and are in the process, perhaps some choose to not learn. But to say 70% haven't is ridiculous

Elmhurst Mom- I would also be very angry if my child was placed in an ESL classroom for reading support, since he wasn't an English as a Second Language student. This is the issue with the new policies in place in school. My child had reading issues in 1st grade at Fischer and due to early intervention by Fischer's teaching staff and small group instruction, he is now reading at or above grade level. This would not have happened if he was placed in an ESL classroom, especially since his English is much better than his Spanish. I encourage parents to attend the Bilingual Parents Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee on Tuesday, October 2 at Fischer. I am going, even though my children are not in bilingual education, as what happens with these progams will affect the quality of instruction and climate for the entire school.

My Grandfather built his house here North of 290, back in the 1940's. Not only do I carry his name but I also hold his values, the same values that helped found this town.
I attended CF & all 3 of my daughters have attended CF, over the last 15 yrs up to this currant year. Needless to say our school has seen a hoard of change over those years, including 3 principals.
In my opinion Principal Jane Bailey, is A great fit for our diverse community, & one of the best things our school has seen this decade .
Take a look at the difference in school ethnicity & ISAT scores across Elmhurst.
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/IL-Elmhurst-schools/r_4568/
CF, 46.%w,35.6%h,13.4%a,5.%b
Emerson,81%w,8.6%h,6.4%a,4.%b
Field,85.4%w,4.2%h,8.1%a,2.2%b
Hawthorne,93.8%w,1.9%h,2.4%a,1.9%b
Edison,92.4%w,3.3%h,4.2%a,0.0%b
Lincoln,96.7%w,1.2%h,1.6%a,0.4%b
Jefferson,95.7%w,1.6%h,1.3%a,1.3%b
Jackson,89.3%w,3.3%h,4.7%a,2.1%b
I could have posted the middle schools & if your interested please look @ the site & you'll see Churchvill, is just as lopsided as CF, is to the rest of Elmhurst.
The Teachers&Staff @ CF do not control from what financial or ethnic background our students come from. Needless to say if CF, had not added the Spanish curriculum to the class room, our ISAT scores would be MUCH lower.
Thank You Principle Jane Bailey, w/o you,Mr Navaro, & other Teachers
& staff, it would be our Students that fail.

Floyd, thanks for your supportive comments. The bilingual classrooms were added this year. The great results you refer to were driven without this year's policy. I just dont want the district to break what is not broken. Bailey and her staff are the reason for the success! They need the freedom to do what is best for the school and not be held to the district's ELL coordinator's policies. Spanish at Fischer is not a bad thing, in fact being exposed to many languages is great for our children, it's creating segregated classrooms that is bad for society and school culture.

Let me clarify, the addition of bilingual classrooms in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are new this year. I believe we have had a bilingual kindergarten in the past.

Yes, Ken only Spanish. I went on a field trip with a class from Fischer last year. They separated the kids into groups of 4. Each group had a parent chaperon. One group consisted of a Hispanic parent, 2 Hispanic children and 2 English speaking children. The parent spoke both Spanish and English, but chose to speak Spanish during this trip. The English children in her group did not speak Spanish only English. The parent speaks English perfectly fine, but chose to speak Spanish. Everyone seems to be afraid to tell parents to speak English because they might feel discriminated against. How would she feel if her Hispanic child was put on a field trip with a Polish speaking parent? I believe she would say something and not be happy. Weren't these English speaking children discriminated against? Some people are bilingual and speak many languages including English. When choosing a language to speak during school, it should be English like the other 7 grade schools in Elmhurst.

Shame on all of you if you are of Irish, Italian, German, etc., decent. This is the EXACT same discrimination and predjudice that our great grandparents faced when they arrived in this country. Public schools were inadequately prepared for the immigrants so many went to Catholic schools.

These Mexican immigrants are working their tales off because they know what is ahead. It is not a life of food stamps, but a life of prosperity that we promise if you work hard. It is not their fault the that government and schools got involved in the social welfare sytems that the government had no right to get involved in the first place.

Teach in English or teach in Spanish but teach and learn!

I am appalled by the bigotry that is being spread on these comments. In the public schools we teach all children. No matter their gender, race, socioeconomic status, educational abilities. We pride ourselves on doing what is best for each and every child, not just a select few. If you do not wish or your child to be in an environment like that you can choose to send your child to a school where they hand select and don't allow certain children. There are quite a few options in the area. Pull your kids out and stop torturing yourself, your children, and the staff. Don't wait to get your "government handout" in the form of a school voucher.

What the............. The majority of kids attending one of our Elmhurst schools are now living in poverty? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!! And it is one more piece of hard evidence which proves that the Obama administration is leading this country into the toilet. If the American people are foolish enough to vote this turkey back into office for another four years, we truly deserve all of the continued pain he will bring.

MR. O HAS GOT TO GO!!!!!

Lastly, this is not about bigotry or racial hate. It's about our children receiving the same education as the other grade schools in Elmhurst. Receiving the proper help when needed. If you focus on one other languae, you will need to focus on them all at all of the schools not just one. If that is done, then we will have to waste a half hour of valuable learning time listening to the morning announcements in 10+ languages. It should be one language, one community, United, not divided. Thank you!

"If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime."

Government assistance is supposed to be temporary, not a way of life!!!

I found an article about this type of set-up in the Naperville schools. I have a friend in Naperville who put her son's name in a lottery to get into this Spanish Immersion class and was thrilled when he was chosen - 14 Spanish speaking, 14 English speaking students. From the article, it sounds like that district is now offering the program at 5 of the 14 elementary schools and there is a wait list at all 5 schools. Maybe 205 is behind the trend by only having this program at one school.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-17/news/chi-naperville-district-203-language-immersion-20120717_1_language-immersion-naperville-schools-elementary-schools

BTW I.Love.Elmhurst - I'm a Field parent and we only have one, old Smart Board at our school. C.F. Is not the only one.

I misunderstood the previous explanation of how Conrad Fischer has classes set up. I thought it was similar ....my apologies.

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Last night Ms. Mulaterri had her first bilngual committee meeting. She was solicitating parents to participate in the committee. Several Fischer parents were told they could not participate in the committee were told they could not participate as they did not have children receiving services. She even tried to say it was illegal to participate. But backed down and said she would research this issue. How we provide these required services impacts the entire school, as well as the resources available to all children. Yet instead of letting all parents participate in the program and the solutions, she rather keep the parents divided. Those with kids receiving bilingual services versus those whose kids do not. Just like the classrooms, divided.

I also have heard that these new policies are dividing the teachers who historically have worked very well together and team taught. The new classrooms do not allow for this. In addition the new classrooms are staffed by former resource teachers that were available to help all who needed it. Now they only can help their Esl or bilingual classroom.